Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney. Vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr are former members of the band. The band took its name from Staley's previous band, Alice N' Chains. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is deeply rooted in heavy metal. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell.
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Iggy Pop.
Eddie Jerome Vedder is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a guest vocalist for supergroup Temple of the Dog, a tribute band dedicated to the late singer Andrew Wood.
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and recorded ten singles that reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: "Cracklin' Rosie", "Song Sung Blue", "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before", "If You Know What I Mean", "Desirée", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "America", "Yesterday's Songs", and "Heartlight. A total of thirty-eight songs by Diamond have reached the top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, including "Sweet Caroline". He has also acted in films, making his screen debut in the 1980 musical drama film The Jazz Singer.
Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966. Part of San Francisco's psychedelic music scene, the band merged elements of rock and roll, folk music, pop, blues, and country. They were one of the few groups of which all members were lead vocalists and songwriters. The group's first incarnation ended in 1969, in part due to members Bob Mosley and Skip Spence suffering from mental illness. The group has reformed many times afterwards and continues to perform occasionally.
In the United States, California is commonly associated with the film, music, and arts industries; there are numerous world-famous Californian musicians. New genres of music, such as surf rock and third wave ska, have their origins in California.
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English-Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free, Bad Company, the Firm and the Law. He has also performed as a solo artist and collaborated with the remaining active members of Queen under the moniker Queen + Paul Rodgers, from 2004 to 2009. A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2011, Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
David William Sanborn was an American alto saxophonist. Sanborn worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 11 and released his first solo album, Taking Off, in 1975. He was active as a session musician, and played on numerous albums by artists including Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Sting, the Eagles, Rickie Lee Jones, James Brown, George Benson, Carly Simon, Elton John, Bryan Ferry and the Rolling Stones. He released more than 20 albums and won six Grammy awards.
Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group formed in 1995 and has since released seven studio albums. The group is also known for advocating for farm-workers' rights and immigration reform. The band has performed in various countries all over the world, including China, Tunisia, Jordan, Cuba, and Burma. Although the band has had many member changes over the years and has sometimes had as many as ten members, the current six members have been in the band since its debut album.
Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she influenced many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin. In 2011 Time magazine included her recording of "Take This Hammer" on its list of the 100 Greatest Popular Songs, stating that "Rosa Parks was her No. 1 fan, and Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music."
The Last Waltz was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The Last Waltz was advertised as the Band's "farewell concert appearance", and the concert had the Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including their previous employers Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan, as well as Paul Butterfield, Bobby Charles, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, The Staple Singers, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young. The musical director for the concert was the Band's original record producer, John Simon.
Lincoln Portrait is a 1942 classical orchestral work written by the American composer Aaron Copland. The work involves a full orchestra, with particular emphasis on the brass section at climactic moments. The work is narrated with the reading of excerpts of Abraham Lincoln's great documents, including the Gettysburg Address. An orchestra usually invites a prominent person to be the narrator.
Irene McGee is a podcaster and television personality who created and hosted No One's Listening, a podcast about the mass media.
The Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band Tour, afterward sometimes referred to simply as the Sessions Band Tour, was a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues", otherwise seen as a form of big band folk music. The tour was an outgrowth of the approach taken on Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions album, which featured folk music songs written or made popular by activist folk musician Pete Seeger, but taken to an even greater extent.
Michael Cavanaugh is an American actor and musician most famous for playing the piano and providing lead vocals in the band for the Broadway musical Movin' Out. Cavanaugh was handpicked by Billy Joel for this musical and appeared in the show for three years and over 1300 performances.
The Actual Tigers, originally known as Willis, were an American rock band formed in 1994 in Seattle. They released two full studio albums on CD: a self-titled debut and Gravelled and Green, produced with Dennis Herring. The band opened for Counting Crows after their second studio CD was released and, in 2005 after the Actual Tigers had disbanded, Gravelled and Green was ranked by MSNBC as one of the top 20 albums of the past 20 years. The band played together for seven years, having a sound often compared to Paul Simon and early Wilco.
Make Out Monday is an American pop punk, pop-folk and pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2014. The band consists of Jeremy Shada, Zack Shada, John Spicer and Seth Renken. In November 2014, they self-released an EP, Kicking Cars. It sprouted three singles namely: Hope Less Romantics, Sirens and Twixter. A Special Edition version was then released in September 2015.
50 Year Anniversary World Tour is a Neil Diamond tour that marked the 50th Anniversary of Diamond's first hit single, "Solitary Man," released in 1966. It began in Fresno, California on April 7, 2017, and concluded at The O2 Arena in London on October 19, 2017. The tour began just after the March release of a 50-song, three-disc career-spanning box set titled Neil Diamond 50 – 50th Anniversary Collection. The Oceania tour was announced on November 10, 2017 and cancelled on January 22, 2018, after Diamond announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Edward Donald Rubin was an American jazz and rock drummer, and composer. His repertoire included rock, jazz, pop, R&B, folk, and blues, although he had a preference for jazz drumming. Rubin is best known for his performances and recordings during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s with artists Neil Diamond, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Johnny Rivers, Dexter Gordon, Ornette Coleman, Paul Revere & The Raiders and Don Randi.
