Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien, better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dramatic ballads, with French chanson, country, and jazz in her repertoire. During her 1960s peak, she ranked among the most successful British female performers on both sides of the Atlantic. Her image – marked by a peroxide blonde bouffant/beehive hairstyle, heavy makeup and evening gowns, as well as stylised, gestural performances – made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1963.
Kim Bendix Petersen, better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto screams. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond. He also plays keyboards and guitars on studio recordings but uses live shows to focus solely on his vocal performance. Diamond is renowned for his dark lyrical content and his story concepts. He is also known for his distinctive shock stage persona. He has been an influence for other rock and metal artists, including Metallica, Slayer and Cradle of Filth.
Meshell Ndegeocello is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. Her music incorporates a wide variety of influences, including funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, reggae and rock. She has received significant critical acclaim throughout her career, being nominated for eleven Grammy Awards, and winning two. She also has been credited for helping to "spark the neo-soul movement".
An answer song, response song or answer record is a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer songs were also popular in country music in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, sometimes as female responses to an original hit by a male artist or male responses to a hit by a female artist.
Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend Rick James.
Louisa Gabriella Bobb, known professionally as Gabrielle, is a British singer and songwriter. Bobb was born in Hackney, London. She released her debut single, "Dreams", in 1993, and it topped the UK Singles Chart the same year. Her other singles include "Going Nowhere", "Give Me a Little More Time", "Walk On By", and "If You Ever" – a duet with East 17.
Angela Laverne Brown known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold. Stone would later release her solo debut Black Diamond (1999) on Arista Records, which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and spawned the single "No More Rain ".
Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979, also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. In the 2010s, she began pursuing a more traditional soul sound, first as part of the duo Lady with Terri Walker and subsequently as Lady Wray. As Lady Wray, she has released two albums: Queen Alone and Piece of Me.
The Eye is the fifth studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released on 30 October 1990 through Roadrunner Records. It continues to feature a major storyline like other King Diamond albums, though it is told differently. The Eye is the only album to feature drummer Snowy Shaw and the last to feature guitarist Pete Blakk and bassist Hal Patino, until the latter's return on Abigail II: The Revenge.
"Black Cat" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson, released as the sixth single from her fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). The song was written by Jackson, who produced it with Jellybean Johnson. In a departure from her standard of industrial-based dance-pop, "Black Cat" is a hard rock, pop rock, dance-rock, heavy metal and glam metal song with arena rock influences. Its lyrics speak of substance abuse and gang violence. It was the final song recorded for the album, after Jackson, along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, composed its main riff when desiring a rock song to complete the record.
King Diamond is a Danish heavy metal band formed in 1985 by vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen and drummer Mikkey Dee. King, Denner and Hansen had recently departed the group Mercyful Fate, and decided to form a new band under the King Diamond moniker, as it was already known from the initial Mercyful Fate era. Since the band's inception, there have been over fifteen musicians in and out of King Diamond, with the only two mainstays being Diamond and LaRocque. Their current lineup consists of Diamond, LaRocque, guitarist Mike Wead, drummer Matt Thompson, and bassist Pontus Egberg.
"Army of Me" is a song by Icelandic musician Björk for her second studio album, Post (1995). It was released on 24 April 1995 by One Little Indian as the lead single from the album. The song was written and produced by Björk and Graham Massey, who helped her in producing and writing the majority of her third album. Lyrically, the song was inspired by the damaging behavior of Björk's brother, and in the lyrics she tells him to stand up to regain control of his life. It was well received by music critics, who noted its darkness compared to her other material. "Army of Me" was a commercial success her first single Björk to enter the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.
Abigail II: The Revenge is the tenth studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released on 29 January 2002, and is plotwise a successor to the 1987 album Abigail. Abigail II: The Revenge is the first album to feature guitarist Mike Wead, drummer Matt Thompson, and the first to feature bassist Hal Patino since The Eye.
The Puppet Master is the eleventh studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released on 21 October 2003. A limited edition includes a DVD on which frontman King Diamond tells the story of the Puppet Master. It is a concept album with a storyline telling the tale of a young couple who go to watch a puppet show in Budapest in the 1700s, and end up being turned into undead puppets by the Puppet Master and his wife.
Marion Hall is a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose career has spanned over two decades. Formerly known as the Queen of Dancehall, a title now used by Spice she is best known for her guest appearance on No Doubt's "Underneath It All," which went triple Platinum and won a Grammy for No Doubt.
Chantay Savage is an American R&B/dance singer. She experienced some success in the 1990s on various Billboard singles charts, one of which was "I Will Survive", a reworking of the Gloria Gaynor hit song.
The discography of King Diamond, a Danish heavy metal band, consists of twelve studio releases, three live albums, five compilations, six singles, and four music videos. King Diamond was formed in 1985, after the dissolution of the group Mercyful Fate, by vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen, and drummer Mikkey Dee. The following year, the band released their debut album Fatal Portrait on 14 March 1986 which charted at number 33 in Sweden. King Diamond's second studio album, Abigail, was released on 15 June 1987 and reached number 123 in the US, number 39 in Sweden and number 68 in the Netherlands. Following some line-up changes, the group released the album "Them" on 20 June 1988, which peaked at number 38 in Sweden, number 65 in the Netherlands, and at number 89 in the US, making "Them" King Diamond's highest-charting album in North America. The following year, the band released the follow-up album Conspiracy, which charted at number 111 in North America, number 41 in Sweden and at number 64 in the Netherlands. In 1990, after more line-up changes, King Diamond released the album The Eye, which only charted at number 179 in the US, which makes The Eye King Diamond's lowest-charting album in North America.
Livia Zita is a Hungarian voiceover actress and rock singer, best known for her work with the Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, to which she belongs as a guest musician in studio and backing vocalist in live performances since 2003.
Melanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She began her career in 2002 as part of a Canadian R&B trio X-Quisite, who was nominated for a Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for their self-titled album (2004). She went on to form the duo The Renaissance with hometown native Drake, although they released no albums.
