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2012/07/16
2012/06/05
Survivor
The band tweaked its musical direction in 1988 with the release of the slightly heavier Too Hot to Sleep, but due to changes in the music industry, the album barely reached the Billboard 100 in the United States. Because of this, the band split for several years each embarking on other areas of the music business. Jamison (the most popular frontman in the groups history) re-united with Sullivan in 2000 and the band released the Reach cd in 2006.
Early Years
Survivor was formed in 1977 by Jim Peterik, Frankie Sullivan, Dave Bickler, Gary Smith and Dennis Keith Johnson. Initially, the group was known as The Jim Peterik Band. But Peterik liked the idea of a band identity better, so the Survivor name was adopted by 1978. Peterik was previously the lead vocalist/guitarist for the band Ides of March.[1] After playing in small clubs for several years, Survivor released its first album, the self-titled Survivor, in 1979, but the album did not achieve the level of success that the band had hoped for, producing no Top 40 singles. In 1981 Johnson & Smith had schedule conflicts with their other projects, so they were replaced by Stephan Ellis & Marc Droubay in time for the band’s follow-up album, Premonition,which achieved only Top 40 single, “Poor Man’s Son”.
In 1982, Survivor’s breakthrough arrived when actor Sylvester Stallone asked it to provide the theme song for his movie Rocky III. Stallone had heard their single “Poor Man’s Son” and wanted a song similar to it.[2] The band agreed to write him a song and soon released “Eye of the Tiger”. It had an enormous impact on the Billboard charts, peaking at #1 and remaining there for a total of six weeks. It also topped the British Billboard charts. It was in the Top 40 for a total of 18 weeks and was Australia’s #1 single for four weeks.[3] The song won the band a Grammy Award, was voted “Best New Song” by the People’s Choice Awards, and also received an Academy Award nomination.[3] The album of the same title, Eye of the Tiger, was released by the band later in 1982.
In 1983, Survivor tried to duplicate the success of Eye of the Tiger by releasing Caught in the Game. The album turned out to be a commercial disappointment, stalling at #82 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. The album’s only single, the title track, peaked at #77. The band suffered another setback before a tour in late 1983, when lead singer Dave Bickler was fired and replaced by Jimi Jamison who lead the band to a string of hit songs, videos and soundtracks, beginning with the hit album “Vital Signs” in 1984.
The Hit Years
After recording “The Moment of Truth” with Jimi Jamison on vocals (#63 US), the theme song of the box office smash hit The Karate Kid (1984), the band recorded its first full album with Jamison. Vital Signs gave the band a massive comeback, peaking at #16 on the Billboard Album Chart with the hits “I Can’t Hold Back” (#13 US), “High on You” (#8 US), and “The Search Is Over” (#4 US).
In 1985, the band had another hit with “Burning Heart,” a song from the Rocky IV soundtrack, when it peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
When Seconds Count was released in 1986 and included the hit “Is This Love” (#9 US). On the Billboard album chart, the album peaked at #49 but still managed to sell over 500,000 copies and reached certified gold status.
During pre-production of their seventh album, Too Hot to Sleep (1988), Ellis and Droubay were replaced by studio session vets Mickey Curry (drums) and Bill Syniar (bass). Produced BY Frank Fillipetti . Though the album presented a harder-rocking Survivor, similar to the sound in the band’s the early days, Too Hot to Sleep failed to make a dent on the charts (#187 US). There were, reportedly, a few live dates done by the band during this period that included Syniar on bass and Kyle Woodring on drums
1989-2000: Work on Greatest Hits Album
After the disappointing sales of Too Hot to Sleep, Jim Peterik, Frankie Sullivan decided to put the band on hiatus indefinitely. Jamison decided to continue touring and playing Survivor songs with local musicians. He subsequently recorded a solo album in 1991. Jamison continued to tour successfully in the US and overseas and in 1992, Sullivan contacted Jamison’s management and asked to be included on the tour; he performed on eight to ten dates before being replaced.
Soon after, in late 1992-early 1993, Survivor was tapped to do a new and more extensive hits package with two new songs. For a short time Peterik, Sullivan, and Jamison were reunited in the studio to record new material for the new package and forthcoming world tour.
In Spring 1993, Peterik and Sullivan re-teamed with original lead singer Dave Bickler, released a new ‘Greatest Hits’ album with two new songs (“Hungry Years” co-written by Bickler and “You Know Who You Are” originally sung by Jamison), and embarked on a world tour with Bill Syniar and Kyle Woodring returning on bass & drums. Klem Hayes took over on bass in 1994 after Syniar departed.
When the band tried to move in a blues direction, Peterik decided to leave the band, playing his last show with Survivor on July 3, 1996, at “The Eye in the Sky” fest in Lisle, Illinois. Survivor replaced Peterik with keyboardist Chri
s Grove. Peterik returned to recording and touring with the Ides of March and also formed the group Pride of Lions.In the fall of 1996, bassist Stephan Ellis and drummer Marc Droubay rejoined Survivor. But Ellis quit again by early 1999 and was replaced by Billy Ozzello.
In 1999, Jimi Jamison released his second solo album Empires.
2000-2006: Release of a new album
In early 2000, Bickler was fired, severing the then Sullivan/Bickler Survivor and resulting in Sullivan’s reestablishment of a partnership with Jamison. The band then began recording material for a new album. The Peterik/Sullivan-penned track “Velocitized” was set for inclusion on the Soundtrack to the Sylvester Stallone film Driven. However, it did not make the cut.
In 2000, the band threatened to sue CBS for using the name “Survivor” as the title of their hit reality show Survivor.
In 2003 Billy Ozzello was replaced on bass by Randy Riley.
In 2004, a Starbucks television commercial debuted for their Double Shot espresso beverage. It featured the band following a man named Glen, singing a modified version of “Eye of the Tiger” while he did his day-to-day tasks. This commercial has gained a number of fans and was nominated for an Emmy Award.
Survivor emerged into popular culture once again on the soundtrack album to the film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2005). Burgundy states that he believes Survivor is “the best that ever was” and that “everyone else is an imitator” including The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bach, and Beethoven. He then goes on to point out that Survivor won’t return his calls, which he understands because “They’re Survivor and I’m not.” He then introduces Who’s That Lady by The Isley Brothers with the line “It’s not Survivor, but it’ll have to do.”
Barry Dunaway took over bass chores for the band on the road in 2005. But by early 2006 Billy Ozzello was back
On April 21, 2006, Survivor released a new album called Reach. Consisting of mostly new songs, it also includes some re-recordings from the “Fire Makes Steel” sessions.
Two of the album’s songs, “Reach” and “Fire Makes Steel”, had been considered for inclusion in the 2006 Rocky sequel Rocky Balboa but were not included, nor did they appear on the 2006 album Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky.
On July 14, 2006, it was announced that Jimi Jamison and Barry Dunaway (Ingvie Malmsteen) were leaving and the band struggled to find a replacement finally settling on Robin McAuley.
2007-present: New vocalist
According to Sullivan, the band is said to be going back into the studio to record brand-new material for a new Survivor record (featuring McAuley on lead vocals) for a 2008 release, but still no record to date.
2008 Jamison released the highly acclaimed cd “Crossroads Moment” on Frontiers Records in Europe produced by Jim Peterik and Larry Milas
[2009] Jamison’s “Crossroads Moments” cd is released in the (US)
The current lineup is a mix of old and new members: newcomer Robin McAuley (vocals), original member/songwriter Frankie Sullivan (guitar/vocals), longtime member Marc Drowbay (drums), and veteran members Billy Ozzello (bass).
Grove, a classically trained pianist, who stayed with the group for more than ten years has recently left and is performing with Eddie Money. Randy Riley and Barry Dunaway both briefly filled in on bass after Ozzello’s departure. Dunaway departed shortly after recording Reach. Ozzello, who recorded an album with the band Blind for a Day in 1998, recently returned to the lineup.
The band continues to play regular concerts in North America, Europe, and Asia.
The band performed “Eye of the Tiger” on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars on April 3, 2007.
On December 16, 2007, Survivor performed for the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Christmas Party, at the Canyon Club in Agoura, CA.
Frankie Sullivan is now producing the second album of the critically acclaimed band Mecca led by Singer/Songwriter Joe Vana. Coincidentally, he replaces Jim Peterik who produced the first Mecca album. The album is due out the first part of 2008 on Frontiers Records Worldwide.
The Shins
Sade
Sade, named for the moniker of their lead singer, made their debut in December 1982 at Ronnie Scott’s Club in London, England, in support of Pride. Sade Adu is the daughter of a Nigerian father and an English mother. After her mother returned to England, Sade grew up on the North End of London. Developing a good singing voice in her teens, Sade worked part-time jobs in and outside of the music business. She listened to Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Billie Holliday. Sade studied fashion design at St. Martin’s School of Art in London while also doing some modeling on the side.
Puddle Of Mudd
Wes Scantlin was born in St. Joseph, Missouri. Raised in Kansas City, he attended Park Hill High School. After high school, he started the creation of Puddle of Mudd, now now famous for songs such as “
In California Scantlin met Doug Ardito, an intern at Interscope Records. When Scantlin found out about Ardito’s bass playing, they decided to work together. Still in pursuit of a guitarist, Fred Durst contacted a guitarist from his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, Paul Phillips. Phillips auditioned for the spot in Puddle of Mudd, and upon acceptance, left college to join the band full time. A drummer was also recruited from Jacksonville, however, via creative differences, left the band before it achieved any mainstream media attention.
The name of the band was inspired by the Missouri River flood, where the band in its early days performed and practiced. The large amount of pressure from the equipment left the floor a big “puddle of mud.”
Puddle of Mudd is signed to Fred Durst’s record label, Flawless Records.
In 2005 two members, Paul Phillips and Greg Upchurch, left the band. Greg currently drums for 3 Doors Down while Paul, now playing in Society Red, left citing creative and personal differences.
Their song “Control” was the official theme song of WWE’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event in November 2001, and their song “
Their second album, “Come Clean” spawned 4 hits in 2003 and has sold 5 million albums to date. Their follow up, “Life On Display” spawned 1 hit single and sold 600,000 albums. In 2007, the band released “Famous”, which takes a general rock as well as “nu-grunge” approach.
The band is currently working on a live album that is slated for release in 2008.
They have released their fourth album “Songs in the Key of Love and Hate”
Current members of the band include :
Wes Scantlin : Vocal, Rythmn.
Doug Ardito : Backing Vocals, Bass.
Paul Phillips: Lead Guitar
Ryan Yerdon: Drums
Phoenix
(1) A popular French alternative rock band
(2) A Romanian folk rock band
(3) A short-lived British hard rock band
(4) A UK-based filk band
(5) A goa project
(6) A rac band with members from France and Sweden.
(7) A hungarian rock band
(8) A hungarian rapper
(9) An Oklahoma City garage-soul band from the late 1960s/early 1970s
(10) A Japanese pop group from the 60s.
(11) A British rapper
Phoenix (1)
The French band comprises Thomas Mars (vocals), Deck D’Arcy (bass), Christian Mazzalai (guitar) and Laurent Brancowitz (guitar), who started playing music as kids in a suburb of Versailles during the same cultural period that produced late-’90s bands such as Air,Mellow and Daft Punk. The band’s lineup has no permanent drummer or keyboardist.
Phoenix formed in 1999 and started off as the backing band for a remix of Air’s “Kelly Watch the Stars” single. Soon after, Phoenix released their debut album United in 2000. The name “Phoenix” was officially chosen in 1996 when Laurent Brancowitz permanently joined Pheonix after his other band Darlin’ disbanded. The other two members of Darlin’ (Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) went on to form Daft Punk.
Phoenix are based in Paris, France and their music has been featured in such films as Shallow Hal and Lost In Translation. In 2006 the band themselves appeared Marie Antoinette, which like Lost In Translation, was directed by Sofia Coppola, Thomas Mars’ partner.
The band’s fourth album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” was released in 2009. It contains “
Phoenix (2)
A Romanian folk rock / rock band, who has experimented across the years with many musical genres, having a rich musical history that can easily be compared to that of the Beatles. Starting with the rock’n’roll of the Beat Generation, they continued enriching their sound with blues influences, jazz, psychedelic, krautrock, culminating with the orientation towards Romanian folk music, which they blended harmoniously with the sound that was popular in the ’70s
Full bio:
Phoenix is one of the most prominent Romanian Rock and Roll bands of the latest decades, and also the first one to take musical inspiration from ancient Romanian folk themes.
Formed in the 1960s, it began by doing covers of Beatles songs. However, they soon had to change their style since the Romanian communist regime disliked any form of western culture. The communist regime suggested that all rock oriented bands should look for inspiration within the Romanian culture. These restrictions made the band’s leader Nicolae Covaci search within the Romanian folklore, which gave them a unique sound.
The beginning
Phoenix was launched in the cosmopolitan city of TimiÅŸoara in 1962 by a pair of schoolboys: Nicu Covaci and Béla Kamocsa, under the name of SfinÅ£ii (The Saints). In their first years, together with Florin “Moni” Bordeianu (born 1948), they performed in school contests and at local clubs, covering Western music hits from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, etc., and they quickly became very popular amongst the youth. In 1965 the Communist authorities demanded that the band stop performing under the name The Saints, because of the religious innuendo that the name carried. Forced to comply, the band took the name Phoenix. Nicu Covaci also changed the composition of the band, around 1963, by adding Claudiu Rotaru, Ioan “Pilu” Åžtefanovici (born 1946) and Günther “Spitzly” Reininger (born 1950) to the lineup.
In 1965 they had their first big concert in Bucharest. Their performance brought a collaboration with Cornel Chiriac to record some of their songs. The first songs they recorded were “Åžtiu cÇŽ mÇŽ iubesti ÅŸi tu” (“I Know You Love Me Too”), “Dunăre, Dunăre” (“Danube, Danube”) and “Bun e vinul ghiurghiuliu” (“Good is the Red Wine”). The same year also marked the beginning of their collaboration with Victor Cârcu, who went on to write many of their most famous songs, such as “Vremuri” (“Old Times”), “Åži totuÅŸi ca voi sunt” (“And Yet I Am Like You”), “Nebunul cu ochii închiÅŸi” (“Crazy Man with closed eyes”), “Floarea stîncilor” (“Mountain Flower”) and “Canarul” (“Canary”).
In December 1967 Phoenix had their first major series of concerts in many western cities, capped off by two huge concerts in TimiÅŸoara. After winning a few prizes in national students’ contests, held at IaÅŸi the following year, in 1968 they recorded their first EP, Vremuri (Old Times), containing two original songs, Vremuri and Canarul (The Canary), and two covers (Lady Madonna - The Beatles and Friday on my Mind - Easybeats). A second EP would follow one year later, named Floarea stîncilor (The Flower of the Rocks), with all four songs being original compositions. Both albums sport a sound reminiscent of the beat style popular in that era.
They then started working on a rock theater play “Omul 36/80” (The Man 36/80) which won several prizes for originality.
In 1969 Ioan “Pilu” Åžtefanovici was replaced by Dorel “Baba” Vintilă Zaharia (born 1943). For the next year the band became more and more popular, frequently visiting Bucharest and being invited in talk shows about music.
In 1970, Moni Bordeianu emigrated to the US, and, for a brief period of time the band suspended its activity, also due to total censorship that followed a protesting speech held by Bordeianu in his last concert. 1970 meant the blues period of the band. The formula used was Nicu Covaci - guitar, Günther “Spitzly” Reininger - piano and voice, Zoltan Covacs - bass guitar and Liviu Butoi - oboe and flute. Phoenix was born again the next year, with Covaci, Josef Kappl, Mircea Baniciu, Costin Petrescu (replaced in 1974 by Ovidiu Lipan, nicknamed “Ţăndărică”) and Valeriu Sepi.
But the Communist officials were not very comfortable with the Western-style music that they were singing, and kept creating them problems. So Phoenix abandoned beat turned to Romanian folklore, pagan rituals, mystic animals and old traditions. In this same year, Phoenix started a collaboration with the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore and the Folklore section of TimiÅŸoara University on an ambitious project, a rock poem that combined traditional wooden instruments with modern sounds. During this project the band also started collaborating with Valeriu Sepi (born 1947), who eventually joined the band. The first outcome would be the 1972 LP Cei ce ne-au dat nume (Those Who Gave Us Our Names) - the first LP to be recorded in Romania by a Romanian band. Two years later, Mugur de fluier (Flute Bud) followed. Both albums underwent severe censorship.
In 1973 Phoenix represented Romania at the “Golden harp” festival in Bratislava (Slovakia) and then in the “Disc festival” in Sopot (Poland). Also, they wanted to record a new rock-opera, named “MeÅŸterul Manole”, but the communist officials censored it all, by “losing” the unique book with costume sketches and lyrics given to them for official approval. The result was only a EP with an extract from the opera, MeÅŸterul Manole, uvertură (MeÅŸterul Manole, uverture) and two older songs, Mamă, Mamă (Mother, Mother) and Te întreb pe tine, soare… (I’m asking you, sun…).
On Monday, 19 November 1973, Phoenix held a memorable concert in Bucharest, presenting their new hits “Andri Popa”, “Pavel Chinezu” and “Strunga”, which composed the new disc “Mugur de fluier”. The new songs were still influenced by folklore yet had a new style. This style was the result of the collaboration with new songwriters Andrei Ujică and Åžerban Foarţă. Based on those new songs Nicu Covaci created a new show “Introducere la un concert despre muzica veche la români” (“Introduction to a concert about old Romanian music”) in which he introduced violins, flutes, archaic percussion and other traditional instruments. The show was never finished due to a new collaboration with “Cenaclul Flacăra.” This period is considered the peak for Phoenix. Their sound was considered original and powerful and full stadiums were common for their concerts.
Every winter the members of the band wousurprisingly left the country again, this time with all the band members (except Baniciu) hidden inside their Marshall speakers - a huge undertaking, since in Communist Romania it was extremely difficult to obtain approval to travel abroad, and illegal border crossing was punished with imprisonment.
After arriving in Germany, Phoenix disbanded. Kappl and a few others (Erlend Krauser, Ovidiu Lipan) formed a new band, Madhouse and released a not very successful album named From The East. In 1981, Covaci co-opted Neumann and Lipan and English bassist Tom Buggie, who had an amazing technical playing ability, under the name Transsylvania Phoenix (since a band named Phoenix already existed) and released an LP named Transsylvania, containing two old Phoenix songs translated into English to target the Western audience and five new ones. Covaci together with Kappl also released two EPs and one maxi single as Transsylvania-Phoenix.
In 1990 Phoenix made a triumphant comeback to Romania, with a highly emotional concert in their hometown TimiÅŸoara, the city that sparked the popular revolt in December 1989 that eventually led to the downfall of the Communist regime. In the following years, Phoenix toured a lot and released a few compilations of their older recordings. Internal frictions, especially between Covaci and Baniciu, were making headlines in the media.
A new album appeared in 2000, the first original album after their 1990 comeback; with the exception of Covaci, the lineup comprised none of the members from the ’70s.
In 2002, the 40th Anniversary of the band brought together almost all former members in a supershow.
At the end of 2005 the band (in its classic gold lineup) released a new album, named Baba Novak.
As of 2008, the band still performs at live events.
Members:
Nicolae (Nicu) Covaci - Guitar, vocals, composer, founder and leader of the band. Member since 1962.
Bogdan Bradu - Vocals. Member since 2007.
Josef (Joschi) Kappl - Bass guitar, vocals, violin, flute, composer. Member since 1971, with short interruptions.
Ovidiu Lipan (Ţăndărică) - Drums. Member since 2001, previously between 1974 and 1978, 1980-1981, then between 1984 and 1998.
Manfred (Mani) Neumann - Violin, flute, vocals. Member since 1989, previously between 1978 and 1981. Active member of the “Farfarello” band (violin, flute).
Ionut ContraÅŸ - Backing vocals, percussion. Member since 1998 . Is official manager since 2004 and Executive Producer of “Baba Novak” album.
Cristi Gram - Electric guitar. Member since 2004.
Past members:
Mircea Baniciu - Vocals, guitar. 2001-2007, previously between 1971 and 1976, also sporadically during the 90’s.
Florin (Moni) Bordeianu (1962-1970, 1977-1978) - vocals
Kamocsa Béla (1962-1970) - drums, bass guitar
Günther Reininger (1966-1971, 1974-1976) - piano, keyboards, vocals
Costin Petrescu (1972-1975, 1990) - drums
Valeriu Sepi (1971-1974) - percussion
Erlend Krauser (1976-1978) - violin, guitar
Ulli Heidelberg (1978-1980) - violin, guitar, vocals
Christoph Bank (1978) - bass
Meinolf Bauschulte (1979-1980)- drums, vocals
Volker Vaessen (1992-1993, 1999-2000) - bass guitar
Tom Buggie (1980-1981) - bass guitar
Adi Pavlovici (1962-1963) - guitar, vocals
Liviu Butoi (1970-1972) - oboe, flute
Eugen Gondi (1975) - drums
Discography:
In Romania:
Vremuri (Old Times), 1968, EP
Floarea stîncilor (The Flower of the Rocks), 1969, EP
Cei ce ne-au dat nume (Those Who Gave Us Names), 1972, LP (re-edited on CD in 1999)
MeÅŸterul Manole, 1973, EP
Mugur de fluier (Flute Bud), 1974, LP (re-edited on CD in 1999)
Cantofabule (Cantafables), 1975, 2LP
In Germany (under the name Transsylvania Phoenix):
Transsylvania, 1981, LP
Ballade For You/The Lark, 1987, single
Tuareg/Mr. G’s Promises, 1988, single
Tuareg, 1988, maxi-single
In Romania (after 1989):
Ciocîrlia/Perestroika (The Lark/Perestroika), 1990, single
Remember Phoenix, 1991, LP
SymPhoenix/TimiÅŸoara, 1992, CD/MC/2LP
Evergreens, 1993, CD/MC
Cantafabule - Bestiar, 1996, CD
Aniversare 35 (35th Anniversary), 1997, CD/MC
Vremuri, anii ‘60… (Old Times, The 60s), 1998, CD/MC
Ora-Hora, 1999, Promo Maxi-CD
ÃŽn umbra marelui urs (In the Shadow of the Big Bear), 2000, CD/MC, re-edited in 2003 as ÃŽn umbra marelui URSS (In the Shadow of the Big USSR)
Baba Novak, 2005
Phoenix (3)
A short-lived British hard rock band that consisted of Jim Rodford, Robert Henrit, John Verity of Argent.
Phoenix (4)
A UK-based band who play SF/Fantasy inspired rock / filk - both originals and parodies of better known songs.
Phoenix (5)
Phoenix is also a Classic goa / psychedelic trance project with some tracks released in compilations of 90s.
Phoenix (6)
A project of friendship between members of Nibelungen from France and the vocalist of Viking from Sweden.
Released one album: A week in Valhalla (1997)
Appeared on v.a. cds: Give them a Future, Justice - A P.O.W. Support compilation and Soutien des Prisonniers.
Phoenix (8)
A seven-piece Oklahoma City garage-soul band that released one 45 in 1969 and received great regional success for a couple of years.
Allen Correll (Trumpet)
Larry Rogers (keyboards)
John Proctor (Drums)
Ron Jones (saxophone)
Roger Harrison (Bass)
Randy Stark (Vocals)
Pat Smiley (Guitar)
Hank Williams Jr.
Williams’ early career was guided, some say outright dominated, by his mother Audrey Williams, who many claim was the driving force that led his father to musical superstardom during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Audrey, in many ways, wished for young Hank to be nothing more than a “Hank Williams, Sr. impersonator”, sometimes going as far as to have clothes designed for him that were identical to his father’s stage clothes and vocal stylings very similar to those of his father.
Although Williams’ recordings earned him numerous country hits throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, he became disillusioned with his role as a ‘Hank Williams clone’ and severed ties with his mother in order to pursue his own musical direction and tastes. After recording the soundtrack to Your Cheatin’ Heart, a biography of his father, Williams, Jr. hit the charts with one of his own compositions, “Standing in the Shadows”. The song signalled a move to rock and roll and other influences as he stepped from the shadow of his father.
Also during this time, Williams had his first two No. 1 songs: “All For the Love of Sunshine” (1970, featured on the soundtrack to Kelly’s Heroes) and “Eleven Roses” (1972).
By the mid-1970s, Williams had finally found the musical direction that would, eventually, make him a superstar. Williams’ unique blend of traditional country with southern rock and blues earned him a devoted following, although some mainstream country radio stations wouldn’t touch his new songs in this blatantly untraditional sound.
While recording a series of hit songs, Williams began abusing drugs, including alcohol and eventually tried to commit suicide in 1974. Moving to Alabama, Williams began playing music with Southern rock musicians Toy Caldwell, Marshall Tucker Band and Charlie Daniels, and others.
His last major success was “There’s a Tear in My Beer”, a duet with his father created using electronic dubbing techniques. The song itself was written by his father, presumably, sometime between 1950 and 1953 and was recorded with Hank Williams playing just his guitar. The music video for the song combined existing television footage of Hank Williams performing and the dubbing techniques transferred the image of Hank Jr. onto the screen, so it appeared as if he were actually playing with his father. The video was an overwhelming success, both critically and commercially. It was named Video Of The Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country music. Hank Williams, Jr. would go on to win a Grammy award in 1990 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Despite his slumping album sales, Hank Williams Jr. continued to be a popular concert draw during the early 1990s and continued to record, with several of his recordings during this time still managing to achieve gold status, selling 500,000 copies.
He is probably best known today as the performer of the theme song for Monday Night Football, based on “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight”. The opening theme became a classic, as much a part of the show as the football itself. In 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994, Williams’ opening themes for Monday Night Football would earn him four Emmy awards.
Keane
Keane are known for using a piano as their lead instrument instead of guitars, significantly differentiating them from most rock bands. The inclusion of a distorted piano effect since 2006 and various synthesizers are now a common feature in their music that nowadays combines the pure piano rock sound used during their first album and the alternative rock sound which developed during 2005. Acoustic and power ballads are also a highlight in the group’s music and have evolved into many fan favourite songs such as “On a Day Like Today” and “We Might As Well Be Strangers”.
Keane’s first two studio albums, Hopes and Fears and Under The Iron Sea, achieved great success in the United Kingdom upon release and very high sales worldwide: their multi-award-winning debut was the best-selling British album of 2004 and their follow-up sold 222,297 copies during its first week on sale in June 2006.
Their third album, Perfect Symmetry was released on 13th October 2008. First single ‘Spiralling’ was available for free download, and half a million copies were downloaded worldwide. The album has clear 80s influences, and is compared in Q magazine to both David Bowie’s ‘Scary Monsters’ and The Dandy Warhols’ ‘Welcome To The Monkey House’. The band have cited Talking Heads as another key influence. This was their first album to include guitar, successfully breaking away from their original set-up.
The Silenced By The Night Songfacts reports that their fourth album, Strangeland will be released from 4 May 2012 through Island Records. First single ‘Silenced By The Night’ was originally only to be released as a commercial single in the United States, but was released worldwide apart from the United Kingdom on March 13, 2012. The single was finally dropped in Keane’s home country April 15, 2012.
2012/06/04
Stone Temple Pilots




Biography
The band’s five studio albums have sold over 17 million copies in the United States alone. The band has had fifteen top ten singles on the Billboard rock charts, including six number ones, and one number one album on the pop charts (1994’s Purple). In 1993, the band won a Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance” for their song “Plush”. Stone Temple Pilots were also ranked at number 40 on VH1’s The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2003, the band released the greatest hits compilation Thank You. Around this time, band members began going their separate ways. After the band’s break-up in 2003 , Weiland became the frontman of Velvet Revolver with former members of Guns N’ Roses. The DeLeo brothers formed the band Army Of Anyone with Richard Patrick of the band Filter. Kretz founded Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles.
The band reunited in 2008 after Weiland split from Velvet Revolver, kicking off the tour at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. The band released their self titled sixth album in 2010.
Album List:
1993: Core
1995: Purple
1997:Tiny Music… Song from the Vatican Gift Shop
1999: No. 4
2001: Shangri-la dee da
2003: Thank You (Best of Stone Temple Pilots)
2010: Stone Temple Pilots (Self-titled)
Stone Temple Pilots
The band’s five studio albums have sold over 17 million copies in the United States alone. The band has had fifteen top ten singles on the Billboard rock charts, including six number ones, and one number one album on the pop charts (1994’s Purple). In 1993, the band won a Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance” for their song “Plush”. Stone Temple Pilots were also ranked at number 40 on VH1’s The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2003, the band released the greatest hits compilation Thank You. Around this time, band members began going their separate ways. After the band’s break-up in 2003 , Weiland became the frontman of Velvet Revolver with former members of Guns N’ Roses. The DeLeo brothers formed the band Army Of Anyone with Richard Patrick of the band Filter. Kretz founded Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles.
The band reunited in 2008 after Weiland split from Velvet Revolver, kicking off the tour at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. The band released their self titled sixth album in 2010.
Album List:
1993: Core
1995: Purple
1997:Tiny Music… Song from the Vatican Gift Shop
1999: No. 4
2001: Shangri-la dee da
2003: Thank You (Best of Stone Temple Pilots)
2010: Stone Temple Pilots (Self-titled)
Stone Temple Pilots



Biography
The band’s five studio albums have sold over 17 million copies in the United States alone. The band has had fifteen top ten singles on the Billboard rock charts, including six number ones, and one number one album on the pop charts (1994’s Purple). In 1993, the band won a Grammy for “Best Hard Rock Performance” for their song “Plush”. Stone Temple Pilots were also ranked at number 40 on VH1’s The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2003, the band released the greatest hits compilation Thank You. Around this time, band members began going their separate ways. After the band’s break-up in 2003 , Weiland became the frontman of Velvet Revolver with former members of Guns N’ Roses. The DeLeo brothers formed the band Army Of Anyone with Richard Patrick of the band Filter. Kretz founded Bomb Shelter Studios in Los Angeles.
The band reunited in 2008 after Weiland split from Velvet Revolver, kicking off the tour at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. The band released their self titled sixth album in 2010.
Album List:
1993: Core
1995: Purple
1997:Tiny Music… Song from the Vatican Gift Shop
1999: No. 4
2001: Shangri-la dee da
2003: Thank You (Best of Stone Temple Pilots)
2010: Stone Temple Pilots (Self-titled)
Jimmy Eat World



Biography
The name Jimmy Eat World did not refer to lead singer Jim Adkins. Tom Linton’s younger siblings, Ed and Jimmy, fought constantly when they were younger. Jimmy, who was stronger and heavier, would usually win. On one instance, Ed, as revenge, drew a picture with crayons of Jimmy shoving the entire world into his gaping mouth with the caption, “Jimmy eat world.” The picture, and by extension the band name, may have been inspired by an episode of the cartoon show ‘Tiny Toon Adventures’, where the main characters put on a student film festival. Dizzy Devil’s film, “Dizzy Eat World”, was a 5 second piece drawn crudely in crayon where Dizzy’s gaping jaw engulfed the Earth.
In 1995 the band signed to Capitol Records. Around this time bass player Mitch parted ways with the band and was replaced by Linton’s friend Rick Burch. After a brief scouting for producers, the band joined up with Drive Like Jehu drummer Mark Trombino to record their debut album Static Prevails.
In 1998 the band entered the studio again to record their follow-up, Clarity. Clarity was released in 1999, the band released a video for Lucky Denver Mint, which also featured on the soundtrack for the film Never Been Kissed. The band was dropped by Capitol in 1999. They released Singles in 2000 and some splits. In 2001 working for a third time with Trombino, the band recorded the album Bleed American. After searching for a new label, they eventually signed with Dreamworks. The completed album was released in July 2001. The current issue of the CD originally known as Bleed American was re-released as Jimmy Eat World after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Four singles were released: Bleed American,
After lengthy touring in support of Bleed American the band regrouped to work on the follow-up in early 2004. Once again the band joined up with Trombino but the collaboration was short-lived. The band decided to part ways with Trombino, instead bringing in producer Gil Norton, well-known for his work with Pixies and Foo Fighters. Futures was released in October 2004 with lead single
In 2004, the song
The band later released an EP entitled Stay On My Side Tonight, released online on September 13, 2005, and on CD on October 4 of the same year. The EP featured songs recorded with producer Landon Stark as (unused) demos for the Futures album, as well as a cover of the Heatmiser song, Half Right and a remixed version of the song
After a lengthy tour with Green Day, a joint-headliner with Taking Back Sunday across the US and sold-out concerts in Europe, Australia and Japan, the band regrouped to begin writing the follow-up to Futures in February 2006. A video series entitled ‘A World of Adventure’ was made available through the band’s website during the tour, focusing mainly on guitarist Tom Linton.
Recording sessions for Jimmy Eat World’s album, Chase This Light began on August 7, 2006. After a lengthy writing and recording period the mixing for this album began in June 2007. The lead single,
The song
The band’s seventh and latest album, Invented, was released on 28th September 2010 with the second track, My Best Theory, being released as a digital download single on 10th August 2010. The reception was good and sold just under 40,000 units in the first week.
































