Music - Albums - Videos

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards.

Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup. Stewart, deemed unsuitable as a teen idol, was removed from the official lineup in 1963 but continued to work with the band as road manager and keyboardist until his death in 1985. Early in the band's history Jagger and Richards formed a songwriting partnership and gradually took over leadership of the band from the increasingly troubled and erratic Jones. At first the group recorded mainly covers of American blues and R&B songs, but since the 1966 album Aftermath, their releases have mainly featured Jagger/Richards songs. Mick Taylor replaced an incapacitated Jones shortly before Jones's death in 1969. Taylor quit in 1974, and was replaced in 1975 by Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood, who has remained with the band ever since. Wyman left the Rolling Stones in 1992; bassist Darryl Jones, who is not an official band member, has worked with the group since 1994. First popular in the UK and Europe, The Rolling Stones came to the US during the early 1960s "British Invasion". The Rolling Stones have released 22 studio albums in the UK (24 in the US), eight concert albums (nine in the US) and numerous compilations; and have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. Sticky Fingers (1971) began a string of eight consecutive studio albums that charted at number one in the United States. Their latest album, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005. In 1989 The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 they were ranked number 4 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Their image of unkempt and surly youth is one that many musicians still emulate.
Band members
Line-ups 1962
* Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonica, percussion
* Brian Jones - guitars, backing vocals, harmonica, percussion
* Keith Richards - guitars, backing vocals
* Ian Stewart - piano, percussion
* Dick Taylor - bass
* Ricky Fenson - bass
* Bill Wyman - bass
* Tony Chapman - drums
* Carlo Little - drums
* Mick Avory – drums
1993 - present
* Mick Jagger - lead vocals, harmonica, percussion, guitar, bass, keyboards
* Keith Richards - guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards
* Charlie Watts - drums, percussion
* Ronnie Wood - guitars, backing vocals, bass
* Darryl Jones - bass
Discography
Albums
* 1964 - The Rolling Stones
* 1965 - The Rolling Stones No. 2
* 1966 - Aftermath
* 1967 - Between the Buttons
* 1968 - Beggars Banquet
* 1969 - Let It Bleed
* 1971 - Sticky Fingers
* 1972 - Exile on Main St.
* 1973 - Goats Head Soup
* 1974 - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
* 1976 - Black and Blue
* 1978 - Some Girls
* 1980 - Emotional Rescue
* 1981 - Tattoo You
* 1983 - Undercover
* 1986 - Dirty Work
* 1989 - Steel Wheels
* 1994 - Voodoo Lounge
* 1997 - Bridges to Babylon
* 2005 - A Bigger Bang

Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski on January 10, 1953) is a four-time Grammy Award-winning American singer best known for hit songs "Love Is a Battlefield" and the iconic 80's hits "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" and "Heartbreaker".

Benatar is a top-selling artist, and one of the 1980s Top Platinum Album Recipients, according to the Recording Industry Association of America with 12.5 million certified units, including two RIAA-certified Multi-Platinum albums, five RIAA-certified Platinum albums, three RIAA-certified Gold albums, plus 19 Top 40 singles to her credit. Recognized for her thrilling mezzo-soprano vocal range, Billboard Magazine ranked Benatar as the most successful female rock vocalist of all-time. Benatar became eligible for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Born Patricia (Patti) Mae on January 10, 1953 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, to Andrew and Mildred Andrzejewski, the family moved from Brooklyn to N Hamilton Ave, Lindenhurst, Long Island when she was 3 years old. "I have wonderful childhood memories of picking berries in the "woods" by our house, driving to the "docks" on the South Bay to get freshly harvested clams," she said. The daughter of a sheet-metal worker and a beautician who once sang with the New York City Opera, Andrzejewski became interested in theater and began voice lessons, singing at Daniel Street Elementary School her first solo, a song called “It Must Be Spring,” at age eight. She said, "As a kid, I sang at any choir, any denomination, anywhere I could." At Lindenhurst Senior High School (1967 - 1971), Andrzejewski participated in musical theater, playing Queen Guinevere in the school production of Camelot, marching in the homecoming parade, singing at the annual Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, and performing a solo of "The Christmas Song" on a holiday recording of the Lindenhurst High School Choir her senior year. Andrzejewski was cut off from the rock scene in nearby Manhattan though because her parents were "ridiculously strict I was allowed to go to symphonies, opera and theater but I couldn't go to clubs," and her musical training was strictly classical and theatrical. She said, "I was singing Puccini and "West Side Story" but I spent every afternoon after school with my little transistor radio listening to the Rolling Stones..."
Band
Although billed as a solo artist, Benatar recorded and toured with a consistent set of band members over most of her career, who contributed greatly to the writing and producing of songs and are recognizable characters on album photos and in many of her music videos.
* Neil "Spyder" Giraldo (incorrectly spelled as "Geraldo" in early liner notes/credits) is the distinctive lead guitarist of the band and has performed on all of Benatar's albums. (He is also Pat's second husband.) He was born on December 29, 1955. Neil also sings, plays keyboards and harmonica, and has many writing and producing credits on the Benatar albums. Neil performed with Myron Grombacher in Rick Derringer's touring band, appearing in a possible bootleg entitled Derringer Live At The Paradise Theater Boston, Massachusetts, July 7, 1978.
* Myron Grombacher is billed as drummer on nine of Benatar's albums and has numerous writing credits. Myron is easily recognizable in the music videos, particularly as the mad dentist in Get Nervous.
* Charlie Giordano performed keyboard duties on five albums, and is identifiable by his glasses and distinctive array of berets, blazers and 80s-style ties. In 2007, he replaced the late Danny Federici in the E Street Band.
* The original bass guitarist was Roger Capps, replaced on Tropico by Donnie Nossov, and then later by Frank Linx.
* Scott Sheets is credited on rhythm guitar on the first few albums.

By 1983, Benatar had established a reputation for singing about "tough" subject matters, with a significant amount of songs featuring a "battle" metaphor. This was best exemplified by one of the biggest hits of her career, "Love Is a Battlefield" (penned by noted hit songwriter Holly Knight with Mike Chapman), released in December 1983. By then her sound had mellowed from hard rock to more atmospheric pop and the story-based video clip for "Love Is a Battlefield" was aimed squarely at MTV, even featuring Benatar in a Michael Jackson-inspired group dance number. This new pop direction was a huge commercial success, with the single peaking at #5 in the United States, her first hit single in the UK at #49, and #1 in Australia for seven weeks. The song would also net Benatar her fourth consecutive Grammy Award for "Best Female Rock Vocal Performance" of 1983. A live album, Live from Earth, from which "Love Is a Battlefield" was one of two studio-recorded tracks hit U.S. #13 and her fifth consecutive RIAA platinum winner.

Otis Ray Redding, Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American soul singer. He is renowned for an ability to convey strong emotion through his voice.

According to the website of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (where he was inducted in 1989), Redding's name is "synonymous with the term soul, music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm and blues into a form of funky, secular testifying." Redding was born in the small town of Dawson, Georgia. When he was 5, his family moved to Macon, Georgia. Redding sang in the choir at church, and as a teenager won the talent show at the Douglass Theatre for 15 weeks in a row. His early influences were Little Richard and Sam Cooke. Richard Pennyman (Little Richard) was also a Macon resident. Redding said, "If it hadn't been for Little Richard, I would not be here. I entered the music business because of Richard he is my inspiration. I used to sing like Little Richard, his Rock 'n' Roll stuff, you know. Richard has soul, too. My present music has a lot of him in it."
Death
On December 9, 1967, Redding and his backup band, The Bar-Kays, made an appearance in Cleveland, Ohio on the local "Upbeat" television show. The next afternoon, Redding, his manager, the pilot, and four members of The Bar-Kays were killed when his Beechcraft 18 airplane crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 10, 1967. The two remaining Bar-Kays were Ben Cauley and James Alexander. Cauley was the only person aboard Redding's plane to survive the crash. Alexander was on another plane, since there were eight members in Redding's party and the plane could only hold seven, and it was Alexander's turn in the rotation to take a commercial flight. Cauley reported that he had been asleep until just seconds before impact, and recalled that upon waking he saw bandmate Phalon Jones look out a window and say, "Oh, no!" Cauley said the last thing he remembered before the crash was unbuckling his seatbelt. He then found himself in the frigid waters of the lake, grasping a seat cushion to keep afloat. Redding's body was recovered the next day when the lake bed was searched. He was entombed on his private ranch in Round Oak, Georgia, 23 miles (37 km) north of Macon. The cause of the crash was never precisely determined although it most likely that he drowned.
Discography
Albums
* 1964 - Pain in My Heart (Atco)
* 1965 - The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (Volt)
* 1965 - Otis Blue (Volt)
* 1966 - The Soul Album (Volt)
* 1966 - Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (Volt)
* 1967 - King & Queen with Carla Thomas (Stax)
* 1967 - Live in Europe (Volt)
* 1967 - The History of Otis Redding (greatest hits album) (Volt)
Other albums
* 1968 - Soul As Sung by Otis Redding and Little Joe (Alshire Presents)
* 1970 - Monterey International Pop Festival - Otis Redding/The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Reprise) US: #16
* 1972 - The Best of Otis Redding (Atco) US: #76
* 1982 - Recorded Live: Previously Unreleased Performances (Atlantic)
* 1986 - The Ultimate Otis Redding (Warner Bros.)
* 1987 - The Otis Redding Story (Atlantic)
* 1992 - Remember Me (Stax)
* 1992 - The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1 (Rhino)
* 1993 - Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding (Rhino 4D Boxed Set)
* 1995 - The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 2 (Rhino)
* 1998 - Dreams To Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology (Rhino 2D)
* 1998 - Love Songs (Rhino)
* 1999 - In Concert (Stax)
* 2002 - Very Best of Otis Redding (Atco) UK: #26
* 2006 - Stax Profiles (Stax)
* 2006 - The Definitive Soul Collection (Rhino 2D)
* 2008 - Live in London and Paris (Stax)

Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her stage name Nina Simone (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), was a Grammy Award-nominated American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist.

Although she disliked being categorized, Simone is generally classified as a jazz musician. Simone originally aspired to become a classical pianist, but her work covers an eclectic variety of musical styles besides her classical basis, such as jazz, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop music. Her vocal style is characterized by intense passion, a loose vibrato, and a slightly androgynous timbre, in part due to her unusually low vocal range which veered between the alto and tenor ranges (occasionally even reaching baritone lows). Also known as The High Priestess of Soul, she paid great attention to the musical expression of emotions. Within one album or concert she could fluctuate between exuberant happiness or tragic melancholy. These fluctuations also characterized her own personality and personal life, worsened by bipolar disorder with which she was diagnosed in the mid-1960s, but was kept secret until 2004 after her death. Simone recorded over 40 live and studio albums, the biggest body of her work being released between 1958 (when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue) and 1974. Songs she is best known for include "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I Put a Spell on You", "I Loves You Porgy", "Feeling Good", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Sinnerman", "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", "Ain't Got No/I Got Life" and "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl".
Her music & message made a strong and lasting impact on culture, illustrated by the numerous contemporary artists who cite her as an important influence (among them Mary J. Blige, Elkie Brooks, Alicia Keys, Jeff Buckley, John Legend, Lauryn Hill and Peter Gabriel). Many hip hop and other modern artists sample and remix Simone's rhythms and beats on their tracks. In particular, Talib Kweli and Mos Def routinely pay tribute to her outstanding and soulful musical style. Many of her songs are featured motion picture soundtracks as well, including but not limited to, the The Big Lebowski (1998), Point of No Return (1993) Notting Hill (1999), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Before Sunset (2004), Inland Empire (2006), Sex and the City (2008), Revolutionary Road (2008), and Watchmen (2009).
Musical style
Simone standards
Throughout her career, Simone gathered a collection of songs that would become standards in her repertoire (apart from the civil rights songs) and for which she is still remembered, even though most of these songs didn't do well on the charts at the time. These songs were self-written tunes, cover versions (usually with a new arrangement by Simone), or songs written especially for Simone. Her first hit song in America was a cover of George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" (1958). It peaked at number 18 in the pop singles chart and number 2 on the black singles chart. In that same period Simone recorded "My Baby Just Cares for Me", which would become her biggest hit years later in 1987, when it was featured in a Chanel no. 5 perfume commercial. A music video was then created by Aardman Studios. Well known songs from her Philips albums include "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), "I Put a Spell on You", "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (a Jacques Brel cover) and "Feeling Good" on I Put A Spell On You (1965), "Lilac Wine" and "Wild Is the Wind" on Wild is the Wind (1966). Especially the songs "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Feeling Good" and "Sinnerman" (Pastel Blues, 1965) have great popularity today in terms of cover versions (most notably The Animals's version of the former song), sample usage and its use on various movie, TV-series and videogame soundtracks. "Sinnerman" in particular has been featured on movies like The Thomas Crown Affair and Inland Empire, and sampled by artists like Talib Kweli and Timbaland. The song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was sampled by Devo Springsteen on "Misunderstood" from Common's 2007 album "Finding Forever, and by little-known producers Rodnae and Mousa for the song "Don'tGetIt" on Lil Wayne's 2008 album "The Carter III". Simone's years at RCA-Victor spawned a number of singles and album songs that were popular, particularly in Europe. In 1968 it was "Ain't Got No, I Got Life", a medley from the musical Hair from the album Nuff Said (1968) that became a surprise hit for Simone, reaching number 2 on the UK pop charts and introducing her to a younger audience. In 2006, it returned to the UK Top 30 in a remixed version by Groovefinder. The following single, the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" also reached the UK top 10 in 1969. "House of the Rising Sun" featured on Nina Simone Sings The Blues in 1967, but Simone had recorded the song earlier in 1961 (featuring on Nina At The Village Gate, 1962), predating versions by Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan. It was later picked up by The Animals and became their signature hit.
Film
The documentary Nina Simone: La Legende (The Legend) was made in the '90s by French filmmakers. It was based on her autobiography I Put A Spell On You and features live footage from different periods of her career, interviews with friends and family, various interviews with Simone herself while she was living in the Netherlands, and on a trip to her birthplace. A significant amount of footage from The Legend was taken from an earlier 26-minute biographical documentary by Peter Rodis, released in 1969 and titled simply Nina. Plans for a Nina Simone biographical film were released at the end of 2005. The movie will be based on Simone's autobiography I Put A Spell On You (1992) and will also focus on her relationship in later life with her assistant, Clifton Henderson, who died in 2006. TV writer Cynthia Mort (Will & Grace, Roseanne) is working on the script, and singer Mary J. Blige will play the lead role. The movie is scheduled for 2009.

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is a Golden Globe- and Grammy Award- winning English singer-songwriter, rock musician, and occasional actor, best known for his work as lead vocalist of The Rolling Stones.

According to britishhitsongwriters.com he is the nineteenth most successful songwriter in U.K. singles chart history based on weeks that his compositions have spent on the chart. Jagger was born into a middle class family at the Livingstone Hospital, Dartford, Kent, England. His father, Basil Fanshawe ("Joe") Jagger, and his paternal grandfather, David Ernest Jagger, were both teachers. His mother, Eva Ensley Mary Scutts (13 April 1913 - 18 May 2000), an Australian immigrant to England, was a hairdresser & an active member of the Conservative Party. Jagger was the elder of two sons and was raised to follow in his father's career path. Jagger has seven children by four women:
* By Marsha Hunt, he has daughter Karis Hunt Jagger (born 4 November 1970).
* By Bianca Jagger, he has daughter Jade Sheena Jezebel Jagger (born 21 October 1971).
* By Jerry Hall he has daughter Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger (born 2 March 1984), son James Leroy Augustin Jagger (born 28 August 1985), daughter Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger (born 12 January 1992) and son Gabriel Luke Beauregard Jagger (born 13 December 1997)
* By Luciana Gimenez, he has son Lucas Maurice Morad Jagger (born 18 May 1999).
He also has four grandchildren. His father died on 11 November 2006 at the age of 93.
Albums
* 1985 - She's The Boss
* 1987 - Primitive Cool
* 1993 - Wandering Spirit
* 2001 - Goddess in the Doorway
* 2007 - The Very Best Of Mick Jagger
Filmography
Jagger has appeared in the following movies
* Sympathy for the Devil (1968)
* Performance (1968)
* Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969)
* Gimme Shelter (1970)
* Ned Kelly (1970)
* Umano non umano (1972)
* Wings of Ash (1978) – pilot for a dramatisation of the life of Antonin Artaud
* Fitzcarraldo (1981)
* Running Out of Luck (1987)
* Freejack (1992)
* Bent (1997)
* Mein liebster Feind (aka My Best Fiend) (1999)
* Enigma (2001) – cameo only, plus co-producer
* The Man From Elysian Fields (2001)
* Being Mick (2001)
* Mayor of the Sunset Strip (2003)
* Shine a Light (2008)

Mark Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter and film score composer. Knopfler is best-known as the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits,

Which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler has continued to record and produce albums as a solo artist, under his own name. Occasionally, Knopfler has played in other groups, such as the The Notting Hillbillies; as well, he has guested on works by other artists, including The Dandy Warhols, Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, Jeff Healey, John Fogerty, Jools Holland, Steely Dan, Emmylou Harris, Sonny Landreth, Phil Lynott and Chet Atkins. He has produced albums for artists such as Tina Turner, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan. In addition, he has scored the music to several films, including Metroland, Local Hero, Cal, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Wag the Dog, and Rob Reiner's classic, The Princess Bride. He is one of the most respected fingerstyle guitarists of the modern rock era. Knopfler was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date.
Mark Knopfler was born to an English mother and a Hungarian Jewish father, an architect whose communist sympathies forced him to flee the fascist regime of his native Hungary. The family first moved to Scotland, but then settled in Knopfler's mother's home town of Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England when he was around 7 years old. There, he and his younger brother David (also a musician) attended Gosforth Grammar School, where he was inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica and boogie-woogie piano playing. Later, in his teens, he wanted to buy an expensive flamingo-pink Fender Stratocaster just like Hank Marvin's, but had to settle for a £50 twin pickup Höfner Super Solid. Like many other schoolboys of the 1960s, he served an early apprenticeship by forming and joining anonymous schoolboy bands and listening to singers like Elvis Presley and guitarists Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt and James Burton. At age 16, he made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo along with a friend from school named Sue Hercombe.
The Dire Straits years (1977-1995)
Dire Straits' first demos were done in three sessions during 1977, with Pick Withers as drummer and John Illsley on bass guitar. On the 27 July, 1977 they recorded the now famous demo tapes of five songs - "Wild West End", "Sultans of Swing", "Down To The Waterline", "Sacred Loving" (a David Knopfler song) and "Water of Love". In what was probably October they recorded "Southbound Again", "In The Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London and, finally, on the 9th of November demo tapes were made of "Setting Me Up", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". Many of these songs reflected Mark's experiences in Newcastle, Leeds and London, and were to be featured on their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits which was released in the following year: "Down To The Waterline" recalled images of life in Newcastle; "In The Gallery" is a tribute to a Leeds sculptor/artist named Harry Phillips, (father of Steve Phillips); and "Lions", "Wild West End" and "Eastbound Train" were all drawn from Mark's early days in the capital.
Solo career (1996-present)
Mark Knopfler's first solo album, Golden Heart, featuring the UK single "Darling Pretty", was released in March 1996. During the recording sessions for the album the main line-up of Knopfler's backing band, also known as "The 96'ers," was formed, featuring Knopfler's old bandmate Guy Fletcher on keyboards, and has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up.
In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. During that same year Rolling Stone magazine listed "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing", Dire Straits' first hit. 2000 saw the release of Knopfler's next solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia.
Live performance
* Knopfler's audience has grown to reach six continents. He is known to his audiences for his affable manner, humorous banter and amiable audience interaction during performances.
* Knopfler has been known to sip tea on stage during live performances. His guitarist Richard Bennett has also joined in drinking tea with him on stage. photo. On 31 July 2005 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the tea was replaced by whiskey in respect of ritual "last show of tour" sort of joke.
Awards and acclaim
* The Edison Award was awarded to Mark Knopfler for Outstanding Achievements in the Music Industry, the highest award for musicians in the Netherlands.
* Grammy Awards 1986 - Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for Cosmic Square Dance)
* Grammy Awards 1991 - Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Chet Atkins (for Poor Boy Blues')
* Grammy Awards 1991 - Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for So Soft, Your Goodbye)
* In 1993, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Newcastle University.
* In 1999, Knopfler was awarded the OBE.
* In Summer 1995, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Leeds.
* In 2001 The Masiakasaurus knopfleri (a species of dinosaur) was named after him.
* On 11 July 2007, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Sunderland University.
* Knopfler along with his band Dire Straits won the 1986 Grammy award for "Best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal" for their song "Money for Nothing."
* In February 2009, Knopfler's British Grove Studios was the winner of the Music Producers Guild Award for 'Best Studio'.
Nominations
* Grammy Awards 1986 - Song of the Year (songwriter) (for 'Money for Nothing')
* Grammy Awards 1992 - Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for 'Neck and Neck')
* Grammy Awards 2007 - Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album with Emmylou Harris (for 'All the Roadrunning')

Marianne Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an award-winning English singer, songwriter, actress and diarist whose career spans over four decades. Her early work in pop and rock music in the 1960s was overshadowed by her struggle with drug abuse in the 1970s.

After a long commercial absence, she returned late in 1979 with the landmark album, Broken English. Faithfull's subsequent work, very frequently the subject of great critical acclaim, has at times been overshadowed by her personal history.
Over the course of her long recording career, Faithfull has continually reinvented her musical persona, experimenting in different musical genres and collaborating with such varied artists as Angelo Badalamenti, Beck, David Bowie, Nick Cave, The Chieftains, Jarvis Cocker, Billy Corgan, Marcella Detroit, Emmylou Harris, PJ Harvey, Antony Hegarty, Rupert Hine, Joe Jackson, Alex James, Lenny Kaye, Daniel Lanois, Sean Lennon, Metallica, John Prine, Barry Reynolds, Keith Richards, Sly and Robbie, Teddy Thompson, Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright, Roger Waters, Steve Winwood and Patrick Wolf.
Nominations and awards
On 4 November 2007, the European Film Academy announced that Faithfull had received a nomination for Best Actress, for her role as Maggie in Irina Palm. At the 20th annual European Film Awards ceremony held in Berlin, on 1 December 2007, Faithfull lost to Helen Mirren. On March 5, 2009, Faithfull received the World Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 Woman's World Awards. "Marianne’s contribution to the arts over a 45 year career including 23 albums as a singer, songwriter and interpreter, and numerous appearances on stage and screen is now being acknowledged with this special award." The award was presented in Vienna, with ceremonies televised in over 40 countries on March 8, 2009 as part of International Women's Day.
Filmography
* Made in U.S.A. (1966)
* Anna (1967)
* I'll Never Forget What's 'is Name (1967)
* Three Sisters (1967)
* La Motocyclette / The Girl on a Motorcycle (a.k.a. Naked Under Leather) (1968)
* Rock and Roll Circus (1968/Released 1996)
* Hamlet (1969)
* Lucifer Rising (1972)
* Madhouse Mansion (1974)
* Assault on Agathon (1975)
* The Turn of the Screw (1992) (narration)
* When Pigs Fly (1993)
* Shopping (1994)
* Moondance (1995)
* Crimetime (1996)
* Intimacy (2001)
* Far From China (2001)
* Nord-Plage (2004)
* A Letter to True (2004)
* Paris, je t'aime (2006)
* Marie Antoinette (2006)
* Irina Palm (2007)
* Evil Calls: The Raven aka Alone in the Dark (2008)

Jolie Holland (born May 17, 1976 at Houston, Texas) is an American singer & performer who combines elements of folk, traditional country, jazz, & blues. She is one of the founding members of The Be Good Tanyas. Labelmates Tom Waits & Sage Francis are both outspoken fans of Holland's. Tom Waits nominated her for the Shortlist music prize. Sage Francis has said that Holland's album Escondida was his most listened to album of 2005. Holland also collaborated with him on two tracks on his album Human the Death Dance.

Contributions
* The Grey Funnel Line on Hal Willner's Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys (2006, ANTI-)
* Providing background vocals for Bad Religion frontman Greg Graffin's studio solo album Cold as the Clay.
* Providing violin for The Speakers' album, Yeats Is Greats
* Backing vocals on Chuck Ragan's album "Feast or Famine"
* Wrote words and performed Flood of Dreams in film King of California
* Providing background vocals for Steve Abel and the Chrysalids' album Flax Happyon. The tracks for which Holland provided background vocals are "Cinders of the Sun" and "Heart of Misery"
Studio albums
* The Living and The Dead 2008
* Springtime Can Kill You 2006
* Escondida 2004
* Catalpa 2003

Johnny Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003) was a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter & one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs & sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly & rock and roll (especially early in his career), as well as blues, folk & gospel.

Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice, the "freight train" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band, his demeanor, & his dark clothing, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black". He traditionally started his concerts with the introduction "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash". Much of Cash's music, especially that of his later career, echoed themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, & redemption. His signature songs include "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Ring of Fire", "Get Rhythm", "Hurt" & "Man in Black". He also recorded humorous songs, such as "One Piece at a Time" and "A Boy Named Sue", a duet with June Carter called "Jackson", as well as railroad songs such as "Hey Porter" and "Rock Island Line." He sold over 90 million albums in his nearly fifty-year career and came to occupy a "commanding position in music history".
Awards and honors
Cash received multiple Country Music Awards, Grammys, and other awards, in categories ranging from vocal and spoken performances to album notes and videos. In a career that spanned almost five decades, Cash was the personification of country music to many people around the world. Cash was a musician who was not tied to a single genre. He recorded songs that could be considered rock and roll, blues, rockabilly, folk, & gospel, & exerted an influence on each of those genres. Moreover, he had the unique distinction among country artists of having "crossed over" late in his career to become popular with an unexpected audience, young indie and alternative rock fans. His diversity was evidenced by his presence in three major music halls of fame: the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977), the Country Music Hall of Fame (1980), and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1992). Only thirteen performers are in both of the last two, and only Hank Williams Sr., Jimmie Rodgers, and Bill Monroe share the honor with Cash of being in all three. However, only Cash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the regular manner, unlike the other country members, who were inducted as "early influences." His pioneering contribution to the genre has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1996. Cash stated that his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 1980, was his greatest professional achievement. In 2007, Johnny Cash was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Garland Jeffreys (born 1943/44 in Brooklyn, New York) is an African-American and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter. His music is a unique blend of rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul.
Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Jeffreys majored in arts at Syracuse University where he met Lou Reed before The Velvet Underground became active. In 1966, Jeffreys played in Manhattan nightclubs. Grinder's Switch, a group founded by him in 1969, released one album before breaking up in 1970. In 1973, he released his first solo album, Garland Jeffreys, on Atlantic Records.

Around the same time Atlantic also released a 45 RPM single of a song called "Wild in the Streets" that was not included on the LP. The track received airplay on progressive FM album-oriented rock stations and has become one of his best-known songs. Later, in 1977 when Garland recorded his Ghost Writer album for A&M Records, the Atlantic version of "Wild In The Streets" was included on side 2.
"Wild In The Streets" has been covered by several artists, including:
* The Circle Jerks, from the album Wild In The Streets
* Chris Spedding, from the album Hurt
* British Lions, from the album British Lions
* Hot Water Music, from the album Til the Wheels Fall Off
Jeffreys is featured in the 2003 documentary Soul of a Man, directed by Wim Wenders as the fourth installment of the documentary film series "The Blues" produced by Martin Scorsese. The film explores the musical careers of blues musicians Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson and J. B. Lenoir.
He was featured on the cover of Beyond Race magazine in February 2007.
Jeffreys is currently touring again and has been very active on MySpace, communicating personally with his extensive fanbase.

The Fun Lovin' Criminals (often referred to by their initials, FLC) are an American alternative rap / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is eclectic, covering such styles as hip hop, rock, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in a city, often explicitly New York City, but just as often urban life in general.

They cover such issues as organized crime, drugs, violence, poverty and politics. Their songs are often gritty or existentialist in nature but are just as often humorous or satirical. They are probably best known for their hit Scooby Snacks which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino. In their native US they have something of a cult following. However the band gained a large following internationally, notably in northwest Europe, especially around the release of their first two albums in the late nineties. Their success has waned in recent years, their last album only reaching #57 in the UK charts, but they are still active and a new album is due out later this year. The band was formed in 1993 by Hugh Morgan, Brian Leiser and Steve Borgovini after Leiser, who was already friends with Borgovini, met Morgan at the club where they both worked. They started playing together and would provide the entertainment for the club when a booked act failed to show up. It was during one of these stand-in gigs that they came to the attention of EMI and they were offered a record deal. Their debut album, Come Find Yourself, was released in 1995 and while it was a commercial flop in the US it sold very well internationally, reaching #7 in the UK album charts. It was thanks to their success in the UK that they weren't dropped from their record label and instead, while still touring extensively, recorded their second album, 100% Colombian. However this also performed poorly in the US and they were subsequently dropped from their domestic contract but retained internationally.

Erik Schrody (born August 18, 1969, in Valley Stream, New York), better known by his stage name Everlast, is an Irish-American rapper and singer-songwriter, best known for his hit "What It's Like", and for his genre-crossing mix of hip-hop and acoustic-based rock music.

He was the frontman for rap group House of Pain until 1996. In 2000, he won a Grammy for best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with latin rock musician Carlos Santana for "Put Your Lights On."
Emerging as a member of the Rhyme Syndicate, Everlast's first solo album Forever Everlasting (1990) which was largely made possible by emcee Ice T failed both critically and commercially. Following the album's flop, Everlast formed House of Pain with friends DJ Lethal and Danny Boy. Signed to Tommy Boy Records, the group's 1992 eponymous debut album went multi-platinum with the hit single "Jump Around." The group eventually disbanded in 1996, and Everlast once again pursued a solo career. Everlast's second solo album Whitey Ford Sings the Blues (1998) which was released a full eight years after his solo debut and after he had a major heart attack was both a commercial and critical success (selling more than 3 million copies). Whitey Ford Sings the Blues was hailed for its blend of rap with acoustic and electric guitars, developed by Everlast together with producers Dante Ross and John Gamble (aka SD50). The album's lead single "What It's Like" proved to be his most popular and successful song, although the follow up single, "Ends", also reached the rock top 10.

Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. He is "probably most famous for his mastery of the Stratocaster guitar." Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person to be inducted three times. Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Although Clapton has varied his musical style throughout his career, it has always remained grounded in the blues. Yet, in spite of this focus, he is credited as an innovator in a wide variety of genres. These include blues-rock (with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and the Yardbirds) and psychedelic rock (with Cream). Additionally, Clapton's chart success was not limited to the blues, with chart-toppers in Delta Blues (Me and Mr. Johnson), pop ("Change the World") and reggae (Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"). One of his most successful recordings was the hit love song "Layla," which he played with the band Derek and the Dominos.

Cold War Kids are an American indie rock band from Fullerton, California. Band members are Nathan Willett (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Jonnie Russell (guitar, vocals, percussion), Matt Maust (bass guitar), and Matt Aveiro (drums).

The band started in 2004 in historic downtown Fullerton in guitarist/vocalist Jonnie Russell's apartment above the restaurant Mulberry St. Ristorante (their first EP title). The band relocated to Los Angeles and began recording their first demos, and after signing to Monarchy Music, the band released their debut EP Mulberry Street in the spring of 2005. The band toured extensively in 2005-2006, which ultimately created internet buzz amongst the blogging community. While touring, the band released two more EPs, With Our Wallets Full and Up in Rags in 2006. In the summer of 2006, Cold War Kids signed to Downtown Records (home to Gnarls Barkley, Art Brut) and released their debut LP Robbers & Cowards that fall.
In 2007, they contributed to OKX, a tribute to the 10-year-old Radiohead album OK Computer, recording their version of the track "Electioneering." Willett identified Radiohead and the album as a strong influence, saying, "It's the only album that I feel compelled to say way too grandiose things about, that rock journalists have already said plenty: Like that OK Computer is the single most important album to be released during my youth and that it was a rite of passage. But that really is the truth and I have never had an emotional connection with an album quite like I have with this one." He also explained why the band chose to cover "Electioneering" from the album: "I'm not saying 'Electioneering' is the best song on the album, but (still, a big claim!) it's certainly the most badass. It's lyrically everything we want to do bursts of concrete imagery."

Christopher Anton Rea (born 4 March 1951) is a singer-songwriter from Middlesbrough, England, instantly recognisable for his distinctive, raspy voice. Rea has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

Rea had not played the local music scene around Middlesbrough much, and had no real history of playing with any local bands. However, under the guidance of local club owner, and promoter John B. McCoy he managed to gain a record deal with Magnet Records. Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? was Rea's debut album, released in 1978 (see 1978 in music). The first single lifted from the album, "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", is his biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching number one on the Adult Contemporary Singles chart. "Fool (if You Think It's Over)" was nominated for a "Song of the Year" Grammy, losing out to Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are". Unlike most of Rea's other singles, "Fool..." was not a great success on the UK Singles Chart, failing to chart on its first release and only reaching number thirty when re-released in late 1978 to capitalise on its U.S. success. U.K. singer, Elkie Brooks enjoyed greater success with 'Fool..' in 1981 when she charted a single at No17. It was also the first record played by Radio Caroline, after a long period off the air. A cover of "Fool..." by Kenny Craddock was used as the theme for BBC sitcom Joking Apart.

Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack (born March 4, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist,

Womack's career has spanned more than 40 years and has spanned a repertoire in the styles of R&B, soul, rock and roll, doo-wop, gospel, country and funk. As a songwriter, Womack is notable for penning and originally recording The Rolling Stones' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now" and New Birth's "I Can Understand It" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It", "Harry Hippie","Across 110th Street" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now". On January 14, 2009 Womack was announced as one of the 2009 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He will be inducted on April 4.

Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, poet, and painter, who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades.

Much of Dylan's most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when he became an informal chronicler and a reluctant figurehead of American unrest. A number of his songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'", became anthems of the civil rights movements. His most recent studio album, Modern Times, released on August 29, 2006, entered the U.S. album chart at number one, and that same year was named Album of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine.
Dylan's early lyrics incorporated political, social, philosophical, and literary influences, defying existing pop music conventions and appealing widely to the counterculture. While expanding and personalizing musical styles, he has explored many traditions of American song, from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll and rockabilly to English, Scottish and Irish folk music, and even jazz and swing. Dylan performs with the guitar, piano and harmonica. Backed by a changing line-up of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the "Never Ending Tour". Although his accomplishments as performer and recording artist have been central to his career, his songwriting is generally regarded as his greatest contribution.

Bill Withers (born July 4, 1938) is an American vocalist and hall-of-fame songwriter who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985.

Some of his best-known songs are "Ain't No Sunshine," "Use Me," "Lovely Day," "Lean on Me", "Grandma's Hands", and "Just the Two of Us".Bill Withers was born the youngest of nine children in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. Raised in nearby Beckley, West Virginia, he was thirteen when his father died. He joined the United States Navy at eighteen and served for nine years, during which time he became interested in singing. He began writing songs to fill a need for lyrics that expressed what he felt. Following his discharge from the Navy in 1965, he moved to Los Angeles in 1967 to pursue a career in music.

Harper was born in Claremont, in California's Pomona Valley. He began playing guitar as a child. His maternal grandparents' music store The Folk Music Center and Museum laid a foundation of folk and blues for the artist,

Complemented by regular patrons of Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley and quotes of William Shakespeare and Robert Frost made often by his grandfather. During the 80s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson, to contrast that of the then-popular heavy metal music. Next, Harper took up the Weissenborn to provide further distinction between his style and that of other blues musicians, including Johnson's. Harper broke out of the Inland Empire after being offered an invitation by Taj Mahal to tour with the artist.

B. B. King (born Riley B. King, September 16, 1925) is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. Critical acclaim and widespread popularity have cemented his reputation as one of the most respected and successful blues musicians.

Rolling Stone magazine named him the third-greatest guitarist of "the 100 greatest guitarists of all time". The son of Alfred King and Nora Ella King, B. B. King has had two wives to date: Martha Lee Denton, 1946 to 1952, and Sue Carol Hall, 1958 to 1966. Both marriages ended because of the heavy demands made on the marriage by King's 250 performances a year. It is reported that he has fathered 15 children by different women. King is a licensed pilot, a known gambler, a vegetarian, non-drinker, and non-smoker. He has lived with Type II Diabetes for over twenty years and is a visible spokesman in the fight against the disease, appearing in advertisements for diabetes-management products.
His favorite singer is Frank Sinatra. In his autobiography King speaks about how he was, and is, a "Sinatra nut" and how he went to bed every night listening to Sinatra's classic album In the Wee Small Hours. King has credited Sinatra for opening doors to black entertainers who weren't given the chance to play in "white dominated" venues. Sinatra got B. B. King into the main showrooms in Vegas during the 1960s. Over 52 years B.B. King played at least 15,000 performances. He has made guest appearances in numerous popular television shows, including The Cosby Show, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Sesame Street, Married With Children and Sanford and Son.