MUSIC CORNER

Black Sabbath

2011-06-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Black Sabbath are the archetypal heavy metal band, the blueprint for countless imitators that sprang up in the late Seventies. While Deep Purple had classical pretensions and Led Zeppelin indulged in mysticism, Sabbath blended down-to-earth heavy rock with highly theatrical occult imagery. Their menacing presence, aided and abetted on stage by the manic leaps of singer Ozzy Osbourne, provided an aggressive contrast to late Sixties flower power. It also established a musical formula, which would, with time, come to seem restrictive, and lead to serious disagreements within the band.

The four original members - guitarist Tony Iommi, born 19th February 1948, drummer Bill Ward, born 5th May 1948, bassist Geezer Butler, born 17th July 1949 and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, born 3rd December 1948 - left the same Birmingham school together in 1968 to form a group called Earth. Playing a Jazz-Blues fusion, they gigged continuously in Birmingham and Hamburg, where they broke the Beatles' house record at the Star Club. Despite their cult following, they became frustrated by their lack of international success. Under the guidance of their first manager Jim Simpson, they changed their name in 1969 to Black Sabbath (the title of one of their early songs), increased the volume and adopted a suitably macabre image.

Paranoid and paranormal
They continued touring the club circuit in Britain and Germany, and released a one-off single on Fontana. The same cut - Evil Woman - became their first single on Vertigo Records in March 1970. Their first LP, Black Sabbath, was released simultaneously. Recorded in two days at a cost of £600, it reflected their adherence to rock basics, although overdubbed sound effects, church bells, rain etc., added the required 'occult' flavour. Heavily promoted for its association with the paranormal, the record stayed in the UK charts for three months.

Maintaining their momentum, the band returned to the studio to record what was to become their classic single, Paranoid, and the album of the same name. Released together in September 1970, these records confirmed the band's domestic popularity. Paranoid reached number 4 in the UK charts and also won interest for the band in the US. Embarking on a university tour there in the autumn of 1970, Ozzy and the band consolidated the strong impression they had made on American hard rock fans. The quick success of both LP and single surprised both the band and their record company, with the album eventually clocking up a 65-week stay in the Billboard charts.

Sabbath under strain
Sabbath went on to extend their popularity by maintaining a gruelling worldwide touring schedule throughout the early Seventies. Their behaviour on the road and in hotels conformed to heavy rock tradition - room wrecking, groupie and drinking binges, and so on. Ozzy in particular appeared to be interested only in alcohol and hectic rock music, drawing his energy from the rapport he created with his increasingly dedicated following. The Master Of Reality album, released in 1971, and Black Sabbath 4, released in 1972, earned Black Sabbath world-wide recognition, but it was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, released in 1973, that finally achieved an ideal fusion of the band's live energy and the crushing, oppressive weight of their doomy songs.

Success brought its problems for Black Sabbath. They had parted company from their original manager Jim Simpson, replacing him first with Patrick Meehan and then with Don Arden. Now they found themselves on the receiving end of accusations of contract breaking from Simpson, and Ozzy was handed a subpoena as he walked on stage at an American date in 1975.

As a result of these wrangles, Sabbath attempted to manage themselves. Since they were writing and recording an album a year and undertaking a punishing tour schedule, including their debut in Madison Square Garden in New York in 1975, the strain was beginning to tell. Ozzy was drinking heavily, and personality conflicts were developing within the band.

Ozzy's insistence that the band live up to his hard drinking image was beginning to concern the other members, while on a musical level, Tony Iommi's increasing interest in more complex arrangements was alienating Ozzy, who preferred a basic approach. Sabotage, released in September 1975, adhered to the basic heavy-rock formula, but the sessions for Technical Ecstasy the following year saw Iommi experimenting with overdubbing and even, in Ozzy's absence, a horn section. Ozzy drew away from the other members of the band, and in 1977 he left Black Sabbath only to rejoin a year later, ousting his temporary replacement, former Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker. Ozzy and Black Sabbath cut one more album together, Never Say Die in 1979, but the ill feeling remained and Ozzy departed in a flurry of insults to launch in solo project, Blizzard of Oz.

Ozzy goes bats
Ozzy's departure deprived the band of their front man, one who went on to develop even higher peaks of the macabre. He also took with him a sizeable portion of Black Sabbath's audience, for whom he had always been, the focal point. His albums, Blizzard of Oz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1982) were remarkably successful, particularly in the US, where 'Diary' remained on the Billboard charts for over a year.

The remaining members of Black Sabbath, meanwhile, recruited former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Bill Ward retired for health reasons, to be replaced by Vinnie Appice, younger brother of Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice. Geezer Butler also left briefly but returned to the fold soon afterwards. Dio resisted the temptation to imitate Ozzy's style, stamping his own personality on the two studio albums, Heaven and Hell (1980) and Mob Rules (1981). Acrimony persisted between Ozzy and the band, especially after the 1980 release of Sabbath, Live At Last, which featured recordings made before the split. Ozzy still laid claim to much of the Sabbath catalogue, using the old numbers in his act and on a live album.

Tension was developing between Dio and the other members of Black Sabbath over his dominant role in the group, with Iommi alleging that Dio had tampered with the mixes of Live Evil (1982) to make his vocals more prominent. In November 1982 they split with Dio, who took drummer Vinnie Appice with him to form a new band, entitled Dio. At the same time Butler and Iommi dissatisfied with the efforts of Sandy Perlman, who had become their manager, signed a deal with their old boss Don Arden.
Although the beginning of 1983 saw Black Sabbath unsure of their future, the vitality that drove the group to worldwide success in the early Seventies had left its mark. For several years, Black Sabbath were the heavy metal band, and 'Paranoid' was the heavy metal anthem.

Shane Dawson

2011-06-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

Shane Dawson is a 21 years old Internet celebrity from YouTube who resides in California His popularity of YouTube has soared in 2009 from many of his comedy skits and parodies cut video on his vlog ShaneDawsonTV (SDTV) and in his ShaneDawsonTV2 (SDTV2) YouTube channels that make him one of the most popular users on the ground and # 4 most subscribed of all time

Shane comedy films always contain many of his different characters as Ned the Nerd Aunt Hilda Barb lesbians it his "mom" character and one of His most popular: Shananay a ghetto princess with a third eyebrow, and his three pets: 2 cats (Snoop and muffins) and 2 dogs (Charlie and Miley) Many of his films in the main channel is meant to be interactive with the peopler which is always having to comment / video response to a question from Shane or one of his characters

With a partner program where much of the YouTube site to pay him for the amount of watching his videos get Shane Dawson bought a house for him and his mother (possibly brothers, too) with an outdoor pool and film room, where he films his videos, now that he is a full-time YouTuber

Shane influenced by his fans and is more comfortable with himself than when he was younger and obese to say how YouTube has changed his life thanks to all his fans via his Twitter Facebook and MySpace, he interacts with his fans outside of YouTube always give previews of his latest video as a primary every Saturday at 8am Shane recently had surgery and a video explaining haddress it was to lose 165 pounds in nine months caused internal damage to his bod, Shane was part of a collab YouTube account called TheStation with many other popular YouTubers, but has since quit the team because it took too much focus and reduces their time for their videos

December 15 ShaneDawsonTV reached one million subscribers milestone on YouTube

Andy McKee

2011-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979 in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitarist currently signed to the US-American record label Candyrat Records. His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable fanbase; in late 2006, a live performance of his flagship song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 12,000,000 views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced lesser success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" and "Africa" both eclipsing 5,000,000 views apiece.

McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED that year in order to drop out of high school. He began to take influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Don Ross, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Kirtley, and Tommy Emmanuel as he self-studied the instrument.

In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, Nocturne. That same year, he placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas, the youngest competitor to place so highly.In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002.The instrument can be seen in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" And "Gates of Gnomeria".

McKee released his second album, Dreamcatcher, in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa", as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to the late Michael Hedges. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring, whom he has toured with multiple times since. Additionally, he placed second in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition of the Canadian Guitar Festival that year. The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.

McKee's third CD, Art of Motion, was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, whom McKee is currently on the same label with and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from Dreamcatcher as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, Art of Motion was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result.

Marie Christina Digby

2011-06-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

Marié Christina Digby (pronounced /Marie Christina Digby/ ; born April 16, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. She is best known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's No. 1 hit "Umbrella", which attracted attention on YouTube in 2007. The song was subsequently played on the radio station STAR 98.7, was featured on the third season opening episode of the MTV show The Hills, and peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Digby performed the song on the late night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly on August 2, 2007.

Digby, whose mother is Japanese and father is Irish American, is the eldest of three siblings. Her two sisters are Naomi (born December 12, 1985) and Erina (born August 8, 1987). She began writing songs during high school in Los Angeles, California. After completing her sophomore year as a philosophy major at the University of California, Berkeley, she came out into the public eye when she won the 2004 Pantene Pro-Voice competition with her song Miss Invisible. The grand prize for the concert included working with a professional producer on an album, $5,000 and performing on stage with other top performers. Digby is recognized on YouTube for her simple popular music covers, which include Linkin Park, Rihanna, Maroon 5, and Nelly Furtado, as well as her original compositions. She has over 156,000 subscribers and her channel has been viewed over 4 million times. As of May 2009, she is the 11th most subscribed musician on YouTube, ahead of names like Chris Brown, Taylor Swift and Tay Zonday.

She also held a Autographed Guitar Giveaway Contest on YouTube. Contestants were asked to create an original video including her hit single "Say it Again" in any way. She once recorded a video of hers in the bathroom because "The bathroom has the best acoustics in the house".

On April 8, 2009, "Breathing Underwater" was leaked onto the internet, months prior to the new June release date.

On April 9, 2009, Digby responded on her MySpace page to those concerned about the leak:

"Yesterday, my album advance was sent only to the folks at my record label, radio DJ's and music supervisors. It is just inevitable that one of those people are going to try and make a buck or put up the music just for their own personal satisfaction. It's sad but it's just a part of life. But the truth is, I love this album so much. I am so proud of it and I am almost excited that now people who really want to, can listen to all the hard work that I've done over the last few months. If you feel the need to buy the album off of ebay or to download the whole thing for free just remember one thing please. I live and breathe music. It is all that I do in life and all that I want to do for the rest of my life. Please know that the one way you can help me continue doing it is by supporting my album. If you can't afford 8 dollars for an album, then you can always support your favorite artists by even just purchasing a song or two! If an artist I love had made a new album and it was on the internet, I would probably want it too !! But I would undoubtedly go and buy the album with pride on the date of release as well.. but that's just me :)"

Esmee Denters

2011-06-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

Who is Esmee Denters' On 28 september 1988 Esmee Denters born in Oosterbeek, Netherlands. All from an early age she was fond of singing and fell in love with the Stevie Wonder album that her father was. In the summer of 2006, Esmee with the poste of videos on youtube.com which we have heard how good they can sing. At the movies did she covers of various artists and also if there is a request from a fan was for a particular Nr. did they like. Covers The various artists which has covered again Esmee see that they surely have singing talent. Esmee Denters on youtube.com amongst others the following covers posted: * Beyonce Knowles-"irreplaceable" * Natasha Bedinfield-Unwritten * Mariah Carey We belong together * Justin Timberlake-What goes around * Luther Vandross-Dance with my father * Enrique Englesias-Taking back my love * Fantasia-Truth is * Aaliyah-One in a million * Otis Redding-The dock of the bay by * Nicole Sherzingen-Baby Love * Mario-Let me love you * Ne-yo-Because of you * Eric Clapton-Tears in heaven * OneRepublic-Stop and stare Tennman Records When artists manager Jonathan Berhane Esmee discovered he has proposed to songwriter and her manager Billy Mann. Subsequently, her manager a meeting between Esmee and Justin Timer lake. The meeting took place during one of the concerts of Justin Timer lake. Tennman Records made known that Esmee would be the opening act during the tour of Justin Timer lake. In 2009 it happened then finally, the debut album of Dutch talent Esmee Denters. The album Outta Here came out in May 2009 and the eponymous single and video clip too. Prices Esmee Denters In 2009 was nominated for three TMF awards which they won two namely: * Best Female Artist * TMF Superchart Award She was nominated for Best new international artis but unfortunately not won this prize. Also in 2009, she was nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award in the category best Dutch & Belgian Act.

Ramones

2011-06-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music more explicit, but the Ramones crystallized the musical ideals of the genre. By cutting rock & roll down to its bare essentials - four chords; a simple, catchy melody; and irresistibly inane lyrics and speeding up the tempo considerably, the Ramones created something that was rooted in early '60s, pre-Beatles rock & roll and pop but sounded revolutionary. Since their breakthrough was theoretical as well as musical, they comfortably became the leaders of the emerging New York punk rock scene. While their peers such as Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell all were more intellectual and self-consciously artistic than the Ramones, they nevertheless appealed to the same mentality because of the way they turned rock conventions inside out and celebrated kitschy pop culture with stylized stupidity. The band's first four albums set the blueprint for punk, especially American punk and hardcore, for the next two decades. And the Ramones themselves were major figures for the next two decades, playing essentially the same music without changing their style much at all. Although some punk diehards -- including several of their peers -- would have claimed the band's long career wound up undercutting the ideals the band originally stood for, the Ramones always celebrated not just the punk aesthetic, but the music itself.

Based in the Forest Hills section of Queens, NY, the Ramones formed in 1974. Originally, the band was a trio consisting of Joey Ramone (vocals, drums; born Jeffrey Hyman, May 19, 1951), Johnny Ramone (guitar; born John Cummings, Oct. 8, 1951), and Dee Dee Ramone (bass; born Douglas Colvin, Sept. 18, 1952), with Tommy Ramone (born Tom Erdelyi, Jan. 29, 1952) acting as the group's manager. All of the group's members adopted the last name "Ramone" and dressed in torn blue jeans and leather jackets, in homage to '50s greaser rockers. The group played their first concert on March 30, 1974, at New York's Performance Studio. Two months after the show, Joey switched to vocals and Tommy became the band's drummer. By the end of the summer, the Ramones earned a residency at CBGB's. For the next year, they played regularly at the nightclub, earning a dedicated cult following and inspiring several other artists to form bands with similar ideals. All of the Ramones sets clocked in at about 20 minutes, featuring an unrelenting barrage of short, barely two-minute songs. By the end of 1975, the Ramones secured a recording contract with Sire; discounting Patti Smith, they were the first New York punk band to sign a contract.

Early in 1976, the Ramones recorded their debut album for just over 6,000 dollars. The resulting album, Ramones, was released in the spring, gained some critical attention, and managed to climb to 111 on the U.S. album charts. On July 4, the band made their debut appearance in Britain, where their records were becoming a big influence on a new generation of bands. Throughout 1976, the Ramones toured constantly, inaugurating nearly 20 years of relentless touring. By the end of the year, the group released their second album, Ramones Leave Home. While the album just scraped the U.S. charts, Leave Home became a genuine hit in England in the spring of 1977, peaking at number 48. By the summer of 1977, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones were seen as the two key bands in the punk rock revolution, but where the Pistols imploded, the Ramones kept on rolling. Following the U.K. Top 40 hit "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," the Ramones released their third album, Rocket to Russia, in the fall of 1977.

Tommy Ramone left the band in the spring of 1977, although he produced the group's subsequent album. He was replaced by former Voidoid Marc Bee, who immediately changed his name to Marky Ramone. With their new drummer in place, the Ramones recorded their fourth album, Road to Ruin, which was released in the fall. Road to Ruin marked the band's first significant attempt to change their sound; not only were there stronger bubblegum, girl group, surf, and '60s pop influences on the music, it was the first of their albums to run over a half hour. Although their sound was more accessible, it didn't gain the band a noticeably larger following. Neither did Rock N' Roll High School, the 1979 Roger Corman film in which the Ramones had a pivotal part. The soundtrack to Rock N' Roll High School and the U.K.-only live album It's Alive were the band's only releases of 1979. For most of the year, they were in the studio recording their fifth album with legendary '60s pop producer Phil Spector. The title song to the Corman movie was the first track released from the sessions, although the soundtrack album did feature a number of older Ramones songs remixed by Spector. End of the Century, the Spector-produced Ramones album, finally appeared in January of 1980 to mixed reviews. Despite the lukewarm reception to the album, the record's cover of the Ronettes' "Baby I Love You" became their only Top Ten British hit; in America, none of the singles made an impact, although the record became their biggest hit, peaking at number 44.

The Ramones continued their attempts at crossover success with their sixth album, Pleasant Dreams, which was released in 1981. Featuring a production by former Hollies and 10cc member Graham Gouldman, the record was a commercial disappointment in both America and England. The band was relatively quiet during 1982, spending most of their time touring. In the spring of 1983, the band returned with Subterranean Jungle, which was produced by Ritchie Cordell and Glen Koltkin, the heads of the American indie label Beserkley Records. Not only did Subterranean Jungle fail to gain the band the larger audience they desired, it continued the erosion of the band's diehard fan base, as well as their decline in the eyes of many rock critics. Following the album's release, Marky Ramone left the band; he was replaced by Richard Beau, a former member of the Velveteens, who changed his name to Richie Ramone.

With 1984's Too Tough to Die, the Ramones delivered a belated response to America's burgeoning hardcore punk scene that was largely produced by Tommy Erdelyi. The album helped restore their artistic reputation, as did the 1985 single, "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," an attack on President Ronald Reagan's 1985 visit to Germany. Instead of continuing with the sound of Too Tough to Die, the Ramones began pursuing a more streamlined, stylized, and conventional take on their songwriting formula with 1986's Animal Boy. This was a direction the group followed for the remaining ten years of their career. Following the release of 1987's Halfway to Sanity, Richie Ramone left the band and Marky Ramone re-joined the group. In 1988, the career retrospective Ramones Mania appeared. In 1989, the Ramones contributed the theme song to the Stephen King movie Pet Semetary, and the track was included on Brain Drain, which was released in the summer of that year. After its release, the group's bassist, Dee Dee Ramone, left the band to pursue a career as a rapper called Dee Dee King; after his debut rap recording failed miserably, he formed the band Chinese Dragons. Dee Dee was replaced by C.J. Ramone (born Christopher John Ward).

In the early '90s, the Ramones sobered up, with both Joey and Marky undergoing treatment for alcoholism. The band returned to recording in 1992, first releasing the live Loco Live and then Mondo Bizarro, their first studio album in three years. Mondo Bizarro turned out to be a commercial failure, as did their 1994 covers album, Acid Eaters.

Following the release of Acid Eaters, the mainstream guitar rock audience in America finally embraced punk rock, in the form of young bands like Green Day and the Offspring. Sensing that the climate may have been right for the crossover success they had desired for so many years, the Ramones immediately followed Acid Eaters with Adios Amigos, claiming that unless the new album sold in substantial numbers, the band would call it quits after a final farewell tour. Adios Amigos only spent two weeks in the charts. Nevertheless, the Ramones embarked on a long farewell tour that ran throughout the rest of 1995. The band was set to split in the beginning of 1996 when they were offered a slot on the sixth Lollapalooza, and they toured with the festival that summer. Following the completion of the tour, the Ramones parted ways, 20 years after the release of their first album. Just a few years later, Joey Ramone passed away on April 15, 2001, at age 49, the victim of lymphoma. Little more than a year after Joey's death, Dee Dee Ramone was found dead in his home in Los Angeles on June 5, 2002. Johnny Ramone passed away two years later on September 15, 2004 after a long battle with cancer. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Sepultura

2011-06-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

From their humble beginnings in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Sepultura went on to become the most successful Brazilian heavy metal band in history. Over a ten-year period, the band grew from strength to strength, transforming itself from a primitive death metal ensemble into one of the leading creative trendsetters of the international aggressive music scene. Unfortunately, a bitter internal crisis almost destroyed the band, and Sepultura struggled to recover their previous momentum.

Hailing from Brazil's third-largest city, Belo Horizonte, Sepultura (which means grave in Portuguese) were formed in the mid-'80s -- a time when that country was beginning to emerge from a 20-year military dictatorship. Max Cavalera (vocals/guitar), Igor Cavalera (drums), Paulo Jr. (bass), and Jairo T. (lead guitar) had a hard time even finding rock & roll albums and especially "socially unacceptable" genres such as heavy metal and punk. Their early influences were Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Slayer (literally the first three records purchased by Max on a visit to the "big city" São Paulo), but the band soon progressed toward a death metal sound, inspired by emerging bands such as Possessed and Death. Their drive and determination (they sang in English from day one) more than made up for their geographic isolation and inexperience, and though all were only in their teens and still learning how to play their instruments, the band quickly evolved into underground contenders. After landing a deal with independent Cogumelo Records, Sepultura recorded four songs for a split LP with fellow Brazilians Overdose. Now reissued on CD and named for its first track, 1985's Bestial Devastation was self-produced and recorded in just two days -- and it shows. Recorded with minimal time and money in August 1986, their first full-length album, Morbid Visions, showed little improvement, but contained their first hit, "Troops of Doom," which attracted some media attention and convinced the band to relocate to São Paulo (Brazil's largest city and financial capital) in order to further their career. They also replaced guitarist Jairo T. with São Paulo native Andreas Kisser, whose greater musical ability would help take the entire band to the next level. In 1987, Sepultura's technical proficiency finally caught up with their creative vision, and their second full-length album for Cogumelo, Schizophrenia, displayed an incredible evolution in terms of production and performance. It also became a minor critical sensation across Europe and America, drawing the attention of Roadrunner Records, which promptly released the album worldwide and signed the band to a long-term contract. No longer restrained within Brazilian borders, the band set about composing 1989's Beneath the Remains, the first of four albums which would solidify Sepultura's position as perhaps the most important heavy metal band of the '90s. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro under the guidance of leading death metal producer Scott Burns, Beneath the Remains was an immediate critical and commercial success, and the band's ferocious performances on the subsequent European tour (which saw them systematically blowing headlining German thrashers Sodom off stage) further cemented Sepultura's reputation. The band also filmed its first video, for the single "Inner Self," and finished the year tour with a triumphant set of shows in its homeland.

After obtaining new management and relocating to Phoenix, AZ, Sepultura entered Tampa's Morrisound Studios with producer Burns to record 1991's highly acclaimed Arise album. First single "Dead Embryonic Cells" proved to be another resounding hit, and the title track would gain even more attention when its video was banned by MTV America due to its apocalyptic religious imagery. The world tour that followed elevated the album to platinum sales worldwide (a figure rarely achieved by bands of such extreme nature) and, in a strange twist, found singer Max Cavalera marrying band manager Gloria Bujnowski, who was almost twice his age. Such was the band's success that its label, Roadrunner, obtained a co-distribution deal with Epic Records for its next recording, 1993's Chaos A.D.. By incorporating social issues (especially relating to Brazil) into their lyrics, as well as displaying some of their punk and hardcore influences for the first time, the album was another worldwide smash thanks to singles like "Territory" and "Refuse/Resist." After touring for over a year, the members of Sepultura took a well-deserved break before starting work on their most ambitious album yet, 1996's Roots. The introduction of native Brazilian percussion and musical styles into their trademark down-tuned guitars and increasingly sociopolitical themes resulted in a highly unique record which could be loosely described as heavy metal world music. Roots marked Sepultura's creative peak, and the band's continual rise to ever-greater fame seemed guaranteed until a family tragedy set off a series of events which would break up the band.

Just hours before taking the stage at England's Monsters of Rock festival, the band discovered that the teenage son of manager (and singer Max's wife) Gloria had been killed in a car accident. A shocked Sepultura took the stage as a trio while Max and Gloria boarded the first plane back to America. Only a few months later, the band confronted Max about severing ties with Gloria and finding new management. Still recovering from the recent trauma of a death in his extended family, Max viewed this as a huge betrayal and left the band amid much bad blood and acrimony. As the band's creative leader, many expected his departure to spell the end of Sepultura, but the band announced that it would carry on and soon began looking for a replacement.

After a long search, Sepultura recruited Cleveland native Derrick Green as their new singer and began laying down tracks for 1998's Against. Though it retained much of the intensity and diversity of its predecessor (including a collaboration with Japan's Kodo percussion ensemble on the track "Kamaitachi"), the album lacked the unique spark which had characterized the band's prior work. It also sold only half as many copies as Cavalera's first album with his new band, Soulfly, clearly showing with whom fan loyalty remained. Undaunted, Sepultura returned in early 2001 with Nation. The album followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, despite better reviews and a more seasoned Green on vocals. In order to reach out to its slowly shrinking fan base, the group released one of its last live shows with Max, Under a Pale Grey Sky, in the fall of 2002. An EP of covers, Revolusongs, arrived in 2003, followed by the full-length Roorback. Live in Sao Paulo arrived in 2005. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide

Yusuf Islam ( Cat Stevens)

2011-06-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou, 21 July 1948), best known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is a British musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam.

His albums Tea for the Tillerman and Teaser and the Firecat were both certified as Triple Platinum by the RIAA in the United States; his album Catch Bull at Four sold half a million copies in the first two weeks of release alone, and was Billboard's number-one LP for three consecutive weeks. He has also earned two ASCAP songwriting awards in consecutive years, for "The First Cut Is the Deepest", which has been a hit single for four different artists.

Stevens converted to Islam at the height of his fame in December, 1977, and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. In 1979, he auctioned all his guitars away for charity and left his music career to devote himself to educational and philanthropic causes in the Muslim community. He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the world, including 2003's World Award, the 2004 Man for Peace Award and the 2007 Mediterranean Prize for Peace. In 2006, he returned to pop music, with his first album of new pop songs in 28 years, entitled An Other Cup. He now goes by the single name Yusuf.

He currently lives with his wife and children in London, and spends part of each year in Dubai.

His newest album, Roadsinger, was released on May 5, 2009.

Early life (1948?1965)

Steven Georgiou was the third child of a Greek-Cypriot father, Stavros Georgiou (b. 1900) and a Swedish mother, Ingrid Wickman (b. 1915). He has an older sister, Anita, and brother, David. The family lived above Moulin Rouge, the restaurant that his parents operated on Shaftesbury Avenue, a few steps from Piccadilly Circus in the Soho theatre district of London. All family members worked in the restaurant. His parents divorced when he was about 8 years old, but they continued to maintain the family restaurant and live above it.

Although his father was Greek Orthodox and his mother a Swedish Lutheran Protestant, Georgiou was sent to a Catholic school, St. Joseph Roman Catholic Primary School in Macklin Street, which was closer to his father's business on Drury Lane. Georgiou developed an interest in piano at a fairly young age, eventually using the family baby grand piano to work out the chords, since no one else there played well enough to teach him. With the popularity of The Beatles, at age 15, he extended his interest to the guitar, and convinced his father to pay ?8 for his first instrument, and began playing it and writing songs. He would escape at times from his family responsibilities to the rooftop above their home, and listen to the tunes of the musicals drifting from just around the corner; from Denmark Street, which was then the centre of the British music industry. Later, Stevens has emphasized that the advent of West Side Story in particular affected him, giving him a "different view of life", he said in 2000, on a VH1 Behind the Music programme. With interests in both art and music, he and his mother travelled to G?vle, Sweden, where he started developing his drawing skills after being influenced by his uncle Hugo Wickman, a painter.

He attended other local West End schools, where he says he was constantly in trouble, and did poorly in everything but art. He was called "the artist boy" and mentions that "I was beat up, but I was noticed". He went on to take a one-year course of study at Hammersmith School of Art, as he considered a career as a cartoonist. Though he enjoyed art (his later record albums would feature his original artwork on his album covers), he wanted to establish a musical career and began to perform originally under the stage name "Steve Adams" in 1965 while at Hammersmith. At that point, his goal was to become a songwriter. Among the musicians who influenced him were Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, blues artists Leadbelly and Muddy Waters, John Lennon, Biff Rose (who played on his first album), Leo Kottke, and Paul Simon. He also wanted to emulate composers who wrote musicals, like Ira Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. In 1965 he signed a publishing deal with Ardmore & Beechwood and cut several demos, including "The First Cut Is the Deepest".

Musical career (1966?1970)

Early musical career

Georgiou began to perform his songs in coffee houses and pubs. At first he tried forming a band, but soon realised he preferred performing solo. Thinking that his given name might not be memorable to prospective fans, he chose a stage name Cat Stevens, in part because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat, but mainly because he said, "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'. And in England, and I was sure in America, they loved animals." In 1966, at age 18, he impressed manager/producer Mike Hurst, formerly of British vocal group The Springfields, with his songs and Hurst arranged for him to record a demo and then helped him get a record deal. The first singles were hits. "I Love My Dog" charted at #28, and "Matthew and Son", the title song from his debut album, went to #2. "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" reached Britain's Top 10, and the album Matthew and Son itself began charting. The original version of the The Tremeloes cover hit, "Here Comes My Baby", was written and recorded by Stevens.

"The First Cut is the Deepest" (1967)
Sample of "The First Cut is the Deepest", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on New Masters.

Over the next two years, Stevens recorded and toured with artists ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Engelbert Humperdinck. The music business hadn't yet begun targeting specific audiences, so he frequently toured with what now would be considered an unusual array of celebrities. Stevens was considered a fresh-faced teen star, placing several single releases in the British pop music charts. Some of that success was attributed to the pirate radio station Wonderful Radio London, which gained him fans by playing his records. In August 1967, he went on the air with other recording artists who had benefited from the station to mourn its closure.

His December 1967 album New Masters failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The album is now most notable for his song "The First Cut Is the Deepest", a song he sold for ?30 to P.P. Arnold that was to become a massive hit for her, and an international hit for Keith Hampshire, Rod Stewart, James Morrison, and Sheryl Crow. Forty years after he recorded the first demo of the song, it earned him two back-to-back ASCAP "Songwriter of the Year" awards, in 2005 and 2006.

Tuberculosis
"Trouble" (1969-1970)
Sample of "Trouble", performed by Cat Stevens. Written between 1969-1970 during hospitalization for tuberculosis.

Stevens was living the fast-moving life of a pop star, and in early 1968 at the age of 19, he became very ill with tuberculosis and a collapsed lung. Near death, at the time of his admittance to the King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, he spent months recuperating in hospital and a year of convalescence. During this time Stevens began to question aspects of his life, and spirituality. He later said, "to go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut."

He took up meditation, yoga, metaphysics read about other religions, and became a vegetarian. As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence, and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as 40 songs, which were much more introspective than his previous work. Many of those songs would appear on his albums in years to come.

Changes in musical sound after illness

The lack of success of Stevens' second album mirrored a difference of personal tastes in musical direction, and a growing resentment at producer Mike Hurst's attempts to re-create another album like that of his debut, with heavy-handed orchestration, and over-production, rather than the folk sound Stevens was attempting to produce. He admits having purposefully sabotaged his own contract with Hurst, making outlandishly expensive orchestral demands and threatening legal action, which resulted in his goal: release from his contract with Deram Records, a sub-label of major Decca Records. Upon regaining his health at home after his release from the hospital, Stevens recorded some of his newly-written songs on his tape recorder, and played his changing sound for a few new record executives. After hiring agent Barry Krost, who had arranged for an audition with Chris Blackwell of Island Records, Blackwell offered him a "chance to record whenever and with whomever he liked, and more importantly to Cat, however he liked". With Krost's recommendation, Stevens signed with Paul Samwell-Smith, previously the bassist of the Yardbirds, to be his new producer.

Musical career (1970?1978)

Height of popularity

Healthy, sporting a new beard, Stevens was armed with a catalogue of new songs that reflected his new perspective on what he wanted to bring to the world with his music. His previous work had sold in the United Kingdom, but Stevens was still relatively unknown by the public across the Atlantic. To rectify this, after signing with Island Records in 1970, an American distribution deal was arranged with A&M Records' Jerry Moss in North America. Stevens began work on Mona Bone Jakon, a folk-rock based album that was quite different from his earlier "pop" style records, drawing on his new, introspective work. Producer Paul Samwell-Smith paired guitarist Alun Davies, who was currently working as a session musician, with Stevens. Alun was the more experienced veteran of two albums which already had begun to explore the emerging genres of skiffle and folk rock music. Davies was also thought a perfect fit in particular for his "fingerwork" on the guitar, harmonizing and contributing backing vocals with Stevens. They originally met just to record Mona Bone Jakon, but developed a fast friendship; Davies, like Stevens, was a perfectionist, appearing after all the sound checks had been completed, just to be sure that all the equipment and sound were prepared for each concert. He recorded on all but two of the succeeding pop music albums Stevens released, and continued performing and recording with him until Stevens' retirement. The two remained friends, however, and years later, when Stevens re-emerged as Yusuf Islam after 27 years, Davies appeared again performing at his side, and has remained there.

"Wild World" (1971)
Sample of "Wild World", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Tea for the Tillerman.

The first single released from Mona Bone Jakon was "Lady D'Arbanville", which Stevens wrote about his young American girlfriend Patti D'Arbanville. The record, with a madrigal sound unlike most music played on pop radio, with sounds of djembes and bass in addition to Stevens' and Davies' guitars, soared to #8 in the UK. It was the first of his hits to get real airplay in the United States. Other songs written for her included "Maybe You're Right", and "Just Another Night". In addition, the song, "Pop Star", about his experience as a teen star, and "Katmandu", featuring Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel playing flute, were featured. Mona Bone Jakon was an early example of the solo singer-songwriter album format that was becoming popular for other artists as well.

Mona Bone Jakon was the precursor for Stevens' international breakthrough album, Tea for the Tillerman, which became a top-10 Billboard hit. Within 6 months of its release, it had sold over 500,000 copies, reaching gold record status in the United States and in Britain. The combination of Stevens' new folk-rock style and accessible lyrics which spoke of everyday situations and problems, mixed with the beginning of spiritual questions about life, would remain in his music from then on. The album features the top 20 single "Wild World"; a parting song after D'Arbanville moved on. "Wild World" has been credited as the song that gave Tea for the Tillerman 'enough kick' to get it played on FM radio; and the head of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, was quoted as calling it "the best album we?ve ever released". Other album cuts include "Hard-Headed Woman", and "Father and Son", a song sung both in baritone and tenor, about the struggle between fathers and their sons who are faced with their own personal choices in life. In 2001, this album was certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record, having sold 3 million copies in the United States at that time. It is ranked at #206 in Rolling Stone Magazine's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

"Father and Son" (1970)
Sample of "Father and Son", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Tea for the Tillerman.

After the end of his relationship with D'Arbanville, Stevens noted the effect it had on writing his music, saying,

"Everything I wrote while I was away was in a transitional period and reflects that. Like Patti. A year ago we split; I had been with her for two years. What I write about Patti and my family... when I sing the songs now, I learn strange things. I learn the meanings of my songs late..."

Stevens later was romantically linked to popular singer Carly Simon while both were produced by Samwell-Smith. Stevens and Simon had a love affair from 1971 to 1972, during which time both wrote songs for and about one another. Simon wrote and recorded at least two top 50 songs, "Legend in Your Own Time" and "Anticipation" about Stevens. He reciprocated in his song to her, after their romance, entitled, "Sweet Scarlet".

"Peace Train" (1976)
Sample of "Peace Train", performed by Cat Stevens live on the "Earth Tour".

Having established a signature sound, Stevens enjoyed a string of successes over the following years. 1971's Teaser and the Firecat album reached number two and achieved gold record status within three weeks of its release in the United States. It yielded several hits, including "Peace Train", "Morning Has Broken" (a Christian hymn with lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon), and "Moon Shadow". This album was also certified by the RIAA as a Multi-Platinum record in 2001, with over three million US sales through that time. When interviewed on a Boston radio station, Stevens said about Teaser and the Firecat:

"I get the tune and then I just keep on singing the tune until the words come out from the tune. It's kind of a hypnotic state that you reach after a while when you keep on playing it where words just evolve from it. So you take those words and just let them go whichever way they want... 'Moonshadow'? Funny, that was in Spain, I went there alone, completely alone, to get away from a few things. And I was dancin' on the rocks there... right on the rocks where the waves were, like, blowin' and splashin'. Really, it was so fantastic. And the moon was bright, ya know, and I started dancin' and singin' and I sang that song and it stayed. It's just the kind of moment that you want to find when you're writin' songs."

His next album, Catch Bull at Four, released in 1972, was his most rapidly successful album in the United States, reaching gold record status in 15 days, and holding the number-one position on the Billboard charts for three weeks. This album continued the introspective and spiritual lyrics that he was known for, combined with a rougher-edged voice and a less acoustic sound than his previous records, utilizing synthesizers and other instruments. Although the sales of the album indicated Stevens' popularity, the album did not produce any real hits, with the exception of the single "Sitting", which charted at #16. Catch Bull at Four was Platinum certified in 2001.

Exploration with movie soundtracks

In July 1970, Stevens recorded one of his songs, "But I Might Die Tonight", for the Jerzy Skolimowski film Deep End, which featured Jane Asher.

In 1971, Stevens provided nine songs to the soundtrack of the film Harold and Maude. Two of the songs, "Don't Be Shy" and "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out", were not featured on any album until their inclusion on a second "greatest hits" collection: Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, in 1984. Harold and Maude, a black comedy starring Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort, became a popular cult movie celebrating the free spirit, and brought Stevens' music to a wider audience, continuing to do so long after he stopped recording in the late 1970s. Among other songs included were "Where Do the Children Play?", "Trouble", and "I Think I See the Light".

After his religious conversion in the late 1970s, Stevens stopped granting permission for his songs to be used in films. Eventually, however, almost twenty years later, in 1997, the movie Rushmore was allowed to use his songs "Here Comes My Baby" and "The Wind", showing a new willingness on his part to release his music from his Western "pop star" days. This was followed in 2000 by the inclusion of "Peace Train" in the movie Remember the Titans, in 2000 by Cameron Crowe's use in Almost Famous of the song "The Wind". and in 2006 the inclusion of "Peace Train" on the soundtrack to 'We Are Marshall' ".. In 2007, an excerpt of "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out" is sung by characters in Charlie Bartlett as an apparent reference to Harold and Maude:; the character of Charlie bares a considerable resemblence to the character of Harold.

Later Cat Stevens recordings

Subsequent releases in the 1970s also did well on the charts and in ongoing sales, although they did not touch the success he had from 1970 to 1973. In 1973, Stevens moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to avoid taxation from the United Kingdom.

"Later" (1973)
Sample of "Later", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Foreigner.

During that time he created the album Foreigner, an album which was a departure from the music that had brought him to the height of his fame. It differed in several respects: entirely written by Stevens, he dropped his band and produced the record without the assistance of Samwell-Smith, who had played a large role in catapulting him to fame, and instead of guitar, he played keyboards throughout the album. It was intended to show the funk/soul element that he had come to appreciate. One side of Foreigner was continuous, much different than the radio friendly pop tunes fans had come to expect. He performed the album on an uninterrupted ABC network television broadcast titled the "Moon and Star" concert. The album produced a couple of singles including "The Hurt", but did not reach the heights he had once enjoyed.

The follow-up to Foreigner was Buddha and the Chocolate Box, largely a return to the instrumentation and styles employed in Teaser and the Firecat and Tea for the Tillerman. Featuring the return of Alun Davies and best known for "Oh Very Young", Buddha and the Chocolate Box reached platinum status in 2001. However, Stevens' next album was the concept album Numbers, a less successful departure for him.

The 1977 Izitso included his last chart hit, "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard", a duet with fellow UK singer Elkie Brooks. Linda Lewis appears in the song's video, with Cat Stevens singing to her, as they play former schoolmates, singing to each other on a schoolyard "merry-go-round". This is one of few videos that Stevens made, other than simple videos of concert performances.

His final original album under the name Cat Stevens was Back to Earth, released in late 1978, which was also the first album produced by Samwell-Smith since his peak in single album sales in the early 1970s.

Several compilation albums were released before and after he stopped recording. After Stevens left Decca Records they bundled his first two albums together on their label as a set, hoping to ride the commercial tide of his early success; later his newer labels did the same, and he himself released compilations. The most successful of the compilation albums was the 1975 Greatest Hits which has sold over 4 million copies in the United States. In May 2003 he received his first Platinum Europe Award from the IFPI for Remember Cat Stevens, The Ultimate Collection, indicating over one million European sales.

Religious conversion

Yusuf in 2008

While vacationing in Marrakech, Morocco, Stevens was intrigued by the sound of the A?h?n, the Islamic ritual call to prayer, which was explained to him as "music for God". Stevens said, "I thought, music for God? I?d never heard that before ? I?d heard of music for money, music for fame, music for personal power, but music for God!"

In 1976 Stevens nearly drowned off the coast of Malibu, California and claims to have shouted: ?Oh God! If you save me I will work for you.? He says that right afterward a wave appeared and carried him back to shore. This brush with mortality intensified his long-held quest for spiritual truth. He had looked into "Buddhism, Zen, I Ching, Numerology, tarot cards and Astrology". Stevens' brother David Gordon brought him a copy of the Qur'an as a birthday gift from a trip to Jerusalem. Stevens took to it right away, and began to find peace with himself and began his transition to Islam.

During the time he was studying the Qur'an, he began to identify more and more with the name of Joseph, a man bought and sold in the market place, which is how he says he had increasingly felt within the music business. Regarding his conversion, in his 2006 interview with Alan Yentob, he stated, "to some people, it may have seemed like an enormous jump, but for me, it was a gradual move to this." And, in a Rolling Stone Magazine interview, he reaffirmed this, saying, "I had found the spiritual home I'd been seeking for most of my life. And if you listen to my music and lyrics, like "Peace Train" and "On The Road To Find Out", it clearly shows my yearning for direction and the spiritual path I was travelling." Stevens had been seeking inner peace and spiritual answers throughout his career, and now believed he had found what he had been seeking.

Stevens formally converted to the Islamic religion on , taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978. Yusuf is the Arabic rendition of the name Joseph. He stated that he "always loved the name Joseph" and was particularly drawn to the story of Joseph in the Qur'an. Although he discontinued his pop career, he was persuaded to perform one last time before what would become his twenty-five year musical hiatus. Appearing with his hair freshly shorn and an untrimmed beard, he headlined a charity concert on 22 November 1979 in Wembley Stadium to benefit UNICEF's International Year of the Child. The concert closed with a performance by Stevens, David Essex, Alun Davies, and Stevens's brother, David, who wrote the song that was the finale, "Child for a Day".

Yusuf married Fauzia Mubarak Ali on 7 September, 1979, at Regent's Park Mosque in London. It was the 1,000th such ceremony to take place at the mosque. They have five children.

Life as Yusuf Islam (1978?present)

Muslim faith and musical career

Following his conversion, Yusuf abandoned his career as a pop star. When he became a Muslim in 1977, he said, the Imam at the mosque was told that he was a pop star, and he told Yusuf that it was fine to continue as a musician, so long as the songs were morally acceptable. But Yusuf says he knew there were aspects of the music business, such as vanity and temptations, that did go against the teachings of the Qu'ran, and this was the primary reason he gave for retreating from the pop spotlight. In his first performance on the television show Later... with Jools Holland, 27 years after leaving the "pop" music business, and in other interviews, he gave other reasons for leaving the pop stage. "A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing," he said. "You come to a point where you have sung, more or less ... your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road."

Estimating in January 2007 that he continues to earn approximately $1.5 million USD a year from his Cat Stevens music, he decided to use his accumulated wealth and continuing earnings from his music career on philanthropic and educational causes in the Muslim community of London and elsewhere. In 1981, he founded the Islamia Primary School in Salusbury Road in the north London area of Kilburn and, soon after, founded several Muslim secondary schools and devoted his energy to providing an Islamic education to children and to donate the rest to charitable causes. He is the founder and chairman of the Small Kindness charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa and now supports thousands of orphans and families in the Balkans, Indonesia, and Iraq. He served as chairman of the charity Muslim Aid from 1985 to 1993.

In 1985, Yusuf decided to return to the public spotlight for the first time since his religious conversion, at the historic Live Aid concert, concerned with the famine threatening Ethiopia. Though he had written a song especially for the occasion, his appearance was skipped when Elton John's set ran too long.

Salman Rushdie controversy
Main article: Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie

The singer attracted controversy in 1989, during an address to students at London's Kingston University, where he was asked about the fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie. Newspapers quickly interpreted his response as support for the fatwa, but he released a statement the following day which said that he had not been supporting vigilantism, and was merely explaining the legal Islamic punishment for blasphemy. In a BBC interview, he displayed a newspaper clipping from that time period, which quotes from his statement. Subsequent comments made by him in 1989 on a British television programme were also seen as being in support of the fatwa, but in a statement in the FAQ section of his web site he says that he was joking and that the show was improperly edited. In the years since these comments, he has strongly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa.

September 11 attacks

Immediately following the 11 September 2001, attacks on the United States, he said:

I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action. The Qur'an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims of this sorrowful moment.

He appeared on videotape on a VH1 pre-show for the October 2001 Concert for New York City, condemning the attacks and singing his song "Peace Train" for the first time in public in more than 20 years, as an a cappella version. He also donated a portion of his box-set royalties to the September 11 Fund for victims' families, and the rest to orphans in underdeveloped countries.

Denial of entry into the United States

On 21 September 2004, Yusuf was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington, travelling to a meeting with singer Dolly Parton, who had recorded "Peace Train" several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album. While the plane was in flight, the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System flagged his name as being on a no fly list. Customs agents alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration, which then diverted his flight to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by agents from the Department of Homeland Security.

The following day, Yusuf was deported back to the United Kingdom. The Transportation Security Administration claimed there were "concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities". The Israeli government had deported Yusuf in 2000 over allegations that he provided funding to the Palestinian organisation Hamas; he denied doing so knowingly. "I have never knowingly supported or given money to Hamas," says Yusuf, who repeatedly has condemned terrorism and Islamic extremism. "At the time I was reported to have done it, I didn't know such a group existed. Some people give a political interpretation to charity. We were horrified at how people were suffering in the Holy Land." However, the United States Department of Homeland Security added him to their FBI watchlist. The US deportation provoked a small international controversy, and led British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations. Powell responded by stating that the watchlist was under review, adding, "I think we have that obligation to review these matters to see if we are right".

Yusuf believed his inclusion on the watch list may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 Yusuf requested the removal of his name, "I remain bewildered by the decision of the US authorities to refuse me entry to the United States". According to a statement by Yusuf, the man on the list was named "Youssef Islam", indicating that Yusuf himself was not the suspected terrorism supporter. Romanization of Arabic names can easily result in different spellings: the transliteration of the Islamic name for Joseph (Yusuf's chosen name) lists a dozen spellings.

Two years later, in December 2006, Yusuf was admitted without incident into the United States for several radio concert performances and interviews to promote his new record. Yusuf said of the incident at the time, that, "No reason was ever given, but being asked to repeat the spelling of my name again and again, made me think it was a fairly simple mistake of identity. Rumours which circulated after made me imagine otherwise."

Yusuf has written a song about the 2004 deportation experience, entitled "Boots and Sand", recorded in the summer of 2008 and featuring Paul McCartney, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, and Terry Sylvester.

Libel cases
British reports regarding deportation

In October 2004 the British newspapers The Sun and The Sunday Times voiced their support for Yusuf's deportation by the US government, claiming that he had supported terrorism. Yusuf successfully sued for libel and received a substantial out-of-court financial settlement and apologies from the newspapers stating that he had never supported terrorism and acknowledging that he had recently been given a Man of Peace award from the private Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Committee. However The Sunday Times managing editor Richard Caseby said that while there was an "agreed settlement", they "always denied liability" and "disagreed with Cat Stevens' lawyers interpretation", but took a "pragmatic view" of the lawsuit.

Yusuf responded that he was "...delighted by the settlement helps vindicate my character and good name... It seems to be the easiest thing in the world these days to make scurrilous accusations against Muslims, and in my case it directly impacts on my relief work and damages my reputation as an artist. The harm done is often difficult to repair", and added that he intended to donate the financial award given to him by the court to help orphans of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

Yusuf wrote about the experience in a newspaper article titled "A Cat in a Wild World".

False rumour regarding veiled women

On 18 July 2008, Yusuf received substantial undisclosed damages from the World Entertainment News Network following their distribution of the false rumour that the singer did not speak to unveiled women. The allegations first surfaced in German newspaper B.Z. after Yusuf's trip to Berlin in March 2007 to collect the ECHO award for "life achievements as musician and ambassador between cultures". Once again he was awarded damages after the World Entertainment News Network allowed an article to be published on Contactmusic.com, a "website said to have 2.2 million page views a month", alleging that Yusuf would not speak to unveiled women with the exception of his wife. His solicitor was reported as having said that "he was made out to be 'so sexist and bigoted that he refused at an awards ceremony to speak to or even acknowledge any women who were not wearing a veil,'". The offending news agency apologized, admitting that Yusuf has never had any problem in working with women and, contrary to the article in question, never has needed a third party as an intermediary to function at work. The money from this lawsuit will go to Yusuf's Small Kindness Charity.

Yusuf himself discusses this topic on his website, saying, "It?s true that I have asked my manager to respectfully request lady presenters from embracing me when giving awards or during public appearances, but that has nothing to do with my feelings or respect for them. Islam simply requires me to honour the dignity of ladies or young girls who are not closely related to me, and avoid physical intimacy, however innocent it may be." He adds, "My four daughters all follow the basic wearing of clothes which modestly cover their God-given beauty. They?re extremely well educated; they do not cover their faces and interact perfectly well with friends and society.."

Return to music

Yusuf in recording studio, 2006

Yusuf gradually resumed his musical career in the 1990s. His initial recordings had not included any musical instruments other than percussion, and featured lyrics about Islamic themes. He invested in building his own recording studio which he named Mountain of Light Studios in the late 1990s, and he was featured as a guest singer on "God Is the Light", a song on an album of nasheeds by the group Raihan. In addition, he invited and collaborated with other Muslim singers, including Canadian artist Dawud Wharnsby Ali. After Yusuf's friend, Irfan Ljubijankic, the Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was killed by a Serbian rocket attack, Yusuf appeared at a 1997 benefit concert in Sarajevo and recorded a benefit album named after a song written by Ljubijankic, I Have No Cannons That Roar.

"A is for Allah" (2000)
Sample of "A is for Allah", performed by Yusuf Islam. Appears on A is for Allah

Realizing there were few educational resources designed to teach children about the Islamic religion, Yusuf wrote and produced a children's album, A Is for Allah, in 2000 with the assistance of South African singer-songwriter Zain Bhikha. The title song was one Yusuf had written years before to introduce his first child to both the religion and the Arabic alphabet. He also established his own record label, "Jamal Records", and Mountain of Light Productions, and he donates a percentage of his projects' proceeds to his Small Kindness charity, whose name is taken from the Qur'an.

On the occasion of the 2000 re-release of his Cat Stevens albums, he explained that he had stopped performing in English due to his misunderstanding of the Islamic faith. "This issue of music in Islam is not as cut-and-dried as I was led to believe ... I relied on heresy , that was perhaps my mistake."

Yusuf has discussed feeling that his decision to leave the Western pop music business was perhaps one that was too quick with too little communication for his fans. For most, it was a surprise, and even his guitarist, Alun Davies said in later interviews that he hadn't believed that Stevens would actually go through with it, after his many forays into other religions throughout their relationship. Yusuf himself has said the "cut" between his former life and his life as a Muslim might have been too quick, too severe, and that more people might have been better informed about Islam, and given an opportunity to better understand it, and himself, if he had simply removed those items that were considered har?m, in his performances, allowing him to express himself musically and educate listeners through his music without violating any religious constraints.

In 2003, after repeated encouragement from within the Muslim world, Yusuf once again recorded "Peace Train" for a compilation CD, which also included performances by David Bowie and Paul McCartney. He performed "Wild World" in Nelson Mandela's 46664 concert with his former session player Peter Gabriel, the first time he had publicly performed in English in 25 years. In December 2004, he and Ronan Keating released a new version of "Father and Son": the song entered the charts at number two, behind Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". They also produced a video of the pair walking between photographs of fathers and sons, while singing the song. The proceeds of "Father and Son" were donated to the Band Aid charity. Keating's former group, Boyzone, had a hit with the song a decade earlier. As he had been persuaded before, Yusuf contributed to the song, because the proceeds were marked for charity. However, this marked a point in his artistic career where he entertained the concept of using more than simply voice and drums.

"Tala'a Al-Badru Alayna" (2005)
Sample of "Tala'a Al-Badru Alayna", performed by Yusuf Islam.

On 21 April 2005 Yusuf gave a short talk before a scheduled musical performance in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the anniversary of Muhammad's birthday. He said, "There is a great deal of ignorance in the world about Islam today, and we hope to communicate with the help of something more refined than lectures and talks. Our recordings are particularly appealing to the young, having used songs as well as Qur'an verses with pleasing sound effects..." Yusuf explained that while there had been no real guidelines about instruments in the Qur'an, and no reference about the business of music, it had been Muslim travellers who first brought the guitar to Moorish Spain. He noted that Muhammad was fond of celebrations, as in the case of the birth of a child, or a traveller arriving after a long journey. Thus, Yusuf concluded that healthy entertainment was acceptable within limitations, and that he now felt that it was no sin to perform with the guitar. Music, he now felt, is uplifting to the soul; something sorely needed in troubled times. At that point, he was joined by several young male singers who sang backing vocals and played a drum, with Yusuf as lead singer and guitarist. They performed two songs, both half in Arabic, and half in English; "Tala'a Al-Badru Alayna", an old song in Arabic which Yusuf recorded with a folk sound to it, and another song, "The Wind East and West", which was newly written by Yusuf and featured a distinct R&B sound.

With this performance, Yusuf began slowly to integrate instruments into both older material from his Cat Stevens era (some with slight lyrical changes) and new songs, both those known to the Muslim communities around the world and some that have the same Western flair from before with a focus on new topics and another generation of listeners.

In a 2005 press release, he explained his revived recording career:

After I embraced Islam, many people told me to carry on composing and recording, but at the time I was hesitant, for fear that it might be for the wrong reasons. I felt unsure what the right course of action was. I guess it is only now, after all these years, that I've come to fully understand and appreciate what everyone has been asking of me. It's as if I've come full circle; however, I have gathered a lot of knowledge on the subject in the meantime.

"In Islam there is something called the principle of common good. What that means is that whenever one is confronted by something that is not mentioned in the scriptures, one must observe what benefit it can bring. Does it serve the common good, does it protect the spirit, and does it serve God? If the scholars see that it is something positive, they may well approve of what I'm doing."
?Yusuf Islam
"Indian Ocean" (2005)
Sample of "Indian Ocean", performed by Yusuf Islam. Released as a charity single.

In early 2005, Yusuf released a new song entitled "Indian Ocean" about the 2004 tsunami disaster. The song featured Indian composer/producer A. R. Rahman, a-ha keyboard player Magne Furuholmen and Travis drummer Neil Primrose. Proceeds of the single went to help orphans in Banda Aceh, one of the areas worst affected by the tsunami, through Yusuf's Small Kindness charity. At first, the single was released only through several online music stores but later featured on the compilation album Cat Stevens: Gold. "I had to learn my faith and look after my family, and I had to make priorities. But now I've done it all and there's a little space for me to fill in the universe of music again."

On 28 May 2005, Yusuf delivered a keynote speech and performed at the Adopt-A-Minefield Gala in D?sseldorf. The Adopt-A-Minefield charity, under the patronage of Paul McCartney, works internationally to raise awareness and funds to clear landmines and rehabilitate landmine survivors. Yusuf attended as part of an honorary committee which also included George Martin, Richard Branson, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Klaus Voormann, Christopher Lee and others.

In mid-2005, Yusuf played guitar for the Dolly Parton album, Those Were the Days, on her version of his "Where Do the Children Play?". (Parton had also covered "Peace Train" a few years earlier.)

In May 2006, in anticipation of his forthcoming new pop album, the BBC1 programme "Imagine" aired a 49-minute documentary with Alan Yentob called Yusuf: The Artist formerly Known as Cat Stevens. This documentary film features rare audio and video clips from the late 1960s and 1970s, as well as an extensive interview with Yusuf, his brother David Gordon, several record executives, Bob Geldof, Dolly Parton, and others outlining his career as Cat Stevens, his conversion and emergence as Yusuf Islam, and his return to music in 2006. There are clips of him singing in the studio when he was recording An Other Cup as well as a few 2006 excerpts of him on guitar singing a few verses of Cat Stevens songs including "The Wind" and "On the Road to Find Out".

Yusuf has credited his then 21-year-old son Muhammad Islam, also a musician and artist, for his return to secular music, when the son brought a guitar back into the house, which Yusuf began playing. Muhammad's professional name is "Yoriyos" and his debut album was released in February 2007. Yoriyos created the art on Yusuf's album An Other Cup, something that Cat Stevens did for his albums in the 1970s.

Starting in 2006, the Cat Stevens song "Tea for The Tillerman" was used as the theme tune for the Ricky Gervais BBC-HBO sitcom Extras. A Christmas-season television commercial for gift-giving by the diamond industry aired in 2006 with Cat Power's cover of "How Can I Tell You". That song is also covered by John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers frequently in concert.

In December 2006, Yusuf was one of the artists who performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, in honour of the prize winners, Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank. He performed the songs "Midday (Avoid City After Dark)", "Peace Train", and "Heaven/Where True Love Goes". He also gave a concert in New York City that month as a Jazz at Lincoln Center event, recorded and broadcast by KCRW-FM radio, along with an interview by Nic Harcourt. Accompanying him, as he had in the Cat Stevens days, was Alun Davies, on guitar and vocals.

"I Think I See the Light" (2007)
Sample of "I Think I See the Light", performed by Yusuf Islam at BBC Sessions

In April 2007, BBC1 broadcast a concert given at the Porchester Hall by Yusuf as part of BBC Sessions, his first live performance in London in 28 years (the previous one being the UNICEF "Year of the Child" concert in 1979). He played several new songs along with some old ones like "Father and Son", "The Wind", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Don't Be Shy", "Wild World", and "Peace Train".

In July 2007, he performed at a concert in Bochum, Germany, in benefit of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Peace Centre in South Africa and the Milagro Foundation of Deborah and Carlos Santana. The audience included Nobel Laureates Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu and other prominent global figures. He later appeared as the final act in the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg performing some classic Cat Stevens songs and more recent compositions reflecting his concern for peace and child welfare. His set included Stevie Wonder's "Saturn", "Peace Train", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Ruins", and "Wild World". He performed at the Peace One Day concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 21 September 2007. In 2008 Yusuf contributed the song "Edge of Existence" to the Survival International charity album Songs for Survival.

In January 2009, Yusuf released a charity song in aid of children in Gaza. He recorded a rendition of the George Harrison song "The Day the World Gets Round", along with the German bassist and former Beatles collaborator Klaus Voorman. Yusuf said that all proceeds from the song will be donated to the U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and to the nonprofit group Save the Children to be directed to aiding Gaza residents. Israeli Consul David Saranga criticized Yusuf for not dedicating the song to all the children who are victims of the violence, including Israeli children.

An Other Cup
Main article: An Other Cup

In March 2006, Yusuf finished recording his first all-new pop album since 1978. The album, An Other Cup, was released internationally in November 2006 on his own label, Ya Records (distributed by Polydor Records in the UK and internationally by Atlantic Records) ? the 40th anniversary of his first album, Matthew and Son. A single, called Heaven/Where True Love Goes, was simultaneously released. The album was produced with Rick Nowels, who has worked with Dido and Rod Stewart. The performer is noted as "Yusuf", with a cover label identifying him as "the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens". The art on the album is credited to Yoriyos. Yusuf wrote all of the songs except "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and recorded it in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Yusuf actively promoted this album, appearing on radio, television and in print interviews. In November, 2006, he told the BBC, "It's me, so it's going to sound like that of course ... This is the real thing... . When my son brought the guitar back into the house, you know, that was the turning point. It opened a flood of, of new ideas and music which I think a lot of people would connect with." Originally, Yusuf began to return only to his acoustic guitar as he had in the past, but his son encouraged him to "experiment", which resulted in the purchase of a Stevie Ray Vaughan Fender Stratocaster in 2007.

Also in November 2006, Billboard magazine was curious as to why the artist is credited as just his first name, "Yusuf" rather than "Yusuf Islam". His response was "Because 'Islam' doesn't have to be sloganized. The second name is like the official tag, but you call a friend by their first name. It's more intimate, and to me that's the message of this record." As for why the album sleeve says "the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens", he responded, "That's the tag with which most people are familiar; for recognition purposes I'm not averse to that. For a lot of people, it reminds them of something they want to hold on to. That name is part of my history and a lot of the things I dreamt about as Cat Stevens have come true as Yusuf Islam."

Yusuf was asked by the Swiss periodical Das Magazin why the title of the album was An Other Cup, rather than "Another Cup". The answer was that his breakthrough album, Tea for the Tillerman in 1970, was decorated with Yusuf's painting of a peasant sitting down to a cup of steaming drink on the land. Yusuf commented that the two worlds "then, and now, are very different". His new album shows a steaming cup alone on this cover. His answer was that this was actually an other cup; something different; a bridge between the East and West, which Yusuf explained was his own perceived role. He added that, through him, "Westerners might get a glimpse of the East, and Easterners, some understanding of the West. The cup, too, is important; it's a meeting place, a thing meant to be shared."

On CBS Sunday Morning in December 2006, he said, "You know, the cup is there to be filled ... with whatever you want to fill it with. For those people looking for Cat Stevens, they'll probably find him in this record. If you want to find Islam, go a bit deeper, you'll find him."

Yusuf has since described the album as being too "over-produced" and refers to An Other Cup as being a necessary hurdle he had to overcome before he could release his new album, Roadsinger. Yusuf compares the relationship between An Other Cup and Roadsinger to the relationship between the Cat Stevens albums Mona Bone Jakon and the landmark Tea for the Tillerman with the latter being superior in quality to the former.

2008 and 2009 projects
Main article: Roadsinger

In January 2009, Yusuf recorded a George Harrison song, "The Day the World Gets Round", collaborating with Klaus Voormann. Proceeds from the song were donated to a charity to help the people of war-torn Gaza. To promote the new single, Voormann re-designed his famous Beatles Revolver album cover, drawing a picture of a young Cat Stevens along with himself and George Harrison.

28 May 2009 in London at Shepherds Bush Empire, Yusuf performing for Island Records' 50th Anniversary Photo: Izzy

A new pop album, Roadsinger, was released on May 5, 2009. The lead track, "Thinking 'Bout You", received its debut radio play on a BBC programme on March 23, 2009. Unlike An Other Cup, Yusuf promoted the new album with appearances on American television as well as in the U.K.. He appeared on the first episode of the Chris Isaak Show on the A&E network in April, 2009, performing live versions of his new songs, "World O'Darkness", "Boots and Sand", and "Roadsinger". On 13 May he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Los Angeles, and on 14 May, on The Colbert Report in New York City, performing the title song from the Roadsinger album. On 15th May, he appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, performing "Boots and Sand" and "Father and Son". On May 24 he appeared on the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show, where he was interviewed and performed the title track of Roadsinger. On August 15, he was one of many guests at Fairport Convention's annual Cropredy Convention. He performed five songs with Fairport Convention as his backing band, including "Peace Train" and "Roadsinger".

A world tour was announced on his web site to promote the new album. He was scheduled to perform at an invitation-only concert at New York City's Highline Ballroom on May 3 and to go on to Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto, as well as some to-be-announced European venues. However, the New York appearance was postponed due to issues regarding his work visa. He was scheduled to appear with his son Yoriyos later in May at Island Records' 50th Anniversary concert in London.

Awards

Philanthropic and humanitarian awards
2003 World Award also known as the "World Social Award" for "humanitarian relief work helping children and victims of war".
2004 Man for Peace Award presented by Mikhail Gorbachev for his "dedication to promote peace, the reconciliation of people and to condemn terrorism", the ceremony was held in Rome, Italy and attended by five Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
(2005) Honorary Doctorate by the University of Gloucestershire for services to education and humanitarian relief.
(2007) The Mediterranean Prize for Peace in Naples, Italy. He received the award "as a result of the work he has done to increase peace in the world".
10 July 2007, honorary doctorate (LLD) by the University of Exeter, in recognition of "his humanitarian work and improving understanding between Islamic and Western cultures". The ceremony was attended by esteemed personalities including Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and guitarist Brian May.
Music awards and recognition
2005 Nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
20 October 2005, ASCAP named Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year for "The First Cut Is the Deepest"
8 June 2006, listed as #49 in Paste magazine's "100 Best Living Songwriters".
11 October 2006, awarded Songwriter of the Year for the second year running, for the same song "The First Cut Is the Deepest".
25 March 2007, received the German ECHO "special award for life achievements as musician and ambassador between cultures", Europe's Grammy, in Berlin
2008 Nominated for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

He currently lives with his wife and children in London, and spends part of each year in Dubai.

His newest album, Roadsinger, was released on May 5, 2009.

Early life (1948?1965)

Musical career (1966?1970)

Early musical career

"The First Cut is the Deepest" (1967)
Sample of "The First Cut is the Deepest", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on New Masters.

Tuberculosis
"Trouble" (1969-1970)
Sample of "Trouble", performed by Cat Stevens. Written between 1969-1970 during hospitalization for tuberculosis.

Changes in musical sound after illness

Musical career (1970?1978)

Height of popularity

"Wild World" (1971)
Sample of "Wild World", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Tea for the Tillerman.

"Father and Son" (1970)
Sample of "Father and Son", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Tea for the Tillerman.

After the end of his relationship with D'Arbanville, Stevens noted the effect it had on writing his music, saying,

"Peace Train" (1976)
Sample of "Peace Train", performed by Cat Stevens live on the "Earth Tour".

Exploration with movie soundtracks

In July 1970, Stevens recorded one of his songs, "But I Might Die Tonight", for the Jerzy Skolimowski film Deep End, which featured Jane Asher.

Later Cat Stevens recordings

"Later" (1973)
Sample of "Later", performed by Cat Stevens. Appears on Foreigner.

Religious conversion

Yusuf in 2008

Yusuf married Fauzia Mubarak Ali on 7 September, 1979, at Regent's Park Mosque in London. It was the 1,000th such ceremony to take place at the mosque. They have five children.

Life as Yusuf Islam (1978?present)

Muslim faith and musical career

Elton John

2011-06-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

Reginald Kenneth Dwight, 25 March 1947, Pinner, Middlesex, England. At the age of four, the young Dwight started taking piano lessons. This launched a talent that via the Royal Academy Of Music led him to become the most successful rock pianist in the world, one of the richest men in Britain and one of the world's greatest rock stars. Dwight formed his first band Bluesology in the early 60s and turned professional in 1965 when they secured enough work backing touring American soul artists. Long John Baldry joined the band in 1966, which included Elton Dean on saxophone and Caleb Quaye on lead guitar. As the forceful Baldry became the leader, John became disillusioned with being a pub pianist and began to explore the possibilities of a music publishing contract. Following a meeting set up by Ray Williams of Liberty Records at Dick James Music, the shy Dwight first met Bernie Taupin, then an unknown writer from Lincolnshire. Realizing they had uncannily similar musical tastes they began to communicate by post only, and their first composition "Scarecrow" was completed. This undistinguished song was the first to bear the John/Taupin moniker; John had only recently adopted this name, having dispensed with Reg Dwight in favour of the more saleable title borrowed from the first names of his former colleagues Dean and Baldry. In 1968 John and Taupin were signed by Dick James, formerly of Northern Songs, to be staff writers for his new company DJM Records at a salary of £10 per week. The songs were slow to take off, although Roger Cook released their "Skyline Pigeon" and Lulu sang "I've Been Loving You Too Long" as a potential entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. One hopes that John was not too depressed when he found that "Boom-Bang-A-Bang" was the song chosen in its place. While the critics liked his own single releases, none were selling. Only "Lady Samantha" came near to breaking the chart, which is all the more perplexing as it was an excellent, commercial-sounding record. In June 1969 Empty Sky was released, and John was still ignored, although the reviews were reasonably favourable. During the next few months he played on sessions with the Hollies (notably the piano on "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother") and made budget recordings for cover versions released in supermarkets.

Finally, his agonizingly long wait for recognition came the following year when Gus Dudgeon produced the outstanding Elton John. Among the tracks were "Border Song" and the classic "Your Song". The latter provided Elton John's first UK hit, reaching number 2, and announced the emergence of a major talent. The momentum was maintained with Tumbleweed Connection but the following soundtrack, Friends and the live 17-11-70 were major disappointments to his fans. These were minor setbacks, as over the next few years Elton John became a superstar. His concerts in America were legendary as he donned ridiculous outfits and outrageous spectacles. At one stage between 1972 and 1975 he had seven consecutive number 1 albums, variously spawning memorable hits including "Rocket Man", "Daniel", "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Candle In The Wind" and the powerful would-be suicide note, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight".

He was partly responsible for bringing John Lennon and Yoko Ono back together again in 1975, following the Madison Square Garden concert on 28 November 1974, and became Sean Lennon's godfather. In 1976 he topped the UK charts with a joyous duet with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", and released further two million-selling albums, Here And There and Blue Moves. The phenomenal pattern continued as John courted most of the rock cognoscenti. Magazine articles peeking into his luxury home revealed an astonishing wardrobe, and a record collection so huge that he would never be able to listen to all of it. In 1977 John declared that he was retiring from music, and in 1979 Taupin moved to Los Angeles as the John/Taupin partnership went into abeyance. John started writing with pianist and bandleader Tony Osborne's son, Gary. The partnership produced few outstanding songs, however. The most memorable during that time was the solo instrumental "Song For Guy", a beautiful tribute to a Rocket Records motorcycle messenger killed in a road accident.

Elton John then entered an uncomfortable phase in his life; he remained one of pop's most newsworthy figures, openly admitting his bisexuality and personal insecurities about his weight and baldness. It was this vulnerability that made him such a popular personality. His consumerism even extended to rescuing his favourite football team, Watford. He purchased the club and invested money in it, and under his patronage their fortunes changed positively. His albums and sales during the early 80s were patchy, and only when he started working exclusively with Taupin again did his record sales pick up. The first renaissance album was Too Low For Zero in 1983, which scaled the charts along with the triumphant single "I'm Still Standing'. John ended the year in much better shape and married Renate Blauel the following February. During 1985 he appeared at Wham!"s farewell concert, and the following month he performed at the historic Live Aid concert, giving a particularly strong performance as one of rock's elder statesmen. He completed the year with another massive album, Ice On Fire. In January 1986 he and Taupin contested a lengthy court case for back royalties against DJM. However, the costs of the litigation were prohibitive and the victory at best pyrrhic. Towards the end of that year John collapsed onstage in Australia and entered an Australian hospital for throat surgery in January.

During this time the UK gutter press were having a field day, speculating on John's possible throat cancer and his rocky marriage. The press had their pound of flesh when it was announced that Renate and John had separated. In 1988 he released the excellent Reg Strikes Back and the fast-tempo boogie, "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That". Meanwhile, The Sun newspaper made serious allegations against the singer, which prompted a libel suit. Considering the upheavals in his personal life and regular sniping by the press John sounded in amazingly good form and was performing with the energy of his early 70s extravaganzas. In September, almost as if he were closing a chapter of his life, Elton auctioned at Sotheby's 2000 items of his personal memorabilia including his boa feathers, "Pinball Wizard" boots and hundreds of pairs of spectacles. In December 1988, John accepted a settlement (reputedly £1 million, although never confirmed) from The Sun, thus forestalling one of the most bitter legal disputes in pop history. He appeared a sober figure, now divorced, and concentrated on music, recording two more strong albums (Sleeping With The Past and The One).

In April 1991 the Sunday Times announced that John had entered the list of the top 200 wealthiest people in Britain. He added a further £300,000 to his account when he yet again took on the UK press and won, this time the Sunday Mirror, for an alleged incident with regard to bulimia. In 1993 an array of guest musicians appeared on John's Duets, including Bonnie Raitt, Paul Young, k.d. lang, Little Richard and George Michael. Five new songs by the artist (written with Tim Rice) graced the soundtrack to 1994's Disney blockbuster, The Lion King, the accompanying album reaching number 1 in the US charts. In 1995 John confronted the media and gave a series of brave and extremely frank confessional interviews with regard to his past. He confessed to sex, drugs, food and rock 'n' roll. Throughout the revelations he maintained a sense of humour and it paid him well. By confessing, his public seemed to warm further to him. He rewarded his fans with one of his best albums, Made In England, which scaled the charts throughout the world.

His career scaled new heights in September 1997 when, following the tragic death of his friend Diana, Princess Of Wales, he was asked by her family to sing at the funeral. This emotional moment was seen by an estimated 2 billion people. John's faultless performance in Westminster Abbey of a rewritten "Candle In The Wind" was entirely appropriate. Subsequently released as a charity record, it rapidly became the biggest-selling single of all time, overtaking Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". Buoyed by the publicity, John's 1997 album, The Big Picture, was another commercial success, and at the end of the year he was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1999, John duetted with American country star LeAnn Rimes on "Written In The Stars", a UK number 10 single in March. The single was taken from an ambitious stage adaptation of Aida by John and Tim Rice, which was rather clumsily retitled Elaborate Lives: The Legend Of Aida. The two men teamed up again the following year, with composer Hans Zimmer, to create the soundtrack to DreamWorks animated adventure, The Road To El Dorado. His first studio album of the new millennium, Songs From The West Coast, was hailed as a return to the standards set by his classic early 70s material.

With or without his now substantial wealth Elton John has kept the friendship and admiration of his friends and peers. He remains an outstanding songwriter and an underrated pianist, and together with the Beatles and Rolling Stones is Britain's most successful artist. He has ridden out all intrusions into his private life from the media with considerable dignity and has maintained enormous popularity. Above all he is still able to mock himself in down-to-earth fashion, aware of all his eccentricities.

Kansas

2011-06-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Kansas is an American rock band which became popular in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". They have remained a classic rock radio staple and a popular touring act in North America and Europe.

1970?1973: Early Years

Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums, percussion), and Kerry Livgren (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers) formed a progressive rock group named Kansas in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas, along with vocalist Lynn Meredith from Manhattan, Kansas, keyboardist Don Montre, keyboardist Dan Wright, and saxophonist Larry Baker. A year earlier, Meredith, Montre, Wright and Livgren were performing in a band called The Reasons Why. After changing the band's name to Saratoga, they started playing Livgren's original material with Scott Kessler playing bass and Zeke Lowe on drums. In 1970, they changed the band's name again to Kansas and merged with members of a rival Topeka progressive outfit White Clover. This early Kansas group, which lasted until 1971 when Ehart and Hope and some of the others left to reform White Clover, is sometimes referred to as Kansas I. Ehart was replaced by Zeke Lowe and later Brad Schulz, Hope was replaced by Rod Mikinski on bass, and Baker was replaced by John Bolton on saxophone and flute. In 1972, after Ehart returned from England (where he'd gone to look for other musicians), he and Hope once again reformed White Clover with Robby Steinhardt (vocals, violin, viola, cello), Steve Walsh (vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion) and Rich Williams (guitars). In 1973 they recruited Livgren from the second Kansas group, which then folded. Eventually, they received a record deal with Don Kirshner's eponymous label, and decided to adopt the Kansas name. In early 1974 they recorded their first album.

1974?1979: Rise to National Prominence

The debut album, Kansas (#174), which was released in March 1974, showcased Kansas' signature mix of guitars, keyboards, vocals, and Steinhardt's violin style, which merged American-style boogie-rock with complex, symphonic arrangements and changing time signatures. Their sound bore the marks of late-1960s, early 1970s progressive rock, such as Genesis and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Promotion by Kirshner and touring behind the debut album and its two follow ups, Song for America (#57) and Masque (#70), increased awareness of Kansas.

On the strength of their 1977 hit single "Carry On Wayward Son" (#11) the band's fourth album, Leftoverture (#5), released in October 1976, on which Steinhardt added viola and Walsh added vibraphone to their work, was a hit which garnered a lot of airplay on the burgeoning AOR radio format. The follow up Point of Know Return (#4), released in October 1977, featured the title track (#28) and "Dust in the Wind" (#6), both hit singles.

Both albums had unique album covers, with Point of Know Return depicting a ship teetering over the edge of the world. Both albums have sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. alone. Both "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust In The Wind" were certified Gold singles, selling over one million units each.

During this period, Kansas became a major headlining act for several years, selling out the largest venues available to rock bands at the time (e.g., New York City's Madison Square Garden). The band documented this era with its first live recording, 1978's double live album Two For The Show, a snapshot of various performances from the 1977 and 1978 tours supporting Point Of Know Return.

Kansas self-produced their follow-up to Point Of Know Return. The 1979 album Monolith (#10) featured lyrics influenced by The Urantia Book and Native American themes. "Kansas" itself is a toponym derived from the Kansa tribe, whose name is widely believed to mean "People Of The South Wind." The starkly expressive album cover depicts Plains Indians in traditional dress and space suit helmets living in a settlement under the ruins of highway overpasses. While the album produced a Top 40 single in "People of the South Wind" (#23), both the band and the label were disappointed in Monolith's failure to produce sales or radio airplay close to its two predecessors. Nevertheless, the album went Platinum and the Platinum record hangs in the Kansas State Historical Society.

1980?1984: Creative Tensions

Kansas' band members began to drift apart in the early 1980s. Kerry Livgren became a born-again Christian, and this was reflected in his lyrics on the next three albums, beginning with Audio-Visions (#26), and especially on the Top 40 single ("Hold On") released from that album. Dave Hope soon converted to Christianity as well. Walsh left in October 1981 to form a new band, Streets. In early 1982 Walsh was replaced by vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist John Elefante, also a born-again Christian, who along with his brother Dino, later became known for producing albums for Christian rock bands including Sweet Comfort Band, Petra, Bride, Rick Cua, and Guardian.

Kansas' first album with Elefante, Vinyl Confessions (#16), released in 1982, was their most successful studio release since Point of Know Return. The record renewed interest in the group and generated the band's first top twenty hit in several years with "Play the Game Tonight" (#17). The album's overtly Christian lyrics attracted an entirely new audience of evangelical Christians, who used lyrics from the record in religious tracts handed out after Kansas concerts. However, sales of the album fell just shy of gold status, and to this day the album has not been certified gold, unlike all of the band's prior releases.

By 1983, Kansas had scheduled time to record their next album, but Robby Steinhardt failed to show up to record the album. Kerry Livgren was holding back some of the more Christian content for his second solo album. Kansas' next release Drastic Measures (#41) was written mostly by the Elefante brothers, with just three tracks from Livgren. The change in musical direction was closer to the sound of 1980s bands Loverboy or Foreigner than Kansas' earlier work. In fact, the first single from the album, Elefante's "Fight Fire With Fire," had a synthesizer/guitar-driven hard-rock sound similar to Loverboy. The single didn't crack the Top 40 on the Pop Charts, but reached #3 on the then recently created Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart, making the highest chart position of any Kansas release on any chart.

Livgren had always felt that the music industry wanted Kansas to produce more commercially viable material. Ironically, such attempts always led to commercial failure, while their most successful material was never intended as hits. However, the band's new direction did seem more commercially directed on Drastic Measures. This creative tension was reflected in the lyrics of "Mainstream", a criticism of the dominant mindset within the music industry.

During the Elefante years, Livgren and Hope had been feeling more distant with the rest of the band, and Livgren was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Kansas representing his Christian worldview. After a final New Year's Eve performance on , 1983, Livgren and Hope left to form AD with former Bloodrock member Warren Ham (who had toured with Kansas playing sax, harmonica and keyboards and singing backups in 1982) and Michael Gleason, who had appeared with Kansas as a keyboardist and backup vocalist in 1983 (another musician, Terry Brock, was also along as backup singer on their 1983 tour). They were joined by drummer Dennis Holt. Elefante, Ehart, and Williams sought to continue, as demonstrated by their recording of one more song ("Perfect Lover") which would appear on 1984's retrospective The Best of Kansas, but that was the last effort by the band with Elefante, whose main attraction to the band had been Livgren, and Kansas came to an end that year. In recent years, Elefante has become a popular contemporary Christian music singer and has never again performed with Kansas in any of its reconstituted lineups.

1985?present: Reformation and Touring
Kansas, June 6, 2009

In 1985, the band came back together with Walsh but without Livgren, Hope or Steinhardt. The new line-up included bassist Billy Greer (whom Walsh had worked with in Streets), guitarist Steve Morse (formerly of the Dixie Dregs, who has since gone on to rejoin that band and has been a member of Deep Purple since 1994) and, notably, no violin player (though in concert, Morse would perform the solo on "Dust In The Wind" on a violin). The reconstituted band released Power in November 1986. "All I Wanted," from Power became the last Kansas single to hit the Billboard Magazine Top 40 charts. 1988 saw the release of this line-up's second album, In the Spirit of Things, a favorite of several band members but a commercial failure. Morse left the band in 1989 at the end of this tour. The band made promotional videos for a number of songs during this era, several of which received regular play on MTV.

In 1990, a German promoter arranged to reunite all the original members of Kansas III, except Steinhardt, for a European tour. Greer joined them, along with keyboardist Greg Robert, who had first joined Kansas on tour in 1986. At the end of the tour, Hope left again but Livgren remained on into 1991, which also saw the return of the violin, but this time in the hands of David Ragsdale. Livgren left during the 1991 tour, to be replaced temporarily by Steve Morse again. After the tour, Morse left and Ragsdale took over the extra guitar parts, leaving Rich Williams as the primary guitar player. The resulting lineup of Ehart, Greer, Ragsdale, Robert, Walsh, Williams lasted from 1991 through 1997. This period saw one live album and videocassette, Live at the Whisky, in 1992, and the 1995 Freaks of Nature. On July 28 1996, Kansas was inducted into the RockWalk of Fame in Hollywood.

In early 1997, Robert and Ragsdale left the band, and Robby Steinhardt returned. The following year they recorded Always Never the Same with the London Symphony Orchestra as a sixth band member, which was composed and arranged by Larry Baird, featuring mostly older songs alongside a few new ones and one cover (Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles). Kansas has continued to tour, but the band has never been able to regain mass popularity or critical notice despite the media attention generated in 2000 by the reunion album Somewhere to Elsewhere, an album that featured all original members of Kansas, plus Greer, with all songs written by Livgren. The album sold well on the Internet when it was first released, charting at Number 13 on the Billboard Internet album chart its first week.

In 2000 Kansas toured as opening act support of Yes during their "Masterworks" tour. In 2002, Kansas II, the Kansas group before the band that recorded the first album, released an album of demos and live material they had recorded from 1971-1973. For legal reasons and a desire not to ride on the success of Kansas III, they decided to use the name Proto-Kaw. This led to a new album by most of the Kansas II members called Before Became After in 2004 and simultaneous tours by both Kansas groups. Proto-Kaw released a third album in 2006, entitled The Wait of Glory. Kansas continued to tour annually. In 2006 a tour was delayed for a few weeks in connection with the announcement that original violinist and secondary lead singer Robby Steinhardt had left the band. He had originally left in 1983 but returned in 1997. Robby was a central part of the band's live shows, acting as the emcee during both tenures with the band. David Ragsdale subsequently returned to the lineup on violin and guitar. In 2008, as announced on the Kansas website, four of the five members of the current Kansas lineup (Phil Ehart, David Ragsdale, Richard Williams and Billy Greer) have formed a recording project entitled Native Window. The lineup (featuring Greer on lead vocals) released their self-titled debut album in June 2009.

In early 2009 the band recorded a concert in Topeka, Kansas featuring a full symphony orchestra for a future DVD release, the concert included Steve Morse and Kerry Livgren guesting on several songs. In this year's October the band will tour through Europe as a special guest of Status Quo.

Influence

With classic rock continuing to be a strong genre of music, Kansas's influence has continued to inspire bands. "Carry On Wayward Son" has been covered by bands such as Rachel Rachel, Critical Mass, Dream Theater, The Showdown, Yngwie Malmsteen, and even country superstars The Oak Ridge Boys. The song has appeared on album soundtracks for the movies Heroes and Anchorman, and being played during a scene in the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore. (where it is featured as the ending credits song). "Carry On Wayward Son" is also featured in Guitar Hero II and Rock Band 2. Most recently the song was featured in an episode of the popular animated TV series South Park. It has also been played on the hit tv series Supernatural (TV series). More recently, it was also featured in season 8 of the show Scrubs (TV series). Kansas is mentioned as one of Dean Winchester's favorites; as well as a "major influence" in the liner notes of an early album of the top-selling Country artist of all time, Garth Brooks.

Progressive metal band Vanden Plas has covered Kansas, making a somewhat heavier cover of "Point Of Know Return." The band's biggest single, "Dust in the Wind," was used in a Subaru commercial, and in the film Old School. It was also prominently featured in several episodes of the television series Highlander, and was referenced in the film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

The single was certified Gold as a digital download by the RIAA in 2005, almost 30 years after it sold 1 million copies as a single. "Dust In The Wind" has been covered by Sarah Brightman, the German rock band Scorpions (during their 2001 acoustic album Acoustica), Christian artists Billy Smiley and Acappella and by former New York Yankees center fielder and aspiring jazz guitarist Bernie Williams on his 2004 debut album The Journey Within. In 2006, ex-Kansas lead singer John Elefante also covered "Dust In The Wind" as a single.

Slipknot

2011-05-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

Born of the near-desolation of Iowa, Slipknot burst forth from the heartland in 1999 with some of the most awe-inspiring, cathartic rock the world had ever heard. Vetting their collective psyche not only through their songs, but also through their masks, their uniforms, their live shows, and even their fans and the culture they inhabit, Slipknot hold nothing back. The depth of their expression is matched by that of their musical prowess---this tornado is laser-guided, and fellow musicians, critics, and fans know that Slipknot are deadly serious about their art. Thus, after two platinum albums, two platinum home videos, and cover stories in Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, and Revolver, to name a few, we come to Slipknot's ultimate expression: Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses). Within the confines, or lack thereof, of Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) lies a new level of musicianship, achieved through the hard work poured into supporting their self-titled debut and their subsequent hit album, Iowa. Produced by Rick Rubin, Vol. 3 not only captures the band's strengths to this point--it sees the spore that is Slipknot exploding in all directions. The songs on this daring effort transcend traditional hard music structure, and will surprise the uninitiated with their dynamic appeal. Masterful guitar work, visceral drum beats, and a newly expanded vocal range are highlights of this work that Corey Taylor (#8) calls "both brutal and beautiful." Much of the creative inspiration in evidence on the new album is owed to Rubin and his reputedly haunted mansion, in which the band lived while recording Vol. 3. "You can really feel [the effect of the mansion] on the album. There were ghosts in the machine, in the equipment. Things would freeze, things would loop for no reason at all. It was strange," adds Taylor. Paul Gray (#2) comments on what Rubin brought to the table. "Rick brought a huge amount of open mindedness normally nine different people trying different things can be tough. Rick got us to just throw all our preconceived notions out the window. He was able to integrate bits and pieces of everyone's ideas."

The first single off Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses), "Dualitym" is "lyrically, what you might think...we've been through a lot as a band and the lyrics really reflect our maintaining faith and the perseverance of all nine of us," says Joey Jordison (#1). "Duality" represents the album well in its unwillingness to compromise the band's rock foundation and its ability to be aurally appealing and melodic at the same time. Other songs of note on the record, "Before I Forget" and "Vermillion," underline the statement made by "Duality," with their dark melodies and fierce instrumentation. "'Before I Forget' is about rising above the bullsh-t and being a person, not a human. It's about saying what you mean and meaning what you say--taking zero bullsh-t," adds Taylor, "and 'Vermillion' is a stalker's love song, shot thru his eyes. It's kind of a does-he-or-doesn't-he type thing; it's left open for you to decide."

Many profess to know numbers 0 - 8 through the aforementioned cover stories and other worldwide press. But those who truly know this Des Moines mob know them through their jaw-dropping live sets. Called the "Best Live band" in a recent Revolver magazine readers' poll, Slipknot are one of the few bands working today whose live show transcends the medium--a Slipknot show is an event unto itself. The band are currently headlining the Jagermeister Music Tour in the U.S., to be followed by a European tour as direct support for Metallica, then headlining the side-stage at Ozzfest this summer. Of this second-stage headline, Gray says "It's hard to feel the vibe when your crowd is 200 feet away. This was our chance to get back to connecting with our fans, and we're loving it." Past tours include Ozzfest 1999, Tattoo The Earth, and Pledge of Allegiance. This go-'round, the band's look has evolved with their music. New, streamlined masks are a reflection of the changes in who the band members are, as people. Taylor adds "The mask thing started out because we wanted to show another side of ourselves through them. We have grown and changed, and so have the masks." About that growing and changing, Jordison says, "A lot of people won't ever understand why we do what we do, and the band thrives on that. The record itself represents that feeling of gratitude toward the people that refuse to let us die--the fans themselves. The time away only made us a stronger band, and the other projects absoluteley had nothing to do with the way this record was made. When all nine of us combine, we only know one sound, and that is the sound of Slipknot." The natural order dictates growth and change as constants. Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) catches one of the most relevant and daring bands in the rock music realm, turning adversity into strength and honing their craft to precision.

System of a Down

2011-05-31T23:13:00.000-07:00

System of a Down (sometimes referred to as S.O.A.D.) is a Alternative metal band from Los Angeles, California. The band consists of Serj Tankian (vocals, keyboards), John Dolmayan (drums), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals) and Shavo Odadjian (bass), who are known more for the outspoken social and political views found in their songs than for their distinctive dress styles and goatees. All four members are of Armenian ancestry. System of a Down uses a wide range of instruments, including baritone electric guitars, electric mandolins, sitars, 12-string classical guitars and many other East Asian instruments. Their main influences are most noticeably from earlier alternative rock bands, but they also draw influence from the heavy metal, punk rock, jazz, fusion, Armenian folk music, classic rock, blues, and industrial genres.

The band enjoyed moderate success with their first singles, "Sugar", ranked number 9 on the top 50 Songs that changed the world by Kerrang magazine, "Suite-Pee" and "Spiders", from their debut album System of a Down. However, their big break came from their critically acclaimed second album, Toxicity, which debuted at #1 on the American and Canadian charts, eventually achieving multi-platinum certification. The album was #1 in America on the week of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the political environment caused by the attacks added to the controversy surrounding their hit single "Chop Suey!", released in the late summer of 2001. System of a Down received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with their hits, "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", "Aerials", from their second album, Toxicity, and "Innervision" from their third album, Steal This Album!.

In November 2002 their third album, which contains songs which were recorded for but not included in the first two albums, was released under the name Steal This Album!. Early recordings of most of the songs had leaked out onto the internet and were well received by the fans resulting in the subsequent release. There are five different designs of the album available. One version of the CD resembles a CD Recordable that was labeled with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 copies of each of the other four featured designs were released. The four individual band members; Serj, Shavo, Daron and John; each designed one of the special covers.

In 2004, the band recorded two brand new albums named Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Mezmerize was released in the United States and Europe on May 17 2005, and in Australia on May 22 2005, while Hypnotize is to be released in the United States on November 22. In early January, 2005, a new track called "Cigaro" was purposely leaked onto the internet to be praised from fans, followed by the release of the single "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)", which worked its way up the North American singles charts. In January too they played at Big Day Out in Oceania a song for their up-coming album Hypnotize called Tentative. The next single was Question!, with bassist Shavo Odadjian co-directing the video. Mezmerize was a successful release for the band, immediately shooting up to the top of the US charts, making it the group's second consecutive number-one debut. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide, with the album debuting at number-one in over a dozen other countries, including Canada, Japan, Australia, Germany, and France. The album has also been generally well received by critics. In late September, 2005, the band filmed the first (official) single "Hypnotize" for the second disc. The single was released late September, to be broadcast on radio stations.

Download

2011-05-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

Aborted
Adorned Brood - Hammerfeste
Aftershock
At the Gates August Burns Red - Home (CD/2010)
AK47 - Barricades Close The Street But Open The Way
Alter Bridge - Blackbird
All Shall Perish
All That Remains
American Head Charge
Ambient Death - Transmigration Of Souls (EP)
ANTHEM - Heavy Metal Anthem
ANTHEM - Gypsy Ways
ANTHRAX
Annihilator
ANGRA- AQUA (2010)
Arcturus
As Blood Runs Black
As I Lay Dying - The Powerless Rise
Asking Alexandria
Atreyu – Covers Of The Damned (2010)
August Burns Head - Home 2010
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare
Avantasia

Between the buried and me
Between The Buried & Me - Colors
Birth - Diminishing Between Worlds
Bleeding Corpse
BLIND GUARDIAN
Born of Osiris
Bring Me The Horizon - Alligator Blood
Bring Me The Horizon - There Is a Hell
Brutal Death Metal Community Compilation-Vol-4-2010
Burzum

Cannibal Corpse
Canibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Cannibal Corpse - kill 1
Carcass
Cataract
Cataract – Killing the Eternal (2010)
Cephalic carnage - Misled by Certainty
Christian Mistress - Agony & Opium
Children of Bodom - Oops! I Did It Again
Chimaira
Cloudkicker - BEACONS
Cradle of Filth - Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa Single (2010)
Cradle of Filth - The Cult of Venus Aversa (New Single/2010)
CREAM
Crush it to Death - the hidden histories
Crowbar
Cynic - Traced in air

Darkspace
Death Angel - Relentless Retribution (2010)
DECAYING PURITY - Phases Of Dimensional Torture (2008)
Deadsquad
Death Vomit - Eternaly Deprecated - The Prophecy
Death Angel (Discography) 320 kbps
Deep Purple
Deadlock
Decapitated
Deff Lepard
Deicide
Diamond Plate - Mountains of Madness
Diamond plate - Relativity
Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra
Disavowed - Perceptive Deception (2001)
Disturbed
Divine Heresy
Domine - Dragonlord
Down – Diary of a Mad Band 2010
Draconis Infernum
Drowning Pool - Desensitized
Drowning Pool - Drowning Pool
Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity (1997)
Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)
Dying Fetus
Drudkh – Slavonic Chronicles (EP)
Doom

EA
Edguy
Edguy - Tinnitus Sanctus - Fucking With Fire
Eizo Japan - Eizo Japan 1
Electric Wizard
Emil Bulls
ENSLAVED
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
Entombed
Epica
Extreme Decay - Terror
Extreme Decay - Sampah Dunia Ketiga
Extreme Decay - Progressive Destruction
Exsecratus - Tainted Dreams
Eyes Set To Kill

F
Fleshgod Apocalypse
Flyleaf

G
Gamma Ray - Hell Yeah! The Awesome Foursome
Giant squid - ichthyologist
Gorguts
Gory Blister
Guttural Decay

Heavy Metal Army - Heavy Metal Army
Hail - Crimson Madrigal (2009)
Halford - Live In Anaheim 2010
Halford - Made Of Metal
Hangar - Infallible
Harem Scarem
Hatebreed - Hatebreed
Helloween
Helloween - Are You Metal? (Single) (2010)
Hemina - As We Know It (EP)
HIGHLORD - The Death Of The Artists

I Killed The Prom Queen
Infected Disarray - Disseminating Obscenity
In Flame
Iron Maiden - the final frontier

J
James LaBrie - Static Impulse
Job for a Cowboy - Genesis - Ruination - Doom (EP)
John 5

K
Kamelot - Poetry For The Poisoned
Kamelot - Siege Perilous
KillSwitch Engage
Kingdom Of Sorrow
KMFDM
Kreator

L
Laaz Rockit - Annihilation Principle
Lamb of God - Killadelphia (live)
Lamb of God - Sacrament
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
Limbonic Art - Phantasmagoria 2010
Liv Kristine
Luca Turilli's Dreamquest - Lost Horizons
Luca Turilli - Demonheart [Ep] - The Infinite Wonders of Creation

M

Machine Head - Supercharger
Machine Head - Through the Ashes of Empires
Machine Head - The Blackening
Marduk - Those Of The Unlight/Opus Nocturne/Nightwing
Megadeth - Endgame
Megadeth – Sudden Death (Single) (2010)
Malevolent Creation (Discography)
Melechesh - The Epigenesis
Messiah
Meshuggah
Metal Church - Metal Church
Metallica
Metallica - Six Feet Down Under EP
Michael Angelo Batio
Ministry - Psalm 69
Ministry - Rio Grande Blood
Ministry – Every Day Is Halloween The Anthology (2010)
Mirror of Deception - A Smouldering Fire (2010)
Municipal Waste
Murderdolls
Mushroomhead
Mushroomhead - Beautiful Stories For Ugly Children [2010]
Motorhead
Motorhead - Aces Up My Sleeve [2010]
Morbid Angel
My Dying Brid

Necrophagist
Nile
Nuclear Assault - Game Over The Plague

Nightwish

Obscura - Cosmogenesis
Odious Mortem
Onmyouza - In'you-Shugyoku
Orphaned Land
Outrage - Black Clouds
Ozzy Osbourne – Scream

P
Pantera – Cowboys From Hell (20th Anniversary D.E.)
Paradise Lost
Park Way Drive
Pathology
Periphery
Pink Floyd
Pitch Black Forecast - Absentee
Putrid Pile - Collection of Butchery
Psycroptic

Pantera

2011-05-31T20:12:00.000-07:00

The preeminent metal band of the early to mid-'90s, Pantera put to rest any and all remnants of the '80s metal scene, almost single-handedly demolishing any notion that hair metal, speed metal, power metal, et al., were anything but passé. Loathe to admit it, the Texas band had in fact been one of those '80s metal bands, releasing fairly unsuccessful (and later disowned) glam-inspired music throughout much of the decade. The about-face came with the addition of vocalist Phil Anselmo, and the key turning point was the band's major-label debut, Cowboys from Hell (1990). Pantera's mainstream breakthrough came next with Vulgar Display of Power (1992), their second major-label album, which thrust the band to the forefront of the metal scene, alongside such veteran bands as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax, as well as fellow up-and-comers Sepultura and White Zombie. By the time Pantera unleashed Far Beyond Driven (1994), after two long years of touring, they were the most popular metal band in the land: the new album debuted atop the Billboard Top 200 as its lead single, "I'm Broken," was getting massive airplay.

At the height of their popularity and influence, Pantera began to self-destruct. Less than two months after the release of The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) -- an album ridden with allusions to drug abuse and personal destruction -- Anselmo overdosed on heroin after a homecoming concert in Texas, and as tensions rose between him and his fellow bandmembers, he began engaging with a growing list of side projects that kept him away from Pantera. A live album, Official Live: 101 Proof (1997), was compiled for release when it became evident that no new studio album was forthcoming any time soon. One final studio album did result, Reinventing the Steel (2000), but that was more or less it for the briefly reunited Pantera. The bandmembers once again went their sperate ways, forming such bands as Damageplan, Down, and Superjoint Ritual.

The end of Pantera then became official on December 8, 2004, when guitarist Dimebag Darrell was murdered on-stage by a deranged fan. This much-publicized murder shone the spotlight back on Pantera for an extended moment, and amid all of the emotional outpouring and tributes, a consensus arose: in retrospect, there was no greater metal band during the early to mid-'90s than Pantera, who inspired a legion of rabid fans and whose oft-termed "groove metal" style bucked all prevailing trends of the day -- from hair metal and grunge to nu-metal and rap-metal -- and remains singular to this day, as defined by the vocals of Anselmo as it is by the guitar of Dimebag. Jason Birchmeier, Rovi.

Nightwish

2011-05-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

The idea of Nightwish was "born" in July 1996 at midnight when Tuomas was spending a night with his friends around a campfire. The first three songs, which were acoustic mood music, were recorded between October and December 1996. At that time, the band had three members: Tuomas, Tarj and Emppu.

The band wanted to see what the music would sound like if drums were added (Jukka joined the band). Also at this time, the acoustic guitar was replaced with an electric. After a couple of weeks of training, the band went to the studio this was in April 1997. At that time seven songs were recorded. These songs can be found on the limited edition of the album Angels Fall First.
In May 1997, Nightwish signed a recording contract with Spinefarm for two records. That August, the band went to the studio and recorded four new songs. Before the release of Angels Fall First, a single called The Carpenterwas released, and made it to number eight on the official singles chart in Finland. Angels Fall First was released in early November and went number 31 on the official album chart in Finland. Nightwish played their first gig in Kitee on the 31st December 1997. After that Nightwish played only seven gigs in the following winter because Jukka and Emppu were in the army and Tarja was busy with her studies. Nightwish and at this time, Spinefarm extended the contract to include three records instead of two.

In April 1998, they started filming the first video, The Carpenter. It was ready in early May and was first played on Jyrki. In late May, Tuomas and Tarja interviewed on that show. In the following summer, the bassist Sami Vänskäjoined the band.
During the summer, songs for the new record were rehearsed and the band went to the studio in early August; the recordings were finished in late October. On November 13th, Nightwish played a gig in Kitee during which, a video for Sacrament of Wilderness was filmed. That song's single was released on November 26th and the new record called Oceanborn was released on December 7th.
Everybody was surprised by the success of Oceanborn. It went up to fifth place on the official Finnish album chart and the single Sacrament of Wilderness was the number one on the singles chart for weeks.

In winter 1999, Nightwish played a lot of gigs all around the country for three months which included a gig on the Lista chart show program. In spring Oceanborn was first released outside of Finland. In May, the band started to play gigs again and toured the country for two and a half months, playing in almost all of the big rock festivals. At the same time the single Sleeping Sunwas recorded, which was written for the eclipse in Germany. In August, the single was released in Germany and it also included the songs Walking in the Air, Swanheart, and Angels Fall First. In Germany alone the single sold 15,000 copies in just one month. In August, Nightwish learned that Oceanborn and Sacrament of Wilderness had sold gold. At the same time it was confirmed that Nightwish would be touring Europe for 26 gigs with the German band Rage.

In early 2000 the band entered the studio again for the recording of their third album. A welcome interruption came to the repetitive studio work when they took part in the Finnish qualification for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Sleepwalker. Nightwish cleared the first round of the qualification, but the final position was second despite an overwhelming win in the public televoting.
The new album, Wishmaster, was released in May and the Wishmaster Tour started from Kitee, the home town of the band. After the show, the band received gold discs for the album Oceanborn and the singles Sacrament of Wilderness, Walking in the Air, and Sleeping Sun. Wishmaster went straight to number 1 on the Finnish album charts and stayed in that position for three weeks, during that time, it also reached the gold disc mark. Wishmaster was approved by both the fans and the media and it was named the album of the month by the German magazine Rock Hard in their issue 6/2000, past the long-awaited new releases by Bon Jovi and Iron Maiden.
Wishmaster also debuted in the National German Charts at No. 21 and No. 66 in France! The "Wishmaster World Tour", which started from Kitee, continued first to the big festivals in Finland and then to South America in July 2000. The three-week tour in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Panama and Mexico turned out to be one of the band's greatest experiences so far. This was followed by successful shows at Wacken Open Air, Biebop Metal Fest and the first headliner European tour with Sinergy and Eternal Tears Of Sorrow. In November, Nightwish also played two shows in Montreal, Canada.
The next project of Nightwish included the making of a full-length concert DVD & VHS with a limited live album (only for Finland). The concert was performed in Tampere on the 29th of December 2000. The material was released in April 2001 in Finland and worldwide during the summer of 2001. At the end of the show, Nightwish were given platinum discs for "Wishmaster" and gold discs for the single "Deep Silent Complete".

In March 2001 Nightwish entered the studio again to record their version of Gary Moore's classic Over The Hills And Far Away, with 2 new songs and a remake of Angels Fall First's "Astral Romance". The Finnish release for this EP was in June 2001. The German version of "Over The Hills And Far Away" (released by Drakkar) includes 6 live tracks in addition to the 4 unreleased songs. Nightwish has also extended the record deal with Spinefarm Records with one full-length album, which was set to be released in Summer 2002.
The video for the track "Over the Hills and Far Away", which had rapidly sold platinum in Finland as a mini-CD, was shot in August 2001 in Finland. The tour in Finland the same year ended in Nivala, and the band was close to disbanding. Tuomas went hiking and gathering his thoughts in Lappland; some changes had to be done in order for Nightwish to be able to continue. According to his own words, Tuomas wanted to end the band due to prolonged disagreements within the band. Luckily, that didn't happen. But something happened, a lot in fact. Sami Vänskä, who had been with them since Oceanborn, had to leave. Marco Hietala, known from Tarot and Sinergy, promised to step in as a replacement for the next album and tour. King Foo Entertainment became their new booking agency, and long-time friend and colleague, Ewo Rytkönen, was to become their manager. To celebrate the "new beginning", the first official shop for fan-products, Nightwish-Shop, was opened on the band's homepage on November 24th 2001, a month before Christmas. The recording of the next album Century Child started in January 2002.
The beginning of 2002 brought Nightwish good news, in comparison to previous rough times. As a band and as individual musicians they were voted to the top on many domestic and foreign magazines reader's polls. The fans had not abandoned them after the changes, on the contrary. Ever Dream, the first single from the forthcoming album, went gold in Finland within 2 days. At the same time Nightwish announced they would take a break as soon as the "Century Child World Tour 2002" would be over, Tarja would finish her educations in Germany during the break. That announcement brought up all kinds of speculations among fans. Sami leaving the previous Fall, now a break that would last a year... Century Child came out in May 2002 and made a sales record, selling gold in Finland within 2 hours! Within two weeks it sold platinum (30,000 copies) and continued selling rapidly. At the same time Nightwish held the top-position in both singles-and album charts, for their first time ever. Foreign countries responded, too: in Germany, Century Child went straight to number 5 and in Austria, number 15, those two being the band's highest positions abroad so far. In July, Nightwish toured successfully in South America, where nearly all gigs sold out. In Brazil, the first edition of Century Child was sold out in one day, and the successful European tour that year didn't go unnoticed by booking agencies. Many European gigs were broadcasted live on the internet, needless to say the connections were often jammed. At its most, nearly 10,000 fans were trying to follow the live feed. Having sold an astonishing 59,000 copies in Finland, Century Child was the country's 2nd best selling album in 2002. The first visit to Sweden took place on 16th November 2002, in Fryshuset, Stockholm. The break started in late 2002, and sure enough there was no rest for the guys. Jukka played with Sethian and Bitch Driven, Tuomas with Sethian, For My Pain..., and Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Emppu played with Altaria, and Marco with Tarot. All in all the break wasn't to last nearly a year, back on the road...

The beginning of 2003 saw more good results in reader's polls of various magazines, and a studio was booked in order to start recording the next album, planned to be released the next year. Happenings also at the home-front: Jukka and his girlfriend Satu had a daughter, Luna, on March 11, 2003. Nightwish received their first double-platinum award for Century Child, having sold 60,000. The band performed mostly abroad in 2003, the only gig in Finland was at RMJ 2003 on June 20th. The second visit to Sweden took place at the sold out "Gates of Metal"-festival in Hultsfred. During 2003, the forthcoming DVD-documentary End of Innocence was being put together, and it's release was postponed a few times due to huge amount of material.
In May 2003, Tarja Turunen announced that she had secretly gotten married a few months earlier, and would be moving back to Finland. The DVD "End of Innocence" was finally released on October 6th 2003, and at that point, Nightwish had already started recording the next album. Their fifth album "Once" would be the most important release in the history of Nightwish. Meanwhile, Finland's President, Tarja Halonen, had also taken note of Nightwish's achievements and invited Tarja Turunen and her husband Marcelo Cabuli to the annual independence-day party held at the presidential residence. Tarja's dress was voted as the most beautiful dress that evening.
Before the Christmas of 2003 Nightwish auctioned their "Century Child World Tour"-backdrop, and donated all the money to charity. The outcome was 1,750 EUR, and was given to Parikanniemi's Children's home in Ristiina on December 2003. The funds were handed out by Tarja Turunen, Michael "Big Tini" Leipold from Germany became the new proud owner of the backdrop.

The year 2004 was eagerly expected by both the fans and the band. Exhausting studio-sessions took their toll both physically and mentally. The actual recording took place at the Phoenix-studios in London, the same studio and with the same orchestra (The Academy of St. Martins in the Field) that Howard Shore used for writing the score for "The Lord of the Rings"-trilogy. Orchestral-and choral arrangements were written by Pip Williams, who has produced "Status Quo" and "Uriah Heep" Big time, great expectations! Nemo was the first single released off the forthcoming album, and a big-budget video was made. The director was Antti Jokinen, who had previously worked with Shania Twain and Eminem. With the new album, Nightwish had some changes with the recording contract, and the new material was released by Nuclear Blast. Good old Spinefarm Records would still handle the distribution in Finland. Nuclear Blast spent a considerable amount of money marketing Once, especially in Germany. Pictures of Nightwish and Once were splattered all over the television-channels, subways, buses and streets, and the press wasn't forgotten either. Every German will know Nightwish by now.
Once went gold in Finland on its day of release, as did the single "Nemo". Nightwish started a world Tour of 150 concerts in all continents, the tour lasted until the end of 2005. This tour was be the biggest in the history of Nightwish so far. The album "Once" sold gold in Finland immediately on its release day, as did the single "Nemo". In May 2004, Nightwish started the Once World Tour. The Once World Tour lasted until the end of October 2005. There were about 130 gigs all over the world, including new countries such as Japan, Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, Poland, Slovenia, Portugal, Denmark, and Greece. The tour was the biggest in Nightwish's history. From month to month the venues grew bigger and the news told about success. The second single, Wish I Had An Angel, was released in Autumn 2004. The song's video was directed by Uwe Boll, director of the movie "Alone In The Dark", in which the song was also played. The second single was again a great success and boosted the sales of the Once album. In August, Nightwish finally made it to the USA! The tour was very successful and they planned to come back for a bigger tour in 2005. After the tours in Europe and South America in the Autumn of 2004, and some separate gigs in December, the band had some time off in January 2005.

In February 2005, Nightwish won five awards in Emma-Gala (Finnish Grammy). Among the others they won awards for "The Band of the Year" and "The Best Selling Album of the Year". Tuomas and Marco flew from European tour to Helsinki to receive the awards. The last show in the European tour was so far the biggest gig of their own, in Stuttgart there were 10,001 people watching the show! In March, Nightwish performed the first time in Japan and Australia; in April and May, they had to have a break because of Tarja's other interests, but at the end of May the band started the tour again by playing with Iron Maiden in Poland and with Mötley Crüe in Norway. In July, the 3rd single, a new version of Sleeping Sun, was released since the record label had decided to use it to promote the forthcoming collectionHighest Hopes. The new version of the video for "Sleeping Sun" was directed by Joern Heitmann and shot in August 2005 in Prague. During the Autumn 2005, Nightwish played several shows and performed in the legendary Hammersmith Apollo Venue for sold out seats. After a short festival tour in South America (in October), the Once World Tour was coming to an end. The final concert was played on 21 October for 11,500 people in Hartwall-Arena in Helsinki. The concert was also recorded to be released as an End of an Eralive DVD. After the last concert, Tuomas, Emppu, Marco and Jukka fired Tarja Turunen, and her manager Marcelo Cabuli. The reason for this was because during the Once Tour their attitude and actions had turned out to be against almost all that Nightwish represents. As one may guess, the news of the firing was followed by an incredible sensation and hullabaloo. Once the nearly ridiculous fuss was finally starting to calm down in the end of 2005, Nightwish was able to look to the future and wait for an adequate singer to be found. By the end of 2005, "Once" has sold approx. 1,000 000 copies worldwide as well, it has sold triple platinum in Finland, platinum in Germany, and gold in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, and Austria. The "Highest Hopes" collection has sold double platinum in Finland and gold in Norway by the end of the year 2005. The year 2006 began with good news for Nightwish: Their "Highest Hopes" Best-Of compilation had not only crossed the Finnish Double Platinum mark of 60,000 sold copies, it was also Finland's best-selling album of 2005, having sold more than 65,000 times. With the media frenzy finally slowing down, the band members found time to concentrate on the important things again. Tuomas had already written the majority of the new songs, Emppu recorded some new tunes with the Finnish hard rock band Brother Firetribe, Marco returned to the Tarot camp to record the eagerly awaited album "Crows Fly Black" and Jukka had his own business projects going on.

In March, Nightwish brought home two prizes from the Emma Gaala. The band was awarded an Emma as "Best Finnish Artist 2005" and one for "Most Sold Album 2005". In the same month, the band officially started to look for a new vocalist through an open call for auditions on their website. In April, the Finnish music video awards, the Muuvi, brought more happy news to Nightwish. The jury awarded the band a Silver Muuvi for their "Sleeping Sun" video, shot in 2005. The video also made it to the second place in the public voting. May finally brought two long-expected releases. The Nightwish book, written by Mape Ollila, was released in Finland. Shortly after, Nightwish's second full-length live DVD "End Of An Era" was released and reached gold status in Finland after just one day. It was later certified gold in Germany and France as well. In the following weeks, the band retreated to their summer camp to rehearse the new songs and have a good summer. Meanwhile, the media kept themselves busy with unending speculations about the new singer.

In September, Nightwish went to the studio to begin recording the next album.

The auditions for the position as new lead singer ended in mid-January. All in all, the band had received and listened to more than 2,000 demos from singers from all over the world. Exciting news that was followed by the announcement of the first new live shows, scheduled to happen in the USA and Canada in October and November.

On May 24th, all speculating and waiting was put to an end when Nightwish introduced their new lead singer, Anette Olzon. Within minutes, the news was all over websites and news stations around the world. One day later, the first single "Eva" was released as an internet-only single. The single's entire revenue was donated to a children's charity.

In June, the band went to Los Angeles to shoot two videos for their upcoming singles "Amaranth" and "Bye Bye Beautiful". Both were directed by the renown Finnish director Antti Jokinen, who had already worked with Nightwish for their "Nemo" video. "Amaranth" was released in August and sold gold in just two days in Finland. It made good charts positions all across Europe and went straight to the top of the single charts in Finland, Hungary and Spain.

The new album "Dark Passion Play" was released in late September and had a very successful start all across the world. It was awarded double platinum in Finland after just two days and received four more gold awards so far. The album entered the charts at the top position in several countries. The world tour is booked, first shows already sold out, the new era has begun...

Disturbed

2011-05-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

Heavy metal band Disturbed came together through the matching of a band with a singer. Longtime friends Dan Donegan (guitar), Mike Wengren (drums), and Fuzz (bass) played together in Chicago for some time before hooking up with singer David Draiman around 1997. Draiman had grown up in a religious family against which he rebelled, being expelled from five boarding schools in his adolescence. His anger found an outlet in the thrashing sound of Disturbed, and the band built up a following on Chicago's South Side before a demo tape led to their signing to Giant Records, which released their debut album, The Sickness, in March 2000. The band gained more fans and exposure playing the main stage of the 2001 Ozzfest, then breaking away to do their own self-described "victory lap" around the U.S. that fall. Also during this period, they managed to record a vicious new version of wrestler Steve Austin's theme song that was so good it managed to receive radio play, and they were one of the many bands announced to work on a high-profile Faith No More tribute album.

Disturbed stepped into the studio after stepping off of the road and began work on a new disc that would reflect their growth as a band. Feeling experimental, the bandmembers worked with producer Johnny K and mixer Andy Wallace in order to create an album that could compare to other classic metal records they admired. Amplifying their fondness for groups like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Pantera, and Soundgarden, Believe was released in the fall of 2002 and was recognized as a heavier, more varied, and ultimately superior record to their debut, ultimately reaching the top of the Billboard 200. After completing a tour to support the album, Fuzz left the band and was replaced by former Union Underground member John Moyer. The tour document Music as a Weapon II appeared in 2004, followed by the ambitious studio full-length Ten Thousand Fists in September 2005 and Indestructible in 2008. In 2010, Disturbed released their fifth studio album, Asylum. William Ruhlmann & Bradley Torreano, Rovi

Eminem

2011-05-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in Missouri. Spent childhood moving back and forth between Kansas City and Metro Detroit. Attended Lincoln High School in Warren 1986-89. Hustled self-made cassettes of his work to places like Record Time in Roseville. His girlfriend (now wife) Kimberly gave birth to daughter Hailie Jade on Dec. 25, 1995. He worked at Gilbert's Lodge (a family restaurant) in St. Clair Shores from 1996-1998. Full-length debut, Infinite, released in 1996. The Slim Shady EP was released in 1998. Later that year, Dr. Dre signed Eminem to his Aftermath label after hearing the rapper free styling on a Los Angeles radio station. The Slim Shady LP was released on Feb. 23, 1999 and hit No. 2 on the Billboard charts within weeks. The Slim Shady LP was 3 times platinum. Eminem has now put out his second full length CD, entitled The Marshall Mathers LP.

Mini Biography

Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born on the 17th October 1972, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Son of a fifteen-year-old mother at the time of his birth and a father who left six month later never to return, Marshall spent his early childhood being shoved back and forth from Kansas City and Detroit. He settled on the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. Switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble. Being a rap fan for most of his life, Marshall began rapping at the early age of 4. Rhyming words together, battling schoolmates in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence.

At the age of 14, he began to get very serious about his rapping but it wasn't until he was 17 that he actually made a name for himself, becoming M& M, which he would later respell as "Eminem". Being rejected by most fellow rappers because of his race, Marshall grew an anger that flows through his music to this day. After failing the 9th grade for three times in a row, he quit school, but remarks that he doesn't consider himself stupid and doesn't advise that people should follow his example. He says that it just wasn't for him. Forcing himself on radio shows, freestyle battles, Marshall threw himself head first into the rap game, where he was swallowed up most of the time. His very first album was titled "Infinite" and, while the album sold less than a thousand copies, it was the gearing up stages for the rapper who became a millionaire. It was then that his daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, was born on December 25th of 1995 with long time girlfriend Kim Scott. Having nothing to lose at all, flat broke and not knowing where he would be living the next week, Marshall set out to rant about life in general, the set quickly caught the ear of hip-hop's difficult-to-please underground. What came out of this was the Slim Shady EP, the early work for the later Dr. Dre revised Slim Shady LP. Down to nearly his last dime, he went into the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, basically hoping to win the $1,500 cash price which he badly needed. After battling for an hour and throwing back every race diss thrown at him, Marshall made it to second place losing in a slip up. Furious that he had lost, Marshall didn't even notice that he had been spotted. In the crowd were a few producers from Interscope, and they were handed a copy of the "Infinite" tape by way of a demo. Dr. Dre got to hear it and eventually tracked him down. The two instantly hit it off, recording four songs in the their first six hours of working - three which made it to his first LP. After the album was finished, Dr. Dre asked Marshall to come work with him on his new album. He helped produce several tracks and was on the best songs of the album.

Now officially making it, Marshall and Dre set to make his second LP. The album became the Marshall Mathers LP and won 3 Grammies and was the first rap album ever to be nominated "Album of the Year", selling more than 8 million records in the United States alone. He also stunned critics when he shot down all homophobic remarks by performing "Stan" with Elton John. Currently working on his third LP, Em has made a movie, 8 Mile (2002), and has gone back and brought his friend with him; D-12. Though 2001 was a rough year for the rapper, being charged with weapon offenses, divorcing his wife, and almost going to prison, Marshall explains his life today in one word. "Claimer".

Justin Randall Timberlake

2011-05-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Justin Randall Timberlake was born on 31th January 1981in Memphis,Tennessee. This musically historical place had already produced musical idols like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. This cute boy was given the nickname " Curly ". Justin gained his first stage experience through various talent shows. When he was twelve he was discovered at an audition for the " Mickey Mouse Club " kids show. He moved with his mother to Orlando, where he not only gained more showbiz experience but also got to know JC.

Curly is the natural comic in the group and he takes enormous pleasure in making others laugh. This skill is only aided by his ability to act goofily. As well as being an excellent dancer and talented musician Justin is also very sporty. His favourite sport is basketball but, because of his hectic schedule with 'N SYNC he has admittedly little time to devote to his hobby. Advanced for his age, Justin is a purposeful and ambitious young man, who knows exactly what he wants. This must explain why, despite all the stress, he still has enough energy to successfully continue his schooling through a special correspondence course for young artists. His favourite subjects are maths and physics.

At the beginning of 'N SYNC's career, on those rare occasions when he made a mistake during the dance routines, this smart young man, being the perfectionist that he is, often reacted by pulling sweet, tormented faces. As frontman alongside JC, he carries a heavy load on his young ( albeit broad ) shoulders being the main focus for the cameras. His likeable, friendly smile has captured the hearts of the majority of 'N SYNC fans. Despite his great success Justin remains modest and can't quite come to terms with his effect on girls. He simply can't understand why the fans become speechless when he looks at them.

IDEAL WOMAN : " She definitely has to have a sense of humor. But she has to be intelligent. I want to be able to talk to her. I guess I want just an all - over picture. Everyone deserves the best and everyone has somebody out there for them. The first thing I notice is the way she presents herself and carriers herself. If she's confident, then she's true to herself, and that's something that attracts me to a girl. "

AKON

2011-05-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

The mere act of surviving on a day to day basis is the foundation from which a true artist builds his craft. Multi-talented newcomer AKON is no exception to this rule. His dynamic debut album, TROUBLE, a collection of stirring songs, creatively reflects the ups and downs of the singer/songwriter/producer's life experiences. A crafty blend of soulful hip-hop, TROUBLE is AKON's vibrant first time tour-de-force.

"TROUBLE evolved from the struggles I went through and what I did and am still doing to correct those things," offers AKON, who has had his fair share of adolescent problems with both the legal and school system, as is reflected in his redemption song "Trouble Nobody." "I've got a habit of writing about everything I go through," he explains, "and this album gives a glimpse of where I am now."

To understand where AKON is right now is just half the equation. The other half lies in where he came from: this young artist possesses a unique history. A Senegalese African, AKON moved to the United States when he was seven. His family is headed by legendary percussionist and jazz musician Mor Thiam, whose expertise for playing the Djembe, a traditional African drum, has been touted as "unrivaled." Being brought up in an environment that treasures the true artistic value of musicianship and revels in the mastering of instrumental skill has had a momentous affect on AKON.

It was AKON's deep rooted love and passion for music, evolving from filial admiration, which allowed him to turn his life around, despite his trouble as a youth residing in New Jersey. AKON began playing several different percussion instruments and eventually embraced hip-hop music and culture, despite his initial disdain for the genre. "When I first heard hip-hop I thought it was rubbish because I didn't understand the concept of people talking over music," AKON recalls, "But as I started growing up, living a little and listening to the lyrics, I realized that I was going through a lot of stuff these rappers were talking about and I could relate."

Once hip-hop took over his life, AKON's musical development exploded and he began channeling his energy into writing and producing his own music. Songs such as "Show Out" display how much hip-hop has influenced him. Over the sparsely yet hard hitting groove, "Don't tempt me/'Cuz I'm close to the edge/I'm trying not to lose my head," ring the lyrics that cleverly integrates original school lyrics. At the same time, the song pays homage to hip-hop pioneers all while maintaining its own identity.

Meanwhile, his first single "Bananza (Belly Dance)" exhibits another side of the artist. On this song AKON puts forth a feel-good vibe. Singing over a seductive and sensual beat, "Bananza (Belly Dance)," is one of AKON's most irresistible tracks. The song integrates a unique up tempo dance beat with a distinct wind instrumentation floating in the background guaranteed to improve every listener's mood. The reason for this, AKON says, "There are a lot of negative things going on today." "We need to party and just have fun," he continues, "'Bananza…' is a party record. You just go in the club, party and enjoy those beautiful women."

However, life does not solely revolve around beautiful women and leisure time and AKON is well aware of this. On the somber, soulful "Ghetto" and the meditative, impressive "Journey," AKON gives listeners an in-depth look into a harsher world, one that is just as gripping as it is chilling. But rather than sensationalize his own drama, AKON transmits, to his audience, the feeling of being a part of his inner circle.

AKON's personal appeal and ability to reach a listener is a part of his whole package: a package that includes, most importantly, his distinctive vocals and a relaxed singing style. It is as though he is speaking to you as he sings in a very intimate manner. "When I sing the sound comes from the mood that I am in. These records are coming straight from the heart," AKON divulges. Genuine and honest, AKON's music is a step in a new direction: a trajectory that will lead us on a delightfully fulfilling path. Says AKON, "When I'm on the mic, I'm just giving the listener a part of me." Be prepared to receive it.

Fort Minor

2011-05-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

In November 2005, Linkin Park co-founder Mike Shinoda debuted as a solo artist with Rising Tied, an ambitious collection credited to his alter ego, Fort Minor, that blended hip-hop with electronics and rock elements. The set was exec-produced by Jay-Z, who had previously collaborated with Shinoda and Linkin Park on 2004's Collision Course. Tied also featured plenty of guests like Common and John Legend, as well as newer artists from Shinoda's Machine Shop imprint. The album was a labor of love for the Linkin Park MC. Not only did he produce and mix it, but Shinoda played 99 percent of the instruments; did all the sequencing and programming; and wrote some very personal raps about his life, youth, and family. "Kenji" was a standout, exploring the experience of Japanese-American internees during World War II. The track featured recordings of Shinoda's relatives discussing their experiences in the camps. Johnny Loftus, Rovi

FLO RIDA

2011-05-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Discovering new talent is often a daunting task; however, when the formula is complete, all parts, synergetic, the sky is the limit. With a noted machine behind him, coupled with his distinct originality, FloRida has captured the attention of many while simultaneously making significant impact early in the game. This reserved persona is a refreshing addition to the Poe Boy Entertainment family. Explosive on his tracks and indomitably riding his flow, FloRida is entrenched in the "Movement," which, yet again, dons Miami as a hub for endless talent; FloRida is primed to burst on to the scene with his versatilelyricism in tow.

FloRida's exceptional creativity-a fresh and energetic flow, escorted by a melodic delivery- ensures there is never a dull moment. With a tone analogous to that of Nelly and on par with the vivacity of Outkast , FloRida's uniqueness will undoubtedly set him apart, defying any standard expectations. Whether singing his hooks orwriting his own lyrics, this multi-talented artist embraces tenacitylike no other.

Recently returning from a three-year stint in Los Angeles, California, the 24-year old Carol City, Florida native and former basketball player is on a mission. He has always had a penchant for writing and vibing to beats and being inspired by his family's musical influence. As a 15-year old he began working with his brother-in law who, at the time was involved with Miami's pioneer of bass music, Luke Skywalker-
founder of 2 Live Crew.

His focus and persistence are the direct result of realizing his passion and a discernible revelation, "When my sister passed away, I woke up and realized what I had to. As the only boy of seven other siblings [sisters] and growing up without my father, I realized that I needed to make the most of my time here on earth. I want to utilize of all of my God-given talents and give back in a way that others can benefit. My mother is so strong and I admire her for her strength and showing me that by sacrifice and being level-headed anything is possible."

In 2001, he hit the road, performing at shows with Fresh Kid Ice of 2 Live Crew. While amassing significant exposure nationwide, he garnered the attention of DeVante Swing formerly of famed R&B group "Jodeci" as well as "The Blind Boys of Alabama." As a result of this budding relationship, FloRida departed to Los Angeles, California to work on his music with them also along side the now reality TV star and Public Enemy member, Flavor Flav and producer Rich Harrison.

"I had to leave school [UNLV and then Barry University] my music took precedence, I had to do it full time if it was going to pop off. I took a trip to LA to promote myself. I was literally on the streets-- at times, promoting myself by myself--- I always had the drive to push own music… People tend you help you more when they see that you promote yourself, they know your serious then."

FloRida captivates his audience with tales from the hood some of which he has seen and experienced. His experiences are channeled through a medium, which everyone from all backgrounds can relate to.

Additionally, FloRida has been a member of a home-grown group, "The Groundhogs" since the 9th grade. FloRida, one of the group's four members, is intent upon paving the way and opening doors for his comrades. The name The Groundhogs FloRida says is significant because "without being grounded, you have nothing to stand on and nothing lasts long if you don't start from the ground up."

His versatility overflows into all aspects of his life. As a former basketball player and all around athlete, who has dabbled in a bit of acting, he is intentional in his quest to emerge as leader and an inspiration to those from his neighborhood or those who might benefit and learn from his example. He has taken heed of what could happen by circumstance and in this case he is taking advantage of what destiny already intends. Signing to Miami's hottest record label, Poe Boy Entertainment in early 2006, was a no brainer for FloRida. The independent record label has demonstrated its ability to make things happen in and out of the studio. (P.O.D, Cognito, Brisco, Jacki-O, Rick Ross, Carol City Cartel and many more) Being supported by the marketing and managing genius of Poe Boy Entertainment owner, E-Class and his team, presents generous opportunity. He is suited up, ready to work and going for the ride.

Teriyaki Boyz

2011-05-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Teriyaki Boyz is a hip hop group from Tokyo signed to The Neptunes Star Trak Entertainment Ilmari five members are Ryo-Z Verbal Wise and Nigo owner of A Bathing Ape clothing company, they have released two albums so far in 2005 is steak or chicken? and 2009 is seriously the Japanese tend to work with American artists such as Pharrell Williams, Kanye West Big Sean and Chris Brown is probably best known for her song Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious), which was the theme song for movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

The Black Eyed Peas

2011-05-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Black Eyed Peas is a group that hails from Los Angeles that has experienced international fame. They may be considered hip-hop artists, first having the name 'Atban Klann', signed under the late Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. The members include: Will.i.am, Taboo, and Apl.de.ap, plus their accompanying live band. After Eazy-E's death in 1995, the members decided to change their name into Black Eyed Peas. In 1998, Black Eyed Peas released their debut album entitled: 'Behind The Front', which gave them critical acclaim. In 2000, another album was released: 'Bridging the Gap'. In 2003, the group had to hire a female vocalist to replace Kim Hill, the previous background singer who left the group in 2000. Fergie, real name Stacy Ferguson, was then chosen and featured in the group's 2003 breakthrough album named: 'Elephunk'. Fergie used to be a member of Wild Orchid, a teenage band.

One of Elephunk's famous hits was 'Where Is The Love' which focuses on standing up against war, and is also considered as the Black Eyed Peas' first major hit. 'Where Is The Love' got the 8th spot on the US Hot 100 chart, and then eventually topped the other charts all over the world. In the U.K., that single was 2003's biggest-selling one out of all the U.K. singles released. Another single that became popular in the U.K. charts, holding the #2 spot is Black Eyed Peas' 'Shut Up'. It also became a chart-topper in other countries like Germany and France. 'Hey Mama', which was Elephunk's third single also became a hit and was included in the U.K. Top 10, as well as gained popularity in other European countries. In the US, 'Hey Mama' was included in the Top 30 of the Hot 100. 'Elephunk' has turned gold in the UK and the nearby countries, and platinum in the US.

Other songs in the Black Eyed Peas' breakthrough album include: 'The Apl Song' which speaks about Apl.de.ap's life, with the chorus in Tagalog, as Apl.de.ap is of Filipino origin. 'Let's Get Retarded' is another popular hit of the Black Eyed Peas and has received numerous plays not only in radio stations, but also in clubs. The group restyled the song into: 'Let's Get It Started' for NBA's international commercial for the finals. The single 'Let's Get It Started' became a great success; in fact, it was a fan favorite download from the iTunes download service.

Gorillaz

2011-05-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

In an interview, Murdoc claimed that Noodle HAD in fact died when the windmill island was shot down. Murdoc said he tried to recover her body from the wreckage, but the most he could get was a DNA sample. He also attempted to travel through the bowels of hell in order to bring her back, but failed. He later used her DNA to create a cyborg version of Noodle (who is super violent and basically lives to do Murdoc's bidding). In the Stylo video, Cyborg Noodle pulls out a shotgun and nearly blows away a cop in pursuit of their car. Their is some evidence that Noodle may be alive, however. Part of the album artwork for Plastic Beach included a picture of a battered and bruised Noodle with jet-black eyes. Since a robot can't bruise, it makes sense that this picture would be of the real noodle rather than the cyborg version. (Of course, that brings up the question of how she got those eyes and what exactly they mean, but time will tell.)

2D was gassed and kidnapped in his flat and taken to Plastic Beach in a suitcase (as shown in 2D's Plastic Beach Ident video clip). He believes Murdoc was the one who kidnapped him, however it appears that a new character, a demon wearing a gas mask, was his kidnapper. (The demon appears in several places in artwork, as well as 2D's Ident and Stylo videos. It is likely that this character was created as an alter-ego for Mos Def, as he raps on several Plastic Beach tracks.)

Murdoc made and lost a great deal of money through some illegal means (I believe he was working as an arms dealer selling to the Russians), and decided to burn down Kong Studios for the insurance money. He also mentioned that part of the reason for the move was to flee from the Russians, who were out to kill him after their business deal went south. The burned wreckage of the studio is visible on a certain part of the Gorillaz website. Before burning down the studio, he shipped a great deal of the band's belongings to Plastic Beach, their new home. The beach itself is not made of earth at all; it is the collection of all of the plastic and rubbish floating in the ocean (similar to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch near Hawaii, it symbolizes the the wastefulness and excess of society). The top part of the rubbish heap was stuccoed and painted pink to look like a natural plateau. Murdoc built their new home/studio atop it. (And it's about as dilapidated and leaky as Kong Studios was.) According to the pelican at the entrance of the building on the band's website, Plastic Beach is the farthest point from any other land mass in the world.

Little was known about the fate of Russell initially, as Murdoc mentioned he had essentially dropped off the face of the earth. Finally, Russel's Plastic Beach Ident clip hit the website, showing him stomping down a fishing dock (clearly pissed), and jumping off the end into the ocean. When the album dropped and the artwork for the record debuted, it depicted Russel as a giant; he is now as tall as all of Plastic Beach (which is about 3 or 4 stories high). In the "Making of Plastic Beach" documentary, included in the deluxe edition of the album, Jamie Hewlett shows Mos Def the artwork for the album and explains the back story for each character. He says that in swimming the ENTIRE way to Plastic Beach, Russell ingested so much pollution, trash and toxic waste that it transformed him into a giant, making a reference to Gulliver's Travels. Russell's situation reinforces the idea of human excess destroying nature already present on the album.

Scorpions

2011-05-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

At the start of the new millennium and exactly 35 years since the foundation of Germany’s most successful hard rock band of all time, SCORPIONS Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs can look back together on a spectacular career in the international music business.Like many youngsters born in post-war Germany, Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker were influenced by the music and other life-enhancing delights imported into their homeland by American GI’s – Elvis Presley, chewing gum, blue jeans and leather jackets, but most of all rock ‘n’ roll. From an early age, both of them had an irresistible urge to grab a guitar and step into the limelight. In the early 1960s the Beatles sparked off the beat revolution. By the mid-1960s Klaus Meine and Rudolf Schenker, both of whom were blessed with understanding parents, had also taken to the stage with their beat groups. In 1965 Rudolf Schenker started up the SCORPIONS in Hanover. Rudolf’s younger brother Michael Schenker was, like Matthias Jabs, smitten by beat music and the burgeoning rock culture. Guitarist and songwriter Rudolf Schenker’s earliest influences were the raw riffs of bands like The Yardbirds, Pretty Things and Spooky Tooth, who in those days were regarded as the real hard rockers.At New Year 1970, the younger Schenker brother Michael, who despite his youth had already established himself as an outstanding guitarist, left the Hanover-based group Copernicus, along with singer and composer Klaus Meine, to join Rudolf Schenker’s SCORPIONS. Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine teamed up to form the accomplished Schenker/Meine songwriting duo, so laying the foundations for a spectacular success story.In 1972, the SCORPIONS released their remarkable début album, Lonesome Crow, produced by Conny Plank in Hamburg. The vocal and instrumental ingredients which over the years were to develop into the typical, unmistakable SCORPIONS sound, were already recognisable: uncompromising, guitar-orientated hard rock, on the lines of what Jimmy Hendrix, Cream and Led Zeppelin generated in the mid-1960s. The distinctive SCORPIONS style came from the combination of two electric guitars, a fusion of fabulously forceful power riffs with dazzlingly exuberant guitar solos. Added to which was the instantly recognisable voice of singer and front man Klaus Meine with his highly expressive and polished delivery. In one respect, the SCORPIONS were unique on the German rock scene of the period. Because, right from the start, the band was aiming for the very top of the international hard rock business, Klaus Meine wrote all his lyrics in English. In the creative partnership of Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine Germany had finally found its answer to the famous beat and rock composing teams of the English-speaking world.The first album Lonesome Crow set the band on the path to international success. The SCORPIONS toured as support band with Rory Gallagher, Uriah Heep and UFO. Throughout their history Rudolf Schenker has been the unshakeable driving force behind the SCORPIONS. He adopted his father’s philosophy of life – nothing is impossible as long as you believe in it. Right from the foundation of the SCORPIONS, he had only one declared ambition: "one day the SCORPIONS will be one of the best heavy rock bands in the world!" It was an idea to which all the band members were committed. The SCORPIONS were constantly on the lookout for fresh challenges. Every change in the line-up was seen as an opportunity to move closer still to success and the achievement of absolute professionalism.In 1973, following a joint tour with UFO, Michael Schenker joined the British rock group. He was replaced as SCORPIONS lead guitarist by Ulrich Roth. He too was an exceptional guitar player with an almost mystical talent. With Ulrich Roth, the SCORPIONS continued unwaveringly to explore the hard rock genre.In the 1970s, the SCORPIONS undertook tours of Western Europe, playing countless venues and conquering one country after another. They would appear wherever there was somewhere to plug in their instruments. In

1973, they accompanied The Sweet on their first European tour. The SCORPIONS went on to record their next four studio albums with Ulrich Roth. Fly to the Rainbow, (1974) features a solid, high-energy brand of heavy rock never before heard from a German band. The title track Speedy’s Coming typifies the SCORPIONS style of ultra-hard rock combined with catchy melodies. Beginning with their third LP In Trance, (1975), they began their working relationship with well-known international producer Dieter Dierks. They were firmly launched on their hard rock career. In Trance was the best-selling RCA album in Japan, where a regular SCORPION mania broke out.In 1975 the SCORPIONS toured Europe, sharing top billing with KISS. In Germany that same year, they were voted best live group. During their first UK tour in 1975, the SCORPIONS entered what might be called "the lion’s den", playing at Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club. In the birthplace of hard rock, they succeeded in gaining the acceptance of the most dyed-in-the-wool British fans. Gigs at the renowned London venue, the Marquee, were further highpoints of the mid-1970s.The SCORPIONS achieved their ambition to be the top German hard rock band, when their fourth album Virgin Killer (1976) won the "LP of the Year" award in Germany. In Japan, Virgin Killer gained them their first Gold Disc. Their follow-up album Taken by Force (1977) was also awarded a Japanese Gold Disc. In 1978 the SCORPIONS toured Japan, the world’s second largest music market, where they got a foretaste of what it was like to be superstars. When they arrived at Tokyo airport, the five heavy metal men were mobbed by adoring fans. Ulrich Roth left the band after the 1978 Japanese tour. The highpoint and conclusion of the SCORPIONS’ Ulrich Roth period is the double album Tokyo Tapes (1978) which even now is cherished around the world as a collector’s item. Michael Schenker filled in briefly (he recorded several songs on Lovedrive (1979) until Matthias Jabs finally entered the fray.In 1978 an advertisement appeared in the Melody Maker: the SCORPIONS were looking for a new lead guitarist. In London, they auditioned 140 hopefuls, before deciding on Hanover-born Matthias Jabs. Thrown in at the deep end, Matthias Jabs immediately joined the band in recording Lovedrive (1979) which was then in production. The album was to be the group’s biggest triumph so far, and is still one the SCORPIONS’ best-ever albums. The sleeve received a prize for the best artwork of the year.In 1979, Michael Schenker rejoined the SCORPIONS for a short spell, but left the band while on tour. In 1980, he founded MSG, the Michael Schenker Group. Matthias Jabs once again leapt into the breach and achieved the amazing feat of learning, literally overnight, the entire programme for the current tour. His baptism of fire came when the SCORPIONS played to 55,000 fans as support act for Genesis on their German tour. In Matthias Jabs, the SCORPIONS had finally found the lead guitarist whose creativity, virtuosity and enthusiasm continue to make a decisive contribution to the band’s success. With him, the band achieved an even more solid sound. Like the missing piece in the jigsaw, his guitar style fitted to perfection into the group dynamic, creating the unique SCORPIONS sound. Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs still form the musical backbone of the band. With bass man Francis Buchholz (who joined the SCORPIONS in 1973 at the same time as Ulrich Roth) and drummer Herman Rarebell (who first featured on Taken By Force in 1977), they finally established the combination that was to continue its victorious progress across the globe right up until Wind of Change.Already hailed as a super group during the 1978 tour of Japan, in 1979 the band, comprising Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, set out to conquer the vast US market. Their weapons: a professional attitude paired with a steely determination to succeed and a philosophy of friendship, both within the band and towards t heir fans, as well as great musicality. As a rock

band working on the international scene, the SCORPIONS had long since created their own musical identity. In the 1980s, the USA was the biggest market of all for hard and heavy rock. Since 1974, the SCORPIONS had built up a considerable following in the States. Van Halen launched their musical career in the mid-1970s with cover versions of SCORPIONS songs: Speedy’s Coming (from Fly to the Rainbow) and Catch Your Train (from Virgin Killer).In 1979, now professionally managed and boosted by the success of Lovedrive, the SCORPIONS with their definitive line-up – Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs – embarked on their first major tour of USA rock arenas as opening act with Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and AC/DC. In Chicago, the SCORPIONS swapped the headliner billing with Ted Nugent, since the SCORPIONS had more fans in the city. On this first American tour, the SCORPIONS quickly learned the rules of the game in the international rock business.Their seventh album Lovedrive was released in the USA in 1979, and was the first SCORPIONS production to receive a Gold Disc there. Animal Magnetism followed in 1980. With the two albums, the band finally made their North American breakthrough. On their second US tour the SCORPIONS were top of the bill. The era of SCORPIONS monster tours had begun.After more successful world tours, in 1981, while recording Blackout, Klaus Meine lost his voice. Not wishing to stand in the way of the band’s success, Klaus Meine wanted to pull out. But the unshakeable friendship between Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine and the close and supportive relationship within the band allowed the seemingly impossible to happen. After lengthy vocal retraining and two operations on his vocal chords, Klaus Meine overcame the trauma. And that was not all: in 1982, he re-emerged with a much increased vocal range. One critic wrote: "They have given Klaus Meine metal vocal chords." The band’s decision to stand by their lead singer through this troubled time later proved to be the most crucial the SCORPIONS ever took in the their entire career. It was Klaus Meine who in 1989 composed their smash hit Wind of Change.In 1982, on their second US tour as headliners with Iron Maiden as support act, the SCORPIONS promoted their groundbreaking album Blackout, with Helnwein’s stunning sleeve design. The single No One Like You and the Blackout LP reached the US Top Ten, the LP was voted Best Hard Rock Album of the year and awarded a Platinum Disc. One hit followed another, and in the 1980s the SCORPIONS captured the hearts of hard rock fans around the world.In 1984 the SCORPIONS became the first German hard rock band to play three successive gigs in front of 60,000 fans at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The SCORPIONS had finally scaled the Mount Olympus of rock. With three albums featuring simultaneously in the US charts: Animal Magnetism (1980), Blackout, (1982) and Love at First Sting (1984), the SCORPIONS spent two years on the road playing as headliner or co-headliner at all the big rock festivals that sprang up around the world after Woodstock.The SCORPIONS toured the globe, with a fleet of articulated lorries, Nightliner buses, helicopters, private jets and the inevitable limos. Hanover’s heavy metal band played all the main rock venues in North, Central and South America and Europe. In Asia, they played in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan. This was the golden age of heavy rock.With gigantic stage and light shows and dramatic firework effects, the SCORPIONS unleashed a pyrotechnic display of sound and light. Their relentless energy sent the fans wild. To US audiences, the SCORPIONS, with their polished, hard-edged "melodic rock" and Klaus Meine’s dramatic power singing with its dizzying top notes, came to epitomise the best in heavy rock. Groups like Bon Jovi, Metallica, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, later to become mega bands, were support acts on the SCORPIONS’ worldwide tours, learning what it meant for a band to hold its own in the rock arena in front of an audience of millions. Love at First

Sting became one of the most successful albums in rock history. It includes the SCORPIONS’ most electrifying numbers Rock You Like a Hurricane, Bad Boys Running Wild, and the masterpiece Still Loving You. The critics struggled for superlatives.Rolling Stone called the SCOPRIONS "the heroes of heavy metal". The SCORPIONS were admitted to the exclusive club of the world’s 30 greatest rock groups. Their ballad Still Loving You became an international rock anthem. In France alone, the single sold 1.7 million copies. The song unleashed a wave of hysteria among French fans not seen since the Beatles and became the SCORPIONS’ musical trademark around the globe.The SCORPIONS’ most memorable appearances as headliners were at the 1983 US Festival in California’s San Bernadino Valley in front of an audience of 325,000 and at the first Rock in Rio in 1985 where they were cheered by 350,000 enthusisatic South American SCORPIONS fans. The 1985 double album World Wide Live, a counterpart to the 1978 Tokyo Tapes, impressively documented the band’s more recent international triumphs.In 1986, the SCORPIONS topped the bill at the legendary Monsters of Rock Festival and played in the Hungarian capital Budapest, their first-ever appearance in an Eastern Block country. By now the SCORPIONS were a household name, with hard rock hits like Rock You Like a Hurricane, No One Like You, Blackout, Big City Nights, Dynamite, Bad Boys Running Wild, Coast to Coast and The Zoo featuring in the charts around the world. In the 1980s, the SCORPIONS created a kind of modern hard rock that is just as popular today.Their authentic power rock ballads, such as Still Loving You, Holiday and later Wind of Change, Send Me an Angel, When You Came Into My Life and You and I, along with acoustic based songs such as Always Somewhere and When the Smoke is Going Down have managed to win over even the most unyielding haters of hard rock Savage Amusement, the last album co-produced with Dieter Dierks, was released in 1988. It reached N° 3 in the US chart and N° 1 in Europe. Even after years of touring the USA and the rest of the world, the SCORPIONS did not rest on their laurels and continued to seek out fresh challenges.As a prelude to their 1988 Savage Amusement world tour, they penetrated the Iron Curtain to give 10 sell-out concerts in Leningrad for 350,000 Soviet fans. They were the first international hard rock band to play in the former USSR, cradle of Communism. Hard rock, heavy metal and especially the SCORPIONS’ ballad Still Loving You had already found their way through the Iron Curtain. The SCORPIONS are still given a rapturous reception in Russia today.A year later, in August 1989, 20 years after Woodstock, the Soviet authorities, encouraged by the success of the SCORPIONS’ 1988 Leningrad concert, gave permission for the legendary Moscow Music Peace Festival. Here, the SCORPIONS shared the stage with other international hard rock acts, including Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Cinderella and Ozzy Osbourne and the Russian band Gorky Park playing to 260,000 Soviet rock fans in Moscow’s Lenin Stadium. In September 1989 Klaus Meine drew on his impressions of the Moscow Music Peace Festival, to create the SCORPIONS’ smash hit Wind of Change.Then, in November 1989, came a completely unexpected event. The fall of the Berlin Wall. Throughout the world, Wind of Change became the hymn to glasnost and perestroika, providing the soundtrack to the opening of the Iron Curtain, the fall of Communism and the end of the Cold War. One year later, in 1990, the SCORPIONS played in Potsdamer Platz where a section of the Wall once stood, in Roger Waters’s spectacular production, The Wall.The SCORPIONS recorded a Russian version of Wind of Change. They also gained a distinguished fan. In 1991, the members of the German band were invited to the Kremlin to meet Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet head of state and party leader. It was a unique event in the history of the USSR and rock music.worldwide mega seller the Wind of Ch ange CD, Crazy World (1990), their long relation

ship with Dieter Dierks, the Cologne-based producer of so many successful recordings, came to an end. The very first album to be produced by the SCORPIONS themselves, Crazy World, made in Los Angeles, co-produced by Keith Olsen and featuring the smash hit Wind of Change, immediately became the most successful CD to date. Not only was Crazy World the most successful album, Wind of Change was the worldwide top single of 1991, occupying the N° 1 slot in 11 countries. In 1992, they received the World Music Award as the most successful German rock act.Crazy World is impressive testimony to the songwriting talents of the SCORPIONS’ masterminds: Matthias Jabs’s contribution is the dynamic title track Tease Me, Please Me, while Rudolf Schenker once again proves his ability to hit the spot with his classic SCORPIONS ballad, Send Me an Angel, and Klaus Meine displays his brilliance as a composer in Wind of Change. At the end of the 1992 Crazy World tour, the SCORPIONS parted company with their long-time bass player Francis Buchholz. The 1993 CD Face the Heat (co-producer: Bruce Fairbairn), featured the band’s new bass man, conservatoire graduate Ralph Rieckermann.In 1994 the SCORPIONS again received a World Music Award. Yet another high point of their career came when, at the invitation of the family of the "King of Rock ‘n’ Roll", Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley, and the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson, they performed their cover version of His Latest Flame at the 1994 Elvis Presley Memorial Concert in Memphis, Tennessee. In the same year the SCORPIONS committed themselves to helping United Nations efforts on behalf of refugees from the civil war in Rwanda. In only one week the band produced and released their benefit single White Dove.At the end of 1995, just before completing the Pure Instinct CD, co-produced by Keith Olsen and Erwin Musper and released in 1996, the SCORPIONS’ veteran drummer and long-time companion Herman "The German" Rarebell left the band.During the 1988 Savage Amusement tour, the US heavy metal band Kingdom Come, whose producer was Keith Olsen, had been a warm up act for the SCORPIONS. Even then, the Germans were impressed by the style of the group’s Californian drummer James Kottak. In 1995 the SCORPIONS engaged former AC/DC manager Stewart Young¸ and it fell to him to call James Kottak on the phone and hire him as drummer for the upcoming 1996/97 Pure Instinct Live Tour. James Kottak became the first American to play in the German rock band. With the two new members, bass player Ralph Rieckermann and drummer James Kottak, the SCORPIONS had introduced a new generation of musicians into the group.On the Pure Instinct world tour, the SCORPIONS proved that they were still among the global players on the international rock scene. Not only did they play in Europe, the USA and South America. In countries like Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, they continued to notch up well above average record sales and collect gold and platinum discs. In November 1996, the SCORPIONS were the first international hard rock band to play to fans in Beirut after the end of the civil war in Lebanon.On the 1999 recording of Eye to Eye, produced by Peter Wolf, James Kottak worked in the studio with the SCORPIONS for the first time. The cover of Eye to Eye marked a change of image for the SCORPIONS. Only the founder members of the band, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine and Matthias Jabs feature on the front cover. The album itself is a statement of the SCORPIONS’ awesome talents as songwriters and instrumentalists. Songs like Mysterious, Mind Like a Tree, Eye to Eye, Yellow Butterfly and A Moment in a Million Years show the band at the pinnacle of their creativity. With Du Bist So Schmutzig (You’re So Dirty), the SCORPIONS are heard for the first time singing a German lyric. As part of their 1999 Eye to Eye world tour, at the invitation of Michael Jackson, they played at the Michael Jackson and Friends benefit concert in Munich.True to their motto "Don’t stop at the top" the S CORPIONS are starting the new millennium with a

new musical challenge: a crossover project with the internationally renowned classical orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, once conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan.In 1995, the Berlin Philharmonic was exploring the possibility of a crossover project and was on the lookout for a suitable band. Over the years even this classical orchestra had been aware of the SCORPIONS' success and international reputation. The two Mercedes of German music agreed on a joint venture under the direction of the internationally successful crossover producer, composer, conductor and arranger, Austria’s Christian Kolonovits. As early as 1995 the SCORPIONS began their preparations. Since then, both groups of musicians have continued to working on the project, while still fulfilling current engagements around the world and bearing in mind the timing of EXPO 2000 in Hanover. After the release of the Eye to Eye CD in 1999 and the subsequent world tour, the SCORPIONS got down to serious business in the autumn of the same year.The SCORPIONS gave a foretaste of what is to come when, at the invitation of the German government, they played in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on 11 November 1999, the 10th anniversary of German reunification. Joining them in their performance of Wind of Change were 166 cellists. The work was conducted by the distinguished cello virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich. In January 2000, the SCORPIONS and Christian Kolonovits began studio recordings in Vienna. The Berlin Philharmonic recorded the orchestral parts in April 2000. The complete work was mixed during April and May 2000 at the Galaxy Studios in Belgium, using the state-of-the-art Surround System Atmos 5.1.The crossover CD Moment of Glory, featuring the SCORPIONS with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, was released on 19 June 2000. The first live performance took place at EXPO in Hanover on 22 June 2000. The album also includes the official EXPO anthem Moment of Glory.The enthusiasm and open-mindedness of the SCORPIONS with regard to their flirt with the classic-genre was not finished by any means. In February 2001 the band performed three concerts in a portuguese monastery. These concerts served as a basis for the new album Acoustica. The unusual choice of the recording location also pointed out the musical development of the extraordinary musicians: For the first time in their career the SCORPIONS did their performance without electric instruments to the greatest possible extent. Klaus Meine's voice sounds pure and unadulterated rocking, together with Matthias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker playing their acoustic guitars. The recordings of the SCORPIONS in Portugal, together with some very special guest musicians belong to the greatest milestones in rock history. Not only the single "When love kills love", that was released on April 30, 2001, shows the outstanding quality of the SCORPIONS as performers and songwriters.The album Acoustica, that was released on May 14, 2001 contains real treasures: Besides four completely new titles, the greatest classics as "The zoo" and "Hurricane" show themselves in a new acoustic sound and impress as well as the brilliantly arranged cover-versions of bands like Queen or Kansas. 30 years in the rock 'n' roll circus did not stop the band from exploring different projects in a refreshing, intelligent way. With the upswing of hardrock worldwide it was time to go back to where the band came from and to team up again with Dieter Dierks, the man who had played such an important part in the Scorpions' history, producing many of those multi platinum albums in the 70s and 80s. There are two new songs that were specially recorded for this album. Bad for Good, is a new recording combining the classic Scorpions' style with a new arrangement. Cause I Love You, is a typical Scorpions' Rocker about a love affair with a guitar. The next studio album won't be ready for a summer release, but the Scorpions have nevertheless booked an extensive co-headlining American tour with Deep Purple in summer 2002, with Ronnie James Dio in support. A brief hiatus in July, the same year, will allow the band to perform additional symphonic shows in Europe, including an appearance in Luxembourg at the start of the Tour de France.
Reflecting on past accomplishments, the band feels fortunate to have been part of music history and participate in memorable shows. Headlining the biggest festivals in Europe from 1978. The "US"-Festival, Rock in Rio, the Monsters of Rock Tour with Van Halen and Metallica in 1988, Pink Floyd's The Wall in Berlin 1990, the many performances associated with "Wind of Change. " The biggest audience, an amazing 750.000 fans, came to see the Scorpions rock Poland in 2000. But according to their motto "Don't Stop At The Top" the band feels that there is always more to accomplish. "There are still some places we haven't been" says guitarist Matthias Jabs. "Who knows? This year we may go to China!" As for other wishes, "It would be great if we could stay at the top in America and Europe," says Rudolf Schenker, but he is not ungrateful for the level of success the Scorpions have already achieved. "To be able to play our music for people all over the world makes us feel so good.We're happy right now. " He can't conjecture how many more years the Scorpions have in their future, but he's sure they will make the most of their present."The biggest challenge for us is to come up with a great rock record that will be an album in the best Scorpions tradition", vowing to continue as long as they have fun and the passion for performing motivates them.
Klaus Meine surmises that the Scorpions will be remembered for that above all.