Elvin Bishop — Fooled Around and Fell in Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiy-E4S850s

 

Mickey Thomas

John Michael “Mickey” Thomas (born December 3, 1949 in Cairo, Georgia) is an American rock and blues singer, best known as one of the lead vocalists of Jefferson Starship and Starship.

While singing lead for the Jets in 1974, Thomas joined the Elvin Bishop Group as a backing vocalist and eventually made it to lead vocals. His best known achievement was singing on Elvin Bishop’s chart hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”, a #3 single in 1976.

In April 1979, Thomas was asked to join Jefferson Starship after the departure of Marty Balin and Grace Slick.[2] In 1981 he recorded his second solo album, Alive Alone. Former Elvin Bishop Group drummer Donny Baldwin became drummer for Jefferson Starship two years later when Aynsley Dunbar left.
Thomas spent most of the early eighties as the main vocalist of Jefferson Starship, performing several duets with Slick (who rejoined in 1981) and gaining greater influence in the band. After Paul Kantner left in 1984, Thomas was leader of the band. From 1985-1989 the newly dubbed ‘Starship’ scored some of their biggest hits. When Grace Slick left again in 1988, Thomas sang all lead vocals. But their fortunes as pop music artists soon ran out. A tour was cancelled after Donny Baldwin allegedly attacked Thomas in a bar. The damage was such that it required facial reconstruction surgery. Baldwin chose to resign after the incident.

 

Free — All Right Now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tToQ4rBZNDE

 

 

Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as vocalist of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has more recently toured and recorded with another 1970s band, Queen. Rodgers has been dubbed “The Voice” by his fans. A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”.
Rodgers has been cited as a significant influence on a number of notable rock singers, including David Coverdale, John Waite, Steve Overland, Lou Gramm, Jimi Jamison, Eric Martin, Steve Walsh, Joe Lynn Turner, Paul Young, Robin McAuley, Jimmy Barnes, Richie Kotzen and Joe Bonamassa. In 1991, John Mellencamp called Rodgers “the best rock singer ever.” Freddie Mercury of Queen in particular liked Rodgers and his aggressive style.

David Essex — Rock On

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x6SYcGLJ_Y&playnext=1&list=AL94UKMTqg-9A17pVWa0jrc0QHcuJm_cXV

David Essex OBE (born David Albert Cook, 23 July 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones), and sixteen Top 40 albums. He has also had an extensive career as an actor performing on stage and screen.

He made his first record entitled “And The Tears Came Tumblin’ Down” for the Fontana label in 1963. He then toured with a band called ‘David Essex and the Mood Indigo’ for two years. His first notable acting role aside from small appearances in the films Assault and All Coppers Are… was the lead in the stage musical, Godspell in 1971 at the age of 23. Two years later, he starred in the film That’ll Be The Day (1973)[7] and recorded his international hit single, the self-penned “Rock On”, in the same year. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1974. It was nominated for a Grammy, and was a number-one hit in the USA  A second single, “Lamplight”, also reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart.
In the 1970s, Essex emerged as a performer of some note. His biggest hits during this decade included two UK Number One singles: “Gonna Make You a Star” (1974), and “Hold Me Close” (1975). He also appeared in Stardust, a 1974 sequel to That’ll Be The Day. The title song was another Top 10 hit. In 1976, Essex covered The Beatles song, “Yesterday”, for the musical documentary All This and World War II.
Essex’s pop idol looks gave him a strong female fan base and his British tours created scenes of hysteria reminiscent of Beatlemania. According to The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles,[10] he was voted the number one British male vocalist in 1974, and was a teen idol for more than a decade.

Essex used to record and release records on his own ‘Lamplight’ record label. He has since changed the name of his company to Joseph Webster Ltd, named after his first grandchild. He tours regularly and continues to act, appearing in Boogie Nights 2, Footloose and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects Of Love. From September 2008 to the summer of 2009 he took his own musical, All The Fun Of The Fair, on a tour of the United Kingdom. He followed this in the autumn with a sell-out tour of the UK, named the Secret Tour. Essex has released a DVD on his website of the last night of the tour, filmed in Bournemouth. He returned to London’s West End with his own hit musical All The Fun Of The Fair.
In 2010, Essex married Welsh actress Susan Hallam-Wright, his third wife, at St Cross Church, Talybont, near Bangor, Wales.[23] He had previously been married to Maureen Neal (in 1971) and Carlotta Christy (in 1997).
In January 2011, it was announced that Essex had finally joined the cast of EastEnders as Eddie Moon, five years after he was initially supposed to appear in the show. His first on-screen appearance was on 3 June 2011. Eddie left the square on 6 October 2011. He then wrote the music score for the film Traveller, 2013.

Rick Derringer — Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj5_P999UMo

Rick Derringer (born Richard Zehringer, August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.

Derringer came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of The McCoys, who had a number one hit single with “Hang on Sloopy.” Derringer then turned to blues rock, scoring a 1974 hit with “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”. He has also worked extensively with brothers Edgar and Johnny Winter, and with the group Steely Dan.

Derringer also recorded and played with a version of Johnny Winter’s band called “Johnny Winter And …” and both Edgar Winter’s White Trash and The Edgar Winter Group. The group’s rock instrumental single Frankenstein topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for a week starting in May 1973, and sold over one million copies.
Derringer also had a successful solo career, and his solo version of “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” was a hit single. He also recorded extensively with Steely Dan, playing slide guitar on songs such as “Show Biz Kids” and “Chain Lightning”.
Derringer appeared on Alice Cooper’s Killer album in 1971, playing the solo on “Under My Wheels.” Derringer opened for Led Zeppelin on their last American tour in 1977. Derringer was also a featured guitarist on several Todd Rundgren albums in the 1970s, including Something/Anything? (1972), A Wizard, a True Star (1973), Initiation (1975) and the live album Back to the Bars (1978).

In the 1980s, Derringer expanded his producing skills, working with “Weird Al” Yankovic as well as Mason Ruffner. He also played on the second Silver Condor album on the track “Thank God For Rock and Roll”, produced and sung by Joe Cerisano. He has played for “Weird Al” on many of his albums, playing guitar and mandolin; on the track “Eat It”, Derringer played the guitar solo, an homage/parody to Eddie Van Halen’s solo on the Michael Jackson song “Beat It”.

In 1986, he co-wrote and sang back-up vocals on “Calm Inside The Storm” on Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors album. He served as one of her tour musicians from 1986–1992, prompting him to compare Cyndi to Barbra Streisand: “She’s better live than Barbra.”

Sammy Johns — Chevy Van

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-6xdrNjJXs

Sammy Reginald Johns was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on February 7, 1946. When he was nine years old, Johns’ father presented him with a guitar, and by the time he was a teenager he had established his own band, the Devilles. The group performed in local clubs and recorded a few records on the Dixie record label. After a move to Atlanta, Georgia, he was given a recording contract in 1973. General Recording Corporation put out Johns’ first solo record, “Early Morning Love”, that year.
Although he wrote a number of hit songs for other artists, Johns is best remembered for the one he recorded himself, “Chevy Van”. The single drove up to No. 5 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It remained in the chart for 17 weeks and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. on 4 May 1975.
After his eponymous debut album on the GRC record label, which included “Chevy Van”, the singer signed a deal in 1976 with Warner-Curb, which resulted in Johns working on the soundtrack to The Van. The 1982 New World Records single “Falling for You” came to the attention of Elektra, and the company took Johns on board and issued “Love Me off the Road” and “Common Man”. When country artist John Conlee covered “Common Man”, the single went gold and topped the charts. Conlee made the song his theme, and Johns continued writing songs for others.
Those who have recorded Johns’ songs are Waylon Jennings, Sammy Kershaw, and Conway Twitty. In 1985, Jennings serenaded the Statue of Liberty with Johns’ song “America”, on a nationally broadcast event to mark the statue’s restoration. The performance helped turn the single gold, and “America” was nominated for song of the year in country music circles. Johns’ “Desperado Love” also brought Twitty his final gold record. Kershaw covered “Chevy Van” on his 1996 album Politics, Religion and Her.

 

Wild Cherry —- Play That Funky Music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe1ScoePqVA

 

The original lineup included: Ben Difabbio (drums and vocals), Louie Osso (guitar, lead and background vocals) from Steubenville, Ohio, Larry Brown (bass, lead and background vocals) from Weirton, West Virginia, Larry Mader (keyboards, lead and background vocals) from East Springfield, Ohio, Ron Vallera (guitar and background vocals) from Steubenville, Ohio and Rob Parissi (lead vocals and guitar). Over time, the band members changed, with Osso, Brown, and Mader leaving the band, replaced by Rob’s cousin, Coogie Stoddart (guitar, lead and background vocals) and Joe Buchmelter (bass). Buchmelter was soon replaced by Buckie Lusk.

Parissi re-formed the band with new musicians. The new lineup consisted of Bryan Bassett (guitar/vocals), Ron Beitle (drums) (both from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and Allen Wentz (bass guitar/synthesizer/vocals), who hailed from Detroit, Michigan. As the quartet began to perform non-stop and build a huge, devoted following in the Pittsburgh area, they were repeatedly asked by listeners to play more dance music. Disco was beginning its rule on the radio and the dance floor. At the 2001 Club in Pittsburgh, a table full of black fans kept coming to the stage and teasing: “Are you white boys gonna play some funky music?” One night during a break between sets, drummer Ron Beitle, in a group meeting in the dressing room, uttered the phrase: “Play That Funky Music, White Boy.” On the way back to the stage to play the next set, Rob Parissi was immediately inspired to write a song around the phrase, on a drink order pad with a pen borrowed from the bartender. The song took a total of 5 minutes to write. When the band went into the studio to record the song, studio engineer Ken Hamann was blown away by the potential hit and brought the band to the attention of Sweet City Records, distributed by Epic/CBS, which then immediately signed the group. Parissi had intended to record the song as the B-side to a cover version of the Commodores’ “I Feel Sanctified,” but the label suggested it as the A-side. During the recording of the first album, Mark Avsec was hired as a session keyboardist on two of the album’s tracks, “Nowhere To Run” and “The Lady Wants Your Money,” and was asked to join the band after the album was released and the group was about to embark on its first tour.

“Play That Funky Music” became a huge hit when released in 1976, peaking at number one on both the Billboard R&B and pop charts. Both the single and Wild Cherry’s self-titled debut album went platinum. “Play That Funky Music” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts for 3 weeks. The band was named Best Pop Group of the Year by Billboard, and received an American Music Award for Top R&B Single of the Year, as well as a pair of Grammy nominations for Best New Vocal Group and Best R&B Performance by a Group or Duo that year, adding to their success. Parissi did not attend the AMA awards and radio personality Wolfman Jack accepted the award on the band’s behalf.

Rob Parissi (lead vocals & guitar) was raised in the steel mill town of Mingo Junction, Ohio. Parissi graduated from Mingo High School in 1968. Rob formed the band Wild Cherry in 1970 in Steubenville, Ohio, one mile north of Mingo Junction along the Ohio River. The band’s name “Wild Cherry” was taken from a box of cough drops while Rob was recuperating from a brief hospital stay. The band played the Ohio Valley region, Wheeling, West Virginia and the rest of the Northern West Virginia panhandle, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

 

Stories — Brother Louie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-5Y5PX2qHQ

Stories was an early 1970s rock and pop music band based in New York. The band consisted of keyboardist Michael Brown, bassist/vocalist Ian Lloyd, guitarist Steve Love, and drummer Bryan Madey, and had a Number 1 hit with a cover of Hot Chocolate’s “Brother Louie.”

Ian Lloyd (b. Lloyd Buonconsiglio, 1947, Seattle) is an American rock singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Stories, whose single “Brother Louie” was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973.[1]

In 1971 Michael Brown and Ian Lloyd formed Stories. They released two albums (“Stories” and “About Us”) with a handful of Billboard Top 100 charting singles. Brown left before the band recorded their third (and final) album, (Traveling Underground) which was released under the artist’s name, “Ian Lloyd and Stories”, and included the Billboard top 40 hit, “Mammy Blue”. After Stories he pursued a solo career, with six albums to his credit. Lloyd has performed with numerous recording artists, assuming the role of a session musician. His long discography of work includes background work with artists such as Foreigner, Billy Joel, Peter Frampton, and Yes.

Lloyd continues to record, perform, and was a backup singer, Lloyd worked with numerous major recording artists, most notably Foreigner, who used Lloyd’s vocals on hits like “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Juke Box Hero”, and “Double Vision.” Lloyd can also be heard on Billy Joel’s “I Go to Extremes”, as well as tracks by Yes, Peter Frampton, Survivor, and Ian McDonald.rite, his most recent release being “Everyone’s Happy Cause It’s Christmas Time”.

The Jaggerz — The Rapper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptZJuU0sFL8

The Jaggerz are a pop/rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are a one-hit wonder, their only major success being the single “The Rapper”. Released on the Kama Sutra label, “The Rapper” was #2 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in March 1970, and sold over one million copies with the gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A..[1]
The band’s name derives from the Pittsburgh English slang term, “jagger bush,” meaning a thorny bush.[2] They were managed by The Skyliners manager, Joe Rock.

Donnie Iris (born Dominic Ierace on February 28, 1943) is an American rock musician known for his work with The Jaggerz and Wild Cherry during the 1970s, and for his solo albums since the 1980s with his backing band, the Cruisers. He wrote the #2 Billboard hit, “The Rapper”, with the Jaggerz in 1970 and was a member of Wild Cherry after the group had a #1 hit with “Play That Funky Music.” He became known as a solo artist in the early 1980s with the #29 hit “Ah! Leah! and the #37 hit “Love Is Like a Rock”.

In addition to performing on the first three Jaggerz albums and the fourth and final Wild Cherry album, Iris with his solo band has released eleven studio albums, one EP, two live albums, and two compilation albums. He continues to release new material and tours throughout the greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Youngstown and Cleveland, Ohio areas.

 

information from wikipedia