William Martin “Billy” Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, “Piano Man”, in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to the RIAA.
Joel had Top 10 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and has 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote singlehandedly. He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. He was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). Joel “retired” from recording pop music in 1993 but continues to tour (often with Elton John). In 2001, he released Fantasies & Delusions, a CD of classical compositions for piano. In 2007, he briefly returned to pop songwriting and recording with a single entitled “All My Life” – written for his third wife Katie Lee Joel. In September 2007, Joel wrote “Christmas in Fallujah,” a tribute to soldiers and a grim depiction of war. The song was recorded by Cass Dillon and subsequently by Joel himself in a December 2008 live version that was released only in Australia. Joel returned to touring in 2006 after a three-year hiatus from the road and has toured extensively ever since, covering many major world cities. In March 2009, Joel resumed his popular Face to Face tour with fellow pianist Elton John. The tour ended in March 2010 and there are currently no more dates scheduled, although Joel, who has stated a desire to take the rest of 2010 off, told Rolling Stone magazine: “We’ll probably pick it up again. It’s always fun playing with him.”
Official Website : Billy Joel
Discography : Music
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born 25 March 1947 as Reginald Kenneth Dwight; name change occurred in 1972) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.
In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single “Candle in the Wind 1997” has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the best selling single of all time. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 U.S. albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won five Grammy awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Some of the characteristics of John’s musical talent and work include an ability to quickly craft melodies for the lyrics of songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, his former rich tenor (now baritone) voice, his classical and gospel-influenced piano, the sensitive orchestral arrangements of Paul Buckmaster among others, and the on-stage showmanship, especially evident during the 1970s.
John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s, and was knighted in 1998. He entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005 and continues to be a champion for LGBT social movements. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on “The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists” (Third overall, behind only The Beatles and Madonna).
Official Website :Elton John
Discography : http://en.wikipedia.orgwikiElton_John_discography
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC (born November 16, 1964) is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer. She is known for her contralto vocals.
Professional career
In 1993, Krall released her first album, Stepping Out, which she recorded with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton. It caught the attention of producer Tommy LiPuma, who produced her second album, Only Trust Your Heart (1995). Her third album, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio (1996), was nominated for a Grammy and continued for 70 weeks in the Billboard jazz charts. Love Scenes (1997) quickly became a hit record with the trio of Krall, Russell Malone (guitar) and Christian McBride (bass). Orchestral arrangements by Johnny Mandel provided the background on When I Look In Your Eyes (1999); more Grammy nominations came along, and she was rewarded as Best Jazz Musician of the Year.[citation needed] The band mix was kept, following arrangements on The Look of Love (2001) created by Claus Ogerman; this record achieved platinum status and reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200.
In August 2000, Krall was paired on a 20-city tour with Tony Bennett. They were paired again for a song on the TV series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with… The Look of Love went to number one on the Canadian album charts and went quadruple platinum in that country.[citation needed] The title track from the album, a cover of the Casino Royale standard popularized in the late 1960s by Dusty Springfield and Sergio Mendes, reached number 22 on the adult contemporary chart. In September 2001, Krall began a world tour. Her concert at the Paris Olympia was recorded and released as her first live record. Diana Krall - Live in Paris topped the Billboard jazz charts,[citation needed] went top 20 on the Billboard 200 and went top five in Canada. It garnered her second Grammy (Best Vocal Jazz Record) and a Juno Award.[citation needed] The album included covers of Billy Joel’s “Just The Way You Are” (a hit on U.S. smooth jazz radio) and Joni Mitchell’s “A Case Of You.” After marrying Elvis Costello, she worked with him as a lyricist and started to compose her own songs, resulting in the album The Girl in the Other Room. The album, released in April 2004, quickly rose to the top five in the United Kingdom and made the Australian top 40 album charts. She also joined Ray Charles on his Genius Loves Company album in 2004 on the song, “You Don’t Know Me”. In late May 2007, Krall was featured in a Lexus ad campaign. She also sang, “Dream a Little Dream of Me” with piano accompaniment by pianist Hank Jones.
Quiet Nights, her latest album, was released on 31 March 2009. Krall also produced Barbra Streisand’s album Love Is the Answer, released on 29 Sep 2009.
Personal life
Diana’s only sibling, Michelle, is a former member of the RCMP. Krall’s two primary mentors Ray Brown and Rosemary Clooney died in 2002 and a few months later her mother Adella died due to multiple myeloma. Krall and British musician (of Irish heritage) Elvis Costello were married on December 6, 2003 at Elton John’s estate outside London. Their twin sons Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, were born December 6, 2006 in New York City.
Honours
In 2000, she was awarded the Order of British Columbia. In 2003 she was given an honorary Ph.D. (Fine Arts) from the University of Victoria. In 2004, she was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
She is an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Adella Krall, mother of Diana Krall, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996 and died May 2002 at the age of 61.
Official Website : http://www.dianakrall.com
The Carpenters
The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as “The Carpenters”, the duo’s official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply “Carpenters”, without the definite article. During a period in the 1970s when louder and wilder rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The Carpenters’ melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary Chart (see the Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, Carpenters’ album and single sales total more than 100 million units.
During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 11 albums, five of which contained top 10 singles (Close to You, Carpenters, A Song for You, Now & Then and Horizon), thirty-one singles, five television specials, and one short-lived television series. They toured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. Their recording career ended with Karen’s death in 1983 from cardiac arrest due to complications of anorexia nervosa. Extensive news coverage of the circumstances surrounding her death increased public awareness of the consequences of eating disorders.
Official Website : The Carpenters
Biography : Carpenters
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950; name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Blind from birth, Wonder signed with Tamla Records at the age of eleven and continues to perform and record for the label. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and won twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever won by a male solo artist. On December 1, 2009, he was named a UN Messenger of Peace.
Official Website : steviewonder.net
Sting
Sting, CBE (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner; 2 October 1951) is a British musician, singer-songwriter, activist, actor and philanthropist.
Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock music band The Police. As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, and receiving an Oscar nomination for best song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Official Website : Sting
Michael Franks
Michael Franks (born 18 September 1944 in La Jolla, California) is a smooth jazz singer and songwriter from the United States. He has recorded with a Who’s Who of artists, such as Patti Austin, Brenda Russell, Art Garfunkel, and David Sanborn. His songs have been recorded by The Manhattan Transfer, Patti Labelle, Carmen McRae, Diana Krall, Shirley Bassey and The Carpenters.
Rene Olstead
Olstead was born in Kingwood, Texas, to Christopher Eric Olstead and Rebecca Lynn Jeffries. As a child actress, she made films and commercials from age eight onwards. She also attended Centre Stage theatrical school and is mentioned on their websites Alumni.
From 2002 to 2006, she appeared in the TV sitcom Still Standing as middle sister Lauren Miller. Olstead was presented the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy) - Supporting Young Actress for: “Still Standing” in 2002. She also had a small part in the 2004 film 13 Going on 30. She is now currently starring in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, about fifteen year old Amy’s struggle through her unexpected pregnancy and how it affects her peers. Olstead plays the character of Madison, who is one of Amy’s best friends.
In 2004, Olstead released an eponymous album of jazz songs and pop standards for Warner Bros. Records to good reviews; since her previous releases had limited distribution, this album was considered her true debut. She subsequently performed in Berlin during the Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005.
Olstead also recorded with trumpeter Chris Botti on his 2005 album To Love Again: The Duets and appears on the 2006 DVD Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests. Her singing style is influenced by such great jazz vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Reportedly her musical talent was discovered by composer David Foster, who produced her 2004 album. She later also performed with Foster on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
A follow-up album entitled Skylark, also produced by Foster, was originally announced for release in 2005, but it was subsequently pushed back several times, with release dates in the summer of 2006 and early 2007 being mentioned on online retailers such as Amazon.com. It was slated for a June 2008 release, but was delayed again. It was finally released on January 27, 2009, nearly four years after it was originally announced.
Official Website : http://www.reneeolstead.com/
My Fave song : A love that will last
David Sanborn
David Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school.
One of the most commercially successful American saxophonists to earn prominence since the 1980s, Sanborn is often identified with radio-friendly smooth jazz. However, Sanborn has expressed a disinclination for both the genre itself and his association with it.
David Benoit
David Benoit, (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz fusion / contemporary jazz pianist, composer and producer, who is from Los Angeles, California. He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. In addition to his current smooth jazz career, David Benoit is also Music Director for the Asian America Symphony Orchestra.
Official Website : David Benoit
Chicago
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The band began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to the Beach Boys in terms of singles and albums, Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful U.S. pop/rock and roll groups.
According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading U.S. singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 120 million albums worldwide, scoring 22 Gold, 18 Platinum, and 8 Multi-Platinum albums. Over the course of their career they have charted five No. 1 albums, and have had twenty-one top ten hits.
Official Website : Chicago
My Fave song : Hard Habit To Break (1984)
Fra Lippo Lippi
Fra Lippo Lippi was founded in Nesodden, Norway in 1980 by bassist Rune Kristoffersen, drummer Morten Sjøberg and keyboardist Bjørn Sorknes. Two years prior, the group was rehearsing under the name Genetic Control. They released a 4-track instrumental EP that year.
In 1981, Sorknes left as the band was writing songs for their debut album. The band, which then consisted of the duo of Kristoffersen and Sjøberg, recorded and released In Silence under Uniton Records. In 1982, Per Øystein Sørensen came on board as the band’s lead vocalist for their second album Small Mercies.
Just as the band were preparing a follow-up album, Sjøberg and keyboardist Øyvind Kvalnes departed at the prospect of giving up their day jobs for the uncertain careers as professional musicians, leaving Kristoffersen and Sørensen as the only two members. Songs was released that year to positive reviews, and 5,000 copies were sold in Norway without the aid of singles or promotion.
Months after Songs was released, the band was signed to Virgin Records. Songs was re-recorded and remixed for the international market in 1986. This version of the album also included a new song titled “Everytime I See You”. In 1987, the band recorded and released their follow-up album Light and Shade in Los Angeles, CA, with the producing aid of Walter Becker. Shortly after the album’s release, they were dropped by Virgin Records.
The band’s popularity in the Philippines prompted them to tour the country in 1988. In Manila, their shows sold out six times over two weekends.
The band continued to record and release further albums independently, starting with 1989’s The Colour Album. A live album titled Crash of Light was released in the Philippines in 1990. In 1995, the band released their first compilation album The Best of Fra Lippo Lippi ‘85-‘95. Selected tracks originally from Songs, Light and Shade and The Colour Album were re-recorded. Two years later, another compilation was released in the Philippines. The Virgin Years - Greatest Hits featured tracks directly licensed from Virgin Records.
Official Website : Fra Lippo Lippi
My Fave : Beauty & Madness
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC (born November 1, 1949), is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter and arranger,[1] noted for discovering singers Celine Dion, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world.
Norah Jones
Norah Jones (born March 30, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, and actress. She is the daughter of sitarist Ravi Shankar, and the half-sister of Anoushka Shankar. Her career began with her 2002 debut album Come Away with Me, an adult contemporary vocal jazz album with a soul/folk/country tinge, that received five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best New Artist. This was followed by her second album, Feels like Home, released in 2004. In 2007, she released her third album, Not Too Late. Jones released her fourth album, The Fall, on November 17, 2009. She has sold more than 17 million albums in the US and over 40 million records worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 2000s. On December 11th 2009, Jones was named Billboard’s 60th-highest artist of the decade based on charting of her songs.
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born 8 January 1937 in Cardiff, Wales), is a Welsh singer who found fame in the late 1950s and has continued a successful career since then worldwide. She is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979), and is a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner.
With five number one singles and six number one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California, ranked among the 20 best-selling albums in the U.S. according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Hotel California is ranked 37th in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the band was ranked #75 on the magazine’s 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They also had the best selling album in the U.S. with Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975).
The Eagles broke up in 1980, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years. The next year they launched The Long Road out of Eden Tour in support of the album. The tour continued on into 2009, crossing North America and Europe, and will continue in 2010 with additional North American tour dates.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 and led by founder Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the Elements or the Elements of the Universe, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Having sold over 90 million albums worldwide has earned them a place on the list of best-selling music artists, where they are ranked as the seventh best selling American band of all time. Rolling Stone has described them as “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing” and has also declared that the band “changed the sound of black pop”. In 1998, they were ranked at number 60 on VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock N’ Roll.
The band’s music contains elements of African, Latin American, funk, soul, pop and rock music, jazz and other genres, as well. The band is known for the dynamic sound of their horn section and the interplay between the contrasting vocals of Philip Bailey’s falsetto and Maurice White’s tenor. The kalimba (African thumb piano) is played on all of the band’s albums.
Basia
Basia Trzetrzelewska [tʐɛtʐɛlɛfska], known professionally as Basia[1] (born September 30, 1954)[2] is a Polish singer-songwriter and record producer. She established a successful international recording career featuring characteristically Latin-flavoured jazz-pop crossover songs during the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. She is noted for possessing a wide vocal range, approximately three octaves that span from contralto to soprano tessituras, as well as her singular jazz-influenced stylings and multi-layered harmonies.
Official website : Basia
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), better known by his stage name Kenny G, is a Grammy winning American saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986. Kenny G’s main instrument is the soprano saxophone, but he also on occasion plays alto and tenor saxophone. He started playing the saxophone when he was 10 years old, in 1966. The saxophone he had as a student was a Buffet-Crampon alto saxophone. Now he plays the Selmer Mark VI Soprano, Alto and Tenor Saxophones. He has created his own line of saxophones. It is called “Kenny G Saxophones”, they are available to students and professionals.
Official Website : Kenny G
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion. The band’s sound featured his melodic, blues-based guitar lines set against Latin percussion such as timbales and congas. Santana continued to work in these forms over the following decades. He experienced a sudden resurgence of popularity and critical acclaim in the late 1990s. Rolling Stone also named Santana number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003 .
Official Website : Carlos Santana
Tracks : Podcast & Videos
Sade - Soldier Of Love
