29 Nov 2019

November 2019 – The Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts – Part IX

by Tony Drew | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations | 0

Introduction

Welcome to the end of the 20^th Century. Not actually, of course, that was 20 years ago now. I mean, in the ‘Story of Modern Music’, having covered almost 350 years so far, welcomes you to the very end of the century that really transformed mankind’s potential and bestowed opportunities hitherto unforeseen and unthought‑of, including musically.

If you would like to (re)visit any of the first eight chapters of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):

I did think of trying to compress the last three decades into a single article and then thought better of it on the grounds that doing so might diminish the impact of the period within the overall picture. So, just for now, the millennial years will have to wait. The result is that the 1990s will have its own dedicated article, although it will be a slightly more diminutive read compared to the previous five decades/articles.

The Story of Modern Music Part IX 1990-1999

It is quite tricky to pinpoint exactly what the ‘90s meant to music devotees. It seemed to depend where you lived, your age and, perhaps, what socio‑economic ‘class’ you belonged to. Whether it was grunge, alternative, Britpop or dance music that floated your boat, there was a new and exciting scene to associate with and belong to. The psychological attachment to a musical style was important to many, especially young people who were looking for some structure to life while the old order of social and political systems seemed to be disintegrating around them. Although not quite as disobedient and defiant as previous musical archetypes, there was still an underlying seething resentment of ‘the man’, which various groups saw as attempting to control their chosen form of exuberant self‑expression. In a sense, they were tapping into the anger of the marginalised.

With previous decades, it was notable that births of familiar artists outnumbered deaths, while the ‘90s saw that trend beginning to reverse. Many future artists that may well achieve sustained fame may have been born in the ‘90s but not yet discovered, while the stars of previous eras are getting, let’s be honest, a bit long in the tooth.

Similarly, it is becoming difficult to distinguish what definitive musical gems will rise from the seeming homogeneity of releases to become revered as ‘classic’ in years to come. Arguably, the 1990s marked the last vestiges of milestone singles and albums. From then on, listening habits began to change fundamentally and that, in turn, changed the way we regard significance, at least through the traditional lens of sales figures.

Historical Context 1990-1999

Some commentators called the 1990s as the ‘best decade’, although that clearly depended on your circumstances and point of view! The dawn of the 1990s experienced widespread international political restructuring, especially in Eastern Europe following the end of the Cold War and the fracturing of the communist Eastern Bloc. The 1990s also saw the growth in environmental consciousness based on dire scientific predictions about global warming and climate change. Ironically, scaremongering about ‘greenhouse gases’ led to an expansion of ‘green’ industries in developed countries. Similarly, many commentators observed signs of societal dysfunctionality, leading to prescient dystopian novels such as ‘Generation X’ by Douglas Coupland (1991), ‘Random Acts Of Senseless Violence’ by Jack Womack (1992), and ‘Prozac Nation’ by Elizabeth Wurtzel (1994). The wealth gap between the haves and have‑nots was striking; a morally unjustifiable trend that would only worsen from the 1990s onwards. The increase in the pace of technological change in post‑industrial countries fuelled the migration towards ‘digitocracies’ and resulted in manufacturing being outsourced to low‑cost developing countries on a massive scale. A period of unprecedented growth in the use of the Internet fuelled unsustainable speculation in the value of high‑tech companies, known broadly as the ‘dot‑com bubble’, a phenomenon that was bound to burst, which it ultimately did. Many companies that had become reliant on IT during the decade were fearful of the impact of Y2K on computer systems that were not prepared for the turn of the millennium.

Year	Global Events
1990	Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of soviet communism, East and West Germany were reunited as the Federal Republic of Germany. Political internee and equal rights campaigner, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving 27 years. His return to freedom effectively marked the end of apartheid in South Africa. The ground breaking American cult TV series Twin Peaks burst onto screens. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, and starring Kyle MacLachlan. It is considered a landmark in television drama. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, named after American astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched into low Earth orbit. The telescope was designed to look into deep space. The first Middle East Gulf War started after Iraq invaded and annexed neighbouring Kuwait. A U.S.‑led coalition of 35 countries responded with Operation Desert Storm resulting in a coalition victory.
1991	Communist rule of the soviet USSR ended, resulting in a break up into a number of separate countries. The dismantling of the communist state effectively ended the 45‑year old Cold War between Russia and America. British computer scientist and engineer, Tim Berners-Lee posted a short summary of the World Wide Web project, effectively launching the Internet, initially to research institutions and then to the general public.
1992	The infamous Los Angeles riots took place after 4 LAPD officers were acquitted of using excessive force in the arrest of African-American Rodney King the previous year. The incident had been videotaped and broadcast widely on TV, sparking renewed civil rights activism. Founded in 1918, Central European country Yugoslavia descended into bitter civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a devastating military conflict that lasted until 1995.
1993	Democrat politician Bill Clinton became the 42^nd president of the U.S.A. Another massive American cult TV series, The X-Files was first broadcast, created by Chris Carter and starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. The European Union (EU) succeeded the European Economic Community (EEC) when 12 countries signed the Maastricht Treaty, signalling a process of closer political and economic union.
1994	The trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico came into effect. Anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician Nelson Mandela was elected as president of South Africa. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) declared a cease fire in Northern Ireland, paving the way for de‑armament and the subsequent peace process. The 38Km (23.5mile) Channel Tunnel rail link beneath the English Channel from Folkestone in England to Calais in France was opened for business.
1995	The phenomenally successful multi‑national online auction and e‑commerce website eBay was launched, founded by entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar and based in San Jose, California. Former professional American footballer O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the double murder of former wife Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The criminal trial, held in Los Angeles, was widely broadcast on TV.
1996	Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell by using nuclear transfer in Scotland, UK. Dolly died in 2003 at the age of 6. Heir to the British throne, Prince Charles was formally divorced from Diana, Princess of Wales in London.
1997	The British crown colony of Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty as a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China after 156 years of British rule. Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France at the age of 36. Her lover, Egyptian socialite Dodi Fayed, was also killed in the crash, sparking many conspiracy theories. Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and humanitarian missionary Mother Teresa died of a heart attack in Rome at the age of 87. The Pacific Rim countries were hit by the major Asian Financial Crisis, starting in Thailand and spreading rapidly across east and southeast Asia, resulting in an international financial contagion that threatened a severe worldwide economic meltdown.
1998	The male virility drug Sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, became available for use in America. It was originally discovered by pharmaceutical company Pfizer as a treatment for heart‑related chest pain. The Internet search engine Google Search was launched. It is the most widely used search engine on the World Wide Web, with over 90% market share in 2019, handling more than 5 billion searches per day. Multinational technology giant, Apple Inc. launched the highly successful iMac computer. The multilateral Good Friday Agreement was signed in Belfast by the Republic of Ireland and Britain as part of the on-going Northern Ireland peace process. The first module of the International Space Station (ISS) was launched into low Earth orbit. The ISS has served as a multinational microgravity research laboratory.
1999	The Euro became the official single currency for the majority of European Union (EU) countries, known commonly as the Eurozone. The security of the Euro is overseen by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. Politician, Vladimir Putin became President of Russian Federation, succeeding former president, Boris Yeltsin.

Musical Genre Development 1990-1999

The 1990s was a decade of sometimes dysfunctional music set against a background of major political change and social polarisation/alienation.

One phenomenon of the 1990s that isn’t genre‑specific but which built on the perennial success of pop music was the ‘boy band’ and its all‑girl equivalent. Artists included Backstreet Boys, Boyz II Men, *NSYNC, Take That, Westlife, All Saints, S Club 7, Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child. The record company ‘manufactured’ bands didn’t have it all their own way; solo pop music artists were also highly successful during the 1990s, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore.

American heavy metal saw a resurgence including bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Pantera achieving massive popularity. Meanwhile, British heavy metal was also prospering with NWOBHM bands such as Def Leppard, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.

Hip‑hop became increasingly divisive, inciting gang warfare, gun violence and drug use, fuelling rivalry between east and west coast artists, and resulting in a number of high profile deaths including Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.

The English ‘Manchester movement’ (or ‘Madchester’ as it was often called) was strong in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. The scene centred on venues like the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, run by post‑punk band New Order and led by local bands such as Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and The Charlatans, although the latter were actually based in the west midlands. The music isn’t necessarily a genre per se, it was more of a loose social and cultural grouping that also encompassed fashion, art and media. The OTT craziness of the Manchester scene was faithfully represented in the film ’24 Hour Party People’, made in 2002, directed by Michael Winterbottom. Other artists associated with the vital hotpot based around the UK’s North West were The Verve, Inspiral Carpets and James, as well as Scottish band Primal Scream. The Manchester ‘baggy’ zeitgeist would be important in the growth of the drug‑fuelled rave scene later in the decade.

A fusing of genres led to the emergence of trip hop as a discrete genre that grew from its roots in Bristol, UK and was pioneered by artists like Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead, Morcheeba and Sneaker Pimps. Sometimes referred to as ‘downtempo’, it is typified by taking electronica, hip‑hop, house, funk, dub, soul and psychedelia and creating something altogether different and fresh. While its roots were clearly experimental and atmospheric, trip hop was influential in that it led to other popular mainstream forms that became subsumed in the electronic dance craze (see below) of the 1990s and early 2000s, including breakbeat, bigbeat, drum ‘n’ bass, IDM, dubstep and acid jazz. Like the Manchester movement, trip hop was very much a UK‑led genre, which had little mainstream success in the U.S.

Like punk before it, alternative rock and its counterpart, experimental noise rock, is a musical genre that railed against the major record corporations that ran the music business and the mainstream pop and rock products they marketed. Independent producers and record labels that existed outside the studio system were very much part of an active underground movement, particularly in America, and this is where a number of bands came to public attention at the start of the 1990s. Compared to the mainstream, alternative artists found it relatively difficult to garner wide audience appeal, so word of mouth, radio and record releases were the way that the message got out. The alternative moniker is more of an umbrella term relating to artists’ status in the system, rather than having definitive identifiable genre characteristics. Notable alternative artists include Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins and Pixies. Before they signed to a major label, R.E.M. were seen as alternative and this started a broadening of the definition that included other major artists such as Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The start of the new millennium saw other alternative rock artists emerge including The Strokes, Interpol and The Rapture, extending and ensuring alternative rock’s destiny into the 21^st Century.

Grunge is a specific genre of music that developed in the Pacific North West of the United States and more specifically its epicentre in and around Seattle in Washington State. Like alternative/noise rock, grunge was an underground movement centred on an independent record label, in this case, Sub Pop records based in Seattle. Grunge is influenced by punk, metal and alternative styles resulting in something altogether different from all of them. Grunge is characterised by slow, raw arrangements and a distinctly distorted lo‑fi sound. Compositions often followed a quiet‑loud‑quiet structure. Lyrics tended to be downbeat, melancholic, anti‑consumerist and often depraved with a focus on cultural alienation and social isolation. While all of the following rejected the term ‘grunge’ as defining their music, especially after signing to major labels, the early pioneers of Seattle’s grunge scene included Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Alice In Chains. The core grunge scene had largely fizzled out and diversified by the end of the 20^th Century. A revival of the grunge ethic evolved in the 2010s to include artists like Courtney Barnett, Wolf Alice and Yuck.

Britpop was essentially an upbeat and positive British reaction to the dark and depressing American grunge scene. The music and its cultural background (nicknamed ‘Cool Britannia’) lasted approximately from 1993‑1997 before fizzling out. The major bands of the Britpop period included the ‘big four’; Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede. Collectively they expanded popularity to include other artists such as Supergrass, Cast, The Lightning Seeds, Sleeper and Elastica. The so‑called ‘Battle of Britpop’ between Oasis and Blur around 1995 was a media‑fuelled highlight catching the public’s imagination at the time. Britpop was important for influencing many quintessentially British bands that came along for the ride including Coldplay, Travis, Feeder, Stereophonics, Elbow, Snow Patrol and Keane. Further influences included Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys in the 2000s.

Dance music (in this context, Electronic Dance Music – EDM) was a phenomenon that had its roots in the late 1980s but exploded in the early 1990s and lasted well into the 2000s. Dance music comprises largely electronically produced progressive dance music intended for use at nightclubs, festivals and (often illegal) raves by DJs who mixed and re‑mixed heavy beats through loud PA systems to audience rapture. In fact, many record labels and DJs became far more celebrated than the musical artists they played in their DJ sets. The predominant sub‑genres of dance music include house, techno, trance, drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, although these only represent the tip of the dance sub‑genre iceberg. Dance beats generally comprise programmed synthesizers, samplers and drum machines to produce buoyant, insistent 4/4 dance rhythms. Dance music also became synonymous with recreational drug use such as ecstasy (MDMA) as well as party holiday destinations such as Ibiza and Mykonos islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Some of the famous artists of the dance scene include The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Underworld, Orbital, KLF, The Shamen, The Future Sound of London, 808 State, Groove Armada, Aphex Twin, Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk. Later artists built on the foundation, include Pendulum, SBTRKT and Skream. DJs became pivotal in promoting the dance craze and became famous in their own right, including Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, Paul Van Dyk and Armin van Buuren. There are many sub‑genres of dance including acid house, IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), ambient, breakbeat, downtempo, jungle and UK garage, all ensuring that dance music remains up‑to‑date and relevant in the 21^st Century.

Musical Facts 1990-1999

Day	Month	Year	Music Fact
23	January	1990	American guitarist and co-founder of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allen Collins died from pneumonia in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 37.
8	February	1990	American country and rock & roll singer and songwriter, Del Shannon committed suicide as a result of depression at his home in California at the age of 55.
18	February	1990	English singer Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance with other members of pop/rock band Queen at the Brit Awards ceremony, held in London.
20	March	1990	English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their career-defining classic 7^th studio album, ‘Violator’ in the UK.
26	March	1990	Northern Irish blues/rock guitarist, Gary Moore released his classic studio album, ‘Still Got The Blues’.
3	April	1990	Highly acclaimed Grammy award winning American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan died from cancer at her home in Hidden Hills, California at the age of 66.
10	April	1990	American East Coast rappers Public Enemy released their politically charged 3rd studio album, ‘Fear of a Black Planet’.
16	April	1990	Indie rock giants, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their 6^th studio album, ‘The Good Son’.
26	June	1990	Prolific American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their successful and significant 6^th studio album, ‘Goo’.
24	July	1990	American heavy metal rock band Pantera released their classic 5^th studio album ‘Cowboys From Hell’.
21	August	1990	Legendary American blues guitarist and singer B.B. King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6771 Hollywood Boulevard.
27	August	1990	American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and four others died tragically in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin at the age of 35.
31	August	1990	The funeral service of American blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan took place at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.
3	September	1990	English heavy metal rock band Judas Priest released their 12^th studio album, ‘Painkiller’.
21	September	1990	American thrash metal rock band Megadeth released their superb classic 4^th studio album, ‘Rust In Peace’.
6	October	1990	American Heavy metal band Metallica began recording their massive studio album ‘Metallica’ (aka the ‘black album’) in Los Angeles, California.
9	October	1990	American thrash metal band, Slayer, released their mega 5^th studio album, ‘Seasons In The Abyss’.
29	October	1990	Legendary award-winning American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter John Lee Hooker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
8	January	1991	English guitarist and songwriter, Steve Clark of hard rock band Def Leppard died of alcohol poisoning at his home in London, at the age of 30.
15	February	1991	Successful English pop singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actor Ed Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
21	March	1991	Legendary American inventor and founder of Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, Leo Fender died from Parkinson’s disease in Fullerton, California at the age of 81.
8	April	1991	English trip-hop pioneers, Massive Attack, released their successful debut studio album, ‘Blue Lines’ in the UK, including the dance anthem, ‘Unfinished Sympathy’.
20	April	1991	English guitarist and front man of rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, Steve Marriott died in a house fire at his home in Essex at the age of 44.
23	April	1991	American guitarist, singer and songwriter with New York Dolls, Jonny Thunders died in mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 38.
30	July	1991	American heavy metal rock band Metallica released their massively successful single ‘Enter Sandman’.
12	August	1991	American heavy metal band Metallica released their career-defining 5^th studio album, ‘Metallica’, often referred to as ‘the black album’.
27	August	1991	American alternative rock band from Seattle, the home of grunge rock pioneers, Pearl Jam burst onto the scene with the release of their astonishing platinum-selling debut studio album, ‘Ten’.
10	September	1991	American grunge rock pioneers Nirvana released their ‘90s anthem for disaffected youth, the near perfect hit single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.
17	September	1991	American hard rock band, Guns n’ Roses, released their 3^rd and 4^th studio albums ‘Use Your Illusion’ parts I & II on the same day in the U.S.
23	September	1991	Scottish alternative rock band, Primal Scream released their massive 3^rd studio album, ‘Screamadelica’.
24	September	1991	American grunge rock pioneers Nirvana released their career-defining classic 2^nd studio album ‘Never Mind’ in the U.S. Well over 30 million copies have been sold so far.
24	September	1991	American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 5^th studio album, ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’, produced by Rick Rubin.
28	September	1991	American jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis died of complications from a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure in a hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.
14	November	1991	Legendary American guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6627 Hollywood Boulevard.
18	November	1991	Massive Irish rock band, U2, released their storming 7^th studio album, ‘Achtung Baby’ in the UK.
24	November	1991	English singer with pop/rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury died of pneumonia resulting from AIDS at his home in London at the age of 45.
15	January	1992	Rock band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and country music legend, Johnny Cash were both inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
29	January	1992	Influential American blues singer, songwriter, upright bass player and guitarist, Willie Dixon died of heart failure in Burbank, California at the age of 76.
21	February	1992	American heavy metal rock band Pantera released their classic 6^th studio album ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’.
31	March	1992	English heavy metal rock band Def Leppard released their classic 5^th studio album, ‘Adrenalize’.
20	April	1992	English indie rock icons, The Cure released their upbeat, commercial 10^th studio album, ‘Wish’.
21	April	1992	American rap rockers, Beastie Boys, released their 3^rd studio album, ‘Check Your Head’.
27	April	1992	Indie rock giants, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their great 7^th album, ‘Henry’s Dream’.
9	May	1992	American guitarist, singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen made his live American TV network debut on ‘Saturday Night Live’ with show host Tom Hanks.
21	July	1992	American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their cult, cool, classic 8^th studio album, ‘Dirty’.
29	September	1992	American alternative rock band Alice In Chains released their sophomore studio album, ‘Dirt’.
6	October	1992	American rock band R.E.M. released their classic top‑selling studio album, ‘Automatic For The People’.
3	November	1992	American rock band Bon Jovi released their classic 5^th studio album, ‘Keep The Faith’.
10	November	1992	American rock band Rage Against The Machine released their outstanding and career defining eponymous debut album ‘Rage Against The Machine’.
9	December	1992	Although not officially announced until January 1993, English bass guitarist Bill Wyman left The Rolling Stones.
21	December	1992	Legendary American blues guitarist, Albert King died from a heart attack at his home in Memphis Tennessee at the age of 69, just 2 days after his last concert.
6	January	1993	English bass guitarist Bill Wyman officially announced that he was leaving The Rolling Stones after more than 3 decades with the band.
23	March	1993	English alternative/electronic rock band Depeche Mode released their 8^th studio album, ‘Songs Of Faith And Devotion’ in the UK.
20	April	1993	Emerging English alternative rock band Radiohead released their debut album, ‘Pablo Honey’ in the UK.
29	April	1993	English session guitarist, songwriter and producer who played extensively with David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars among others, Mick Ronson died from liver cancer in London at the age of 46.
23	August	1993	English new romantic band Duran Duran received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1770 Vine Street.
21	September	1993	American alternative grunge rock band, Nirvana released their 3^rd and final studio album, ‘In Utero’.
19	October	1993	American rock band Pearl Jam released their major 2^nd studio album, ‘Vs.’.
9	November	1993	American East Coast rappers Wu-Tang Clan released their incendiary debut studio album, ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’.
19	November	1993	American grunge rock band Nirvana recorded their classic live acoustic concert and album, ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’ at Sony Music Studios.
23	November	1993	American rock band, Guns N’ Roses, released their 5^th studio album, ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’
24	November	1993	Legendary American blues/rock guitarist, nicknamed The ‘Master of the Telecaster’ and ‘The Ice Man’, Albert Collins died from lung cancer at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 61.
4	December	1993	Non-conformist American guitarist and composer extraordinaire, Frank Zappa died of prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 52.
1	February	1994	American pop punk rock band Green Day released their breakthrough 3^rd studio album, ‘Dookie’.
1	March	1994	American grunge band Nirvana played their last ever live concert, interrupted by a power cut, in Munich, Germany.
1	March	1994	American alternative rock artist, Beck released his 3^rd studio album, ‘Mellow Gold’.
8	March	1994	American alternative rock band, Nine Inch Nails released their career-peak 2^nd studio album, ‘The Downward Spiral’.
5	April	1994	American singer, songwriter, guitarist and member of grunge rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain died from a self‑inflicted shotgun wound in Seattle, Washington at the age of 27.
19	April	1994	Alternative rock band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their classic, career-defining 8^th studio album, ‘Let Love In’.
26	April	1994	American country music legend Johnny Cash embarked on a whole new period of his career with the release of his classic studio album, ‘American Recordings’.
27	April	1994	The famous San Francisco music venue the Fillmore reopened its doors at 1805 Geary Boulevard. It had been closed since 1989 after being damaged in an earthquake.
23	May	1994	Influential American virtuoso jazz guitarist, Joe Pass died from liver cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age 65.
24	May	1994	American rappers, Beastie Boys, released their classic 4^th studio album, ‘Ill Communication’ in the U.S.
14	July	1994	English rave band The Prodigy released their breakout 2^nd studio album ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’.
22	August	1994	Pioneering English trip-hop band, Portishead released their ground breaking debut studio album, ‘Dummy’.
23	August	1994	Acclaimed American singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley released his first and only studio album, ‘Grace’. A modern classic.
26	September	1994	English trip-hop outfit, Massive Attack, released their great sophomore studio album, ‘Protection’ in the UK.
4	October	1994	Versatile American ‘redneck jazz’ guitarist Danny Gatton died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds at his home in Newburg, Maryland at the age of 49.
1	November	1994	American grunge band Nirvana released their impressive award-winning live album, ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’, 6 months after Kurt Cobain’s death.
5	December	1994	English indie rock group The Stone Roses released their sophomore studio album, ‘Second Coming’.
13	March	1995	English alternative rock band Radiohead released their breakout 2^nd studio album, ‘The Bends’ in the UK.
13	June	1995	Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and producer Alanis Morissette released her classic 3^rd studio album, ‘Jagged Little Pill’.
14	June	1995	Renowned Irish blues/rock guitarist Rory Gallagher died of MRSA following liver failure caused by medication and alcohol in London at the age of 47.
9	August	1995	American guitarist Jerry Garcia of psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead died from a heart attack while at a rehabilitation centre in California at the age of 53.
2	September	1995	12 years after it was founded, America’s homage to contemporary music, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Museum opened on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio and was celebrated with an all-star concert.
26	September	1995	American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their great 10^th studio album, ‘Washing Machine’.
2	October	1995	Australian artists, Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue released the haunting and elegiac duet single ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’.
7	November	1995	American alternative rock band Alice In Chains released their eponymous 3^rd studio album, ‘Alice In Chains’.
21	November	1995	American rock legend, Bruce Springsteen released his 11^th studio album, ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’.
17	January	1996	Music greats, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Velvet Underground were all inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
5	February	1996	Australian alternative rockers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their dark 9^th studio album, ‘Murder Ballads’.
16	April	1996	American alternative rock group Rage Against The Machine released their sophomore studio album, ‘Evil Empire’.
17	May	1996	American blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter and guitarist, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson died of a heart attack after collapsing on stage in Yokohama, Japan at the age of 61.
15	June	1996	Legendary American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died of complications from diabetes in Beverley Hills, California, at the age of 79.
18	June	1996	American alternative rock artist, Beck, released his classic, top-selling 5^th studio album, ‘Odelay’.
17	July	1996	English bass guitarist with R&B band The Animals and Jimi Hendrix’s manager, Chas Chandler died of an aneurism in Newcastle, at the age of 57.
10	September	1996	American alt-rock group R.E.M. released their classic 10^th studio album, ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’.
13	September	1996	American rapper Tupac Shakur died of gunshot wounds following a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 25.
19	September	1996	American jazz guitarist George Benson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7055 Hollywood Boulevard.
31	October	1996	English/American guitarist Slash announced that he was leaving rock band Guns N’ Roses after a relationship breakdown with the group’s lead singer Axl Rose.
2	November	1996	Sublime American singer and guitarist, known as ‘the songbird’, Eva Cassidy died from cancer in Bowie, Maryland at the age of 33.
10	January	1997	American soul legend James Brown received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1501 Vine Street.
12	February	1997	English singer and songwriter David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
4	March	1997	Alternative rock band, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their classic 10^th studio album, ‘The Boatman’s Call’.
9	March	1997	American rapper Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.) was shot and killed in Los Angeles, California at the age of 24.
11	March	1997	English former member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London.
7	April	1997	British dance/electronica/big beat duo, The Chemical Brothers, released their massive studio album, ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ in the UK.
14	April	1997	English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their classic 9^th studio album, ‘Ultra’ in the UK.
29	May	1997	Renowned American singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley died tragically from accidental drowning in Wolf River Harbor, Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 30.
4	June	1997	English bass guitarist and founder of rock band Small Faces, Ronnie Lane died from pneumonia resulting from multiple sclerosis in Trinidad, Colorado at the age of 51.
16	June	1997	English alternative rock band Radiohead released their top-selling 3^rd studio album, ‘OK Computer’ in the UK.
30	June	1997	British rave band, Prodigy, released their massive zeitgeist‑defining 3^rd studio album, ‘The Fat Of The Land’ in the UK.
22	August	1997	German industrial metal rock band Rammstein released their massive 2^nd studio album, ‘Sensucht’ (translated crudely as ‘Desire’).
11	September	1997	American blues legend John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
30	September	1997	English trip-hop band, Portishead released their eponymous sophomore album, ‘Portishead’ in the UK.
12	October	1997	American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist John Denver died tragically in plane crash in Monterey Bay, California, at the age of 53.
19	October	1997	American guitarist, best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, died of complications from pneumonia in a hospital in Mason City, Iowa at the age of 49.
10	November	1997	Highly-regarded American session guitarist and one of the most recorded musicians in popular music history, Tommy Tedesco died of lung cancer in Northridge, California at the age of 67.
22	November	1997	Australian singer and front man of the rock band INXS, Michael Hutchence committed suicide in Sydney, Australia at the age of 37.
19	January	1998	American singer, songwriter and guitarist, Carl Perkins died from throat cancer in Jackson-Madison County Hospital, Tennessee, at the age of 65.
30	January	1998	English pop singer and songwriter Sir Elton John received his knighthood from Her Majesty The Queen.
19	February	1998	Legendary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard.
20	April	1998	English trip-hop outfit, Massive Attack, released their classic 3^rd studio album, ‘Mezzanine’ in the UK.
14	May	1998	American singer and actor, Frank Sinatra died from a heart attack at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 82.
6	July	1998	Legendary American singer, guitarist and actor, nicknamed the ‘King of the Cowboys’, Roy Rogers died of heart failure in Apple Valley, California at the age of 86.
25	July	1998	American virtuoso jazz guitarist, Tal Farlow died of oesophageal cancer in New York City at the age of 77.
17	August	1998	Mexican-American guitar legend Carlos Santana received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
15	September	1998	American heavy metal rock artist, Marilyn Manson released his massively successful classic 3^rd studio album, ‘Mechanical Animals’.
24	September	1998	American icon and rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1	October	1998	American guitarist, singer and songwriter and founder of rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard.
2	October	1998	American country & western ‘singing cowboy’ Gene Autry died of lymphoma at his home in Studio City, California at the age of 91.
6	October	1998	American rock band Queens Of The Stone Age (QOTSA) released their self-titled debut album, ‘Queens Of The Stone Age’.
13	October	1998	The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, founded by English blues/rock guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, opened its doors to help clients with drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
3	November	1998	American alternative rock singer, songwriter, musician and producer, Beck, released his 6^th studio album, ‘Mutations’, the follow up to the massive ‘Odelay’.
29	November	1998	American jazz pioneer of the 7-string guitar, George Van Eps, died of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California at the age of 85.
25	December	1998	English pop/rock band, The Beatles, received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
30	December	1998	American surf rock band The Beach Boys received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street.
15	March	1999	Legendary American singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
28	April	1999	American rock band Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard.
17	May	1999	Award-winning American singer, songwriter, guitarist, electronica musician and producer Moby released his mega-successful 5^th studio album, ‘Play’.
15	June	1999	After a long break, American Latin rock band Santana released their highly successful 17^th studio album, ‘Supernatural’.
16	June	1999	English rock singer, drummer and member of progressive rock band Genesis, Phil Collins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard.
24	June	1999	English blues/rock guitarist, Eric Clapton auctioned many of his guitars in New York City. The proceeds were used in support of the Crossroads Centre he founded in Antigua as a residential treatment centre for alcohol and chemical dependencies.
11	August	1999	American rock band KISS received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
7	September	1999	American virtuoso guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Steve Vai released his astonishing 5^th studio album, ‘The Ultra Zone’.
2	November	1999	American alternative rock band Rage Against The Machine released their 3^rd studio album, ‘The Battle Of Los Angeles’ in the UK.
23	November	1999	American alternative rock artist, Beck, released his adventurous 7^th studio album, ‘Midnite Vultures’.
17	December	1999	American smooth jazz, funk and soul saxophonist, Grover Washington Jr. died of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 56.
26	December	1999	Highly acclaimed American soul singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, Curtis Mayfield, died from complications of diabetes in a hospital in Roswell, Georgia at the age of 57.

Tailpiece

The 1990s was certainly a strange decade both musically and culturally, notably as a segue to the 21^st Century. While it seems very recent, it is actually receding into long‑term memory, thereby affecting our perceptions of what it meant to us at the time. Still to come, the new millennium is temptingly beckoning and it will prove as frustrating as it was liberating.

Now… we have a minor problemo. I was hoping to conclude this series of articles conveniently in December at the very end of the current decade. However, there are still one, two or maybe even three articles still to write before we are done. December 2019’s article will therefore, ceteris paribus, interrupt the sequence in that it will cover a summary of 2019 through the eyes of CRAVE Guitars, meaning that the ‘History of Modern Music’ will resume early in 2020, all being well. This series has been a gargantuan task thus far, so perhaps a short break in proceedings won’t do any harm. Heaven knows what will follow after it has been concluded though. Looking into the crystal ball of the future is largely futile, so I’ll have to start thinking hard about the ‘next big thing’ very soon. However, that can wait for next year/decade. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “It is a moral travesty that, if you have got everything, you think you can get away with anything.”

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30 Jun 2019

June 2019 – The Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts – Part IV

by Tony Drew | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations | 0

Introduction

Welcome once again all guitar and music aficionados. We are now half way through 2019 and not only are the evenings once again beginning to draw in but also the end of the ‘noughties’ is just a few months away. What a sobering thought. One wonders whether the 2020s will match the exhilarating heights (and lows) of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ of last Century. Sometimes, I doubt it and there are too many ‘harbingers of doom’ for optimism and hope to reign too strongly but perhaps it was ever thus – I hope I’m wrong. However, that sort of future speculation is for another place an time, as this month we are looking back to some 70‑80 years’ ago.

We are here in the midst of a series of articles chronicling the story of modern music by way of numerous guitar‑oriented facts and events. If you’ve been following the series so far, you’ll already know that, so I won’t bang on about it any longer.

If you would like to (re)visit the first three parts (and nearly 300 years) of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):

The Story of Modern Music Part IV 1940-1949

There are so many facets to the 1940s that to cover the 1950s as well would make for an overlong article, so for the sake of our mutual sanity, let’s take it one step (and decade) at a time. So… this month, we concentrate solely on the 1940s, a watershed decade during which epochal change was increasing in both pace, scale and scope. Without further ado, assuming you know the routine and format by now, let us dispatch our ‘boots on the ground’ and get on with the show. Onward to the fascinating Forties…

Historical Context 1940-1949

The 1940s was known simply, and rather unimaginatively, as ‘The Forties’. During the first half of the decade the world was dominated by major conflict and brutal warfare. As if the world had not already seen enough, almost as soon as WWII ended, the Cold War began, again raising international political and military tensions between the capitalist west and communist eastern blocs, a struggle that would last for several decades. Ordinary people in many countries suffered on‑going economic austerity, adversity and disadvantage for many years as a consequence of WWII. Socially, concerns over the possibility of widespread post‑war friction sat at odds with hopes for long‑term peace. Technological progress was closely linked to competitive military advances and many major innovations spawned during the 1940s would ultimately benefit future generations.

Year	Global Events
1940	Conservative MP Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister and would remain in power to lead Britain to victory in WWII. The mass evacuation of more than 330,000 allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France to England took place during WWII. In WWII, the German Luftwaffe carried out the ‘Blitz’, the massive air bombardment of London, UK. The WWII aerial Battle of Britain took place in the skies over Britain and Europe.
1941	Russia entered WWII when German‑led Axis forces crossed the area covered by the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact, thereby effectively invading the Soviet Union. The classic motion picture film, ‘Citizen Cane’ directed by and starring Orson Welles was released. After 14 years of labour, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Black Hills, South Dakota was opened to the public, depicting the massive sculptures of four American presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. America joined WWII after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
1942	The classic movie, ‘Casablanca’ was premiered, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
1943	The world’s largest office building and headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, The Pentagon, was completed in Virginia.
1944	Operation Overlord (commonly known as ‘D-Day’) saw 150,000 allied troops successfully storm the beaches of Normandy in France against German defences.
1945	Germany surrendered to the allied forces, effectively ending WWII in Europe. U.S. atomic weapons testing was undertaken at the Trinity nuclear test site in New Mexico as part of the research & development programme known as the Manhattan Project. Two American atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan leading to unconditional surrender and the formal end of WWII. Over 60 million people were killed during the conflict. The United Nations (UN) organisation was formed, with a mission to maintain international peace and security. Democrat Harry S. Truman became 33^rd President of the U.S.A. following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Nuremburg Trials began; a military tribunal established to prosecute the most prominent political and military leaders of Nazi Germany for war crimes during WWII.
1946	ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), the first programmable electronic computer was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania.
1946/ 1947	The Cold War between Russia with its neighbouring Eastern Bloc states and America with its western allies started and lasted until the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union between 1889 and 1991. The transistor semiconductor was developed by American technology company, Bell Labs in New Jersey.
1947	Italian motor company Ferrari started production of luxury sports cars in Modena. American test pilot Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight in a rocket-propelled Bell X-1 aircraft that he nicknamed ‘Glamorous Glennis’, achieving a recorded top speed of Mach 1.06 (807.2mph) at an altitude of 45,000 ft.
1948	British author George Orwell wrote his prophetic dystopian novel, ‘1984’. The independent state of Israel was established after the British pulled out of Palestine. The British National Health Service (NHS) was founded and would become the model for universal health care in the country. The NHS was part of the wider liberal welfare state system reforms that were implemented the UK.
1949	The Communist People’s Republic of China was proclaimed by Chairman Mao Zedong. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was formed comprising 29 independent member states committed to mutual defence in response to an attack by any non‑member countries.

Well that is where the world was at, at the time. Now to refocus our attention onto the matter in hand, musical history.

Musical Genre Development 1940-1949

Music of the 1940s built on the sustained popularity of jazz, bebop and swing/big band music to provide upbeat positivity against the background of WWII, as played by Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Artie Shaw. Electric blues had spread to the west coast of America, particularly California, performed by artists such as T-Bone Walker and B.B. King. Chicago also became a vital locus for electric blues, as played by Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, as did Detroit with the likes of John Lee Hooker, and Indiana with Albert King and Jimmy Reed. Blues remained strong in the southern states, including artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins and Freddie King. Country and western music also became popular again with ‘singing cowboys’ such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Wartime songs would feature across many musical genres and many entertainers helped to support the allied forces at home and abroad, including Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields and The Andrews Sisters. It was also during the 1940s that the influence of Latin music began to be felt across other genres, popularised by the likes of ‘The Brazilian Bombshell’, Carmen Miranda brought to western cinemagoers by film director Busby Berkeley.

Around 1945, bluegrass began to make its mark. Bluegrass fused many American, European and African roots styles culminating in a unique blend of country, folk, traditional and Appalachian mountain music incorporating blues and jazz influences. The music is usually played on acoustic string instruments including fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass. Bluegrass was particularly popular for dancing, including dance styles such as buckdancing, flatfooting and clogging. The term ‘bluegrass’ arose not only from a type of grass in the region near Kentucky but also from the name used by pioneers of the genre, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Monroe is often called the ‘Father of Bluegrass’ and his band notably featured Earl Scruggs on banjo and Lester Flatt on guitar. In the early days, bluegrass was categorised along with country & western, hillbilly and folk music before being defined as a discrete genre that remains popular today.

Traditional popular music is generally defined as having broad appeal for a wide audience and has existed throughout time and across the globe. While the ‘pop song’ originated in the 1920s, modern popular music is largely accepted to be Anglo‑American in origin and arose during the 1940s as the big bands declined and before rock & roll music took off in the mid‑1950s. Popular music was notable for structured song writing, often comprising repeated verse and chorus with a middle bridge section. Popular music was often based on musical standards, sung by ‘crooners’. In addition, popular music was also often composed by professional songwriters, which was then performed by a vocalist accompanied by a backing band or orchestra. Success was characterised by record sales and chart position as a measure of achievement. Perhaps the most famous popular music artists of the early popular music era were Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby who achieved enormous commercial success. The familiar term ‘pop music’ actually appears to have its origins in Britain in the mid‑1950s. Popular music is often referred to as, but not synonymous with, ‘pop’ music; however, pop music developed as a major separate genre during the 1960s and has largely remained so to the current day. Another characteristic is that popular music is constantly evolving into many different formats and styles to keep pace with social and cultural changes, including aging western populations. Traditional popular standards were being released well into the 1950s by the likes of Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin.

During the late 1940s, there was already indicative evidence of the sounds that would coalesce and become what we now call rock ‘n’ roll during the 1950s, particularly by blues/R&B artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe. That fundamental step-change is now for the next article.

Musical Facts 1940-1949

Many legendary artists that we now take for granted as part of today’s musical landscape were not yet born or still mere fledglings yet to make their indelible mark on our collective consciousness. As with last month’s article, a large proportion of the musical facts relate to births of future stars.

Looking down the long list of nearly 200 musical events during the 1940s, it could quickly become repetitive, e.g. American/English blah‑de‑blah was born in blah, blah. However, just a scan of the names and places gives a sense about what these youthful individuals were experiencing as teenagers during the ‘big bang’ of rock ‘n’ roll and the tsunami of the ‘British Invasion’, just a few years later. Just think of the exposure they had to sweeping new music crazes and how the fads might have inspired and stimulated these curious youngsters on to great music careers that they could never have foreseen. Some of these fabulous flames would burn brightly and briefly, while others would endure as wizened veterans still working hard and influencing today’s generations. As time passes, the balance between births, lifetime achievements and, sadly, deaths will shift considerably.

Day	Month	Year	Music Fact
–	–	1940	American blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, Seasick Steve was born c.1940 or 1941 (date not disclosed) in Oakland, California.
27	July	1940	Billboard magazine published its first Music Popularity Chart. Topping the chart at No. 1 was Tommy Dorsey with his hit song, ‘I’ll Never Smile Again’.
9	October	1940	Massively influential of English singer, songwriter, guitarist, former member of The Beatles and successful solo artist, John Lennon MBE (1940-1980, 40) was born in Liverpool.
26	November	1940	Hugely influential English folk guitarist, Davey Graham (1940-2008, 68) was born in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire.
21	December	1940	Prolific genius, American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer, the one and only Mr Frank Vincent Zappa (1940-1993, 52) was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
9	January	1941	Legendary perennial American folk/protest singer, songwriter, guitarist, and political activist, Joan Baez was born in Staten Island, New York.
15	January	1941	Influential American rock singer, songwriter and musician, Don Van Vliet (better known as Captain Beefheart) was born in Glendale, California.
24	January	1941	Acclaimed American singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor Neil Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York.
24	January	1941	English folk singer, songwriter and guitarist Michael Chapman was born in Leeds, Yorkshire.
14	February	1941	Prolific English studio session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan (1941-2012, 71) was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex. Sullivan appeared on about 750 chart singles including 54 chart toppers.
24	April	1941	Australian virtuoso classical and contemporary guitarist, as well as one-time member of instrumental fusion rock group SKY, John Williams was born in Melbourne.
24	May	1941	Nobel prize-winner for literature, American folk/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota.
18	July	1941	Influential country/blues/rock guitarist and singer songwriter, Lonnie Mack (1941-2016, 74) was born in West Harrison, Indiana.
14	August	1941	American singer, songwriter and guitarist, founder of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, Hall of Famer, David Crosby was born in Los Angeles, California.
20	August	1941	The ‘grandfather of space rock’, English guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of psychedelic rock band Hawkwind, Dave Brock was born in Isleworth, Middlesex.
13	October	1941	Living legend, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, formerly half of Simon & Garfunkel and a successful solo artist, Paul Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey.
21	October	1941	Multi-Hall of Famer, American guitarist, songwriter, record producer and member of Stax Records’ house band Booker T. & the MG’s, Steve Cropper was born in Dora, Missouri.
28	October	1941	English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his uniquely distinctive work with The Shadows, Hank Marvin was born in Newcastle upon Tyne.
2	November	1941	English guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as an original member of instrumental pop/rock band The Shadows, Bruce Welch OBE was born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.
20	November	1941	Great American singer, songwriter, pianist and occasional guitarist Dr John was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
4	January	1942	English jazz/rock fusion guitarist, composer, solo artist and member of Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
28	February	1942	English guitarist and founding member of rock band The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones (1942-1969, 27) was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
2	March	1942	Legendary American virtuoso jazz guitarist Charlie Christian died from tuberculosis in New York at the age of just 25.
2	March	1942	American singer, songwriter and guitarist with The Velvet Underground and as a successful solo artist, Lou Reed (1942-2013, 71) was born in Brooklyn, New York.
24	April	1942	Oscar-winning American singer, songwriter, actress and film maker Barbra Streisand was born in New York City.
17	May	1942	Hugely influential American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, Taj Mahal (a.k.a. Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr) was born in Harlem, New York.
1	June	1942	Highly influential virtuoso Spanish flamenco guitarist, Paco Peña was born in Cordoba.
18	June	1942	English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of pop/rock bands The Beatles and Wings, as well as a successful solo artist, Sir Paul McCartney MBE was born in Liverpool.
13	July	1942	American singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of rock band The Byrds, Roger McGuinn was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1	August	1942	Influential American singer/songwriter and guitarist with Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia (1942-1995, 53) was born in San Francisco, California.
27	November	1942	A true music legend, American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, the one and only James Marshall Hendrix (1942-1970, 27) was born in Seattle, Washington.
31	December	1942	English guitarist, composer, member of rock band The Police and successful solo artist, Andy Summers was born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire.
10	January	1943	American folk/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, Jim Croce (1943-1973, 30) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
19	January	1943	Legendary American psychedelic blues/rock singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas.
25	February	1943	English singer, songwriter, guitarist and member of The Beatles, George Harrison (1943-2001, 58) was born in Liverpool.
22	March	1943	Influential American jazz/soul/R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter, George Benson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
2	April	1943	American jazz guitarist, the ‘Godfather of Fusion’, Larry Coryell (1943-2017, 73) was born in Galveston, Texas.
14	May	1943	Scottish bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of blues rock super group Cream, Jack Bruce (1943-2014, 71) was born in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire.
5	July	1943	Canadian guitarist, songwriter, composer, producer and former member of Americana rock group The Band, Robbie Robertson was born in Toronto, Ontario.
26	July	1943	English singer, songwriter and occasional guitarist, a founding member of rock band the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent.
28	July	1943	Renowned American blues guitarist and Hall of Famer, Mike Bloomfield (1943-1981, 37) was born in Chicago, Illinois.
24	August	1943	American guitarist and founder of west coast rock bands Quicksilver Messenger Service and Copperhead, John Cipollina (1943-1989, 45) was born in Berkeley, California.
6	September	1943	English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters was born in Great Bookham, Surrey.
5	October	1943	American guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader, Steve Miller was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
3	November	1943	Sublimely talented Scottish guitarist and founding member of folk revival band Pentangle, Bert Jansch (1943-2011, 67) was born in Glasgow.
7	November	1943	Highly influential Canadian folk, jazz, rock and pop guitarist, singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta.
28	November	1943	Highly acclaimed American singer, songwriter and composer of numerous film scores, Randy Newman was born in Los Angeles, California.
8	December	1943	Iconic American singer, poet, counter-culture rebel and front man of rock band, The Doors, Jim Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida.
12	December	1943	American guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and founding member of rock band The Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Florida.
18	December	1943	Legendary English guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of rock band The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards was born in Dartford, Kent.
21	December	1943	Hugely talented English guitarist and songwriter known for his country/rock hybrid picking style, Albert Lee was born in Lingen, Herefordshire.
31	December	1943	American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, John Denver (1943-1997, 53) was born in Roswell, New Mexico.
9	January	1944	English musical innovator and legendary guitarist, best known for his work with hard rock band Led Zeppelin, the highly influential Jimmy Page OBE was born in Heston, Middlesex.
23	February	1944	Great American blues guitarist and Blues Hall of Famer, Johnny Winter (1944-2014, 70) was born in Beaumont, Texas.
1	March	1944	English singer, actor, founder and long-term front man of rock group The Who, Roger Daltrey was born in London.
23	March	1944	Trailblazing English guitarist and founder of blues/rock band Groundhogs, Tony McPhee was born in Humberston, Lincolnshire.
15	April	1944	Welsh rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Dave Edmunds was born in Cardiff.
28	May	1944	American Motown legend and award-winning ‘Empress of Soul’, the formidable Gladys Knight was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
7	June	1944	American bluegrass and country rock guitarist who was a member of rock band The Byrds and an accomplished session musician, Clarence White was born in Lewiston, Maine.
8	June	1944	American singer, songwriter and guitarist, former member of the Steve Miller Band and a successful solo artist, Boz Scaggs was born in Canton, Ohio.
17	June	1944	Respected, versatile and prolific English session guitarist, singer and producer, Chris Spedding was born in Staveley, Derbyshire.
21	June	1944	English singer, songwriter, guitarist and former front man of pop/rock band The Kinks, as well as solo artist, Sir Ray Davies CBE was born in London.
24	June	1944	Outstanding and prolific English instrumental guitar genius, as well as former member of blues/rock band The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck was born in Wallington, Surrey.
8	August	1944	Renowned English guitarist and songwriter, known for his work with Bert Jansch and folk revival group Pentangle, John Renbourn (1944-2015, 70) was born in London.
16	August	1944	English singer, songwriter and guitarist with psychedelic rock band Soft Machine, as well as a successful solo artist, Kevin Ayers (1944-2013, 68) was born in Herne Bay, Kent.
9	October	1944	Legendary English bass guitarist with rock band The Who, nicknamed ‘The Ox’, John Entwistle (1944-2002, 57) was born in London.
19	October	1944	Jamaican reggae guitarist, singer and songwriter, a member of Bob Marley & The Wailers and a successful solo artist, Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica.
15	December	1944	Famous American big band leader and musician Glenn Miller was killed when the plane in which he was flying disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel during WWII at the age of 40.
18	December	1944	British guitarist, best known as member of progressive rock band Man, Deke Leonard (1944-2017, 72) was born in Llanelli, South Wales.
19	December	1944	Highly regarded English guitarist, singer, and member of blues/rock group Ten Years After, Alvin Lee (1944-2013, 68) was born in Nottingham.
3	January	1945	American guitarist, singer and songwriter, famous for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, Texas.
6	February	1945	A true legend as well as a great ambassador for Jamaica and reggae music with The Wailers, Rastafarian singer, songwriter and guitarist Bob Marley (1945-1981, 36) was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica.
9	March	1945	English blues/rock guitarist who came to fame as a member of rock band Procol Harum, before embarking on a long and successful solo career, Robin Trower was born in London.
11	March	1945	American guitarist, member of Canned Heat amongst others, and one of the first to popularise the two-handed tapping playing technique, Harvey Mandel was born in Detroit, Michigan.
30	March	1945	Highly renowned English blues/rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and Hall of Famer, Eric Clapton CBE was born in Ripley, Surrey.
13	April	1945	Great American guitarist, singer and songwriter with Little Feat, Lowell George (1945-1979, 34) was born in Hollywood, California.
14	April	1945	Hugely influential English guitarist and co-founder of hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow, as well as folk rock duo Blackmore’s Night, Ritchie Blackmore was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
6	May	1945	American rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and leader of the Silver Bullet Band, Bob Seger was born in Detroit, Michigan.
19	May	1945	English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and member of The Who, Pete Townshend was born in London.
28	May	1945	American rock singer, songwriter, guitarist and former member of Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty was born in Berkeley, California.
1	July	1945	American singer, songwriter, actress and founding member of rock band Blondie, Debbie Harry was born in Miami, Florida.
31	August	1945	Northern Irish rhythm & blues singer, songwriter and producer, Sir Van Morrison OBE was born in Belfast.
4	September	1945	Amazing American ‘Redneck Jazz’ guitarist, Danny Gatton (1945-1994, 49) was born in Washington D.C.
10	September	1945	Prolific Puerto Rican guitarist, singer and songwriter, José Feliciano was born in Lares.
11	September	1945	Extraordinary American multi-genre acoustic guitarist and a true master of his instrument, Leo Kottke was born in Athens, Georgia.
26	September	1945	English singer, songwriter and former front man of glam art rock band Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry CBE was born in Washington, County Durham.
3	October	1945	American singer Elvis Presley made his first public performance at the age of 10 when he sang ‘Old Shep’ at the Mississippi/Alabama Dairy Show talent competition. Reports say he came 2^nd and won $5, while Elvis later recollected coming 5^th and not winning a prize.
31	October	1945	English guitarist, singer, producer and one time member of rock band Argent, Russ Ballard was born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.
26	November	1945	English bass guitarist with rock bands John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and then Fleetwood Mac, John McVie was born in London.
30	November	1945	Welsh bass guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as a member of heavy rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow, Roger Glover was born in Brecon, Powys.
24	December	1945	English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and founder of rock band Motörhead, Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister (1945-2015, 70) was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
25	December	1945	English bass guitarist and member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Noel Redding (1945-2003, 57) was born in Folkestone, Kent.
3	January	1946	English bass guitarist, songwriter, former member of hard rock band Led Zeppelin, solo artist as well as a member of Them Crooked Vultures, John Paul Jones was born in Sidcup, Kent.
6	January	1946	English singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of psychedelic/progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett (1946-2006, 60) was born in Cambridge.
8	January	1946	American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a key member of rock band The Doors, Robby Krieger was born in Los Angeles, California.
19	January	1946	Larger-than-life American country music legend, successful business woman and actress, Dolly Parton was born in Pitman Center, Tennessee.
20	February	1946	American guitarist and leader of The J. Geils Band, John ‘J’ Geils (1946-2017, 71) was born in New York City.
6	March	1946	English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and former member of Pink Floyd, as well as a successful solo artist, the incomparable David Gilmour was born in Cambridge.
12	March	1946	Oscar-winning American singer and actress, Liza Minelli was born in Los Angeles, California.
1	April	1946	English bass player, singer, songwriter and founder of rock bands the Small Faces and the Faces, Ronnie Lane (1946-1997, 51) was born in Plaistow, Essex.
4	April	1946	English guitarist and member of pop/glam rock band Slade, Dave Hill was born in Holbeton, Devon.
16	May	1946	One of the great experimental English guitarists of our time and member of progressive rock band King Crimson, Robert Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset.
26	May	1946	Great English rock guitarist and close companion of David Bowie, Mick Ronson (1946-1993, 46) was born in Kingston upon Hull.
7	June	1946	Welsh guitarist and co-founder of progressive/psychedelic rock band Man, Micky Jones (1946-2010, 63) born in Merthyr Tydfil.
15	June	1946	English guitarist and singer with glam pop/rock group Slade, Noddy Holder MBE was born in Walsall, Staffordshire.
6	August	1946	Extraordinarily talented English virtuoso fusion/rock guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017, 70) was born in Bradford.
23	August	1946	Influential and eccentric English drummer and member of rock band The Who, Keith Moon, was born in Wembley, Middlesex.
5	September	1946	Flamboyant English singer with rock/pop band Queen, Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) was born in Stone Town in the Sultanate of Zanzibar (now Tanzania).
14	October	1946	English singer, songwriter and guitarist with rock band The Moody Blues, Justin Hayward was born in Swindon, Wiltshire.
29	October	1946	Highly acclaimed and influential English guitarist and co-founder of blues/rock band Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green was born in London.
5	November	1946	American country rock guitarist with The Byrds, Gram Parsons (1946-1973, 26) was born in Winter Haven, Florida.
17	November	1946	Great English guitarist, best known as a long-term member of rock band Jethro Tull, Martin Barre was born in Birmingham.
20	November	1946	Legendary American guitarist and co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, nicknamed ‘Skydog’, Duane Allman (1946-1971, 24) was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
22	November	1946	Jamaican bass guitarist and producer who played with reggae bands Bob Marley & The Wailers and The Upsetters, Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett was born in Kingston.
24	December	1946	Dutch progressive rock and jazz fusion guitarist best known for his work with rock band Focus, as well as a long solo career, Jan Akkerman was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
30	December	1946	Influential American singer, poet and activist, part of the vibrant New York punk movement, Patti Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois.
–	–	1947	American session guitarist and collaborator, best known for his work with Steely Dan, Elliott Randall was born (exact date not known).
8	January	1947	A true legend, English singer, songwriter, occasional guitarist and actor, the one and only David Bowie (1947-2016, 69) was born in London.
22	January	1947	English punk pioneer, the manager of New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, as well as a solo music artist, Malcolm McLaren was born in London.
30	January	1947	English ‘mod’ guitarist with rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, Steve Marriott (1947-1991, 44) was born in London.
3	February	1947	English guitarist, singer and songwriter who, along with his older brother Ray, provided the driving force behind pop/rock band The Kinks, Dave Davies was born in London.
14	February	1947	American multi-genre singer, songwriter and guitarist, Tim Buckley (1947-1975, 28) was born in Washington D.C.
15	March	1947	American musician, composer, songwriter and phenomenal slide guitarist, Ry Cooder was born in Los Angeles, California.
25	March	1947	Flamboyant multi-award-winning English pop singer, songwriter and pianist, Sir Elton John CBE was born in Pinner, Middlesex.
8	April	1947	Great English guitarist, songwriter and producer best known as a long-time member of progressive rock group Yes, Steve Howe was born in London.
1	June	1947	English guitarist with rock band The Rolling Stones and previously the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group, Ronnie Wood was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex.
5	June	1947	American guitarist, singer, co-founder of funk band Sly And The Family Stone, and now a Christian pastor, Freddie Stone was born in Vallejo, California.
9	June	1947	English guitarist and long-time member of rock band Uriah Heep, Mick Box was born in Walthamstow, East London.
12	July	1947	Influential English guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of pub rock band Dr. Feelgood, Wilko Johnson was born in Canvey Island, Essex.
19	July	1947	Award-winning English guitarist, astrophysicist, animal rights activist and co-founder of rock/pop band Queen, Dr. Brian May CBE was born in Hampton, Middlesex.
20	July	1947	Highly acclaimed Mexican/American guitarist, songwriter and main man for Latin/jazz/fusion/rock group Santana, Carlos Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco.
3	September	1947	Northern Irish blues/rock guitarist and founder of rock group Thin Lizzy, Eric Bell was born in Dublin.
30	September	1947	Massively influential English glam rock pioneer Marc Bolan of Tyrannosaurus Rex and then T.Rex (1947-1977, 29) was born in London.
1	October	1947	English bass guitarist, singer and founding member of rock band Wishbone Ash, Martin Turner was born in Torquay, Devon.
8	November	1947	English guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of pop/rock bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Wizzard, Roy Wood was born in Birmingham.
10	November	1947	English bass guitarist, singer and songwriter, famous for his work with progressive rock bands King Crimson and ELP, as well as a successful solo artist, Greg Lake (1947-2016, 69) was born in Poole, Dorset.
10	November	1947	American guitarist best known for working with the original Alice Cooper band, Glen Buxton (1947-1997, 49) was born in Akron, Ohio.
12	November	1947	American guitarist with rock band Blue Öyster Cult since its formation in 1967, Buck Dharma (a.k.a. David Roeser) was born in Long Island, New York.
20	November	1947	Great American guitarist, singer, songwriter, solo artist and member of country rock band Eagles, Joe Walsh was born in Wichita, Kansas.
8	December	1947	American guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman (1947-2017, 69) was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
21	December	1947	Highly influential Spanish virtuoso Flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucíá (1947-2014, 66) was born in Cadiz.
12	January	1948	English jazz fusion guitarist supreme and long-term member of progressive rock band Soft Machine, John Etheridge was born in London.
15	January	1948	American singer and frontman of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, the great Ronnie Van Zant was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
2	February	1948	American guitarist, songwriter, producer and ex-member of funk band Earth Wind & Fire, Al McKay was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
4	February	1948	Theatrical American rock singer, songwriter, actor and presenter, Alice Cooper was born in Detroit, Michigan.
19	February	1948	English rock guitarist with Black Sabbath and the ‘Godfather of Heavy Metal’, Tony Iommi was born in Birmingham.
2	March	1948	Legendary Irish blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Rory Gallagher (1948-1995, 47) was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal.
2	March	1948	American jazz fusion guitarist, composer and prolific multi‑genre session musician, the great Larry Carlton was born in Torrance, California.
4	March	1948	Renowned English bass guitarist and co-founder of progressive rock band Yes, Chris Squire (1948-2015, 67) was born in London.
6	April	1948	Talented English multi-genre guitarist and composer, Gordon Giltrap was born in Brenchley, Kent.
30	April	1948	American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer and co-founder of rock band MC5, Wayne Kramer was born in Detroit, Michigan.
15	May	1948	Pioneering experimental English composer, producer, musician and founding member of glam rock band Roxy Music, Brian Eno was born in Melton, Suffolk.
18	June	1948	Columbia Records began mass producing the 33RPM long‑playing (LP) record. The original concept of the vinyl ‘album’ has endured and has undergone a retro revival in the digital age.
19	June	1948	Highly respected English singer, songwriter and guitarist, Nick Drake (1948-1974, 26) was born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar).
20	June	1948	Scottish bass guitarist and founding member of 1970s pop group, The Bay City Rollers, Alan Longmuir (1948-2018, 70) was born in Edinburgh.
22	June	1948	American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, solo artist and founding member of progressive rock band Utopia, Todd Rundgren was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
17	July	1948	American guitarist and songwriter with Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Ron Asheton (1948-2009, 60) was born in Washington D.C.
2	August	1948	Welsh singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of rock band Amen Corner, Andy Fairweather Low was born in Ystrad Mynach.
24	August	1948	French electronic composer, instrumentalist and producer, Jean-Michel Jarre was born in Lyon.
31	August	1948	German rhythm guitarist, songwriter and founder of hard rock band Scorpions, Rudolf Schenker was born in Hildesheim.
11	September	1948	Hugely influential and innovative British singer, songwriter and guitarist, John Martyn (1948-2009, 60) was born in London.
8	October	1948	Pioneering American punk rock guitarist and songwriter with the Ramones, Johnny Ramone (1948-2004, 56) was born in New York.
12	October	1948	English guitarist and long-term member of rock band Status Quo, Rick Parfitt (1948-2016, 68) was born in Woking, Surrey. ‏
6	November	1948	American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and founding member of country rock band Eagles, Glenn Frey (1948-2016, 67) was born in Detroit, Michigan.
3	December	1948	English singer, songwriter, TV personality and member of heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath, nicknamed ‘The Prince of Darkness’, Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham.
13	December	1948	American guitarist, best known for his work with Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Spirit, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter was born in Washington D.C.
13	December	1948	Controversial American singer, songwriter and guitarist, known for his ultra-conservative political views, the ‘Motor City Madman’, Ted Nugent was born in Redford, Michigan.
18	December	1948	English guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with experimental rock band Be-Bop Deluxe, Bill Nelson was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
22	December	1948	American guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Cheap Trick, Rick Nielsen was born in Elmhurst, Illinois.
17	January	1949	English guitarist and former member of blues/rock bands John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones, Mick Taylor was born in Welwyn Garden City.
19	January	1949	English pop/rock singer and songwriter and member of rock bands Vinegar Joe and the Power Station, Robert Palmer was born in Batley, Yorkshire.
7	February	1949	English bass guitarist and founding member of pop/rock band Status Quo, Alan Lancaster was born in London.
31	March	1949	Record company, RCA Victor released their first 45RPM 7″ single, ‘Texarkana Baby’ by Eddy Arnold… on green vinyl.
3	April	1949	English guitarist, singer, songwriter, solo artist and former member of folk rock band Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson was born in London.
4	May	1949	Scottish guitarist, best known for his work with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in the 1970s, Zal Cleminson was born in Glasgow.
17	May	1949	English guitarist, singer, composer and founder of progressive rock band Camel, Andrew Latimer was born in Guildford, Surrey.
19	May	1949	American bass guitarist and long-term member of southern blues/rock band ZZ Top, Dusty Hill was born in Dallas, Texas.
29	May	1949	English singer, songwriter and guitarist with rock/pop band Status Quo, Francis Rossi OBE was born in London.
17	July	1949	Great English bass guitarist with heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath, Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler was born in Aston, Birmingham.
12	August	1949	British guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer and co-founder of rock band Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler OBE was born in Glasgow.
20	August	1949	Irish bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of rock group Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott, (1949-1986, 36) was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.
25	August	1949	Israeli/American bass guitarist, singer, actor, businessman and co-founder of rock band KISS, Gene Simmons, nicknamed ‘The Demon’ was born in Tirat Carmel, Haifa, Israel.
28	August	1949	English guitarist, singer, songwriter and ex-member of punk rock pioneers, The Stranglers from 1974-1990, Hugh Cornwell was born in London.
5	September	1949	English guitarist with rock bands Colosseum, Humble Pie and a successful solo artist, Clem Clempson was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
14	September	1949	American guitarist with southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Gaines (1949-1977, 28) was born in Seneca, Missouri.
14	September	1949	American guitarist and bass guitarist with southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ed King (1949-2018, 68) was born in Glendale, California.
23	September	1949	American living legend that is ‘The Boss’, Mr. Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey.
3	October	1949	American guitarist, singer and songwriter primarily with rock band Fleetwood Mac and now solo, Lindsey Buckingham was born in Palo Alto, California.
8	November	1949	American blues, rock, Americana roots and with a hint of country guitarist, singer, songwriter and activist, Bonnie Raitt was born in Burbank, California.
6	December	1949	American blues/folk guitarist and singer, Lead Belly (Huddie William Ledbetter) died of motor neurone disease in New York at the age of 61.
7	December	1949	Prolific and hugely influential American singer, songwriter, composer and actor, Tom Waits was born in Pomona, California.
13	December	1949	American singer, songwriter and guitarist with alternative post-punk rock band Television, Tom Verlaine was born in Denville, New Jersey.
16	December	1949	American guitarist, singer and songwriter with blues/rock band ZZ Top and solo artist, Billy F. Gibbons was born in Houston, Texas.
23	December	1949	American guitarist and singer with a long solo career and known for his work with British progressive rock band King Crimson and a host of others including Frank Zappa, David Bowie and Talking Heads, Adrian Belew was born in Covington, Kentucky.

Tailpiece

Well, that’s it for another month – that is a veritable roll call of rock ‘n’ roll, all packed into just 10 years. The thing that struck me most about this article is the overwhelming focus on America and Britain as the drivers for musical change in the 20^th Century. Today, we readily accept a much more diverse, global infusion of styles and influences. One can pontificate that it had to start somewhere and these two countries largely made it happen bilaterally; maybe not exclusively but certainly predominantly. Unsurprisingly, perhaps given the period, it is also male dominated.

Just how quickly we proceed from here depends entirely on the volume of the content. At this rate, we could be at this for a while yet. I didn’t realise when I started, what a colossal exercise it was going to be. However, I have found it fascinating to focus on musical evolution through this lens and I hope that you have found something of interest along the way. Maybe the Forties were not a great deal of interest to you, they were certainly before my time. We will get around to other periods that may motivate your attention span in a different way, I promise… eventually.

We are now well past the chronological midway point but we haven’t yet reached half way in terms of content. The massive upsurge of musical events that took place over the latter part of the 20^th Century has still to unfold fully, raising the anticipation of plenty more to come… and, boy, is there plenty more! The ambitious effort to bring an interrelated bunch of musical factoids to life within the context of the broader human condition continues unabated. I hope you will join me on the rest of the journey, hopefully reconvening here‑ish next month. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars ‘Quote of the Month’: “Material things feed the vanity of the ego, while music nourishes the spirit and sustains the soul.”

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19 Feb 2017

February 2017 – Favourite Guitarists And Why

by Tony Drew | posted in: Observations, Opinion | 0

This month, I’m continuing with a list-like feature. This isn’t laziness, it’s just about time I focused back specifically on guitars and guitarists.

Here are some of the guitarists I enjoy listening to and, linking back to my January 2017 article about why we like what we like, artists that I keep coming back to for more. If there was some sort of formula that is common to all of them, it might be expressed as:

Unique talent + quality instrument + great song writing + timing + opportunity = music history.

The first ‘variable’ above is a key ingredient… talent. Most phenomenal guitarists are instantly recognisable by their distinctive sound, which is more about the person than the instrument they play. Simply put, no-one sounds like them. Why? It comes down to individual technique. It’s the same with classical painters, each one highly recognisable for their outputs, even though the inputs are essentially the same (paint, brushes, canvas, etc.). As the late great Stevie Ray Vaughan sagely commented, “Your sound is in your hands as much as anything. It is the way you pick and the way you hold the guitar, more than it is the amp or guitar you use”. In addition to the “it’s in the hands” adage, they also often have a ‘how do they do that?’ factor that differentiates them from the hoi poloi (NB. for trivia fans, from the Greek meaning ‘the many’). For guitarists to shine there needs to be strong song writing – it doesn’t actually matter who wrote any particular track, it’s how it is interpreted that matters.

Most guitarists will own several guitars and use then for certain situations. Many top guitarists may have extensive collections, although they tend to have one instrument or model with which they are uniquely associated. Combine that stylistic talent with, perhaps, a ‘signature’ instrument and the basics are there. By ‘quality’, I simply mean ‘fit for purpose’ within this context. Using a ‘favourite’ guitar is not a prerequisite, however, it is likely that removing a physical impediment to technique (i.e. an inappropriate guitar) has liberated many players to feel, rather than think, about their playing. There is something special in the relationship between player and preferred instrument that adds a ‘secret ingredient’ that no-one else could muster from it.

Another characteristic of accomplished guitarists with longevity is that they usually have a refined sense of song writing, either on their own or as part of a band, often prolifically so. They instinctively know what people tune into, including well-honed sense of harmony, melody, tempo, etc. They also adapt their writing over time to accommodate changing listening tastes. It isn’t just about image or the axe that they wield.

There is something to be said about time period and cultural context and being in the ‘right place at the right time’. If any of these guitarists were struggling to establish a career in today’s Spotify-saturated, X‑Factor sterilised world, would they stand out and have a chance? I would wager not. Many of these greats were also pioneers who broke the mould at their time in some way – they are not generic or homogenous. Musical integrity and coherency have been shattered by our seemingly insatiable appetite for the iTunes attention deficit disorder-oriented society. It is so much harder to be genuinely innovative now, which may explain why there are so few challengers striving to not only usurp the thrones of the exalted ‘old-timers’ but also to stay there. Aspiration and ambition is just the start, achieving longevity and legendary status is another matter altogether.

Some other characteristics spring to mind, these guitarists were as sound at rhythm guitar as they are at lead lines. So many great tunes would flounder without the solid rhythm chops from great guitarists who knew how to groove in their chosen genre.

I would also argue that these guitarists are/were as great at playing live, as they are/were in the studio. On stage, there is nowhere to hide and these artists have to work very, very hard to earn and sustain credibility over many years of continuous touring.

So… to the point… at long last. As my guitarists of choice are diverse in style, genre, time period, success, etc., it was impossible to rank them from 1-20, so they are presented in alphabetical order for fairness and simplicity. I’ve indicated the instrument(s) that they are often associated with, as well as a track that, for me, acted as an entry point into their canon (not necessarily their best or most well-known track), a catalyst if you will for grabbing my aspirational attention.

1. Jeff Beck (1944-) – Where on Earth does one start with a genius like Mr Beck? Invention, reinvention, experimentation and continually challenging the boundaries of what can be done with 6 strings on a Strat. No-one comes close to decades of innovation. As soon as you think you’ve nailed his rut, he surprises by a change of direction with consummate musicianship in whatever he does. Listen: ‘Brush With The Blues’ (1999). Guitars: Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Fender Telecaster

2. Ritchie Blackmore (1945-) – Ignoring well-documented character traits, Blackmore’s Deep Purple/Rainbow rock era featured some of the most incendiary, flamboyant and flashy lead lines, all seemingly delivered with minimal effort. Extraordinary. Credit for following his passion in traditional guitar, rather than selling out/cashing in by endlessly regurgitating ‘Smoke On The Water’ for decades. Listen: ‘Child In Time’ (1972). Guitar: Fender Stratocaster

3. Dimebag Darrell (1966-2004, 38) – Sadly, the late ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Lance Abbott was taken too young. Metal guitarists are often easily categorised without really appreciating their innate talent and abilities. Darrell was a terrific guitarist with soul and technical skill that is hugely under-appreciated both for storming southern-tinged riffs and searing lead lines with Pantera. Listen: ‘Cemetery Gates’ (1990). Guitar: Dean ML

4. Rory Gallagher (1948-1995, 47) – A unique talent not sufficiently acknowledged while he was alive, his contribution and reputation has rocketed since his demise. The modest and unassuming Gallagher had a tremendous ear for fusing blues tropes with an astounding melodic sensibility evoking his Irish roots. A great slide player too. Live, he was astounding, consumed with energy and passion that few could match. Listen: ‘Calling Card’ (1976). Guitar: Fender Stratocaster

5. Billy Gibbons (1945-) – With his roots deep in Texan blues, ‘the greatest beard in rock’ can make his axe sing with great feeling, as evidenced by early material. As part of ZZ Top, he pushed R&B boogie into the limelight with mega commercial success, thereby adding more flavours to his not inconsiderable palette. Listen: ‘Blue Jeans Blues’ (1975). Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Standard, Gretsch Billy Bo

6. Kirk Hammett (1962-) – Another metal guitarist who knows how to use a guitar in anger as a member of Metallica. Listen to his playing and there is much more than flashy thrash metal guitar work. His legacy will forever be integrated with the riff from ‘Enter Sandman’. Look beyond those few familiar notes and be rewarded. Listen: ‘Seek & Destroy’ (1983). Guitar: ESP

7. Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970, 27) – Predictable. To attempt to explain in a few words what James Marshall Hendrix unleashed on rock music during his short career would be inadequate. He was a true revolutionary and showman, imbued with massive talent and skills honed through passion, dedication and commitment. Contemporary music owes a massive debt to a true pioneer and just think what he could have achieved. Listen: ‘All Along The Watchtower’ (1968). Guitars: Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Flying V

8. Steve Hillage (1951-) – Easily overlooked because of his relatively obscure ‘hippie’ career (Gong, System 7), Hillage is a talented and individual guitarist with a very recognisable tone and style. Even in later years, which focus heavily on electronic dance grooves, guitar remains an important stylistic element. His contribution is much undervalued. Listen: ‘Hurdy Gurdy Glissando’ (1976). Guitars: Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Standard

9. John Lee Hooker (1917-2001, 83) – Hooker was a true individualist who always played by his own rules. He is one of the most expressive and soulful bluesmen, his emotions emanating through his guitar and gravelly vocals. Yes BB may be the King but JLH was a blues Hooker at one with his delta roots. At his best just him and his guitar, rather than the sanitised reverential collaborations. Listen: ‘Crawlin’ Kingsnake’ (1991). Guitars: Epiphone Sheraton, Gibson ES-335

10. Tony Iommi (1948-) – Where would rock be without Black Sabbath. Another guitarist who ploughed a furrow that hadn’t previously been ploughed and as the ‘godfather of metal’, his influence has justly pervaded the landscape of modern hard rock and metal for decades. How much of his individual style resulted from his infamous industrial accident, we can never know. Listen: ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ (1973). Guitars: Jaydee Custom S.G. ‘Old Boy’, Gibson SG

11. John Martyn (1948-2009, 60) – Martyn started off in traditional English folk music and then something happened and he became a true experimenter using delay and other effects to create something completely new and adventurous, mostly on acoustic guitar. In addition to innovating, he also retained the heartfelt lyrical nature of his music, using guitar to complement his unique voice. Listen: ‘I’d Rather Be The Devil’ (1973). Guitar: Martin D‑28

12. J. Mascis (1965-) – Often described as an alternative maverick, born of the New York punk era, Mascis is a genuine one-off and enduring front man of Dinosaur Jr. A bit like Neil Young on steroids. As a guitarist, he doesn’t stun with millions of notes and sterile technical ability but, boy, does he put some energy and power into his searing, laser-guided lead lines that have impressed consistently over the years. Always on the fringe. Listen: ‘Out There’ (1993). Guitar: Fender Jazzmaster

13. Brian May (1947-) – Dr. May’s melodic and harmonic brilliance will forever be remembered for his Mercury-period Queen. However, like his distinctive home‑made guitar, the astrophysicist created a unique and recognisable guitar style that pervades western culture. His MTV pop sensibilities are as strong as his earlier rock riffs. Listen: ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’ (1974). Guitar: Brian May Red Special

14. John McLaughlin (1942-) – In terms of phenomenal ability, dexterity and skill, McLaughlin is near, if not at, the top of the tree. Not only is his speed and proficiency astounding, his genre-spanning flexibility is formidable. Describing his playing can only be achieved through hyperbole. An extraordinary guitar superman. Listen: ‘Vital Transformation’ (1971). Guitar: PRS

15. Gary Moore (1952-2011, 58) – In later years before his untimely death, Moore concentrated on the blues, joining the ranks of the few white, non-American blues legends. Go back earlier in his career and his abilities at rock and fusion show just what a great and adaptable guitarist he was. Listen: ‘Stormy Monday’ (2001). Guitars: Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Standard

16. Tom Morello (1964-) – Probably the youngest of the guitarists to make the list. Go back to RATM’s debut album and reflect on the pounding riffs and genuinely innovative lead playing and recognise that Morello is one of those guitarists who could take the mainstream and adapt it into something no-one had heard before. Listen: ‘Bombtrack’ (1992). Guitar: ‘Arm The Homeless’ custom

17. Carlos Santana (1947-) – Renowned for his ability to sustain notes, Carlos was also a very fluid player and highly acclaimed for his feel. From his appearance at the end of the 1960s to today, he can produce an inimitable and remarkable guitar tone. He could play blindingly fast and he could also turn out achingly emotive lead lines. Listen: ‘Samba Pa Ti’ (1970). Guitar: PRS Santana

18. Jimmy Page (1944-) – Like Blackmoore, Iommi and Hammett, Page is another guitarist whose legacy may be forever associated with a single track in the consciousness of the music listening public (Stairway To Heaven). However, Zeppelin-era Page is a multi-talented guitarist. It is a shame that he hasn’t been able to shine to the same extent in his post-Zep solo career. Listen: ‘Kashmir’ (1975). Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Standard, Danelectro 3021

19. Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990, 35) – SRV is another guitar phenomenon taken from us way too young. Unapologetically Texas blues to his core, he shared Hendrix’s immense ability to introduce many other styles into his playing, including jazzy influences. Another whose formidable combination of talent and relentless hard work set him apart from the crowd. Listen: ‘Tin Pan Alley’ (1999). Guitar: Fender Stratocaster

20. Neil Young (1945-) – Quite often referred to as the master of the one-note guitar solo, this underrates his ability to wring considerable emotional content from just a few well-chosen, emotionally driven and sparingly targeted tones. One thing is for sure, his distinctive tone and style has sustained his well-deserved reputation over many decades. Listen: ‘Southern Man’ (1970). Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Standard

Most of these guitarists will, perhaps, be obvious entries. However, there may be a few unexpected curve balls thrown in for good measure. Of course (don’t you just hate it when people say that!), there is a very long list of superb guitarists that didn’t make the 20 above, including the likes of George Benson, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, John Frusciante, Peter Green, Steve Hackett, Allan Holdsworth, BB King, Paul Kossoff, Robby Krieger, Randy Rhoads, Mick Ronson, Joe Satriani, Slash, Steve Vai, Van Halen, Jack White, Johnny Winter, Zakk Wylde, Angus Young, Frank Zappa, etc., etc., etc. It’s virtually impossible to name them all. While I recognise their massive influence, this is my list of guitarists, not a regurgitation of anyone else’s list or a contrived list of ‘stature derived through perceived wisdom’.

There are also guitarists who aren’t listed above and who perhaps aren’t considered ‘great’ guitarists stylistically but are still notable for the instrument being an integral part of their music, e.g. Marc Bolan, Robert Smith, Thurston Moore, etc.

I also haven’t strayed into bass guitar but that’s an easy one for me, evidenced by the mercurial virtuoso skills of the incomparable, and sadly late, great Jaco Pastorius. Danny Thompson and Tal Wilkenfeld also deserve honourable mentions in this category for me.

Interestingly, 7 of the above guitarists (35%) are sadly no longer with us. Thankfully, at least 13 (65%) of them still are. I have been fortunate enough to see just over half of them play live and, of the ones I have seen, I can attest to their consummate skills. One thing I noticed when researching this article is how many of these guitarists regularly wear/wore hats when playing live (around a quarter of them). Head apparel seems a quintessential part of a guitarist’s touring equipment for many.

In terms of a ‘golden era’, many of these artists had their zenith between the late 1960s and the early 1980s. After a 10-year hiatus in the proverbial doldrums of the post-punk electronic era, there was a gradual resurgence of interest in guitar music from the 1990s that thankfully reignited a passion for the art into the 21^st century. Thankfully that interest continues to flourish and diversify today, which will hopefully incentivise whole new generations of exciting new guitar heroes (genuine ones, not the ‘game’) to carve an identity for themselves.

One thing that does bother me is that there are no female guitarists on the list. This is more a reflection of historical exposure that male guitarists have had compared to female guitarists. It is not a misogynistic trait, just circumstance. There are great guitarists out there, e.g. Carrie Brownstein, Eva Cassidy, Lita Ford, Charlotte Hatherley, Kaki King, Orianthi Panagaris, Bonnie Raitt, Nancy Wilson, etc., they are just not my most listened to guitarists. There are also many girl bands, like Warpaint, Haim, Dum Dum Girls, Sleater Kinney, Smoke Fairies, etc., which is positive. Those who are familiar with my rants on the subject will know that I believe ‘girls with guitars are cool’. My view is that, as in any other streak of life, gender should not pose a barrier to success and there are some very accomplished female guitarists out there. Personally, I would dearly like to see equality and inclusion. Having said that, I don’t believe girls are actively excluded, it’s just that the prevailing environment isn’t conducive to girls seeking guitar playing as a job in the same way as there is, for instance, in orchestral classical music.

Also, as mentioned at the start, there essentially are no modern-era guitarists on the list. The most recent on the list above are from the 1990s, rather than the noughties and teenies; this is still around a quarter of a century ago now. There are many, many very talented modern-day guitarists out there but, again, they just didn’t make my list. I look forward to emerging guitarists taking up the reins. One wonders who we might admire in the future, in addition to the current greats.

What, though, really separates the greats from the very talented also-rans who also work very hard at their craft? If we all knew that, it wouldn’t be a question. Is it serendipity, happenstance, luck, contacts, situation? Perhaps the old adage that ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’, plays its part.

I only wish I had a minute fraction of the ability demonstrated by the guitarists mentioned here. Sadly, I don’t have that kind of talent (despite the hard work), so I have to end up writing about them!

One thing we might learn from them is that we shouldn’t try to imitate them. By all means emulate and pay homage to them but only if you can actually do what they do better than them – try that particular strategy and see how far you get! Perhaps another lesson for stalwart gear heads is that the guitars don’t make the guitarist, mostly anyone can own a Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul but not everyone can be a SRV or Jimmy Page – guitars are simply the professional tools of the expert craftsman. However, put the two together and something very special can happen. Modern music would not be the same without the skilled practitioner and their axes of choice, creating magic for us mere plebs to wonder at and aspire to.

CRAVE Guitars ‘Music Quote of the Month’: “If music is the result of passion, passion is the music of life.”

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