Male Musicians

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer-songwriter and musician, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly / country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis. His greatest success came with Monument Records in the early to mid 1960s when 22 of his songs placed on the US Billboard Top Forty, including "Only the Lonely", "Crying", "In Dreams", and "Oh, Pretty Woman". His career stagnated through the 1970s, but several covers of his songs and the use of one in a film by David Lynch revi…

Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 30, 1933) is an American country singer-songwriter, author, poet, actor and activist. He reached his greatest fame during the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, and remains iconic, especially in American popular culture. Now in his 70s, Willie Nelson continues to tour and has performed in concerts and fundraisers with other major musicians, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews. He also continues to record albums prolifically in new genres that embrace reggae, blues, jazz, folk, and popular music. Early life Nelson was born and raised in Abbott, Texas, the son of Myrle Marie and Ira Doyle Nelson, a mechanic and pool hall …

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty (born October 20, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr. and Muddy Wilbury. He has recorded a number of hit singles with the Heartbreakers and as a solo artist, many of which remain heavily played on adult contemporary and classic rock radio. His music, notably his hits, has become popular among younger generations as he continues to host sold-out shows. Throughout his career, Petty and his collaborators have so…

Dire Straits were a British rock band, formed by Mark Knopfler (vocals and lead guitar), his younger brother David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion), and managed by Ed Bicknell, active between 1977 and 1995. Although the band was formed in an era when punk rock was at the forefront, Dire Straits played a more bluesy style, albeit with a stripped-down sound that appealed to audiences weary of the overproduced stadium rock of the 1970s. In their early days, Mark and David requested that pub owners turn down their sound so that patrons could converse while the band played, an indication of thei…

Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein on 29 March 1959) is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William Morris Agency and C3. Farrell has led the alternative rock groups Porno For Pyros and Satellite Party. Personal life Farrell was born in Queens, New York to a Jewish family. He spent his grade-school years in Woodmere, Long Island, and moved to Miami during his teens.His father was a jeweler; his mother was an artist who committed suic…

N.W.A (popularly shortened for Niggaz Wit Attitudes[1][2]; also known as Niggaz With Attitude[3], though speculated to be shortened for "No Whites Allowed" [4]), was a Compton, California-based hip hop group widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre.[5] Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned[citation needed] from many mainstream U.S. radio stations and even at times prevented from touring - yet the group has still sold over 9 million units in the U.S. alone. Their second album, Straight Outta Compton, marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as th…

Cypress Hill is a Latino American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Originally called DVX, the name was changed after Mellow Man Ace left in 1988.[2] Cypress Hill was the first Latino group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. They are one of the most well known groups in West Coast rap and are critically acclaimed for their first three albums History Early works and mainstream success (1989–1995) After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel …

House of Pain is an Irish-American hip-hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. The group is best known for its 1992 hit single "Jump Around", which reached #3 in the United States, #6 in Ireland and #8 in the United Kingdom.[1] Band history Rise to fame After a brief unsuccessful solo career, Everlast teamed up with DJ Lethal and high school friend Danny Boy to form House of Pain.[1] The group was signed to Tommy Boy Records, and their self-titled debut album (1992) went multi-platinum, spawning the successful DJ Muggs produced single "Jump Around". This song was also remixed twice by Pete Rock, on…

Run-D.M.C. (sometimes written Run D.M.C., Run…quot;DMC, or Run DMC) was a hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop. They were the biggest act in hip-hop throughout the 1980s and are credited with breaking hip hop into mainstream music. They were the first group in their genre to have a Gold record and be nominated for a Grammy. [1] The group was among the first to show how important the MC/DJ relationship was. [2][3] In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them number …

Beastie Boys is an American hip-hop group from Brooklyn, New York. The group comprises Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and John Jacobs who left the band to join the Navy shortly after their big break. Since around the time of the Hello Nasty album, the DJ for the group has been Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz, who was first featured in the song "Three MCs and One DJ".[1]. Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie, and released their debut EP in 1982. After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 release of experimental hip-hop 12" …

Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from New York City.[1] Their work fuses the shock tactics of Alice Cooper, the rebellious mood of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the extravagant image of glam rock bands such as New York Dolls notably for the makeup. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands. The band is generally categorized as glam metal for their earlier work, although the band does not consider themselves to be so.[2][3] Although the band was formed by guitarist Jay Jay French in December 1972, all of their songs were written by Dee…

Tears for Fears are an English pop rock duo formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesizer bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into mainstream rock and pop, which led to international chart success. The band has sold more than 22 million albums worldwide (including over 8 million in the United States alone). Career [edit] Formation Orzabal and Smith met as teenagers in their home city of Bath, Somerset. The duo became session musicians for the band Neon,[1] where they first met future Tears For Fears drummer …

Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Founder of the industrial rock musical project known as Nine Inch Nails, he was previously associated with the bands Option 30, Exotic Birds, and Tapeworm, among others. Reznor left Interscope Records in 2007, and is now an independent musician. Reznor began creating music early in his life, and cites his sheltered Western Pennsylvania childhood as an early influence. After being involved with a number of synthesizer-based bands in the mid-80s, Reznor gained employment at Right Track Studios and began creating his own music during the studio's closing …

The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1974 and are often cited as the first punk rock group.Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement both in the United States and the United Kingdom. All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell show and disbanded. By a little more than eight years after the breakup, the band's three founding me…

Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and broadcaster whose career spans more than five decades. With a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, boa constrictors and baby dolls, Cooper has drawn equally from horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a grandly theatrical and violent brand of heavy metal that was designed to shock. Alice Cooper was originally in a band consisting of Furnier on vocals and harmonica, lead guitarist Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar, Dennis Dunaway on bass guitar, and drummer Neal Smith. The original Alice Cooper band broke into the in…

Layne Thomas Staley (August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-lyricist of the rock group Alice in Chains, which was formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s. The band became known for its distinct vocal style, which often included the "snarl-to-a-scream" vocals of Staley, as well as the harmonized vocals of Staley and Cantrell.Staley was also a member of the supergroups Mad Season and Class of '99. He struggled throughout his career with severe drug addiction, which eventually led to his dea…

Scott Weiland (born Scott Richard Kline on October 27, 1967) is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with Grammy Award-winning supergroup Velvet Revolver and his own solo career. His onstage persona is known as being flamboyant and chaotic; he is also known for constantly changing his appearance and vocal style, as well as his use of a megaphone in concert for vocal effect. Despite his success, his career has been plagued with drug addiction, as well as several arrests. However, according to MTV News, Weiland has been free from heroin …

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. A prominent figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, and world tours. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His repu…

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss", is an American singer-songwriter. He records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey. Springsteen's recordings have tended to alternate between commercially accessible rock albums and somber folk-oriented works. Much of his status stems from the concerts and marathon shows in which he and the E Street Band perform intense ballads, rousing anthems, and party rock and roll songs, amongst which he intersperses whimsical or deeply emotional st…

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band, formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The band became prominent in the Southern United States in 1973, and rose to worldwide recognition before three members and one road crew member died in an airplane crash in 1977. The band reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother Johnny as the frontman. Lynyrd Skynyrd continues to tour and record. Of its original members, only Gary Rossington remains with the band as of 2010. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006. Early years In the summer of 1964, teenage friends Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins, and Gary…

Randall William "Randy" Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music influences with his own heavy metal style. While on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, he would seek out classical guitar tutors for lessons. Despite his relatively short career, Rhoads is a major influence on neo-classical metal players that emerged in the 1980s such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Angelo Batio, and Jason Becker.He is cited as an influence by many contemporary heavy metal guitarists, including longtime Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde Chil…

Zakk Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American musician and songwriter, who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory, who released one self-titled album in 1994 before disbanding. As a solo artist he released Book of Shadows in 1996. Personal Life Wylde currently lives with his wife, Barbaranne, and his three children: Hayley Rae, Hendrix, and Jesse--who is godson to Ozzy Osbourne. Health Wylde's health has come under scrutiny for several years. Wylde was asked by Sharon Osbourne to att…

Ronnie James Dio (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter of Italian descent. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser Hear 'n Aid. He was widely hailed as one of the most powerful singers in heavy metal, renowned for his consistently powerful voice and for popularizing the "devil horns" hand gesture in metal culture. Prior to his death, he was collaborating on a project with former Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, under the moniker Heaven & Hell, whose first studio album,…

Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is a musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Zombie has also established a successful career as a film director, creating the movies House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, the 2007 remake of Halloween, its sequel, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. His next film will be the upcoming Tyrannosaurus Rex. Cummings is also the brother of Powerman 5000 frontman Spider One. Personal life Zombie was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He is the bro…

George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music. George Strait holds the world record for more #1 hit singles than any other artist in the history of music on any chart or in any genre. As of 2010 he has amassed 57 #1 hits. Strait rocketed to success after his debut single "Unwound" in 1981. While contributing to the neo-traditional movement of the 1980s, he amassed 18 number one singles and seven number one albums …