Don't say Aretha is making a comeback, because I've never been away!" - Aretha Franklin
American singer known for her recordings of soul and gospel music. Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her popular songs include "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Think," "The House That Jack Built," and several others -- earned her the title "Lady Soul," which she has worn uncontested ever since.
Genres: Soul and R&B recordings but is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, hip-hop, gospel, and even opera.
Instruments: Vocals, Piano
Comment:
As is the case with many '60s rock legends, there have been mixed responses to her later work. Some view it as little more than a magnificent voice wasted on mediocre material and production. Others seem to grasp for any excuse they can to praise her whenever there seems to be some kind of resurgence of her soul leanings. Most would agree that her post-mid-'70s recordings are fairly inconsequential when judged against her prime Atlantic era. The blame is often laid at the hands of unsuitable material, but it should also be remembered that - like Elvis Presley and Ray Charles - Franklin never thought of herself as confined to one genre. She always loved to sing straight pop songs, even if her early Atlantic records gave one the impression that her true home was earthy soul music.

Aretha Franklin Full Biography:
Aretha Franklin was born in Memphis, TN, March 25, 1942. The Franklin family moved to Detroit, MI, where her father, Baptist minister Reverend C.L. Franklin, soon became one of the most revered public figures in black America. His passionate speeches led to associations with gospel legends like Mahalia Jackson and Clara Ward, and Aretha (not to mention her sisters, Emma and Carolyn) soon became well-known gospel singers in their own right. Aretha recorded her first gospel LP at the tender age of 14. Her gospel success led legendary talent scout John Hammond Jr. to sign her to Columbia Records, but the label sought to market her as a jazz talent since gospel had not yet bled into the pop mainstream. Aretha scored some minor hits for Columbia, but it was only after the success of Sam Cooke that Atlantic signed a struggling Aretha and set her up with the famous Muscle Shoals musicians to make "soul" music. From 1967-1973 Aretha was a dominant force on the pop and R&B charts.
By the mid-Seventies Atlantic's sound had played itself out for many listeners, and Aretha struggled (although she continued to chart here and there). Her appearance in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers led to a contract with a new label, Arista, and in the mid-Eighties she scored an amazing comeback with her album Who's Zoomin' Who. Although her new success waned by the early Nineties, Franklin remains a force in popular music, able to essay jazz, soul, pop and gospel with equal authority.
Facts:
Otis Redding was pleasantly shocked by her cover of his song "Respect," claiming good-naturedly that she "stole" it from him.
Is known as "The Queen of Soul" and "Lady Soul".
She was almost signed to Motown Records in the early Sixties.
She had her voice declared a natural resource by the state of Michigan.
Was once in line to star in a Broadway musical tribute to Mahalia Jackson.
She has a lifelong fear of flying.
Endured a stormy marriage to her manager, Ted White, from 1962-1969, which she refuses to discuss.
The most important female soul artist of all time.
One of rock and roll's finest interpretive singers.
One of rock's finest pianists.
Served as a symbol for the burgeoning "women's rights" movement.
Brought her gospel roots into secular R&B, thus helping create "soul music".
An important cultural figurehead in the civil rights movement.
Interpreted and wrote songs from a purely female perspective.
Aretha Franklin Discography:
1956 The Gospel Soul of Aretha Franklin
1961 Aretha 1962 The Electrifying Aretha Franklin
1962 The Tender, The Moving, The Swinging Aretha Franklin
1963 Laughing on the Outside
1964 Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington
1964 Songs of Faith
1965 Yeah!: Aretha Franklin in Person
1965 Once in a Lifetime
1967 I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
1967 Aretha Arrives
1967 Take It Like You Give It
1967 Lee Cross
1968 Lady Soul
1968 Aretha Now
1968 Aretha in Paris
1969 Aretha Franklin: Live!
1969 I Say a Little Prayer
1969 Soul '69
1970 This Girl's In Love with You
1970 Don't Play That Song
1970 Sweet Bitter Love
1970 Spirit in the Dark
1971 Aretha Live at the Fillmore West
1971 Young, Gifted & Black
1972 Amazing Grace
1973 Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky)
1974 With Everything I Feel in Me
1974 Let Me in Your Life
1975 You
1976 Sparkle
1977 Satisfaction
1977 Sweet Passion
1977 Most Beautiful Songs
1978 Almighty Fire
1979 La Diva
1980 Aretha
1980 Aretha Sings the Blues
1981 Love All the Hurt Away
1982 Jump to It
1983 Get It Right
1984 Never Grow Old
1985 First Lady of Soul
1985 Who's Zoomin' Who?
1986 Aretha
1986 Soul Survivor
1987 One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
1989 Through the Storm
1991 What You See Is What You Sweat
1998 A Rose Is Still a Rose 2003 So Damn Happy

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton was born in Ripley in Surrey on 30th March 1945. He was the illegitimate son of Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Fryer, a Canadian soldier stationed in England. After W.W.II Fryer returned to his wife in Canada, Patricia left Eric in the custody of his grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp. (The surname Clapton is from Rose's first husband, Reginald Cecil Clapton.) Patricia moved to Germany where she eventually married another Canadian soldier, Frank McDonald.
On his 14th birthday he received a guitar which he taught himself to play, and at the age of 17 he joined his first band, the Roosters.
In 1963 after he was chucked out of art college he joined the Yardbirds as he was in art school with Keith Relf. He stayed for about 18 months before beginning a stint with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Eric became known as "god" as he impressed the whole English culture scene with his amazing guitar playing. After about a year Eric had had enough of impersonating his blues artists and decided to form a group of his own. So in 1966 he formed a band known "Cream" with bassist Jack Bruce & drummer Ginger Baker. Cream was also one of the earliest "power trios", with Jack Bruce (also of Bluesbreakers and Manfred Mann) and Ginger Baker.
The band this time was not a purest blues group but a hard rock and blues trio. The band first performed together at a jazz 'n blues festival in Surrey before signing a record contract. In November 1966 their debut single "Wrapping Paper" hit UK#34 but their next single "I Feel Free" made more of an impression hitting UK#11 the following January. At the same time they released their debut album "Fresh Cream" which was a big top ten hit going to UK#6 and went on to make US#39 later in the year. In early 1967 Clapton's status as Britain's top guitarist was shaken by the arrival of Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix's early club performances were avidly attended by top UK stars including Clapton, Pete Townshend and The Beatles.
Cream spent most of 1967 either touring or writing, recording and producing "Disreali Gears" which was to be one of their finest efforts. The first single that confirmed Cream as a mainstream success was "Strange Brew" which went to number 17 in the UK. After hectic touring worldwide their second album "Disreali Gears" was an enormous worldwide hit hitting UK#5 and US#4. With the album's success it managed to make "Sunshine Of Your Love" a hit in America going to number 36.
The valedictory Goodbye album featured live performances from Cream's farewell performance at the Royal Albert Hall; it was released shortly after Cream disbanded in 1968, and also featured the studio single "Badge", co-written by Clapton and his friend, Beatle George Harrison. "Badge" served as the basis for Harrison's later Beatles composition, "Here Comes the Sun".
August 1968 released "Wheels Of Fire", a double album that was making the live album go to UK#3 and the studio effort of UK#7 but both going directly to US#1 for four weeks. Despite the fact that the band had sold so many records, had sold out nearly every concert, had made millions and even managed to boost "Sunshine Of Your Love" to hit US#5 and UK#25 Cream decided that after a farewell tour of America the band would split up. So then it happened that the band toured North America in October.
Clapton and Harrison's friendship resulted in Clapton playing on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' White Album. Their friendship was later sorely tested when Clapton fell in love with Harrison's wife, model Pattie Boyd-Harrison, and she eventually left him for Clapton. Clapton's love for Pattie — who had turned him down at first — was his inspiration for the classic song and LP, "Layla". When Clapton got married to Pattie, he wrote another famous song, "Wonderful Tonight".
In the winter of 1969 Eric began jamming with former Traffic front man Steve Winwood with Ginger Baker also joining in Eric's mansion in Surrey. With bassist Rick Grech added to the line-up the band became Blind Faith and started rehearsing and recording material. In June after the band finished recording session for their first and only album they made their live debut in Hyde Park to a crowd of over 200,000 fans.
Clapton withdrew from the spotlight in the early seventies, wallowing in his addiction and then struggling to conquer it. Following the advice of the Who's Pete Townsend, he underwent a controversial but effective electro-acupuncture treatment and was fully rehabilitated. He rebounded creatively with a role in the film version of Townsend's rock opera, Tommy, and with a string of albums, including the reggae-influenced 461 Ocean Boulevard, which yielded a chart-topping single cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." Some critics and fans were disappointed by Clapton's post-rehab efforts, feeling that he had abandoned his former guitar-heavy approach in favor of a more laid-back and vocal-conscious one.
Just One Night, Clapton's galvanizing 1980 live album, reminded devotees just exactly who their guitar hero was, but unfortunately, this period marked Clapton's critical slide into a serious drinking problem that eventually hospitalized him for a time in 1981. He experienced a creative resurgence after reining in his alcoholism, releasing a string of consistently successful albums--Another Ticket (1981), Money and Cigarettes (1983), Behind the Sun (1985), August (1986), Journeyman (1989)--and turning his personal life around. Though some say Clapton never regained the musical heights of his heroin days, his legend nevertheless continued to grow. That he was a paragon of rock became more than apparent when Polygram released a rich four-CD retrospective of his career, Crossroads, in 1988; the set scored Grammy awards for Best Historical Album and Best Liner Notes.
The early 1990s saw tragedy enter Clapton's life again on two occasions. On August 27, 1990 guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was touring with Clapton, and two members of their road crew were killed in a helicopter crash between concerts. Clapton was originally supposed to be a passenger on the helicopter but gave his seat to Vaughan. Then, on March 20 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son Conor (with Italian model Lori Del Santo) died following an accidental fall from an apartment window. A fraction of Clapton's grief was heard on the song "Tears In Heaven" (on the soundtrack to the 1991 movie Rush), co-written with Will Jennings, which, like the MTV Unplugged album that followed it, won a Grammy award.
Like Unplugged, his 1994 album From The Cradle, featured a number of versions of old blues standards, and highlighted his economical acoustic guitar style. In 1997 he recorded Retail Therapy, an album of electronic music under the pseudonym TDF, and he finished the twentieth century with critically-acclaimed collaborations with Carlos Santana and B. B. King. Clapton's 1996 recording of the Wayne Kirkpatrick/ Gordon Kennedy/Tommy Sims tune "Change the World" won a Grammy award for song of the year in 1997.
In 1999 Clapton, then 56, met 25 year old graphic artist Melia McEnery in Los Angeles while working on an album with B.B. King. They married in 2002 at St Mary Magdalen church in Clapton's birthplace, Ripley, and they have three daughters, Julia Rose (2001), Ella May (2003), and a third, born in 2005.
Eric Clapton Trivia / Timeline:
Played guitar along with original 'Bond' guitarist Vic Flick on Michael Kamen's theme for _Licence To Kill (1989)_ . The duo were filmed 'playing' in various London locations for the expected video. However, the producers decided to opt for a song, sung by Gladys Knight, and the Clapton/Flick instrumental has never been released.
Cream's hits were "Wrapping Paper", "I Feel Free", "Strange Brew", "Sunshine Of Your Love", "Anyone For Tennis", "Crossroads", "White Room" & "Badge".
Has an office in Chelsea.
Dated musician Sheryl Crowe. [1996]
Had a daughter with Yvonne Kelly in 1986 - Made public in 1993.
Son, Conor, (b. 21 August 1986), mother is Lory Del Santo. Clapton was still married to Pattie Boyd at that time.
Had a son, Conor, with Lori Del Santo, who died in a fall from a 53rd floor apartment, March 20, 1991. Clapton's Grammy-winning hit song Tears in Heaven was dedicated to the memory of his son.
According to the August 1998 issue of the British rock magazine "Q", Clapton ranks number 10 on the list of the 100 richest rock stars with an estimated fortune of over £75m.
Was a member of The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie, Derek and the Dominoes.
Both Harrison and Clapton were respectively married to model Patti Boyd. Wrote hit songs "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" about Patti Boyd.
Played the guitar solo on Beatle George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" creating a precedent. No other outside musician had ever had such a privilege.
Axes of choice include a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Standard.
Clapton, tied the knot with McEnery, from Columbus, Ohio, in a low-key ceremony at a church near his home in Surrey, southern England, on New Year's Day, 2002. Guests were told they were attending the christening of the couple's six-month-old daughter Julie Rose. But after the baptism of Julie Rose and Clapton's 16-year-old daughter Ruth, the couple were called forward by vicar the Reverend Christopher Elson and exchanged marriage vows.
Clapton is the only artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: as a member of The Yardbirds (1992); as a member of Cream (1993); and as a solo performer (2000).
He received the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire) in 1995.
Voted the South East's best guitarist in Total Guitar Magazine's poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists. [July 2001]
Wrote the classic song "Layla" about his unrequited love for Patti Boyd-Harrison, who was then married to George Harrison. He eventually married her nine years later.
Stephen Stills asked Clapton to join Crosby, Stills and Nash so that he could help beef up their sound in concert. He refused due to the fact that he was in the middle of forming Blind Faith with Steve Winwood.
He was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the British Empire) in the 2003 Queen's New Year's Eve Honours List for his services to music.
Clapton was also on the short list of guitarists to replace Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones.
Played with John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Pop Festival in 1969. Other members included Klaus Voorman on bass and Alan White (later of Yes) on drums.
Eric Clapton is credited on the Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms album due to the fact that he loaned Mark Knopfler one of his guitars for the album.
Quit the Yardbirds after the band decided to do the more pop sounding song "For Your Love", which was a departure from the more traditional blues songs they had been doing.
Gave up his seat on a helicopter bound to Chicago to Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Helicopter crashed soon after take off and Vaughan, along with Clapton's manager, was killed.
Quotations by Eric Clapton:
"I am, and always will be, a blues guitarist."
"Given the choice between accomplishing something and just lying around, I'd rather lie around. No contest."
Eric Clapton Discography:
1970 Eric Clapton #17 UK, #13 US
1970 Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (as Derek and the Dominoes) #16 US
1972 The History of Eric Clapton (compilation) #20 UK, #6 US, US Sales: 500,000
1972 Eric Clapton at His Best (compilation) #87 US
1973 Clapton (compilation) #67 US
1973 Live at the Fillmore (as Derek and the Dominoes) (Live 1970) #36 UK, #20 US
1973 Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert (Live 1972) #18 US
1974 461 Ocean Boulevard #3 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 500,000 1975 There's One in Every Crowd #15 UK, #21 US
1975 E.C. Was Here (Live 1975) #14 UK, #20 US
1976 No Reason to Cry #8 UK, #15 US
1977 Slowhand #23 UK, #2 US, US Sales: 3,000,000
1978 Backless #18 UK, #8 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
1980 Just One Night (Live 1979, Double Disc Set) #3 UK, #2 US, US Sales: 500,000
1981 Another Ticket #18 UK, #7 US, US Sales: 500,000
1982 Time Pieces: Best Of Eric Clapton (1970-1978) #20 UK, #101 US, US Sales: 7,000,000
1983 Money and Cigarettes #13 UK, #16 US
1984 Too Much Monkey Business
1984 Backtrackin' #29 UK
1985 Behind the Sun #8 UK, #34 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
1986 August #3 UK, #37 US, US Sales: 500,000
1987 The Cream of Eric Clapton #3 UK
1988 Crossroads (Box Set) #34 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
1989 Homeboy 1989 Journeyman #2 UK, #16 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
1990 The Layla Sessions (as Derek and the Dominoes) (20th Anniversary Edition, Box Set)
1991 24 Nights (Live 1990) #17 UK, #38 US, US Sales: 500,000 1992 Rush #24 US, US Sales: 500,000
1992 Unplugged (Live 1992) #2 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 10,000,000
1994 From the Cradle #1 UK, #1 US, US Sales: 3,000,000
1995 The Cream of Clapton #80 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
1996 Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies (Live from 1974 to 1978, Quadruple CD Set) #137 US
1998 Pilgrim #6 UK, #4 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
1999 The Blues (Double Disc Set) #52 US, US Sales: 500,000 1999 Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton #6 UK, #20 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
2000 Riding With the King (with B.B. King) #15 UK, #3 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
2001 Reptile #7 UK, #5 US, US Sales: 500,000
2002 One More Car, One More Rider (Live 2001) #43 US
2004 Me and Mr. Johnson (an album of Robert Johnson covers) #10 UK, #6 US
2004 Sessions for Robert J. (official CD/DVD of tour auditions)
2005 Back Home (due to be released August 29th)
Eric Clapton Singles:
from On Tour with Eric Clapton (Delaney & Bonnie & Friends album)
1969 Comin' Home (Delaney & Bonnie & Friends feat. Eric Clapton) #16 UK
from Eric Clapton
1970 After Midnight #18 US
from The History of Eric Clapton
1972 Layla (Derek & The Dominoes) #7 UK, #10 US
from 461 Ocean Boulevard
1974 I Shot the Sheriff #9 UK, #1 US
1974 Willie and The Hand Jive #26 US
from There's One in Every Crowd
1975 Swing Low, Sweet Chariot #19 UK
non-album single
1975 Knockin' on Heaven's Door #38 UK
from No Reason to Cry
1976 Hello Old Friend #24 US
from Slowhand
1977 Lay Down Sally #39 UK, #3 US (1978 release)
1978 Wonderful Tonight #16 US
from Backless
1978 Promises #37 UK, #9 US
1979 Watch Out for Lucy #40 US
from Just One Night
1980 Tulsa Time #30 US
1980 Cocaine #30 US
from Another Ticket
1981 I Can't Stand It #10 US
from Time Pieces: The Best of Eric Clapton
1982 Layla (re-issue) (Derek & The Dominoes) #4 UK
from Money and Cigarettes
1983 I've Got a Rock N' Roll Heart #18 US
from Behind the Sun
1985 Forever Man #26 US
from August
1987 Behind the Mask #15 UK
from Journeyman
1990 Bad Love #25 UK
from 24 Nights
1991 Wonderful Tonight (live) #30 UK
from Unplugged
1992 Layla #12 US
from Rush soundtrack
1992 Tears in Heaven #5 UK, #2 US
from One (Elton John album)
1992 Runaway Train (with Elton John) #31 UK
from Ten Summoner's Tales (Sting album)
1992 It's Probably Me (with Sting) #30 UK
non-album charity single
1995 Love Can Build a Bridge (with Cher, Chrissie Hynde & Neneh Cherry) #1 UK
from Phenomenon soundtrack
1996 Change the World #16 UK, #5 US
from Pilgrim
1998 My Father's Eyes #33 UK
1998 Circus #39 UK
non-album single
2000 Forever Man (How Many Times) (Beatchuggers feat. Eric Clapton) #26 UK
Eric Clapton Filmography:
As Composer:
The School of Rock (2003) (song "Sunshine of Your Love")
... aka School of Rock (Germany) (USA: promotional title)
Anger Management (2003) (song "Strange Brew")
Eric Clapton: One More Car, One More Rider - Live on Tour 2001 (2002) (V) (songs "Reptile", "Tears in Heaven", "Bell Bottom Blues", "My Father's Eyes", "River of Tears", "She's Gone", "Badge", "Wonderful Tonight", "Layla" and "Sunshine of Your Love")
Party at the Palace: The Queen's Concerts, Buckingham Palace (2002) (TV) (song "Layla")
Blow (2001) (song "Strange Brew")
MTV Unplugged: Ballads (2000) (V) (song "Old Love")
Eric Clapton & Friends in Concert: A Benefit for the Crossroads Centre at Antigua (1999) (TV) (songs "River of Tears", "Tears in Heaven", "Old Love", "Wonderful Tonight", "Layla" and "Sunshine of Your Love")
The Story of Us (1999)
The Accountant (1999)
Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton (1999) (V)
Patch Adams (1998) (songs "Let It Rain" and "Bell Bottom Blues")
"Cap des Pins" (1998) TV Series (main titles) ... aka The Tide of Life (USA)
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) ... aka Lethal 4 (USA: promotional abbreviation)
Nil by Mouth (1997) ... aka Ne pas avaler (France)
Eric Clapton: Live in Hyde Park (1997) (TV) (songs)
The Van (1996)
"Smap x Smap" (1996) TV Series (song "Tomodachi e - Say What You Will") (2005)
Heat (1995) (song "Will Gaines")
"Celeste, siempre Celeste" (1993) TV Series (from "Lethal Weapon 3") (uncredited)
Peter's Friends (1992) (song "Give Me Strength")
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Eric Clapton: Unplugged (1992) (TV) (songs "Signe", "Tears in Heaven", "Lonely Stranger", "Layla" and "Old Love")
Rush (1991)
Cream: Strange Brew (1991) (V) (songs)
Eric Clapton: 24 Nights (1991) (TV) (songs "Badge", "Sunshine of Your Love", "Bad Love", "Old Love", "Wonderful Tonight", "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Edge of Darkness")
Goodfellas (1990) (song "Sunshine of Your Love", "Layla")
The Cream of Eric Clapton (1990) (V) (songs "Sunshine of Your Love", "Strange Brew", "Badge", "Layla", "Wonderful Tonight", "Tearing Us Apart" and "Holy Mother")
Communion (1989) (main theme)
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) Homeboy (1988)
The Hustler of Money (1988) (TV)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
The Color of Money (1986) (song "It's In The Way You Use It")
Eric Clapton and Friends (1986) (TV) (songs "Miss You", "Tearing Us Apart", "Holy Mother", "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Layla")
"Edge of Darkness" (1985) TV Series
The Hit (1984) (title music)
Good and Bad at Games (1983) (TV)
Uncommon Valor (1983/I) (song "Sunshine of Your Love")
James Dean: The First American Teenager (1975) (TV) (song "Layla") (uncredited)
Mean Streets (1973)
Slipstream (1973) ... aka Une voix dans la nuit (Canada: French title)
Pacific Vibrations (1970) (as Cream)
Cream's Farewell Concert (1969) (songs)
The Savage Seven (1968) (song "Anyone For Tennis?")
As Actor:
Comic Relief: Red Nose Night Live 05 (2005) (TV) .... Performer
Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) .... Louisiana Gator Boys
Tommy (1975) .... The Preacher ... aka The Who's Tommy ... aka Tommy by 'The Who' (USA: complete title) ... aka Tommy: The Movie (USA: promotional title)
Det var en lørdag aften (1968) (as Cream)

Mile Davis

Real Name / Full Name / Birth Name: Miles Dewey Davis, Jr.
Date of Birth: 26. May 1926
Place of Birth: Alton, Illinois/USA
Date of Death: 28. September 1991 (pneumonia, respiratory failure, stroke)
Place of Death: Santa Monica, California/USA
Profession: Musician, / Jazz Trumpeter / Composer
Genres / Styles: Jazz
Best Known As: Composer/performer of Kind of Blue, American jazz composer, trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist and was one of the most influential, innovative and original musicians of the twentieth century.

Miles Davis Biography, Career:
Miles Davis was born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois. He was known to the general public primarily as a trumpet player. However, in the world of music he had a great deal of influence not only as a innovative bandleader but also as a composer. His music and style was important in the development of improvisational techniques incorporating modes rather than standard chord changes. Miles experiments with modal playing reached its apotheosis in 1959 with his recording of Kind of Blue.
Many of the great improvisers and their ideas within the Davis groups were nurtured through Miles Davis, as he acted as inspirational overseer. The music and styles of Miles Davis from one period of his life to the next varied quite differently. He has composed many tunes that today are considered standard repertoire for aspiring jazz musicians. Tunes such as Nardis, Milestones, and So What are typical examples. Miles Davis had an uncanny ability of always selecting great sidemen for his recording sessions. These recordings are full of original and creative sensitivity and are outstanding examples of jazz recordings made at that time.
His popularity was so great that he mistakenly received composer credit for a number of modern jazz standards such as Blue in Green (by Bill Evans) Tune Up and Four (by Eddie Vinson).
His creative and innovative approach to performing such great standards as Bye Bye Blackbird and On Green Dolphin Street has resulted in these tunes becoming great jazz standards. Considered one of the all time great melodic soloist of our time, Miles Davis can be characterized as having unusual and very skillful timing with simple or complex melodic phrases. As were his counter parts, Thelonious Monk Count Basie, Miles was a true master of restraint with regard to the creative process of his improvised lines.
His recording in 1954 of The Man I Love with Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk and Bags Grove are typical examples of his inner ability of restraint with regard to phrasing and time. Other dramatic technique Miles used was his placement of notes and the use of silence during his solos. Known in the 1950s for his ability to vary the color of his sound, pitch, and the use of a Harmon mute, Miles solos resulted in a warm, rich, wispy, and even intimate improvisation. Examples are Seven Steps to Heaven and Kind of Blue, and today are part of every jazz musicians repertoire. Late in the 1960s Miles began to play more in the upper register.
Listen to Miles recordings in 1963 of Miles In Europe and Four and More (1964). In 1969 facing swirling social and musical currents, Miles incorporated the use of electronic instruments into his music. Using harsh dissonance's sounds from electronic instruments he changed the way music of the time was performed and understood. If you listen to his recordings in 1970 you notice his more explosive and violent style with long burst, shattered tones, electronic echoes, and numerous other alterations on his trumpet. Listen to Live -Evil and Bitches Brew. Although Miles Davis does not seem to play as fast or as high as other trumpet players such as, Maynard Ferguson, Dizzy Gillespie, or Clifford Brown, he always maintained a constant momentum at any tempo. The fact that Davis may or may not have been as technical as other trumpet players, still does not detract from the fact that his lines are more varied and original than any other trumpeter of his time.
It should be mentioned that Miles Davis is also considered a great artistic painter. In 1988 he created a series of abstract paintings. He was inspired by a Milan -based design movement known as "Memphis" founded by Ettore Sottsass. Known for "hot colors" and "clashing shapes" Memphis mixed and matched a variety of historical motifs and closely resembled a "postmodernism" style. Miles found this style appealing and created a large quantity of paintings. Most of the time Miles appeared on-stage in bright colored clothing that matched his painting style. He always seemed to dazzled his audiences with the color of sound that emanated from his horn and from his clothing. His paintings in New York City (1990) received enthusiastic reviews, as they did in Spain, West Germany and Japan.
Davis had a great artistic gift for painting and creating music. He is one of the very few jazz musicians of our time who had the ability to improvise and swing at a constant tempo. When Miles played a tune it became part of his soul and it never lost character. He passed away September 28, 1991 and he will be deeply missed. His music and influence in the world of jazz and art will remain with us for eternity.
As a musician, Miles Davis was a giant of jazz. He was also very outspoken about things he liked or disliked. His interviews, his stage behaviour, his autobiography show the genius but also the dark sides of the man. His recordings show the lyrical, the emotional, the fragile side, are documents of a very special beauty and certainly "milestones" of jazz.
Paintings, Sketches, Drawings and other Artwork Created by Miles Davis:
In 1980 Miles began to focus his talent in a new direction and started seeking expression not just through his music but also through visual art. He began with primitive figures and then experimented in colour and composition. In contrast to his rich formal education as a musician, Miles as an artist was mostly self taught.
He became inspired by the Milan based design movement known as “memphis” whose theme was based on hot colours and clashing shapes.He worked under the influence for nearly two years during which time he created a substantial collection of work. As his work matured his direction changed with integrating, swirling abstracts and strong African inspired textured, filling his studio with tribal masks and haunting images of African art. He was moved to incorporate the essence of the rich imagery in his paintings. He transformed his works of sound into shapes and colours and worked primarily with acrylic paints, pastels, pencils and markers, especially favouring large canvasses with ample space.

Inside Marvin's heart and head, wars raged on. He talked about giving up music and becoming a monk. He talked about being a bigger sex symbol than Elvis. Marvin Gaye's extraordinary career matched his extraordinary life, a mixture of blessings and banes, dazzling success and inscrutable pain. His biography and discography are twin reflections of the same dualty: the artistic and personal struggle to heal the split between head and heart, flesh and spirit, ego and God. Meanwhile, the music lives on for the pleasures of its beauty and the marvel that was Marvin's voice.

The Life of Marvin Gaye:
Marvin Gaye was born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. He was an African American pop, soul and R&B singer who gained international fame during the 1960s and 1970s as an artist on the Motown label. His best records are still highly regarded, and he is often cited as one of the finest singers of his era.

After high school, Marvin Gaye joined the Air Force and, after being discharged, joined the Rainbows (later Moonglows), a popular local group in DC. After a concert in Detroit, Gaye was offered a solo contract by Berry Gordy Jr. of Motown Records. Gaye married Gordy's sister, Anna, in 1961.
Gaye released three unsuccessful singles, until 'Pride and Joy' became a smash hit, but he felt discontented with Motown’s tight control over his material. By 1965, he had released 39 Top 40 songs for the label.
Gaye hit the charts with his biggest success, 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine', but his marriage was crumbling and he felt irrelevant, singing about love while popular music underwent a political revolution.
As a result, Gaye released 'What's Going On' in 1971, one of the most memorable soul albums of the time, including then-unheard of radical political and social statements. Gordy at first refused to release the album, but eventually gave in. The album produced three Top Ten singles.
1973's 'Let's Get It On' was a sexually and romantically charged album that was very successful in the charts. His marriage ended soon after. After a failed single and a failing new marriage, Gaye moved to Hawaii, and then to Europe in 1981.
Gaye began working on In Our Lifetime? in Europe. When Motown issued the album in 1981, Gaye was livid: he accused Motown of editing and remixing the album without his consent, altering the album art he requested, and removing the question mark from the title (rendering the intended irony imperceptible). He negotiated a release from the label and signed with Columbia Records in 1982 and released Midnight Love the same year. Midnight Love included "Sexual Healing", one of Gaye's most famous songs, and his final big hit.
On April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday, Gaye was shot and killed by his father in an argument. Gaye's relatives claimed that he had purposely pushed his father to the edge so that he could have Marvin, Sr. kill him instead of having to commit suicide.
Notables:
Marvin Gaye was one of the most expressive vocalists of the era, Marvin Gaye, capable of impersonating both the romantic lover and the hostile mod/punk and the political activist, breathed life into H-D-H's Can I Get A Witness (1963) and How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You (1964), Smokey Robinson's I'll Be Doggone (1965), One More Heartache ((1966) and Ain't That Peculiar (1965), Norman Whitfield's I Heard It Through The Grapevine (1967), and Ashford's and Simpson's Ain't No Mountain High Enough (1967). Gaye the songwriter exploded in 1971, with the socially aware and orchestrally-arranged concept album What's Going On (1971). The less intense and dense Let's Get It On (1973) was more sound-oriented and returned to his erotic persona, a transition towards the abstract melodic fantasies of I Want You (1976), co-written with Leon Ware.

Elvis Presley

Elvis has become even more famous in death as an icon of American music and TV-era celebrity. Presley hit the charts as a rock 'n roll rebel in the 1950s. His 9 September 1956 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show (with Presley shown only from the waist up to hide his swivelling hips) turned him into one of the era's biggest stars. His many hits included "Jailhouse Rock," "Hound Dog" and "Blue Suede Shoes." He also appeared in dozens of lighthearted movies designed to let him cavort and play the guitar onscreen, including King Creole (1958, with Walter Matthau) and Blue Hawaii (1961, with Angela Lansbury). In the late 1960s, after a period of declining fame, he remade himself into "The King," a melodramatic icon known for his sequined karate-style jumpsuits and megaconcerts. The loyalty of his fans is famous; though he died in 1977, sightings of a supposedly surviving Elvis became a kind of international running joke. Elvis's Memphis home, Graceland, has become a permanent shrine to the singer.

Bob Dylan

Dylan is one of the towering figures of late 20th century popular music, responsible for such songs as "All Along The Watchtower" (made into a hit by Jimi Hendrix), "Like a Rolling Stone," "Tangled Up in Blue," "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "Lay Lady Lay." Dylan has been recording and performing since 1962, mixing folk, country, blues and rock and sometimes startling his fans but almost always pleasing the critics. Although Dylan was an influential pop figure during the youth movement of the 1960s, his first number one hit, "Knocking on Heaven's Door," didn't come until 1973. During the '80s he toured extensively, and in the '90s his songs found a new audience and more acclaim from the music industry: in 1991 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy; his 1997 album Time Out of Mind won three Grammys; and in 2001 Dylan won an Oscar for "Things Have Changed," from the movie Wonder Boys (2000).

Jim Morrison

During their brief but phenomenal period of fame, The Doors defined a sound which was a true melting-pot of influences - from psychedelic and avant garde rock, to improvised jazz with spoken word vocals - all thoroughly steeped in Morrison's colourful literacy and mysticism. When Light My Fire earnt the band a number one chart spot, accusations of commercialism and "selling out" dogged Morrison, and his rock'n'roll excesses notoriously reached Dionysian levels - he was the first musician ever to be arrested on stage. He died aged 27, apparently suffering a heart attack in the bath. His enduring legacy is acknowledged in Oliver Stone's biopic The Doors, and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now immortalised one of his most controversial songs,.