Musicians 115

Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has also incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. Aerosmith is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". The primary songwriting team of Tyler and Perry is sometimes referred to as the "Toxic Twins".

Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences and lyrical obsessions with death, religion, love, and violence.

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967 by guitarist and singer Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie, who have remained with the band throughout its many line-up changes. Fleetwood Mac have sold more than 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands.

Sade (/ˈʃɑːdeɪ/ SHAH-day or /ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY) are an English band, formed in London in 1982 and named after their lead singer, Sade Adu. The band consists of Adu alongside bassist Paul Denman, saxophonist and guitarist Stuart Matthewman, and keyboardist Andrew Hale. Founding drummer Paul Anthony Cooke left the band in 1984, while Dave Early, Cooke's replacement, left in 1985. Since Early's departure in 1985, the band has employed numerous session and touring drummers in absence of an official drummer. The band's music features elements of soul, quiet storm, smooth jazz and sophisti-pop. All of the band's albums, including compilations and a live album, have charted in the US Top Ten.

Edward Christopher Sheeran (/ˈʃɪərən/ SHEER-ən; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play No. 5 Collaborations Project. He signed with Asylum Records the same year.

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1985, as the result of a merger between local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current line-up consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Isaac Carpenter, and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.

Mamoru Fujisawa (Japanese: 藤澤 守, Hepburn: Fujisawa Mamoru, born December 6, 1950), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi (久石 譲, Hisaishi Jō), is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, Western classical, and Japanese classical. He has also worked as a music engraver and arranger.

Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular music.

Santana is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 by Mexican-born guitarist Carlos Santana. The band has undergone various recording and performing line-ups in its history, with Santana being the only consistent member. After signing with Columbia Records, the band's appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 increased their profile, and they went on to record the critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), and Santana III (1971). These were recorded by the group's "classic" line-up, comprising lead vocalist Gregg Rolie, percussionists José "Chepito" Areas and Michael Carabello, drummer Michael Shrieve and bassist David Brown. Hit songs of this period include "Evil Ways", "Black Magic Woman" (both 1970), "Oye Como Va" (1971), and the instrumental "Samba Pa Ti" (1973).

Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his best-selling single "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first and second number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band in Western popular music and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). The band was active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995.

Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One of the most successful composers and performers in history, McCartney is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring genres ranging from pre-rock and roll pop to classical, ballads, and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon is the most successful in modern music history.

Jan Johansson (16 September 1931 – 9 November 1968) was a Swedish jazz pianist. His album Jazz på svenska (Jazz in Swedish) is the best selling jazz release ever in Sweden; it has sold over a quarter of a million copies and has been streamed more than 50 million times on Spotify. He was the father of former HammerFall drummer Anders Johansson and Stratovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, who run Heptagon Records which keeps their father's recordings available.

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the era's counterculture.

The Bee Gees

Stevland Hardaway Morris (/ˈstiːvˌlənd/; né Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American-Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Wonder is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include R&B, pop, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of contemporary R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder.

Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Jon Fugler, Mike Tournier and Mike Bryant. The band were noted for their diverse range of electronic styles, including house, techno, ambient, big beat and downtempo; for their reclusivity, rarely giving interviews; and for lengthy timespans between albums.