Derek William Dick (aka Fish) was the dramatic lead vocalist for prog rock band Marillion until beginning a solo career in 1988. Marillion was initially formed as an instrumental band in 1979 by guitarist Steve Rothery, drummer Mick Pointer, bassist Doug Irvine, and keyboard player Brian Jelliman. Irvine began singing in 1980 on the group's first demos, but a year later Marillion invited Fish to join as vocalist, and he assumed the frontman position beginning with their 1983 debut album, Script for a Jester's Tear. His strong Peter Gabriel-inspired vocals enforced critics' accusations that Marillion owed more than just a heavy debt to Genesis, but six more albums followed. Musical difficulties between Fish and the band caused him to leave after 1988's Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra). He was replaced by Steve Hogarth, a vocalist quite similar in sound and style to Fish himself…
Cousin to the late blues ballad singer Chuck Willis, Robert "Chick" Willis is primarily beloved for his ribald, dozens-based rocker "Stoop Down Baby." The guitarist cut his original version in 1972 for tiny La Val Records of Kalamazoo, MI, selling a ton of 45s for the jukebox market only (the tune's lyrics were way too raunchy for airplay).
Willis left the military in 1954, hiring on as valet and chauffeur to cousin Chuck, then riding high with his many R&B hits for OKeh Records. At that point, Chick's primary role on the show was as a singer (he made his own vinyl debut in 1956 with a single, "You're Mine," for Lee Rupe's Ebb Records after winning a talent contest at Atlanta's Magnolia Ballroom), but he picked up the guitar while on the road with his cousin (Chick cites Guitar Slim as his main man in that department)…
Spurred on by Robert Fripp's innovative guitar work, arguably the definitive exponents of British progressive rock.
If there is one group that embodies progressive rock, it is King Crimson. Led by guitar/Mellotron virtuoso Robert Fripp, during its first five years of existence the band stretched both the language and structure of rock into realms of jazz and classical music, all the while avoiding pop and psychedelic sensibilities. The absence of mainstream compromises and the lack of an overt sense of humor ultimately doomed the group to nothing more than a large cult following, but made their albums among the most enduring and respectable of the prog rock era.
Cousin to the late blues ballad singer Chuck Willis, Robert "Chick" Willis is primarily beloved for his ribald, dozens-based rocker "Stoop Down Baby." The guitarist cut his original version in 1972 for tiny La Val Records of Kalamazoo, MI, selling a ton of 45s for the jukebox market only (the tune's lyrics were way too raunchy for airplay).
Willis left the military in 1954, hiring on as valet and chauffeur to cousin Chuck, then riding high with his many R&B hits for OKeh Records. At that point, Chick's primary role on the show was as a singer (he made his own vinyl debut in 1956 with a single, "You're Mine," for Lee Rupe's Ebb Records after winning a talent contest at Atlanta's Magnolia Ballroom), but he picked up the guitar while on the road with his cousin (Chick cites Guitar Slim as his main man in that department)…
This 56 track box set contains the first four studio albums recorded by The Glitter Band during the heyday of Glam, 1974-76. Disc 1 is the Glam Rock masterpiece 'Hey!' which spent three months in the UK National Charts, eventually peaking at No.13. It features the hit singles 'Angel Face' (UK No.8, Germany No.8, Australia No.2) and 'Just For You' (UK No.10, Germany No.35) plus a bonus non LP B-side. The second CD is the 'Rock N Roll Dudes' LP which hit No.17 in the UK in May 1975. The hit singles 'Let's Get Together Again' (UK. No.8, Germany No.19) and 'Goodbye My Love' (UK.No.2, Germany No.32) are included alongside two non LP B-sides. 'Listen To The Band' is Disc 3 and it includes the hit singles 'The Tears I Cried' (UK. No.8, Germany No.35, Australia No.5), 'Love In The Sun' (UK No.15) and 'People Like You And People Like Me' (UK No.5, Germany No.14) as well as the USA Top 100 'Makes You Blind' and the non-charting 'Alone Again'. The final CD is 1976's 'Paris Match' album which includes the singles 'Look What You've Been Missing', 'Lay Your Love On Me' and 'She Was Alright'.
This expansive box set from Rhino features all nine of the Doobie Brothers' studio albums from their original 1970s Warner Bros. run plus their 1983 Farewell Tour live album. Beginning with their 1971 self-titled debut, when the band was fronted by founding singer/guitarist Tom Johnston, through 1980's Michael McDonald-led One Step Closer, it covers their two major eras as they slowly shifted from boogie rock bar band into the soulful soft rock giants of their later years. Hits like "China Grove," "Black Water," "Takin' It to the Streets," and "What a Fool Believes" are all here as well as their first live album, which mostly features their late-period lineup with the addition of a couple of special Johnston appearances that serve as an end cap to their career. Although the Doobies would reunite again in the late '80s, their original Warner Bros. years remain their best-known period.
Pere Ubu's troubles with record companies are legendary within certain underground rock circles. In perhaps the most bizarre turn of events, the group's collected works of 1978-1982 – after being out of print for nearly a decade – were reissued by Geffen as a five-disc box set, Datapanik in the Year Zero. Named after the group's 1978 EP, the set is arranged chronologically and occasionally substitutes live versions for studio tracks, but that hardly matters – nearly every song the band recorded during the five-year time span is included.