BIOGRAPHY

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Significant Facts:

• Co-founded (with Brian Jones) the Rolling Stones and has co-written (with Keith Richards) most of the band's original songs
• Has recorded five solo albums, most recently the soundtack for the movie Alfie in 2004, which he co-wrote with the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart
• Fathered seven children during two marriages and two affairs
• Knighted in 2003 for "services to popular music"

Career History:

BIOGRAPHY

Yngwie J. Malmsteen arrived on the scene in 1983 when he emigrated to America from his native Sweden. Malmsteen created a style - an ear-searing blend of metal bombast and classical beauty that is one of the most immediately recognizable of ALL guitarists. He elevated classical chops to new heights, adding a definite European stamp both dark-sounding and blindingly fast.

"I've been exposed to classical music since I was five years old," says Yngwie, who was born in Stockholm on June 30, 1963. "My mother listened to Bach so much, and I grew to really love his music. Bach's chord progressions and melodies are the most beautiful things ever written.

"My family was very musical," he adds. "My sister played flute and piano and my brother played guitar, drums, piano, violin, and accordian. My father even played guitar."

Malmsteen maintains that his biggest classical influence is 19th-century violin virtuoso Nicolo Paganini. "I was in my early teens the first time I heard his music," recalls Yngwie," and he's been my idol ever since. I got turned on to him through a Swedish TV show. A Russian violinist was playing some Paganini stuff on the program, and I freaked. I quickly put a portable tape recorder in front of the TV to get it on tape. When I found out later what the guy was playing, I went out and bought Paganiniâs "24 Caprices," which is my all-time favorite thing to listen to.

"Thatâs how I wanted to play guitar. He did with his instrument what few have ever come close to doing. He was a rock and roller-very wild and very extreme."
Yngwie's work overflows with classically influenced playing. His Grammy-nominated debut solo album, "Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force," is regarded by many as the definitive document of neoclassical rock guitar.
"Those compositions ["Black Star" and "Far Beyond the Sun"] sort of sum up my style," says Yngwie. "There are fast runs, slow harmonies, and some really nice arpeggios in them. Those songs are like icons for me. I'll probably play them until the day I die."
Malmsteen first picked up a guitar on September 18, 1970-the day Jimi Hendrix died. "Hendrix did inspire me to play," Yngwie affirms, "but I was more influenced by his image than his music. He looked so cool and was a fantastic performer."

Says Yngwie: "I don't think anyone can actually teach someone how to play guitar. The desire should come from inside. Guitar is at a stage where one has to do oneâs own innovations. Playing electric guitar is not like playing classical violin, which has been around for hundreds of years. To play classical violin, one has to be taught the specific skills needed to perform that particular kind of music. Once you get past the basics needed to play guitar, the rest is up to you."
Guitarists with mind-boggling technique can be quite boring on stage, but Malmsteen impresses as well as entertains. He is always in constant motion, whether playing his Stratocaster with his teeth or twirling it around his body.
"When I play a song at rehearsals I often get bored with it," he admits. "But as soon as I get in front of an audience I'll get excited and everything comes alive. I'm not just playing for myself. I live for my audience-they're everything. It's the best feeling imaginable to go on stage and have the crowd love you. As long as there's an audience, I'll never lose the desire to play."

BIOGRAPHY

Name :Eddie Van Halen

Date of birth

BIOGRAPHY

BORN: October 9, 1940, Liverpool, England
DIED: December 8, 1980, New York, NY

John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. When he was four years old, his parents separated and he ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John's father was a merchant seaman and John did not see a lot of his father when he was small. As a child, John was a prankster and he enjoyed getting in trouble. As a boy and young adult, John enjoyed drawing grotesque figures and cripples. One of the reasons for his obsession with cripples and deformities was because of the Death of his Mother Julia. The John's school master thought that John could go to an art school for college, since he did not get good grades in school, but had artistic talent. He made it to art school, and was not allow to play "Rock and Roll".
At sixteen, Elvis is what was happening. John created the group called the "Quarry Man". They performed at school. One day, Paul McCartney was introduced to him. At this point, John ask Paul if he could join the group, and he accepted the next day. Paul McCartney introduced George Harrison to John Lennon. The first recording they made was called "That will be the day" by Buddy Holly.
John came up with the name Beatles for the group. John had a vision when he was 12 years old - a man appeared on a Flaming pie and said unto them 'From this day on you are Beatles with an 'A'. The Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein in the Cavern, where they were performing. After Brian discovered the Beatles he became their manager. The Beatles released their first single "Love me Do", with George Martin as their producer. This song went up the charts the second day it was released. "Love Me Do" got up to 17. The Beatles first number one chart was "Please Please Me" written by John Lennon. This song was inspired primarily by Roy Orbison but also fed by John's infatuation with the pun in Bing Crosby's famous "Please, lend your little ears to my please,"
John married Cynthia Powell in August 1962 and they had a son together who they called Julian.Cynthia described John as "Rough, ready and not her type at all, but had an irresistible character". Since the Beatles were becoming very popular at the time, Cynthia had to keep a very low profile. John Lennon divorced Cynthia and re-married with Yoko Ono who he met at the Indica Gallery in November 1966. In 1970, the Beatles broke up also, after Paul McCartney has announced that he is leaving the Beatles. After the Beatles broke up, John Lennon went his way and he tried to send out his message out clearer. He started doing this by releasing his first solo album Imagine.
In 1972, John Lennon gave a charity concert. The concert was held in Madison Square Garden, August 30, 1972, to help improve the living conditions of the mentally handicapped children. Starting with the Toronto Peace Festival in 1969, John with Yoko did a series of rock concerts as their statement of Peace and Love, and to spotlight various social issues effectively. All proceeds from the concerts were given to the needy. This concert in Madison Square garden turned out to be the last concert John did with the Plastic Ono Band. In 1972 the Vietnam War protest was at its height. The Feminist Movement was in a stage of awakening. The concert was filled with love of brotherhood and sisterhood. Everybody joined in on the stage at the end when they sang "Give Peace a chance". People could not contain themselves and marched down Fifth Avenue after the performance, singing "Give Peace a Chance". John Lennon performed with his new band : "Plastic Ono Band".

The Double Fantasy album is a great album, which contain one ironic title songs "Just like starting over" now after John's death. John was just starting over again, when he was killed. John Lennon created the Beatles and with Paul, Ringo and George, they made great music together. John was not a follower, but a leader and was always fighting for people's right. He was a person that cared for other people and expresses himself by making different political statements. John was not only a great music writer, but also an excellent pop artist and did a lot in the Rock and Roll music world. John can not and will never be replaced by anybody. His songs will live forever in all our hearts and minds. Just Give Peace a Chance and lets work together to a great and much better world.

BIOGRAPHY

James Patrick “Jimmy” Page, (born January 9, 1944) is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock and roll. He was a founding member of Led Zeppelin and, prior to that, a member of The Yardbirds from late 1966 through 1968. Before he was a member of those two groups, however, Page had been one of the most in-demand studio guitarists in England from the time he was a teenager.

Guitarist Jimmy Page did more to introduce a rock audience to the blues than any other musician. With his early-1960s session work, the groundbreaking tenure of Led Zeppelin, and various post-Zep creative collaborations, Page continued to expand his talents and expose listeners to various forms of blues, folk, and rock music.

A self-taught musician, Page began his career as a session musician, playing behind bands like the Who and the Rolling Stones, as well as British pop and folk artists like Donovan and P.J. Proby.

Led Zeppelin

It is with Led Zeppelin that Page's talent and reputation became widespread, and his influence on a generation of blues-rock guitarist was cemented by the band's first two album releases in 1969. Both albums were blues-based, building upon the work of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, with a heavier psychedelic rock sound. Both also featured covers of blues songs by Willie Dixon. Led Zeppelin's hard rock sound laid the groundwork for bands like Savoy Brown and Foghat.

With the release of Led Zeppelin III and the band's untitled fourth album, Page began mixing elements of British folk, Celtic and Welch mysticism, and strains of world music into the Zeppelin sound. By the time of the band's break-up in 1980 after the death of drummer Bonham, Led Zeppelin had conquered the music world with sold-out world tours and multi-Platinum album sales.

After Zep

Since Led Zeppelin, Page performed with both Robert Plant's Honeydrippers and in the Firm with Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers; recorded an album with Whitesnake's David Coverdale; toured with the Black Crowes; and recorded a pair of critically-acclaimed albums with Plant. Page has declined to pursue a solo career, releasing only Outrider in 1988.

Recommended Albums: Page's most outstanding blues-rock guitar work can be found on Led Zeppelin's first two albums and his lone solo album.

BIOGRAPHY

Began:1968

Ended:1980

Original Band Members:

• Robert Plant - Vocals
• Jimmy Page - Guitar
• John Bonham - Drums
• John Paul Jones - Bass

The band began as The New Yardbirds. Their first album was released in 1969, debuting their unique blues-heavy metal-psychedelic sound. Before disbanding in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham, the group released eight studio albums and one live album. Since then, an original album and nine compilations have been released. Vocalist Robert Plant has had a successful solo career since 1982, occasionally collaborating with band founder Jimmy Page.

BIOGRAPHY

Queen. One of the many iterations of the word includes “something having eminence or supremacy in a given domain” in its definition. The name itself brings to mind pomp and grandeur. There couldn’t have been a more appropriate name for this band. With the mix of operatic vocals, heavy metal/prog rock fusion and the most dynamic front man ever, how could you go wrong?

The band itself got its start with two members of the rock group Smile in guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. In 1971, following the departure of their lead singer, Brian and Roger formed a new group with Freddie Mercury, who had been singing for the band Wreckage. John Deacon completed the group a few months later. They released their first album Queen, in 1973 without much success. The followed up in 1974 with Queen II and had a minor hit with “Seven Seas of Rhye,” earning them a supporting spot for Mott the Hoople on their first American tour. Sheer Heart Attack was released later in 1974 garnering a little more attention with “Killer Queen”. All of this was just setting the table for 1975’s A Night at the Opera, seen by many as Queen’s best album. Rumor has it, A Night at the Opera was the most expensive album ever made up to that point. They also shot what could be known as one of the first music videos for “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Queen quickly became one of the top acts in the world with a fan base and attitude to match. They continued their dominance with A Day at the Races, News of the World, and Jazz over the next four years. One of the things Queen prided themselves on was the fact that they never used synthesizers on any of their recordings. That changed in 1980 with the release of The Game. Ironically, that became the band’s first number one album in America. Unfortunately, they followed that up with the soundtrack to the campy sci-fi movie "Flash Gordon". 1982’s Hot Space, and 1984’s The Works received little attention in the U.S. or Great Britain.

In 1985, the band performed at Live Aid, reestablishing themselves as one of the best live acts ever, putting to bed rumors of the band’s demise. The released A Kind of Magic the following year to success in Europe, but their U.S. market never returned. The Miracle followed in 1989 with a similar fate. In 1991, Innuendo was released to critical acclaim with the album achieving gold status and peaking at number 30 in the U.S. Unfortunately, this would turn out to be their swan song.

Freddie Mercury released a statement on November 23, 1991 stating that he had AIDS, confirming rumors that had been prevalent for a while. He passed away the next day. The remaining members reunited in 1994 to record what would be the band’s final album, Made in Heaven, using vocal tracks Mercury had recorded in his final days.