{"key":"232724","name":"AC\/DC","bio":"For three decades AC\/DC has reigned as one of the best-loved and hardest-rocking bands in the world. Featuring guitarist Angus Young as their visual symbol and musical firebrand, they grew from humble origins in Australia to become an arena-filling phenomenon with worldwide popularity. They did so without gimmickry, except for Angus\u2019s schoolboy uniform, which became mandatory stage attire. From the beginning they have been a straight-ahead, no-frills rock and roll band that aimed for the gut. This uncomplicated approach has given AC\/DC a single-minded sense of mission. They\u2019ve never recorded power ballads or gone soft to enhance their commercial appeal. Their unwavering devotion to no-frills hard rock with plenty of bawdy wit has made for a consistency that\u2019s won them the loyalty of millions of fans, who range from working stiffs to the Rolling Stones\u2019 Keith Richards. Another famous fan, author Stephen King, tapped AC\/DC to assemble Who Made Who, the 1986 soundtrack album to the film version of his novel Maximum Overdrive. Angus Young was born into a family of musical siblings. His oldest brother, George Young, belonged to the Easybeats, an Aussie beat group whose \u201cFriday on My Mind\u201d was a hit in most countries following its release in 1966 and a hit in America by the spring of 1967. Another guitar-playing sibling, Malcolm Young, had the original idea for a no-nonsense rock band built around energetic Angus, who was the brood\u2019s most talented musician. The Young brothers chose the name AC\/DC, which implied electricity and a hint of danger. The nascent AC\/DC played their first gig at a club in Sydney on New Year\u2019s Eve 1973. The group\u2019s lineup solidified in 1974 when vocalist Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans replaced early members Dave Evans, Rob Bailey and Peter Clack. Hungry and tirelessly hard-working, AC\/DC toured and recorded constantly in the 1970s. Their first five studio albums - High Voltage (1975), T.N.T. (1975), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976), Let There Be Rock (1977) and Powerage (1978) - were produced by George Young and his Easybeats partner, Henry Vanda. The Vanda-Young tandem captured the band\u2019s raw energy in the studio. The group signed a worldwide contract with Atlantic Records in 1976; as a result, the American reissues of AC\/DC\u2019s early work differ significantly from the Australian originals. Let There Be Rock (1977) was the first AC\/DC album to be released simultaneously around the world. After its recording, tour-weary bassist Evans left, replaced by Cliff Williams. A live album, If You Want Blood (You\u2019ve Got It), came at the end of 1978. AC\/DC\u2019s studio mastery took a giant leap with Highway to Hell (1979), recorded over a six-month period in London instead of Australia. At George Young\u2019s suggestion, they tried a new producer: John Robert \u201cMutt\u201d Lange (who\u2019d later work with Def Leppard and Shania Twain). Angus sported a pair of devil\u2019s horns on the jacket, which contributed to disapproval of AC\/DC in some fundamentalist quarters. The band headlined its first European tour as Highway to Hell hit the British Top Ten and reached Number 17 in America. These triumphs were followed by tragedy when singer Bon Scott died of asphyxiation following a drinking binge in 1980. Though devastated, Malcolm and Angus quickly began working up new material as a form of therapy. After auditioning new vocalists, they settled on Brian Johnson, a native of Newcastle, England, whose gruff, aggressive vocals helped AC\/DC successfully enter a dramatic new phase of its career. The group rebounded with Back in Black, whose title and all-black cover paid silent tribute to Scott. The music rocked with a determined authority that catapulted AC\/DC into a class with Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the Rolling Stones. Because they were younger than those bands, AC\/DC bonded with a youthful audience that kept them on top throughout the 1980s. Back in Black was an instant classic that ranks as the sixth best-selling rock album of all time, having sold 19 million copies in the U.S. and 41 million worldwide. The album gave AC\/DC a series of anthems that have formed the backbone of their live show: \u201cYou Shook Me All Night Long,\u201d \u201cBack in Black\u201d and \u201cHells Bells,\u201d which began with the tolling of a two-ton bell. Building on their momentum, AC\/DC followed Back in Black with For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), whose title track is performed live as cannons detonate. A decade of hard work was rewarded when For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) became AC\/DC\u2019s first Number One album in America, selling a million copies in its first week of release. Having ascended to the top of the hard-rock realm, AC\/DC headlined 1984\u2019s Monsters of Rock in Donnington, England and 1985\u2019s Rock in Rio in Brazil, where they performed for an audience numbering nearly half a million. More albums followed on a dependable schedule - Flick of the Switch (1983), Fly on the Wall (1985), Who Made Who (1986) and Blow Up Your Video (1988) - each of which yielded a few new AC\/DC classics to the expanding canon. In 1990 came The Razor\u2019s Edge, whose opening track, \u201cThunderstruck,\u201d was one of AC\/DC\u2019s strongest in years. It was based on a real-life experience: a lightning bolt struck the small plane in which Angus Young was flying, which nearly crashed as a result. The album also contained an uncharacteristic hit single, \u201cMoneytalks.\u201d A live recording, prosaically entitled Live, appeared in 1992 and was made available as a double disc and an abridged single disc. While not as prolific in the studio or omnipresent on the road in the 1990s, AC\/DC continued to deliver when they did tour and record: in 1995 with Ballbreaker and in 2000 with Stiff Upper Lip. In 1997, during the five years between studio albums, the box set Bonfire was released. Though their choruses were as infectious as anything on radio, AC\/DC were fundamentally the antithesis of a Top Forty band. Thus, they\u2019ve cracked the U.S. singles charts only three times: \u201cYou Shook Me All Night Long\u201d (Number 35), \u201cBack in Black\u201d (Number 37) and \u201cMoneytalks\u201d (Number 23). Their albums, on the other hand, have been all gone gold or platinum. In the America, AC\/DC\u2019s best-sellers are Back in Black (19 million copies sold), Highway to Hell (6 million), Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (6 million), Who Made Who (5 million), Live (whose single and double-disc configurations have sold a combined 5 million), For Those About to Rock We Salute You (4 million), and The Razor\u2019s Edge (4 million). AC\/DC moved from Atlantic to Sony in late 2002. Beginning in 2014 with Malcolm Young's departure from the band due to ill health, there were a number of lineup changes. After Rudd was hit with criminal charges in late 2014, he was replaced with former drummer Chris Slade. Brian Johnson had to leave the band in 2016 due to worsening hearing loss and an inability to tour as a result. He was replaced by Axl Rose.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/www.aaemusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ACDC-2.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"2326","name":"The Rolling Stones","bio":"The Rolling Stones are an English rock group that formed in London in 1962. First popular in Europe, they quickly became successful in North America during the \"British Invasion\" of the mid-60s. Since then, their worldwide sales are estimated at more than 200 million albums. In 1989, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004, they ranked number 4 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked the Rolling Stones at number ten on \"The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists\", and as the second most successful group in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.The group was formed by Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ian Stewart, who met as schoolmates in Dartford, Kent. They took their name from a Muddy Waters song called \"Rollin' Stone Blues\", and made their live debut at London's Marquee Club (minus Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts). They start playing pubs and clubs around the city and suburbs. Bill Wyman joined later that year (the popular story is that he was asked because he had his own amplifier).In January 1963, Charlie Watts joined the Stones. The band gigged constantly, with residencies at venues like Ealing Jazz Club, Ken Colyer's Studio 51, and Eel Pie Island in Twickenham. Their weekly performances at the Crawdaddy at Richmond's Station Hotel resulted in ecstatic press reviews, and in April Andrew Loog Oldham saw them there and signed them to his management company the next day. He started the \"Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone\" press campaign, which set the tone for their career.In May 1963, the Stones were signed to Decca Records by the same man who had turned down the Beatles. A month later \"Come On\", the first Rolling Stones single, was released, and reached number two in the U.K. charts.The fifth member of the group, Brian Jones, left on 8th June 1969, saying that he wanted to form a new group. He was replaced by Mick Taylor, formerly in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.In 1971 the Stones, whose contract with Decca had expired, launched their Rolling Stones Records label. In December 1974 Taylor left the group in order to pursue a solo career. He was replaced in 1975 by Ronnie Wood.Since Wyman left the Stones in 1993, the band has consisted of Jagger, Richards, Watts and guitarist Ronnie Wood. In studio and live performances, Darryl Jones (bassist) and Chuck Leavell (keyboardist) also serve as a regular contributors. All the members have also undertaken solo projects of various kinds.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2326_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"2332","name":"The Black Keys","bio":"The Black Keys are a two-man blues-rock group from Akron, Ohio, United States which formed in 2001, consisting of singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney. The band name was inspired by a schizophrenic artist and friend in Akron, who used the term \"black keys\" to describe things he disliked or people he did not trust. The Black Keys have roots in traditional blues and psychedelic rock stylings.They released their first album, The Big Come Up, in 2002, followed by Thickfreakness in 2003, and Rubber Factory in 2004. October 2005 saw the release of the DVD Live, recorded live at The Metro Theatre in Sydney, Australia March 18, 2005. In 2006 they released Magic Potion, as well as the lesser-known Chulahoma and a single version of Your Touch.One of their trademarks is their preference for simple, lo-fi recording techniques. They refuse to use big-name studios, and do most recording, producing, and mixing themselves. Most of Thickfreakness was recorded in about 14 hours in Carney's basement, using only an early 80's Tascam 388 8-track recorder. Often, their recordings still have background noises (such as an owl hooting).The Black Keys have achieved increasing critical acclaim and recognition since their debut album, which itself received praise from Rolling Stone magazine. Time magazine named them one of the \"10 Best Acts of 2003\" (behind OutKast and The White Stripes). They have supported a number of bands: they toured with Sleater-Kinney in 2003, had a short stint opening for Beck, have recently opened for Radiohead on the American leg of their brief 2006 tour, and performed at Lollapalooza in 2005 and 2007. In addition to this, they were also well-liked by influential British radio DJ John Peel and appeared on both Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Late Show with David Letterman. Famous followers of the band include Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammet. Matt Helders, drummer for the Arctic Monkeys, can be seen in a Black Keys T-Shirt in an interview on MTV's RAW. Their song \"When the Lights Go Out\" was featured in the 2007 film Black Snake Moan, and also on the soundtrack for that movie. The Black Keys were included in the soundtrack of the 2003 movie School of Rock with their song, \"Set You Free\". \"Lies\" was featured in the conclusion of the February 4, 2009 episode of Lie to Me. One of their songs, \"Girl Is on My Mind\", was used in a 2006 Sony Ericsson advertisement, starring the tennis players Ana Ivanovi\u0107 and Daniela Hantuchov\u00e1, gaining the band more commercial recognition. It was also used in a 2006 Victoria's Secret commercial featuring Heidi Klum and could be heard in the movies Rest Stop and Cashback. Their song \"10 am Automatic\" was used in the video game MLB '06: The Show, The O.C., The Go-Getter, and was also used in a 2007 American Express commercial starring Shaun White. \"Your Touch\" was featured in a 2007 Lee's jeans commercial, and can be heard both in an episode of NBC's Friday Night Lights and in an episode of \"Eastbound and Down\". Their cover \"Grown So Ugly\" can be heard in the background of the going away party in the 2007 film Cloverfield. \"Strange Times\" is used in Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game radio station Radio Broker. \"Strange Times\" can also be heard during a preview for ABC's The Mole, and the trailer for season three of the Showtime series Dexter, as well as a promo for Gossip Girl. Their song \"Just Got To Be\" is used on the soundtrack for the video game NHL 08, and \"Hard Row\" is featured in the premiere episode of the FX show Sons of Anarchy. Sons of Anarchy has gone on to use \"Keep Me\" in both Episodes 6 and 7, as well as \"Busted\" in episode 7. The song \"Lies\" is featured in the advertising campaign for the third season of HBO's Big Love. \"The Breaks\" can be heard in Guy Ritchie' film RocknRolla. \"Your Touch\" can also be heard in the HBO series \"Entourage\" in the episode \"Manic Monday\", during the opening scenes. The song \"Psychotic Girl\" is featured the episode \"Messin' with the Kid\" in season 6 of One Tree Hill. \"I'll Be Your Man\" is the opening theme song for the HBO show Hungand was also featured in an episode of the FX Network show Rescue Me. \"Your Touch\" can also be heard in the film Zombieland and in an episode of \"Eastbound and Down\" on HBO. The song \"I Got Mine\" has been used in HBO's sports reality series 24\/7 Pacquiao-Hatton\" as well as background music for the 2009 American League Championship Series. The song \"Next Girl\" is featured in the in game radio of Saints Row the Third.Their fourth record that Danger Mouse produced Attack & Release was out April 1st 2008. The duo's fifth album is the first one recorded in a proper studio.The Band's fifth album, \"Brothers\" was released in spring 2010 and has seen increasing amounts of exposure to the \"Dancing T-Rex\" video for the song \"Tighten Up\" that went viral\u2026until the band asked it to be removed because they felt it made light of their music. A proper video was released later in 2010, featuring Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney at a playground and was pushed on the band's official YouTube channel, as well as through the iTunes and Zune marketplaces. The track \"Tighten Up\" was also used as the background music for a Subaru Legacy commercial and on the FIFA 2011 Soundtrack.The Black Keys' seventh studio album, \"El Camino,\" was released on the 6th of December 2011. Co-produced by Danger Mouse, the album was released to critical acclaim, receiving positive reviews from The Rolling Stones, NME and more. Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly commented on \"El Camino\", saying that \"El Camino trades the soulful stylings of Brothers for harder-driving, faster-riffing rock & roll\". At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, El Camino won the award for Best Rock Album, while \"Lonely Boy\" received multiple honors, taking 'Best Rock Performance' and 'Best Rock Song'. The album has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States to date.The Black Keys' eighth studio album, Turn Blue, was released on May 12, 2014 to generally favorable reviews.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2332_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"1678","name":"John Mayer","bio":"There are two artists with the name John Mayer; American pop singer-songwriter John Clayton Mayer (b. 1977), and Anglo-Indian Composer John Jiddhu Mayer (1930 - 2004) and leader of John Mayer's Indo Jazz Fusions1) John Clayton Mayer was born October 16, 1977, in Fairfield, Connecticut, USA, and started playing guitar at 13 after being inspired by a Stevie Ray Vaughan tape his neighbor gave him. In 1998 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he refined his skills and gained a following.In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 single \"Your Body Is a Wonderland\" from the album Room for Squares.In February 2005, he was awarded the Song of the Year Grammy for his song Daughters, which he composed while in the shower, from the album Heavier Things. In winning the award, he beat out such contenders as Alicia Keys, and Kanye West. He dedicated this award to his grandmother, Annie Hoffman, who died in May 2004. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for which Elvis Costello, Prince and Seal were also nominated. In 2007, John won 2 Grammys, one for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, for the song \"Waiting On The World To Change,\" and also Best Pop Vocal Album for his album Continuum.To date, Mayer has toured with many groups, including Maroon 5, Guster, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Teitur, Ben Folds, and Sheryl Crow.In 2004, Mayer worked with hip hop artist and producer Kanye West, appearing both on Go and Kanye West's Bittersweet (released in the summer of 2007 as an iTunes pre-order bonus track to the album Graduation) and received praise from rap heavyweights like Jay-Z and Nelly. When asked about his ubiquitous presence in the hip hop community, he said, \"It's not music out there right now. That's why, to me, hip-hop is where rock used to be.\"It was around this time that he began hinting at a change in his musical interests, announcing that he was \"closing up shop on acoustic sensitivity.\" In 2005, he began a string of collaborations with various blues artists, including Buddy Guy, BB King, Eric Clapton and jazz artist John Scofield. He also toured with the legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, which included a show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.Although Mayer has maintained a reputation for being a sensitive singer-songwriter, he is also an accomplished guitarist influenced by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Freddie King and B.B. King. In this regard, he has released an album with his band The John Mayer Trio Try!, which features a blues-rock style reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix.In September 2006, Mayer released his third studio album, Continuum. The album, written and produced exclusively by Mayer (with the help of Steve Jordan from the John Mayer Trio) is a culmination of Mayer's growth as an artist and continues with the blues-rock style that he began to flirt with on Try!.Also notable is John Mayer's various adaptations in style. He always maintained a blues tone, he introduced a rockier edge. However, in Continuum, he adopts a calmer genre, returning to his previous styles. On November 17, 2009, Mayer's fourth studio album, Battle Studies, was released and debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. The album consists of 11 tracks with a total time of 45 minutes. The first single from the album, \"Who Says\", was released on September 24, 2009 in advance of album, and was followed on October 19 by the single \"Heartbreak Warfare\" and the single \"Half of My Heart\" released on June 21, 2010. Despite the album's commercial success, critics were mixed with their praise; while some reviews were glowing, calling it his \"most adventurous\", others called the album \"safe\" and noted that \"Mayer the singer-songwriter and Mayer the man about town sometimes seem disconnected, like they don't even belong in the same body.Following his recovery from vocal surgery, Mayer returned to the studio. On June 18, 2013, Mayer announced from his Facebook page that his sixth album, Paradise Valley, would be released on August 13, 2013. On the same day, he released a lyric video for the new album's first single, \"Paper Doll\", on his YouTube page. The release date was later changed to August 20, 2013. \"Who You Love\" featuring Katy Perry followed as the album's third single and a music video was released on December 17, 2013 for the song. The album, which also includes a collaboration with Frank Ocean, was met with positive reviews from music critics. Mayer embarked on a tour, his first in three years, in support of Born and Raised and Paradise Valley. The American leg of the tour ran from July to December 2013 with Interscope recording artist Phillip Phillips serving as support act. The tour will visit Australia in April 2014.2) John Jiddhu Mayer (b. Calcutta, Bengal, British India, October 28, 1930; d. United Kingdom, March 9, 2004) was an Indian composer known primarily for his fusions of jazz with Indian music. He was born into an Anglo-Indian family and, after studying with Phillipe Sandre in Calcutta and Melhi Mehta in Bombay, he won a scholarship to London's Royal Academy of Music in 1952, where he studied comparative music and religion in eastern and western cultures.He worked as a violinist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1953-58) and then with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1958-65), but was also composing fusions of Hindustani classical and Western classical forms from 1952 onwards. His Violin Sonata was performed by Yehudi Menuhin in 1955.In the 1960s he worked extensively with the Jamaican jazz musician Joe Harriott, with whom he formed the group Indo-Jazz Fusions, a ten-piece featuring a jazz quintet and five Indian musicians. The new incarnation of the band, called John Mayer's Indo Jazz Fusions, was revived in the 1990s and continued to play live gigs \u2013 featuring Mayer's son Jonathan Mayer on sitar \u2013 until John Mayer's death.From 1996 onwards, Mayer, though based in north London, worked part-time as composer-in-residence at the Birmingham Conservatoire where he introduced the BMus Indian music course in 1997.Albums include Indo-Jazz Fusions I & II, Dhammapada, Etudes & Radha Krishna, and Asian Airs.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/1678_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"2561","name":"Black Sabbath","bio":"Black Sabbath is an English heavy metal band that formed in 1968 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom, originally comprising Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums). In the early 70s, they were the first to pair heavily distorted, sonically dissonant blues rock at slow speeds with lyrics about drugs, mental pain and abominations of war, thus giving birth to generations of metal bands that followed in their wake. Their name itself taken from a notorious horror film, they are often credited with creating the Heavy Metal genre as well as the doom metal subgenre.Black Sabbath was formed in Aston, a poor district of Birmingham damaged by bombing during World War II, under the name Polka Tulk Blues Band (soon shortened to \u201cPolka Tulk\u201d), later Earth. Initially a rockin' blues band, Earth moved in a darker direction when the group, especially bassist Geezer Butler, being fans of the black magic novels of Dennis Wheatley, tried to make music to have the same effect as a horror movie or novel. Ozzy Osbourne wrote the lyrics to the second song they wrote together, \u201cBlack Sabbath\u201d (the song name was inspired by a 1963 Mario Bava film), and Tony Iommi wrote a riff based on the tritone, sometimes called \u201cDiabolus en Musica\u201d (\u201cthe Devil in Music\u201d).Later in their careers, Geezer Butler would write most of the lyrics to Black Sabbath songs, taking direct inspiration from Ozzy's instrumental ideas. In their Last Supper concert film, the band stated that the song is based on an experience Geezer had one night when he saw a black object at the end of his bed and noticed the next day that an occult book Ozzy had given him was missing. When the band found themselves being confused with another local band called Earth, which had a far lighter sound, they adopted the song title as their new name.As the band evolved, they added more European folk elements and gothic flourishes to their sound, which was like few groups during their time. Their lyrics dealt with darker issues than most conventional rock. Towards the late 60s, many British bands were into the peace movement and the hippie subculture, whilst Sabbath chose to distinguish themselves by dealing with heavier issues; the occult, war, apocalypse, drugs, and gothic storytelling. Their music conveyed a sense of anger and anti-establishment, the likes of which took previous rowdy vibes from the work of The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Doors, and other such bands into a coarse, almost nihilistic direction.It was this mix of dark lyrical themes and a slower, ominous sound that made Black Sabbath a significant element in the genre that would later be known as heavy metal. Alongside self-consciously 'heavy' contemporaries such as Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf, and a few others of the late 60s, Black Sabbath would be massively influential as the years passed. Almost countless bands have covered their work either live or in studio.Despite their doom-laden image, much of the group\u2019s early material featured acoustic guitars, piano, symphony orchestras, keyboards, and even horns. The band's members strongly resisted labeling as being Satanists or other such things themselves; for example, Ozzy in particular decided to prank occultists setting up outside of one of their dressing rooms by re-arranging their candles to read 'Happy Birthday'. The label of making music dangerously seductive to the young would remain with the group throughout its career and be applied to many later metal groups.After the band\u2019s first four albums, the group became increasingly psychedelic, experimental, and progressive, leaving much of their dark, metallic roots behind. The last two Osbourne-fronted albums, 'Technical Ecstasy' (1976) and 'Never Say Die!' (1978) left a lot of fans dissatisfied with the band, as drugs and alcohol abuse began to take its toll on each member. Some signs seemed to point to the group's complete collapse.Osbourne was fired in 1978 for becoming increasingly unstable and unwilling to work with the material that, by this time, Tony Iommi was writing more or less entirely himself. Osbourne started a highly successful solo career in 1980. Still, his personal demons continued to haunt him for decades onward, even as he became one of the most iconic modern vocalists of all time.In 1979, Tony Iommi recruited former Rainbow members; singer Ronnie James Dio and bassist Craig Gruber. Gruber was recruited because Geezer Butler was unhappy with Osbourne\u2019s departure, and was rumoured to have quit the band. Gruber was dismissed and Geezer rejoined. Black Sabbath\u2019s first album with Dio, Heaven and Hell, proved to be a success, and saw the band\u2019s highest American charting since 1975\u2019s Sabotage. It was on this tour that Dio popularised the \u201cdevil horns\u201d hand gesture, which has since become a symbol of heavy metal music in general. The album also marked the inclusion of Quartz\u2019s guitarist-turned-keyboardist Geoff Nicholls (Nicholls has not been consistently credited as an official member, and has always been forced to play live shows from off stage (except on the Seventh Star tour in 1986 where he played on stage) supposedly for aesthetic reasons, but he has co-written many songs and has stayed with Black Sabbath through all subsequent incarnations, until he finally left in 2004. Adam Wakeman, son of Rick Wakeman, took over in 2005). Also during the tour, drummer Bill Ward quit the band for personal reasons (both his parents died within a rather short period, and Ward was struggling with alcoholism and other addictions). Drummer Vinny Appice joined to complete the tour and then record the next album Mob Rules, in which an early version of the title track appeared in the film Heavy Metal.Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice left the band after supposed disputes concerning the mixing of the live album Live Evil, and pursued a solo career together. Black Sabbath re-enlisted drummer Bill Ward, and, along with ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan (who agreed to join the band whilst heavily intoxicated), released Born Again in 1983. It reached a respectable number two in the U.K. music charts, a success not seen since Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, ten years previously. However, the album was not received particularly fondly by critics or fans alike, and not even by singer Ian Gillan. The tour that followed was to provide a wealth of material for the spoof documentary on rock \u2018n\u2019 roll culture, Spinal Tap. Drummer Bill Ward was still recovering from poor health and so did not tour for the Born Again album. Instead, fellow Brummie Bev Bevan, formerly of The Move and the Electric Light Orchestra, took to the drumstool for the tour obligations.Once the tour was over, Ian Gillan left the band to rejoin his Mk.2 Deep Purple band mates. From here on the line-ups of Black Sabbath changed relentlessly, with Tony Iommi being the only constant member. Between 1986 and 1995 Black Sabbath released 7 studio albums and one live album, including a reunion album with the Mob Rules line-up (1992\u2019s Dehumanizer). The 5 Albums 1987 -1990 & 1994 - 1995 feature 2nd Longest Serving Singer of Black Sabbath Tony Martin, both Headless Cross (1989) & TYR (1990) albums are considered Black Sabbath Classic's by Hardcore fans. In 1997 the original line-up reunited for a proper world tour (as opposed to the one-off Live Aid in 1985, and Costa Mesa gigs on Ozzy\u2019s \u201cFarewell\u201d tour in 1992) and have toured on and off since.In 2007, the Mob Rules line-up reunited under the banner Heaven & Hell and toured in support of Black Sabbath - The Best of: the Dio Years featuring three new tracks and a release of Black Sabbath Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, 1982. They released a live CD\/DVD and released a studio album of entirely new songs in April 2009. Ronnie James Dio died from stomach cancer in 2010, his Heaven & Hell album being the last of his studio performances. Neon Nights: Live at Wacken was released the following year on CD\/DVD.On 11th November 2011, the original line-up of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward hosted a press conference in which they stated they would be touring once more, their first shows since 2005, and recording their first album together since 1978's Never Say Die! However, the tour was radically reduced in scale as Iommi sought treatment for Lymphoma. In early 2012 Bill Ward publicly stated he would no longer be involved in the upcoming tour and album as he had been offered an \"unsignable contract\". Tommy Clufetos (Ozzy Osbourne, ex-Firewind, ex-Rob Zombie, ex-Alice Cooper) was asked to to join for touring obligations. Black Sabbath selected Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk to record on their nineteenth album \"13\".VH1\u2019s \"100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock\" ranked them second, behind Led Zeppelin. They were inducted into the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Hall of Fame and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006.Aside from being arguably the first heavy metal band, Black Sabbath also directly influenced many later metal sub-genres with their sound and imagery. Examples can be seen especially in doom metal and stoner metal, which are directly descended from Black Sabbath\u2019s original sound, with songs such as \u201cBlack Sabbath\u201d, \u201cInto the Void\u201d, \u201cHand of Doom\u201d and others showcasing Black Sabbath\u2019s staple doom sound. Other sub-genres influenced by Sabbath\u2019s sound also include speed metal and thrash metal on the opposite side, \u201cParanoid\u201d and \u201cSymptom of the Universe\u201d are considered early examples of these genres. Black Sabbath\u2019s lyrical use of hell, death, Satan and horror as imagery also greatly influenced heavy metal, as these themes are prevalent in nearly all heavy metal sub-genres.In December 2008 Iommi filed a lawsuit against merchandise company LiveNation for continuing to use the Black Sabbath name and Tony Iommi\u2019s likeness to sell merchandise, even after their contract had ended. On May 26, 2009 Osbourne filed suit in a federal court in New York against Iommi alleging that he illegally claimed the band name. Iommi noted that he has been the only band member for the full forty one years of the band, and that his bandmates relinquished their rights to the name in the 1980s, therefore claiming more rights to the name of the band. Although, in the suit, Osbourne is seeking 50% ownership of the trademark, he has said that he hopes the proceedings will lead to equal ownership among the four original members.Alphabetical Personnel:Don Airey - keyboardsVinny Appice - drumsBev Bevan - drumsMike Bordin - drumsJo Burt - bassGeezer Butler - bassTerry Chimes - drumsTommy Clufetos - drumsGordon Copely - bassLaurence Cottle - bassBob Daisley - bassRonnie James Dio - vocalsDave Donato - vocalsIan Gillan - vocalsRay Gillen - vocalsRob Halford - vocalsGlenn Hughes - vocalsTony Iommi - guitarRon Keel - vocalsTony Martin - vocalsNeil Murray - bassGeoff Nicholls - keyboardsOzzy Osbourne - vocalsCozy Powell - drumsBobby Rondinelli - drumsEric Singer - drumsDave Spitz - bassAdam Wakeman - keyboardsRick Wakeman - keyboardsDave Walker - vocalsBill Ward - drumsJezz Woodruffe - keyboardsBlack Sabbath Studio Albums:Ozzy Osbourne Era:1970 - Black Sabbath1970: Paranoid1971: Master of Reality1972: Vol. 41973: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath1975: Sabotage1976: Technical Ecstasy1978: Never Say Die2013: 13Ronnie J. Dio Era:1980: Heaven And Hell1981: Mob Rules1992: DehumanizerTony Martin Era1987: The Eternal Idol1989: Headless Cross1990: TYR1994: Cross Purposes1995: ForbiddenIan Gillan Era1983: Born AgainGlenn Hughes1986: Seventh Star","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2561_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"300,000 - 500,000"}

{"key":"277","name":"Tom Waits","bio":"Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits, in Pomona, California, on December 7, 1949) is a prolific American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor.He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit 'n' sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation, novelists like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Bukowski. Waits is often compared to Charles Bukowski, being similar both in content and lifestyleWaits was unable to make a living from his music in the 70s because his classical bar music, based in pre-rock, and Americana, blues, and Vaudeville styles were not popular. Waits's voice back then was soft, warm and clear. Waits subsequently developed a devoted cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. In fact, his songs are perhaps best known to the general public in the form of cover versions of more visible artists, such as the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart. Although Waits\u2019s albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries.Lyrically, Waits's songs are known for atmospheric portrayals of seedy characters and places; he sings about the losers on the streets: alcoholics, junkies, prostitutes and social outcasts, although he also includes more conventional and touching ballads in his repertoire. While opening for Frank Zappa, the audience catcalled and refused to listen to him; he was an unsuitable match with Zappa's avantgarde style. Countless cigarettes, gallons of alcohol and many all night parties eventually left their trace in his face and voice.His more recent gravelly voice can be first heard on Small Change. This distinctive voice turned out to be his trademark. It is described by the Music Hound Rock Album Guide as sounding \"like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car\". Small Change with its sentimental ballads, its bar-jazz attitude and Film Noir-oriented stories turned out to be his biggest commercial success in the 1970s. Waits subsequently developed a more unique style. His songs have grown more abrasive since then, and the arrangements have turned more surreal and experimental with every new record. His life brings him to new visions, as indicated by the direction taken in his \"Alice\" release.While composing the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's One From The Heart Waits met Kathleen Brennan, his bride-to-be. They married in 1980 and she helped him quit drinking and smoking. Since their marriage they have been working together on his albums as co-producers and co-writers. It is hard to say which part belongs to her and which to him, but it's easy to see that they make a perfect team. Additionally, his eldest son Casey can be heard on turntables and percussion on Waits's album \"Real Gone\".One of Waits's greatest successes was the album \"Swordfishtrombones\", released in 1983. It struck with his critics and fans alike. He achieved a new level of song writing and left former conventions (and his earlier career) behind. All songs, whether ballads, jive or jazz are played in a completely different way. It seems that Waits had taken the musical archetypes of these styles and made them his own. All tracks are in the quintessential Waits style. They have a striking rawness and listenability and they set the stage for his success and his future career. The Bad As Me Songfacts reports that 36 years after the release of Waits' first album, Closing Time in 1973, Bad As Me became Waits's first ever top 10 album in the US when it debuted at #6 with 63,000 sales. In the late 1980s Waits discovered an outlet for his creativity in composing musicals. His first Musical was named \"The Black Rider\", and is based on \"Der Freisch\u00fctz\" by Carl Maria von Weber. It was co-produced by Robert Wilson and the lyrics come from William S. Burroughs. The story is slightly reminiscent of Kurt Weil's and Berthold Brecht's \"Three Penny Opera\" and the 1930s. The debut performance of the play was in 1990 at the Thalia Theater, Hamburg and has been played by various theatre groups since then.Waits was also responsible for two other musicals, which later became albums released simultaneously in 2002. One was the musical \"Blood Money,\" which covers the \"Woyczek\" theme of Georg B\u00fcchner. This one is one of the darkest works from Waits. The other musical is based on Lewis Carroll's classic children's novel, \"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland\". \"Alice\" is very romantic, dreamy and soft, and contains one of Waits most romantic songs. Even though they were released at the same time, the bootlegs of the \"Alice\" musical were long before traded between fans and were just rearranged and re-mastered for the official release.Besides many film contributions as composer \u2013 the Internet Movie Database imdb.com lists 47 appearances of Waits as composer and 38 soundtracks containing songs by Waits - he also is an actor with a total of 25 appearances, ranging from some mini-roles as a trumpeter in \"Heart of Saturday Night\" and the R. M. Renfield in \"Bram Stoker's Dracula\" to the major role of Zack in Jim Jarmusch's \"Down by Law\". He recently appeared in Roberto Benigni's \"The Tiger and the Snow\", playing You Can Never Hold Back Spring at Benigni's wedding dream. Even more recently, Waits played Mr.Nick (the Devil) in Terry Gilliam's \"The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnussuss\".In addition to a number of concert videos, he also appeared in the critically-acclaimed concert feature film \"Big Time\" (1990).Waits has always refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials. He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers for using his material without permission. Waits also successfully sued an advertiser for using a work that was stylistically similar to his work, after he had declined to sell them the rights to his song. He has been quoted as saying, \"Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad \u2014 ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor.\" Here is an archive of some of Tom's best quotes: http:\/\/www.intercom.net\/local\/shore_journal\/yas11015.html","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/277_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"2522","name":"Aerosmith","bio":"Aerosmith is a prominent American rock band. Three of its members, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Tom Hamilton, first met in Sunapee, New Hampshire in the late 60s, but it wasn't until 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts, that the three decided to form a band together. Later, they met up with Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (rhythm guitar). The band enjoyed major popularity throughout the 70s, making rock anthems such as \"Dream On\" and \"Sweet Emotion\", but they split from 1979-84 due to serious in-group arguments and substance abuse problems that contributed to their decline.Producing a wide variety of tunes influenced both by the 60s hard rock legends as well as the bombastic rhythm and blues artists that the band loved, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler became known as the \"toxic twins\" due to their rambunctious live performances and nasty lifestyles. The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia reportedly said Aerosmith featured \"the druggiest bunch of guys I've ever seen.\" Classics from their early area with much airplay also include 1974's \"Same Old Song And Dance\" and 1976's \"Back In The Saddle\", with 1973's \"Dream On\" being a concert favorite.Jimmy Crespo replaced Joe Perry for about five years as the band's fortunes failed. However, in 1984, chiefly due to the tireless efforts of Joe Perry's then manager, Tim Collins, to reform the band, Aerosmith was born again. Despite his own client Perry's insistence that it was unthinkable, Collins succeeded in helping the band resolve old differences and ultimately overcome their addictions. By 1989, the band had completely stopped their drug abuse. During this time, they enjoyed a resurgence in popularity that has endured since and has made them one of top-selling and most popular rock bands in the world today. Part of that renewal came in the form of a 1986 collaboration with hip-hop stars Run- D.M.C. on a new rap rock version of Walk This Way. This song served as an early step in bridging the gap between the hip-hop community and mainstream rock and roll fans, and its incredibly popular music video brought both musical groups much acclaim. Massive hits from the band's 80s comeback include 1989's \"Love In An Elevator\" and 1987's \"Rag Doll\" among others. Areosmith's greatest worldwide hit has been \"I Don't Want To Miss A Thing\", a single from the blockbuster movie 'Armageddon'. They have even infiltrated Disney Theme Parks in the U.S. and other countries with their own thrill ride 'Rock 'n' Rollercoaster featuring Aerosmith'. Continuing the ubiquitous marketing plan, they are also featured in their own version of the popular \"Guitar Hero\" video game.In 2010, the band suffered a setback, and an on-again, off-again break-up following an on-stage accident in which Steven Tyler broke his collarbone, but by mid-year, European tourdates were announced and the band went on.The Legendary Child Songfacts states that This was released as the first single from Aerosmith's fifteenth studio album, Music From Another Dimension!, which will be released on August 28, 2012 . The lead single was \"Legendary Child,\" an unfinished piece originally put together in 1991 during the initial sessions for the Get a Grip album. The song was debuted live by the band on the finale of the eleventh series of American Idol on May 23, 2012.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2522_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"2330","name":"Norah Jones","bio":"Norah Jones, born on March 30th 1979 in New York City, is one of the most popular contemporary jazz and jazz-influenced singers of our time. She was a member of Wax Poetic before her debut album Come Away with Me. She can still be heard singing with them on two tracks of their release, NuBlu Sessions.Her debut album Come Away with Me was released in 2002 and sold 22 million copies worldwide. It won 5 Grammy Awards in 2003.Her second album, Feels Like Home, with folk tendency, is the highest-selling album in the history of Blue Note Records with over a million copies sold within the first week. Norah Jones was listed among the most influential people of 2004 by the Time Magazine.On January 30, 2007 Norah Jones released her third album, Not Too Late - a collection of 13 original songs, itunes includes a bonus live track of the song Sinkin' Soon. This was the most pre-ordered album of all time on Amazon.com.Her fourth studio album, The Fall, was released on November 17, 2009.Her fifth studio album ...Little Broken Hearts was released on May 1, 2012 and she collaborated with Danger Mouse for its production. The Happy Pills Songfacts reports that the album was recorded at Danger Mouse's Los Angeles studio during the fall of 2011. The record was co-written by Jones and Danger Mouse, with the pair handling the majority of the instrumentals. Jones teamed up with the producer after she contributed vocals to his Rome project with Daniele Luppi.The daughter of Beatles-influencing sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, Jones doesn't closely follow any particular genre, rather she brings her unique jazzy flavor to songs with roots in country, folk, Americana, and modern light jazz, pop and rock.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2330_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"2323","name":"Eric Clapton","bio":"Eric Clapton (born Eric Patrick Clapton in Ripley, Surrey, England on 30 March 1945), nicknamed \"Slowhand\", is a Grammy Award winning English composer, singer and guitarist who became one of the most respected artists of the rock era, winning three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Clapton's musical style has changed during his career, but has remained rooted in the blues. Clapton is credited as an innovator in several phases of his career, which have included blues-rock with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and The Yardbirds (1963-1965), early single hit \"Come With Me\" by The Roosters, blues-hard rock (with Cream), and work as a sideman and a solo artist; he has achieved chart success in genres ranging from Delta blues (Unplugged) and psychedelic rock (Sunshine of Your Love) to pop (Change the World) and reggae (I Shot the Sheriff).Eric Clapton was a friend of George Harrison of the Beatles. It is believed that he wrote Layla about Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, whom he married in 1979 after she divorced George Harrison. They divorced in 1988. Eric Clapton has also dated singers Marianne Faithfull and Rosanne Cash, actresses Patsy Kensit and Sharon Stone, and rock muses Cynrinda Fox and Geraldine Edwards, who was one of the inspirations for Penny Lane in Almost Famous. He is now married to Melia McEnry and has been since 2002. They have three daughters together.Clapton formed relationships with different artists in his career. From his start in The Yardbirds, then journeying forward to Cream, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Derrek and the Dominoes, he is an extremely gifted musician. Clapton would go on to play lead guitar in Roger Waters' first solo album, The Pros and Cons of Hitchiking. All this while compiling hit after hit in his solo career, has made Clapton one of the most enduring guitarists of the classic rock era.\"Tears in Heaven\" was written after his son's tragic death. It was co-written with Russ Titelman and acknowledged with a Grammy in 1993.Most recently, Eric Clapton has organized a benefit concert in honor of Hubert Sumlin, the great bluesman, that took place at the Apollo Theater in New York on February 24, 2012. He was joined by Jeff Beck, Keb Mo, Levon Helm, and Derek Trucks among others. Clapton is known to sponsor an array of charitable events and concerts. He has also established a rehabilitation clinic in Monserrat to help those with substance abuse problems.'Clapton' was released on September 27, 2010 by Reprise. A live album titled Play The Blues Live At Lincoln Center performed with Wynton Marsellis was released on September 13, 2011 by Reprise. Early 2013 saw the release of 'Old Sock', an album of 10 cover songs and two new originals, which was met with mixed reviews, some saying that it was lazy and unnecessary (\"little commitment to the music here and even less enthusiasm\") whilst others appreciated the mastery he still exhibits over his craft (\"winding down a legendary career with his typical class, reverence to the past and master\u2019s touch\").Eric Clapton is highly regarded as a premier musician, and continues to remain a force in music today.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2323_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}