{"key":"19384","name":"Phil Collins","bio":"Phil Collins (Philip David Charles Collins LVO, born 30 January 1951 in Chiswick, London) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for the English progressive rock group Genesis and as well as being a Grammy and Academy Award-winning solo artist.Collins sang the lead vocals on eight American chart-toppers between 1984 and 1989, seven of those as a solo artist and one with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, have ranged from the atmospheric \"In the Air Tonight\" to the dance pop of \"Sussudio\" to the political statements of his most successful song \"Another Day in Paradise\". His latest (and possibly his last) album, the cover album 'Going Back' that came out in 2010, particularly shows the massive influence of 60s American soul music on Collins' career. His international popularity transformed Genesis from a cult favourite rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay. According to britishhitsongwriters.com, he is the forty-eighth most successful songwriter in U.K. singles chart history based on weeks that his compositions have spent on the chart.Collins' professional career began as a drummer, starting first with the obscure space rock group Flaming Youth. Then, working with the avant-garde band Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for frontman Peter Gabriel and provided drumming that was a key part of their sound. Collins sung lead on only two songs: \"For Absent Friends\" from 1971's 'Nursery Cryme' album and \"More Fool Me\" from 'Selling England by the Pound', which was released in 1973. Upon Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer after much soul-searching in the band's line-up. While keeping a similar art rock and progressive music based sound for several years, the band evolved into more of a melodic pop rock direction. As the decade closed, Genesis' first international hit, \"Follow You, Follow Me\", demonstrated a drastic change from the band's early years.His concurrent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both Collins and Genesis commercial success. His songwriting has often drawn from American rnb artists of the 60s, 70s, and 80s while his singing has taken inspiration from his predecessor in Genesis, Peter Gabriel. According to Atlantic Records, Collins' total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2002, were 150 million.Collins announced in March 2011 that he is retiring from the music business. \"I am stopping so I can be a full time father to my two young sons on a daily basis,\" he wrote on his website. His statement refers to his two sons, Nicholas and Matthew, with his third wife Orianne Cevey, whom he divorced in 2008.Website: http:\/\/www.philcollins.co.uk\/","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/19384_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"23209","name":"Rod Stewart","bio":"Roderick David \"Rod\" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter born and raised in London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English lineage.With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Rod Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group (1967-1969) and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his d\u00e9but album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces proved to be influential on the formation of the heavy metal and punk rock genres, respectively. Both bands were also pioneers of blues-rock.With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has achieved numerous solo hit singles worldwide, most notably in the UK, where he has garnered six consecutive number one albums and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. He has had 16 top ten singles in the USA, with four of these reaching number one. He has sold over 130 million records worldwide, and is one of the best selling British singers of all time. He was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/23209_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"72572","name":"Matt Hires","bio":"On the surface, 22-year-old Florida native Matt Hires seems to be the epitome of the sunshine state: bare-footed, artistic, and coolly easy-going. But there\u2019s a lot more to him than meets the eye. As a child, Matt was introduced to different musical genres by his father. It was Matt\u2019s father that passed along his old, handmade acoustic guitar from 1977 to Matt when he was sixteen years old - the same guitar that Matt uses today. A homeschooler, Matt taught himself to play the guitar. During high school, Matt gravitated towards the punk\/hardcore scene, which is a far cry from his own introspectively powerful acoustic pop sound. Although he was a hockey player and enjoyed surfing and skateboarding, Matt was self-proclaimed nerd. \u201cI collected tons of Star Wars toys as a young kid, made my own Star Wars movies with them that usually starred my pet hedgehog, Prickles, and wrote my own Star Wars stories - they were pretty bad,\u201d Matt recalls of his early childhood. Though Matt might have outgrown his fascination with Star Wars toys, he never outgrew his love for music. By the time he was seventeen years old, Matt wrote his first song, and began performing in public a year later. Soon thereafter, Matt and a few of his friends decided to start a band, Brer. They recorded two 'chill' albums, The Sun Is Rising EP and Microwavable. \u201cThere were ups and downs, band members came and went, but overall it was a great time, and a great experience. We also evolved a lot musically over our fairly short existence, and I grew a lot as a songwriter and musician,\u201d says Matt. Now, as a solo artist, Matt is poised to captivate audiences with his endearing personality, melodic sound, and undeniable talent.Matt Hires will be coming to Madison, WI.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/72572_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"25797","name":"Boyce Avenue","bio":"Boyce Avenue is a Puerto Rican-American rock band formed in Sarasota, Florida, by Alejandro Luis Manzano and his brothers Daniel Enrique Manzano and Fabian Rafael Manzano. The band is named after a combination of two streets the brothers lived on as children. Boyce Avenue is known for its strong acoustic roots and melodic rock sound. Boyce Avenue releases original music as well as covers of popular and classic songs on YouTube. Boyce Avenue has also collaborated with other YouTube artists such as Hannah Trigwell, Kina Grannis, Tiffany Alvord, Megan Nicole, Alex Goot, Megan & Liz, David Choi, Tyler Ward, Savannah Outen, Cobus Potgieter, and DeStorm Power as well as \"The X Factor\" season two finalists Fifth Harmony, Bea Miller, Diamond White, and Carly Rose Sonenclar. Boyce Avenue frequently tours in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, European Union, Australia, and Southeast Asia. In April of 2016, Boyce Avenue released their third studio album, Road Less Traveled, which hit #15 on the U.S. Heatseekers chart. Road Less Traveled was released on Boyce Avenue's own independent label, 3 Peace Records.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/www.aaemusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Boyce-Avenue-1.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"25687","name":"Neil Diamond","bio":"Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter, born in Brooklyn, NY.From the 1960s to the 1980s, Diamond was one of the more successful pop music performers, scoring a number of hits. As critic William Ruhlmann writes, \"as of 2001, he claimed worldwide record sales of 115 million copies, and as of 2002 he was ranked third, behind only Elton John and Barbra Streisand, on the list of the most successful adult contemporary artists in the history of the Billboard chart.\" As of May 2005 he has sold 120 million records worldwide, including 48 million records in the U.S.Though his record sales declined somewhat after the 1980s, Diamond continues to tour successfully, and maintains a very loyal following. Diamond's songs have been recorded by a vast array of performers from many different musical genres.Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984, and then in 2000 was given its Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. He will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the early part of 2011. In 2008 Neil Diamond scored his first ever Billboard number one album with \"Home Before Dark\", the album also became his first studio album to get to number one in the UK.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/25687_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"500,000 - 1,000,000"}

{"key":"2371","name":"Chris Rea","bio":"Christopher Anton Rea (pronounced Ree-ah), born 4 March 1951, is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Middlesbrough, England. Rea's recording career began in 1978. Although he almost immediately had a US hit single with \"Fool (If You Think It's Over)\", Rea's initial focus was on continental Europe, releasing eight albums in the 1980s. It wasn't until 1985's Shamrock Diaries and the songs \"Stainsby Girls\" and \"Josephine,\" that UK audiences began to take notice of him. Follow up albums On The Beach and Dancing With Strangers became UK hits and then the New Light Through Old Windows compilation album in 1988 cemented his reputation. His next full album was to be his major breakthrough: The Road to Hell (1989) enjoyed massive success and became his first number one album in the UK. These successes could not be mirrored in the U.S., however, where it failed to chart. The follow-up album, Auberge, also enjoyed massive European success, reaching the top spot in the UK.After AubergeAfter 'Auberge' Chris Rea released 'God's Great Banana Skin' which managed to reach Number 4 in the UK. The album returned Rea to the rockier sound of 'Road To Hell' and the single 'Nothing To Fear' gave him another Top 20 hit. A year later 'Espresso Logic' hit the Top 10 and 'Julia', written about his second daughter, gave him his 11th Top 40. A period of ill health meant his next album did not appear until 1998. Despite no singles being released and little promotion, 'The Blue Cafe' still made the UK Top 10. However it proved to be Rea's last. In 1999, 10 years after 'Road To Hell' Rea released 'Road To Hell' Part 2. Many felt Rea had begun to lose his way, the album received no promotion and as a result never made the Top 40. However it didn't get Rea down and in 2000 he released 'King Of The Beach', receiving critical praise and a healthy Top 30 placing.In 2000 a remix of Rea's 1986 On The Beach single by York was released and enjoyed moderate dancefloor success.Fighting cancer and back to the bluesFollowing a severe bout of cancer, and a predicted 50% chance of survival after an operation, Rea promised himself that if he recovered, he would return to his blues roots. This is what he did in 2002, releasing the album Dancing Down The Stony Road following recording sessions in France and the UK. (An abridged version of the album was later released with the title Stony Road.) The album was followed by a DVD of the same name, comprising a \"Making Of\" documentary and footage from a concert in Cologne. Rea set up his own JazzeeBlue label in 2003 to free himself from the pressure of record companies and their expectations. Since then he has released the blues albums Blue Street (Five Guitars) (a jazz-blues album, almost fully instrumental), Hofner Blue Notes (fully instrumental) and the The Blue Jukebox (another jazz-blues influenced album released to critical acclaim). He has recently worked with David Knopfler for two albums, Wishbones (2001) and Ship of Dreams (2004). It is also known that it is Chris Rea who clicks his fingers on Queen's track \"It's a Kind of Magic\". Chris is a supporter of charity organizations and a master painter.Blue GuitarsChris Rea released his final box-set album, \"Blue Guitars\" in 2005. Consisting of 11 CD's and 1 DVD (Dancing Down The Stony Road), the album is Rea's testament to blues. Each album contains specific songs of the blues genre, and all have been newly recorded and released. The box-set includes colourful paintings by Rea. This album closes the final chapter of Chris Rea's solo career and he does not intend to make any further solo records. He has stated that he will continue to make records with some of his favorite players under the name \"The Memphis Fireflies\". However, the plans had changed, obviously. Anyway, the album sold enough copies to have topped the charts in the single CD categoryThe Road to Hell and BackIn 2006, Chris Rea embarked on a full Europe and UK tour, after which a CD\/DVD \"The Road to Hell and Back\" was released, the only live album by Chris Rea up to date.The Return of the Fabulous Hofner BluenotesSeeing that the Blue Guitars ear book sold well enough, Chris Rea released another audio book in 2008, called \"The Return of the Fabulous Honfer Blue Notes\". The story of a late fifties guitar instrumental band (The Delmonts) that evolved into a 60\u2019s blues band (The Hofner Blue Notes). The musical book comprises 80 pages, vinyl records and three CD\u2019s. Chris believes with a passion that the new download market is opening up a new door for more thoughtful and substantial quality product. If you live and breathe music and not necessarily showbiz, track downloading is simply not enough.PlansIn some interviews, Chris said that he's working on two brand new audio books, 'On The Beach' (beach culture) and 'The Last Open Road' (street culture), both will be probably released within the next two or three years.FilmAs can be seen at IMDB Rea has also dabbled seriously in film, playing lead in the 1999 comedy \"Parting Shots\" opposite such notables as John Cleese, Bob Hoskins and Joanna Lumley. Somewhat ironically, Rea plays a man who's told cancer gives him six weeks to live, and decides to kill off the people who've done him wrong in life.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/2371_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"23216","name":"The Doobie Brothers","bio":"The Doobie Brothers are an American rock group, best known for hit singles like Black Water, China Grove, Listen to the Music, Long Train Runnin', and What a Fool Believes. They have sold over 22 million albums in the United States from the 1970s to the present. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.In 1969, singer, guitarist and songwriter Tom Johnston and drummer John Hartman formed the nucleus of what would become The Doobie Brothers. Skip Spence of Moby Grape (and formerly of Jefferson Airplane) introduced them to one another after Hartman arrived in California determined to meet Spence and join an aborted Grape reunion. New bandmates Johnston and Hartman called their fledgling group Pud and experimented with different lineups (occasionally in the lineups was Spence) and styles as they performed in and around San Jose. They were mostly a power trio (along with bassist Greg Murphy) but briefly worked with a horn section. In 1970, they teamed up with bass player Dave Shogren and singer, guitarist and songwriter Patrick Simmons. Simmons, who had belonged to several area groups (among them was the band \"Scratch\", which was an acoustic trio with future Doobies bassist Tiran Porter) and also performed as a solo artist, was already an accomplished fingerstyle player whose approach to the instrument complemented Johnston's rhythmic R&B strumming. In a recent interview, Tom Johnston attributed the band's eventual name to friend and housemate Keith \"Dyno\" Rosen, who noted the guys' fondness for \"doobies.\" They considered the new moniker an improvement over Pud.The Doobie Brothers honed their chops by performing live all over Northern California in 1970. They attracted a particularly strong following among local chapters of the Hells Angels and scored a recurring gig at one of the bikers' favorite venues, the rustic Chateau Liberte' in the Santa Cruz Mountains. An energetic set of demos (eight of which were briefly and illegally released on Pickwick Records in 1980 under the title Introducing the Doobie Brothers, and have since been bootlegged on CD under that title and On Our Way Up as well, both with expanded song selections), showcased fuzz-toned dual lead electric guitars, three-part harmonies and Hartman's frenetic drumming and earned the rock group a contract at Warner Bros. Records.At this point in their history, the band's image reflected that of their biggest fans - leather jackets and motorcycles. However, the group's 1971 self-titled debut album departed significantly from that image and their live sound of the period. The album, which failed to chart, emphasized acoustic guitars and frequently reflected country influences. The bouncy lead-off song \"Nobody,\" the band's first single, has surfaced in their live set several times over the ensuing decades.The following year's second album, Toulouse Street (which spawned the hits, and classic rock staples, \"Listen to the Music\" and Jesus Is Just Alright), brought the band their breakthrough success. In collaboration with manager Bruce Cohn, producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee, the band put forward a more polished and eclectic set of songs. They also made a change to the line-up, supplementing Hartman's drumming with that of Navy veteran Michael Hossack while still touring behind their first album, (A concert from June 14, 1971 at the Fillmore West bears this out as it has this short-lived lineup). Also, the band recorded several songs on the second album with Shogren on bass, guitar & background vocals. But during the album's recording, Shogren left after disagreements with producer Templeman. Shogren was replaced with singer, songwriter and bass guitarist Tiran Porter. Porter and Hossack were both stalwarts of the northern California music scene, Porter having previously played in Scratch with Simmons. Porter brought a funkier bass style to the band and added his husky baritone to the voices of Johnston and Simmons, resulting in a rich three part harmonic vocal blend. Pianist Bill Payne of Little Feat contributed keyboards for the first time, beginning a decades-long collaboration that included many recording sessions and even a two-week stint with the touring band in 1974. With an improved rhythm section and the songwriting of Johnston and Simmons, the Doobies' trademark sound - an amalgam of R&B, country, bluegrass, hard rock, roadhouse boogie, and rock and roll - emerged fully formed.A string of hits followed, including Johnston's \"Long Train Runnin'\" and \"China Grove,\" from the 1973 album The Captain and Me. Other noteworthy songs on the album were Simmons' country-ish ode South City Midnight Lady and the explosive, hard rocking raveup, Without You, for which the entire band received songwriting credit. Onstage, the latter song would sometimes stretch into a 15-minute jam with additional lyrics ad-libbed by Johnston. A 1973 appearance on the debut episode of Don Kirshner's Rock Concert featured one such epic performance of the tune.In the midst of recording sessions for their next album, 1974's What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, Hossack abruptly departed the band citing burnout from constant touring. Drummer, songwriter and vocalist Keith Knudsen (who previously drummed for Lee Michaels of Do You Know What I Mean fame) was recruited promptly and left with the Doobies on a major tour within days of joining in September of 1973. (Hossack subsequently replaced Knudsen in the band Bonaroo, which served as an opening act for the Doobies shortly thereafter.) Both Hossack's drums and Knudsen's voice are heard on Vices.In 1974, Steely Dan co-lead guitarist Jeff \"Skunk\" Baxter learned that his band was retiring from the road and that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker intended to work almost exclusively with session players in the future. In need of a steady gig, he segued into the Doobie Brothers as third lead guitarist in the middle of their current tour. He had previously worked with the band in the studio, adding pedal steel guitar to both Captain (\"South City Midnight Lady\") and Vices (\"Black Water,\" \"Tell Me What You Want\") and had already been playing with the band as a \"special guest\" during that year's tour.Vices included the band's first #1 single: Simmons' signature tune \"Black Water,\" which featured the memorable refrain, \"I'd like to hear some funky Dixieland, pretty mama come and take me by the hand\"; climbed to the top of the charts in March 1975; and eventually propelled the album to multi-platinum status. Johnston's lyrical Another Park, Another Sunday (as a single, it featured \"Black Water\" as the B-side) and his horn-driven funk song \"Eyes of Silver\" had also charted at #32 & #52, respectively, the previous year.During this period and for several subsequent tours, the Doobies were often supported on-stage by Stax Records legends The Memphis Horns. Live recordings with the horn section have aired on radio on the King Biscuit Flower Hour, though none has been officially released. They also appeared as session players on multiple Doobies albums.By the end of 1974, Johnston's health was suffering from the rigors of the road. He was absent when the band joined The Beach Boys, Chicago and Olivia Newton-John on \"Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve\" that December. By then, the western-themed Stampede had been completed for release in 1975. It featured yet another hit single, Johnston's cover of the Holland-Dozier-Holland-written Motown hit Take Me in Your Arms (originally sung by Kim Weston and also covered by Blood, Sweat & Tears). The song included a distinctive Baxter guitar solo. Simmons contributed the atmospheric \"I Cheat the Hangman,\" as well as Neal's Fandango, an ode to Santa Cruz, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. Ry Cooder added his slinky slide guitar to Johnston's cowboy song, \"Rainy Day Crossroad Blues\".By the start of the Spring 1975 promotional tour for Stampede, Johnston's condition was so precarious that he required emergency hospitalization for a bleeding ulcer. With Johnston convalescing and the tour already underway, Baxter proposed recruiting a fellow Steely Dan alum to fill the hole: singer, songwriter and keyboardist Michael McDonald. Simmons, Knudsen, Porter and McDonald divvied up and sang Johnston's parts on tour while Simmons and Baxter shared lead guitar chores.Under contract to release another album in 1976, the Doobies were at a crossroads. Their primary songwriter and singer remained unavailable, so they turned to McDonald and Porter for material to supplement that of Simmons. The resulting LP, Takin' It to the Streets, debuted a radical change in their sound. Electric guitar-based rock and roll gave way to blue-eyed soul and soft rock emphasizing keyboards and horns. Baxter contributed jazz-inflected guitar stylings reminiscent of Steely Dan, along with more emphasis on minor chords throughout many of the song's inner melodies. Above all, McDonald's voice became the band's new signature sound. Takin' It to the Streets featured McDonald's title track and It Keeps You Runnin', both hits. (\"It Keeps You Runnin'\" would be covered by Carly Simon appearing on her album Another Passenger, with the Doobies backing her). Bassist Porter wrote and sang a tribute to the absent Johnston, entitled \"For Someone Special.\" A greatest hits compilation, Best of the Doobies, followed before year's end. (In 1996, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Best of the Doobies \"Diamond\" for sales in excess of ten million.)Their new sound was further refined and McDonald's dominant role cemented with 1977's Livin' on the Fault Line. It featured a cover of the Motown classic \"Little Darlin' (I Need You),\" \"Echoes Of Love\" (written for, but not recorded by Al Green, by James Mitchell, then of the Memphis Horns, and Earl Randle, both of whom had worked with Green a good bit, to which Simmons added some music and lyrics, co-writing the finished version with Mitchell and Randle, the song was later covered by the Pointer Sisters), and \"You Belong To Me\" (co-written by McDonald and Carly Simon, who had a hit with her own version of the tune). To help promote Fault Line, the band performed live on the PBS show Soundstage and appeared as themselves in a two-part episode of the television comedy What's Happening!!. This album is a shimmering, nearly seamless masterpiece, perhaps the most musically sophisticated and richest in the Doobies' history. Jeff Baxter used an early type of guitar synthesizer (made by Roland) on many of the tracks (it is heavily featured in his solo on the title track, as well as on \"Chinatown\"). There are also wonderful overall band and vocal arrangements and some absolutely superb horn and string arrangements by David Paich that augment the band's great playing. In addition, it featured even more use of minor chords, as often used in jazz. Unlike many pop\/rock groups that utilize minor chords for their dark and foreboding feel, the Doobies managed to temper that with strong pop hooks, resulting in an album that, though not really jazz, had much of the feel of the \"cool jazz\" era in a pop setting.Both Streets and Fault Line reflected Tom Johnston's diminished role in the group following his illness. Restored to fitness and briefly back in the fold, he contributed one original song to Streets, (\"Turn It Loose\"), and also added a vocal cameo to Simmons' tune \"Wheels of Fortune.\" He also made live appearances with the band in 1976 (documented in a concert filmed that year at the Winterland in San Francisco, excerpts from which appear occasionally on VH1 Classic), but was sidelined once again in the fall due to exhaustion. None of Johnston's songs appeared on Fault Line, though he had written and the band had recorded five of his compositions for the album. Finally, before Fault Line was released, Johnston had his songs removed and he left the band that he co-founded (though he received credit for guitars and vocals and was pictured on the album's inner sleeve band photo). He embarked on a solo career that eventually yielded one modestly successful Warner Brothers album Everything You've Heard is True (1979) and the less successful Still Feels Good (1981).During the period of transition, the band also elevated former roadie Bobby LaKind to onstage vocalist and percussionist. In the studio, LaKind first contributed percussion to Streets. He had joined the road crew in 1974.After almost a decade on the road, and with seven albums under their belts, the Doobies' career unexpectedly soared with the success of their next album, 1978's Minute by Minute. It spent five weeks at the top of the music charts and dominated several radio formats for the better part of two years. McDonald's song What a Fool Believes, written with Kenny Loggins, was the band's second #1 single and earned the songwriting duo a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The breezy, McDonald-penned title song received the Grammy for Pop Vocal Performance by a Group and the album was honored with an Album of the Year nod. Among the other memorable songs on the album were \"Here to Love You,\" Dependin' On You (co-written by McDonald and Simmons), \"Steamer Lane Breakdown\" (a Simmons bluegrass instrumental) and McDonald's \"How Do the Fools Survive?\" (which featured a lengthy guitar coda improvised by Baxter in a single take, according to a 1980 interview in Guitar Player Magazine). Nicolette Larson (whose best-known hit was Lotta Love) and departed former bandleader Johnston contributed guest vocals on the album.The triumph of Minute by Minute was bittersweet, however, because it coincided with the near-dissolution of the band. The pressure of touring while recording and releasing an album each year had worn the members down. Jeff Baxter and Michael McDonald had been in the midst of a creative conflict for some time. McDonald desired a simple, polished rock\/R&B sound while Baxter insisted on embellishing guitar parts in an increasingly avant garde style. (Both McDonald and Baxter elaborated on the matter in the documentary series Behind the Music, which aired on VH1 in February 2001.) Just as Minute by Minute's monumental success had become apparent, founding drummer Hartman, longtime guitarist Baxter and LaKind exited through the revolving door. A two-song set on the January 27, 1979 broadcast of Saturday Night Live (with guest host Michael Palin ) marked the final television appearance of this lineup, and a brief tour of Japan marked the last live performances of the band in its middle-period configuration. (Hartman subsequently joined Johnston's touring band in 1979 and taped an appearance with Johnston that aired on Soundstage in 1980.)With the surprise smash album embedded in the charts and more money to be earned on the road, the remaining Doobies (Simmons, Knudsen, McDonald and Porter) decided to forge ahead. In 1979, Hartman was replaced by ace session drummer Chet McCracken, and Baxter by multi-instrumental string player John McFee (late of Huey Lewis' early band Clover); Cornelius Bumpus was also recruited to add vocals, keyboards and saxophone to the line-up. This line-up toured throughout 1979, including stops at Madison Square Garden and New York City's Central Park for the No Nukes benefit shows with like-minded artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen and John Hall.1980 marked the return of LaKind to the lineup as a full member and the Doobies released their ninth studio album, entitled One Step Closer. The LP featured the hit title track and the Top Ten smash \"Real Love\" (not to be confused with the John Lennon composition) but did not dominate the charts and the radio as Minute by Minute had two years earlier, largely due to an over saturation of the \"McDonald sound\" by many other artists (such as Robbie Dupree's hit Steal Away, which copied the \"McDonald sound\" nearly note for note) heard on the radio at that time(Not to mention McDonald's numerous guest vocal appearances on hits by other artists at that time, such as Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Nicolette Larson and others). The album itself was also musically far weaker than the previous three with the band itself sounding tired and seemingly little more than McDonald's \"backup band\" by then (according to contemporary references at that time). Long frustrated with the realities of relentless touring and yearning for a stable home life, as well as battling self-admitted problems with cocaine, Porter left the band after the recording of Closer. Renowned session bassist Willie Weeks joined up and the Doobies continued touring throughout 1980 and 1981. (Post-Doobies, Weeks has performed with the Gregg Allman Band, Eric Clapton and many others.) Also during this tour, session vet Andy Newmark stepped in briefly for Knudsen, who was in rehab then.By the end of 1981, even Simmons had resigned from the band. Now faced with the prospect of calling themselves \"The Doobie Brothers\" with no remaining original members, a sound that was light years away from their original version and a \"leader\" in McDonald that was ready for a solo career, the group elected instead to disband, and even this wasn't decided upon until after a rehearsal done without Simmons, in a vain attempt to keep the band going, according to an interview with McDonald for \"Listen To The Music,\" the Doobie Brothers official video history\/documentary released in 1989. He went on to say in that interview that at that point they couldn't have gotten further away from the Doobies sound if they had tried to. The reluctant Simmons, already hard at work on his first solo album, rejoined for a 1982 farewell tour on the promise that this truly would be the end. At their last concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, they were joined onstage by founder Tom Johnston for what was presumed to be the final rendition of his staple, \"China Grove.\" Former members Porter, Hossack and Hartman subsequently took the stage for an extended version of \"Listen to the Music.\" Knudsen sang while Simmons, Johnston and McFee traded licks on guitar. Of all the members through the years, only Shogren was absent when the group took its \"final\" bow. The live album Farewell Tour followed in 1983.On February 8, 2005, Keith Knudsen, who'd been battling cancer for almost ten years, died of pneumonia at Kentfield Rehabilitation Hospital. Former Vertical Horizon drummer Ed Toth was selected to fill Knudsen's drum seat as the band soldiered on.Johnston was forced to miss several shows in the summer of 2007 following an operation for a throat ailment. Upon his return, he received vocal assistance from Simmons and McFee on certain tunes that he had traditionally sung in their entirety.The Doobies provided the half-time entertainment for the FedEx Orange Bowl football game on January 1, 2009 in Miami, Florida.For their 2010 summer tour they were (as previously in 1999 and 2008) once again paired with the band Chicago.In May 2010, Skylark was forced to sit out due to a stroke. John Cowan returned to substitute in for Skylark. A few months later, Hossack was forced to sit out due to cancer. Tony Pia, a member of the Brian Setzer's Orchestra, came in to substitute for Hossack. On March 12, 2012, Hossack died at his home in Dubois, Wyoming.On July 6, 2010, The Doobie Brothers announced a new album entitled World Gone Crazy, produced with their long-time producer Ted Templeman, which was released on September 28, 2010. The first single from the album, entitled Nobody, can be listened to on their official website. They have also announced plans to release a DVD compilation of live performances and television appearances from throughout the group's long career.The group continues to tour heavily and remains a popular concert draw. From 2005 through 2007 they headlined benefit concerts at manager Cohn's B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen (once again sharing the stage with \"special guest\" McDonald in 2006). They have maintained a continuous and active presence on the Internet through their official website since 1996.As of March 2012, five members of The Doobie Brothers family are deceased: percussionist LaKind in 1992 following his lengthy struggle with terminal cancer; original bassist Shogren of unreported causes in 1999; Bumpus of a heart attack in 2004 while in the air en route to California for a solo tour; drummer and activist Keith Knudsen in 2005 of cancer and chronic pneumonia; and drummer Michael Hossack of cancer on March 12, 2012.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/23216_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"23944","name":"Jackson Browne","bio":"Jackson Browne (born Clyde Jackson Browne; October 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter known for having sold millions of albums worldwide. First coming to prominence in the 70s, the rock musician has had a long career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Browne was born in Heidelberg, Germany, his father being an American serviceman stationed in the nation, but he moved to the Highland Park district of Los Angeles, California at an early age and soon began singing folk music locally. In 1966, his major career began as a part of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Often mixing catchy melodies with reflective, moody, and sometimes melancholic lyrics, some of his most popular hit singles include \"Doctor My Eyes\", \"Running on Empty\", and \"Somebody's Baby\". Considered a precociously-talented songwriter by many peers, Browne's solo career got its legs when he signed a publishing contract with Nina Music. His work have been performed by several artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, Larry Norman, Linda Ronstadt, Nico, and Tom Rush, among many others.After moving to Greenwich Village, New York, Browne worked, for a brief period, in Tim Buckley's back-up band and on Nico's Chelsea Girl. This album includes two of Jackson's songs and the pair were reputedly lovers for awhile. After leaving New York City, Browne formed a folk band with Ned Doheny and Jack Wilce.In 1971, Browne signed with Asylum Records and released Jackson Browne (1972), which included \"Doctor My Eyes\", a major hit and later coverec by the Jackson Five . He didn't sustain pop success, though, and his next album, For Everyman (1973), while considered of high quality, was a commercial failure.Late for the Sky (1974) established a significant audience for Browne, and fans and critics often consider this Browne's best album. Highlights include the searching title song, the elegiac \"For a Dancer\" and apocalyptic \"Before the Deluge\", the pure arrangements featuring David Lindley's evocative violin and guitar playing, and the Magritte-inspired cover. The title track was also featured in Martin Scorsese's film, Taxi Driver.Browne released his breakthrough album, The Pretender (1976) soon after the suicide of his wife, Phyllis. Featuring livelier production by Jon Landau, the title song is a vividly described account of trying to maintain one's ideals in the struggle against the realities of day-to-day life.During this time, Browne produced and played on Warren Zevon's first two Asylum albums.Browne began recording his next LP while on tour, and Running on Empty (1977) became his biggest commercial success. Breaking the usual conventions for a live album, it was truly made on the road, including tracks recorded on buses and in hotel rooms, with none of the songs having appeared on any of his prior albums. Running on Empty contains many renowned songs, such as the propulsive title track (Browne's biggest hit single), \"The Road\", \"Rosie\", and \"The Load-Out\/Stay\" (Browne's affectionate and knowing send-off to his concert audiences).In 1979, Browne was a founding member of Musicians United for Safe Energy.Browne achieved less critical acclaim with Hold Out (1980), although it was commercially successful\u2013his only number 1 record, and with his hit single \"Somebody's Baby\" from the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack. Lawyers in Love followed in 1983 and contained hints of a more political focus, especially in the mysteriously satirical title track.Political protest came out full force in Lives in the Balance (1986), an overt condemnation of Reaganism and American policy in Central America. Flavored with new instrumental textures, it was a huge success with Browne fans, though not with mainstream audiences. World in Motion (1989) was even more politically-oriented and polarizing. Browne frequently played for causes he believed in, including Amnesty International (making several appearances on the 1986 A Conspiracy of Hope Tour), Farm Aid, and the Christic Institute.After four years of silence and a break-up with his girlfriend, actress Daryl Hannah, Browne returned with I'm Alive, a critically acclaimed album with a more personal perspective that sold respectably, the title track being a modest radio hit. Looking East (1996) was released soon after, but was not as successful critically or commercially. The Naked Ride Home was released in 2002. On 11 May 2003, Jackson Browne made a celebrity guest star debut on the FOX series The Simpsons.As a whole, Browne's work is marked by compelling melodies, simple, honest, and insightful lyrics, and a flair for composition rarely seen in the world of rock and roll. He is often referred to as \"a thinking man's rock star.\"Browne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. He also participated in the Vote for Change tour in October 2004, playing a series of concerts in American swing states. These concerts were organized by MoveOn.org with the general goal of mobilizing people to vote in that year's Presidential campaign. Browne's appearances were joint performances with Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo', and in one instance with Bruce Springsteen. Three of Browne's albums were selected by Rolling Stone magazine as among its choices for the 500 best albums of all time.Browne released \"Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1\"in 2005 and \"Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2\" in 2008, both on Inside Recordings. The \"Vol. 1\" album consists of live recordings of eleven previously released tracks and \"The Birds of St. Marks,\" a song that does not appear on any of Browne's studio albums. The \"Vol. 2\" album contains roughly the same mix of twelve songs (popular hits vs. deep cuts). Interestingly, both albums also contain separately tracked \"intros\" to some songs, giving a brief glimpse of the intimacy between artist and audience at the shows where the songs were recorded.\"No one gives a shit but Jackson Browne.\" - Randy Newman in \"A Piece Of The Pie\"Website: www.jacksonbrowne.com","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/23944_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"150,000 - 300,000"}

{"key":"25712","name":"Bonnie Tyler","bio":"Bonnie Tyler official: http:\/\/www.bonnietyler.comBonnie Tyler Facebook: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BonnieTylerFanSite\/Bonnie Tyler (born Gaynor Hopkins on 8 June 1951- Skewen, Wales, United Kingdom) is a Welsh singer, songwriter and businesswoman.Beginning as a local singer in Swansea, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1976 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles Lost In France and More Than A Lover. Her 1978 single It's A Heartache was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number one in several European countries and breaking the American charts. After winning the 10th World Popular Song Festival with 1979 single Sitting On The Edge Of The Ocean, Tyler converted from country music to rock music. Her career peaked in the 1980s with her Jim Steinman collaboration, releasing international hits Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Holding Out For A Hero, If You Were A Woman (And I Was A Man) and Here She Comes.Tyler\u2019s shift from rock to soft pop in the 1990s led to further success in continental Europe with singles Bitterblue and Fools Lullaby. With German producer Dieter Bohlen, Tyler had continued success with three albums before releasing in the UK and America again, and her 1995 single Making Love (Out Of Nothing At All) narrowly missed the UK Top 40.Making a comeback in 2004, Tyler released Si demain... (Turn Around) with Kareen Antonn, which was a number one in France for ten weeks, selling over 700,000 copies. In recent years Tyler has appeared on several UK TV shows, making a cameo appearance on Hollyoaks Later, toured with Robin Gibb in 2010 and Status Quo in 2012. Her latest album Rocks & Honey (released by her own record label, Celtic Swan Recordings) has had modest success in Europe, with her latest single Believe In Me being used as the UK\u2019s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Following the contest, Tyler received two Eurovision Song Contest Radio Awards for Best Song and Best Singer, marking her as the first UK representative to receive the reward.With a career spanning nearly four decades, she has won three Goldene Europa awards, an Echo Award, and has been nominated for three Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Her distinctive husky voice as a result of an operation to remove vocal nodules has had her compared her to artists such as Rod Stewart and Kim Carnes, and in combination with her career success, has led to her being recognised as the \"International First Lady of Rock\", with an estimated total of 100 million records sold in her career.Early lifeTyler was born in Skewen, Neath, Wales to a family that included three sisters and two brothers. Her father, Glin Hopkins, worked in a coal mine and her mother, Elsie Hopkins (an opera lover), shared her love for music with her children, and was known to have been part of the local church choir. Tyler grew up listening to Motown music and female artists like Janis Joplin and Tina Turner. She concluded her education in the sixties, leaving school with no qualifications and began working in the local grocery shop, then as a supermarket cashier.In 1970, aged 19, she entered a talent contest, singing the Mary Hopkin hit Those Were The Days, and finished in second place, winning \u00a31. She then was chosen to sing in a band with front man Bobby Wayne, known as Bobby Wayne & The Dixies. Two years later, she formed her own band called Imagination (not related to the 1980s British dance band of the same name) and performed with them in pubs and clubs all over southern Wales. It was then that she decided to adopt the stage name of \"Sherene Davis\", taking the names from her niece's forename and favourite aunt's surname. Despite the two name changes, her family and friends still know her as Gaynor.On 4 July 1973, she married Robert Sullivan, a real estate agent, Swansea night club manager and Olympic judoka. In 1975, she was discovered by Roger Bell who arranged a recording contract for her with RCA Records. Before signing, she was asked to choose a different stage name and settled on Bonnie Tyler.Career1976\u201381: The country albumsIn 1976, Tyler was spotted in \"The Townsman Club\" in Swansea by the songwriting and producing team of Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe, who became her managers, songwriters and producers.Tyler first began by recording a track entitled My! My! Honeycomb, which did not receive any chart success, but did gain local airplay in Swansea. The track was later released on the 2002 compilation, \"Total Eclipse Anthology\" and on a re-release of \"The World Starts Tonight\" in 2009, along with the rare track, Baby I Remember You.Following the Top 10 success of her 1976 song Lost In France, Tyler released her first album in 1977 entitled The World Starts Tonight. A further single from the album, More Than A Lover, made the UK Top 30. The single was banned on TV by the BBC for \"unsuitable lyrical content\". The follow-up single, Heaven, reached the Top 30 in Germany.In 1977, Tyler was diagnosed with nodules on her vocal cords that were so severe that she needed to undergo surgery to remove them. After the surgery, she was ordered not to speak for six weeks to aid the healing process, but she accidentally screamed out in frustration one day, causing her voice to take on a raspy quality. At first she believed that her singing career was ruined, but to her surprise her next single, It's A Heartache, made her an international star. The song reached No. 4 in the UK, No. 3 in the US, No. 2 in Germany, and topped the charts in several countries (including France and Australia). Tyler's second album, \"Natural Force\", was also retitled \"It's a Heartache\" for the U.S. market and certified Gold there. Tyler performed in the Long Miles Country Music Festival prior to the release of the new album alongside musicians such as Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. In 1978, Tyler was given a Bravo Otto award in Germany for her success in Europe. Here Am I, the third single from the album (after Heaven and It's a Heartache), made the German Top 20 in spring of 1978.Tyler's next album, \"Diamond Cut\", was released in 1979. The singles What A Way To Treat My Heart and Too Good To Last did not chart, though My Guns Are Loaded peaked at number 3 in France and 10 in Canada. In the same year, Tyler recorded The World Is Full Of Married Men, the theme to the film of the same name. It became a minor UK Top 40 hit in the summer.Tyler's final album with CBS was \"Goodbye To The Island\" in 1981. The track Sitting On The Edge Of The Ocean was the Grand Prix winner of the 1979 Yamaha World Song Festival held in Tokyo. Tyler performed the song live at the festival. The track was re-recorded in Spanish, entitled \"Sola A La Orilla Del Mar\", and was released in Argentina and Spain. Tyler recorded Come On, Give Me Loving as a B-side to the single.In 1981, Tyler released Sayonara Tokyo, a single released only in Japan. The single did not chart.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/25712_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"40,000 - 75,000"}