The Beatles (The Greatest Rock Band of All Time)

Who would have thought that four mop-tops from Liverpool, England could become the most interesting and most hugely successful rock band in the sixties.

Although British bands like the Tornedos were popular in USA during 50’s, it was US bands like The Four Seasons and like Perry Como and Elvis Presley that dominated the US music scene. Then came “The Beatles”, which become a phenomenon in UK by 1964 was equally popular in America as well.

Sixties were the coming of age decade for the “baby boomers”, term applied to youth born after World War ll. They were musically as well as socially more tolerant of other cultures and embraced values like pacifism and eastern mysticism. For these idealistic youths all over the world the Beatles known as the “Fab Four” were the ultimate pop-rock band. Initially The Beatles were named as “Quarrymen” and included Pete Sutcliff and Pete Best, but by 1962 had the lineup of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. These four musicians would stay together and record singles and albums which became huge hits during the sixties. Their clothes, hair styles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social, political and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

The Beatles first came into prominence in USA in February, 1964 after appearing in the ED Sullivan Show, a variety show popular at that time. After their debut The Beatles started to get regular airplay in America and by April all five top ten singles in the country were Beatles records. Up to now no other rock band ranging from “Cold Play” to “Oasis” to “Linking Park” have not been able to equal this feat.

With songs like “I Wonna Hold Your Hand”, “She Loves You”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Help”, and “A Hard Days’ Night”, “We can  work it out”, Paper Back Winter” The Beatles scored hit after hit. Because of their popularity and adulation among the youth the word “Beatlemania” was coined to describe the madness and frenzy they created, wherever they performed.

The Beatles

Origin: Liverpool, England

Gener(s): Rock, pop

Years active: 1960-1970(Partial reunion: 1994-1995)

Label(s): Parlophone, Capitol,          Odeon, Apple, Vee-Jay, Polidor, Swan, Tollie, United Artists Records

Associated acts: Tony Sheridan, The Quarrymen, Plastic Ono Band, The Dirty Mac, Wings, Traveling Wilburys, Rory Storm and Hurricanes, Ringo Starr All-Starr Band, Billy Preston

Madonna (The Queen of Pop)

If you ask the question “Who is the most famous living woman in the world today?”, most would say it’s the entertainer Madonna. She is equally famous as Princess Diana or Marie Curie.

Madonna achieved success through not only her music but a life style that made headlines and her                                         popularity   that started in mid-80’s to present.

Madonna started a pop group in early 80’s and recorded 2 singles which were popular in the dance circuit. This prompted her record company to record an album of her own and she recorded her first album named “Madonna” in the early 80’s. This included her first hit single “Holiday” and her first top 5 single in USA “Lucky Star”. In Late 1984 Madonna released her 2^nd album “Like a Virgin”, which earned her first No.1 album in USA. The title track from this album went No.1 in America. Madonna by this time started to make cinematic music video’s and even did her choreography herself in some of them. Another song from this alum was the single “Marilyn Girl” which was inspired by Marilyn Monroe in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Because of her popularity with this song Madonna came to know as the “material girl” and this song was prevented from reaching No.1 in US charts by the charity single “We are the World”.

 

By this time Madonna started acting in films notably “Desperately Seeking Susan” and “Vision Quest” which included the song many critics consider as her best single to date “Crazy for You”. IN Desperately Seeking Susan featured the single “Into the Groove” which became Madonna’s first UK No.1 single in 1985.In the film “Shanghai Surprise” which was directed by ex-Beatle George Harrison, Madonna co- starred with her then husband Sean Penn.

In 1986 Madonna released her album “True Blue” which become an instant success spawning five top 5 singles in USA and UK, including “Papa Don’t Preach”, “Live to Tell” and “La Isla Bonita”. Madonna released her 4^th album “Like a Prayer” (1989) after the failure of her film “Who’s That Girl”. After this album Madonna started work on her film project “Dick Tracy” with Warren Beatty. this was her first notable film success. In 1992, she starred opposite Tom Hanks and Geena Davis in “A League of Their Own” and With Hon ours” which become world wide hits.

In 1996, Madonna starred in “Evita” where she portrayed Evita Peron and earned a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a motion picture musical or comedy. In 1998 Madonna released her album “Ray of Light” which included the single “Frozen”. This album earned her several Grammy’s as well and combined introspective lyrics with Eastern sounds and techno beats.

In 2000 Madonna released her 8^th studio album “Music” that reached No.1 in USA and UK. In 2002 she briefly appeared and sang the theme song for the Bond movie “Die Another Day”. Madonna later released albums “American Life” and “Confessions on a Dance Floor” including the single “Hung Up” She also sang a duet with Britney spears in the single “Two Against the Music”. These songs cemented her position as a techno and pop musician adapting to changing trends in Music industry. In 2004 rolling Stone magazine ranked her No.36 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.  

Madonna

Birth name: Madonna Louise Ciccone

Born: August 16, 1958, Bay City, Michigan, United States

Origin: New York City, United States

Genre(s): Pop, dance, electronica

Occupation(s): Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, film producer, fashion designer, dancer, author, actress

Instrument(s): Vocals, guitar, percussion

Years active: 1982-present

  

Michael Jackson (King of Pop)

If there is one singer in the world who can be described as King of Pop it is Michael Jackson. Jackson holds the record as the singer and producer behind the best selling album of all time, namely “Thriller” as of 2009. It is estimated that it sold more than 60 million and perhaps 10 million copies worldwide. Michael is also an eccentric person resulting in his lifestyle which have given tabloid writers and media a steady flow of juicy stories.

Michael Joseph Jackson started his singing career in his childhood and later formed a group with his brother “The Jacksons”. It was later renamed “Jackson Five”. They came into prominence in late 1960’s with the hit song “I want you back” with Michael in lead vocals. Later The Jackson Five became a successful group with a string of hit single and albums. Michael released his first solo singles in 1979 which the title “Got to be There” while working with the group Jackson also released several solo singles but not any albums. Michael’s first solo album was released in 1979 which began his collaboration with the legendary producer Quincy Jones. Jones and Michael also collaborated on his 2 albums of the eighties “Thriller” and “Bad”.

Thriller album redefined popular music and was released in 1ate 1982. Its first single was “The Girl is Mine”, a duet Michael sang with Paul McCartney. It reached the top 10 and spawned 6 other top ten singles becoming the first album in history to generate 7 top ten singles in USA. From Thriller Michael achieved 2 No.1 singles, Billie Jean and Beat It. It also included classic tunes such as “Human Nature” and the title track as well. By early 1984 Thriller was the biggest selling album in 1983 and earned Michael several American music awards and earned him 8 Grammy Awards including Record of the Year for “Beat It” and album of the year for Thriller.

The popularity of Thriller was also due to the unique music videos that Michael made as a singer. This included the video for Billie Jean which was one of the earliest music videos of an Afro-American artist to receive regular play on MTV in USA. This paved the way for other music videos by Jackson to receive regular air play, Including Thriller. The video for Thriller was more of a mini-movie and considered by many to be the best musical video of all time. All these achievements of Jackson paved the way for other Afro-American artists get regular exposure on MTV and includes such musical luminaries like prince, Lionel Ritchie and Tina Turner.

  In 1985 Jackson also started making generous contributions to charities and even co-wrote the USA for Africa Charity single “We are the World”, which raised lot of money for Ethiopian famine victims. All these contributions to worthy causes and plastic surgeries that he received made Jackson a media frenzy and gave media a string stories. These included that he was bleaching his skin to make it look whiter which angered the Afro-American community in USA.

Michael Jackson

Also known as: Michael Joe Jackson (The King of Pop)

Birth: August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana, USA

Died: June 25, 2009(aged 50), Loa Angeles, California, U.S.

Origin: Gary, Indiana, USA

Genre(s): R&B, Soul, New Jack Swing, Funk, Rock, Dance-Pop, Motown, Disco

Occupation(s): Singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, actor, choreographer

Instrument(s): Vocals, multiple instruments

Years active: 1967-2009

Label(s): Motown, Epic, Sony, The Michael Jackson Company, Inc

Associated acts: The Jackson 5