The Music Of The 80s - Favorites, Classics And Rarities

[hitman531ph]

LLOYD COLE

 

Through both his lauded work fronting the Commotions and his more eclectic solo efforts, Lloyd Cole established himself as one of the most articulate and acute songwriters of the postpunk era. Born January 31, 1961 in Buxton, England, Cole formed the Commotions in 1982 while studying philosophy at the University of Glasgow. Originally a large soul band, the group eventually trimmed itself down to a quintet which included keyboardist Blair Cowan, guitarist Neil Clark, bassist Lawrence Donegan and drummer Stephen Irvine.

 

The uncommon quality of Cole's songwriting earned the Commotions a contract with British Polydor, and in 1984, they debuted with Rattlesnakes, a wry, heartfelt record of jangling guitar pop stuffed with references to the likes of Jules and Jim, Simone de Beauvoir, Norman Mailer and On the Waterfront; "Perfect Skin," the shimmering first single, reached the U.K. Top 30. Produced by the hit-making team of Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer, 1985's Easy Pieces, was a slicker effort that included the singles "Lost Weekend" and "Brand New Friend," both of which earned significant airplay on alternative radio outlets.

 

Following the release of 1987's Mainstream, Cole disbanded the Commotions and moved to New York City to establish himself as a solo performer. There he joined forces with noted session drummer Fred Maher, who enlisted ex-Voidoid Robert Quine on guitar and an up-and-coming singer/songwriter named Matthew Sweet to play bass for Cole's eponymously-titled 1990 solo debut, which continued much in the vein of his work with the Commotions. 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me, Babe, however, marked a major artistic shift, as the entire second half of the album explored lush, string-sweetened cabaret music, arranged by Paul Buckmaster (known for his work with Elton John and the Rolling Stones).

 

Commercial success continued to elude Cole, however, and it took 1993's Bad Vibes -- a diverse effort touching upon psychedelia and electronics -- a year to find U.S. distribution. By the time of 1995's Love Story, his sound had come full circle; a return to the more minimalist, folk-rock inspired work with the Commotions, the LP not coincidentally marked Cole's reunion with the band's guitarist Neil Clark. The new millennium sparked a new union for Cole, for his 2001 album The Negatives not only showcased the album's namesake, but the name of his new band. Collaborations with Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Ivy), Jill Sobule, and Michael Kotch (Vitamin C, Eve's Plum) were featured on the new record, as well as production credits from Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur). Extensive touring followed. Cole resurfaced in 2004 with the understated Music In a Foreign Language LP. Recorded largely at home, the album featured a cover of Nick Cave's "People Ain't No Good".

[sedative]

Mountain Dance - Dave Grusin

[sedative]

Dave Grusin

Lee Ritenour

Tom Scott

Al deMeola

George Benson

Earl Klugh

Stanley Clarket/George Duke

Herb Alpert

Lani Hall

Amy Holland

etc., etc.,

 

Nothing beats the 80's music!

[hitman531ph]

DAVE GRUSIN

 

Dave Grusin has been a highly successful performer, producer, composer, record label executive, arranger, and bandleader. His piano playing ranges from mildly challenging to competent to routine, but he's primarily an accomplished film and television soundtrack composer. Grusin played with Terry Gibbs and Johnny Smith while studying at the University of Colorado. He was the assistant music director and pianist for Andy Williams from 1959 to 1966, and then started his television composing career. Grusin recorded with Benny Goodman in 1960 and recorded with a hard bop trio who included Milt Hinton and Don Lamond in the early '60s. He also played and did a session with a quintet including Thad Jones and Frank Foster. Grusin also musically scored the 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie "The Graduate" along with Simon & Garfunkel. Grusin did arrangements and recorded with Sarah Vaughan, Quincy Jones, and Carmen McRae in the early '70s. He played electric keyboards with Gerry Mulligan and Lee Ritenour in the mid-'70s, then helped to establish GRP Records out of a production company. GRP developed into one of the top contemporary jazz and fusion companies; they were later taken over by Arista, then by MCA. Grusin continued recording through the '80s and '90s, doing numerous projects, from fusion and pop to working with symphony orchestras. He has also conducted the GRP Big Band, scored such films as The Fabulous Baker Boys, and performed duet sessions with his brother, Don, and Ritenour. In addition to his numerous GRP releases, Grusin has also recorded for Columbia, Sheffield Lab, and Polygram.

 

Classic 80s jazz fusion had popularized Dave Grusin with tracks like Friends and Strangers, Mountain Dance, Rag Bag, Early A.M. Attitude and Theme from St. Elsewhere.

Edited May 9, 2006 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

Yup. The 80s Jazz Fusion.

 

The Clarke/Duke Project

David Benoit

Dave Grusin

Lee Ritenour

Chuck Mangione

Herb Alpert

Tom Scott

Bob James

Alphonse Mouzon

Noel Pointer

John Kaizan Neptune

George Benson

Earl Klugh

Willie Bobo

Michael Pedecin Jr

Michael Franks

The Manhattan Transfer

Hubert Laws

Debra Laws

Ronnie Laws

Patti Austin

Shakatak

Al Jarreau

MFSB

The Jones Girls

Hiroshima

Kenny G

 

and a whole lot more

[sedative]

Yup.  The 80s Jazz Fusion.

 

The Clarke/Duke Project

David Benoit

Dave Grusin

Lee Ritenour

Chuck Mangione

Herb Alpert

Tom Scott

Bob James

Alphonse Mouzon

Noel Pointer

John Kaizan Neptune

George Benson

Earl Klugh

Willie Bobo

Michael Pedecin Jr

Michael Franks

The Manhattan Transfer

Hubert Laws

Debra Laws

Ronnie Laws

Patti Austin

Shakatak

Al Jarreau

MFSB

The Jones Girls

Hiroshima

Kenny G

 

and a whole lot more

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Iba talaga dati pre! Miss thoses times and tunes.

[jhendrix]

My Favorite is:

 

The Promise by When in Rome

[hitman531ph]

KING

 

King was a British New Wave band of the mid-eighties. They released two albums on CBS before splitting up. Lead singer Paul King would later become a VJ on VH1.

 

Their biggest hit was a UK #2 hit (US Top 20) "Love and Pride" off the 1984 album "Steps in Time." A lesser hit "Won't You Hold My Hand" reached the UK #24. The band came up with a second album in 1985 called "Bitter Sweet." The album chalked up one UK #8 hit "Alone Without You." The follow-up hit missed the UK Top 10 and settled at UK #11, called "The Taste of Your Tears." Their last single, "Torture" which was released in 1986, managed to reach UK #23.

 

The band split up afterwards and the lead singerof the band, Paul King, became a VJ on VH1.

 

King returned in 1998 with the album "Gravelands" which contained remakes of 80s, 70s and 60s music. King was now under EMI Records.

 

2003 saw the release of "Return to Splendor" which was another album filled with remakes of old songs. A second album appeared in the same year "Redemption" whch contained new, original material.

 

2005 saw the release of the EP "She's Into Star Wars."

[pol_gimikera]

whatever happened to:

 

nielsen pearson - "if u should sail"

roger voudoris - "get used to it"

kashif - (jazz)

paul young - "everytime u go away"

general public - "tenderness"

jerry rafferty - "baker street"

john waite - "missing u"

pablo cruise - "whatcha gonna do"

style council - "ur the best thing"

ambrosia - "biggest part of me"

johnny hates jazz - "turn back the clock"

steve perry - formerly of journey

windjammer - (pop)

 

??????????

[pol_gimikera]

dami nyan mp3's pa. nagkalat sa mga semi-malls. faves ko -lee rittenour, stanley clarke/george duke, crossover songs of steely dan esp. that of donald fagen - "kamakiriad" - this album's just fun to listen to. check it out. :thumbsupsmiley:

[PappiMo]

I've been a collector of Jazz Fusion music since the eighties, and it's sad to learn that most of the Jazz lounges have closed down. I was hoping to visit some of them when I come back to Manila soon. I remember the bars that dotted Jupiter and Pasay road in Makati. I stll have my old LPs and CDs with me. It would be great to have a portal for collectors and fans of the genre to share their thoughts and discoveries.

 

In some aspects, Manila is still ahead in discovering new artists. Here in the states, the term Jazz Fusion is strictly restricted to the likes of Metheny and Corea. For the likes of Lee Ritenour and David Benoit, it's referred to as "Smooth Jazz". Fusion also developed to other forms such as Acid Jazz (eg Incognito, Brand New Heavies) and even NeoSoul. For artists with a jazzy influence (eg Workshy, Sade), they refer to it as "Jazzy Pop" or "Smooth Pop". Whenever I ask my friends to send me some CDs from Manila, I usually refer to the music as "Crossover" kind (obviouslly pertaining to stuff similarly being played in 105 FM).

 

One advantage of living here is being able to watch these artists live, and in most cases, in a small setting. This allows one to meet and talk with the artist after the show. Recently, I've watched (and met) Debra and Eloise Laws, Kenny Rankin and David Pack (Ambrosia frontman and singer of David Benoit's "Key To You").

 

'Hope to meet other soul/jazz music lovers out there!

 

Bye for now.

[orionpax]

hmmmm SpyroGyra

[JP2332]

Hi....

 

Good to hear you're a jazz fusion/jazz collector.... I've got this track recorded in cassette in an FM station and would like to know the title/artist of the song. I believe this track was from late 70s or early 80s. If you could provide me an email address so I can send to you the track and help me identify this tune. Appreciate it very much.

 

Thanks

 

Joel

 

email: j_2332_j@yahoo.com

 

 

I've been a collector of Jazz Fusion music since the eighties, and it's sad to learn that most of the Jazz lounges have closed down. I was hoping to visit some of them when I come back to Manila soon. I remember the bars that dotted Jupiter and Pasay road in Makati. I stll have my old LPs and CDs with me. It would be great to have a portal for collectors and fans of the genre to share their thoughts and discoveries.

 

In some aspects, Manila is still ahead in discovering new artists. Here in the states, the term Jazz Fusion is strictly restricted to the likes of Metheny and Corea. For the likes of Lee Ritenour and David Benoit, it's referred to as "Smooth Jazz". Fusion also developed to other forms such as Acid Jazz (eg Incognito, Brand New Heavies) and even NeoSoul. For artists with a jazzy influence (eg Workshy, Sade), they refer to it as "Jazzy Pop" or "Smooth Pop". Whenever I ask my friends to send me some CDs from Manila, I usually refer to the music as "Crossover" kind (obviouslly pertaining to stuff similarly being played in 105 FM). 

 

One advantage of living here is being able to watch these artists live, and in most cases, in a small setting. This allows one to meet and talk with the artist after the show. Recently, I've watched (and met) Debra and Eloise Laws, Kenny Rankin and David Pack (Ambrosia frontman and singer of David Benoit's "Key To You").

 

'Hope to meet other soul/jazz music lovers out there!

 

Bye for now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[JP2332]

Sa mga Jazz lovers and record/CD collectors. sinong artist ito? or anong title... thanks

jazz2.mp3

[KayaK]

mga peeps, remember mike francis? came to manila and did concerts in the mid 80s. i understand he's italian and not known in the states. i don't know what to make of of his music. can you call it jazz? or more like pop jazz? one of his big hits back then was suddenly back to you.

[señor_bugoy]

I want you - Gary Low

[BlackWizard]

All of Spandau Ballet's songs...

[hitman531ph]

whatever happened to:

 

nielsen pearson - "if u should sail"

roger voudoris - "get used to it"

kashif - (jazz)

paul young - "everytime u go away"

general public - "tenderness"

jerry rafferty - "baker street"

john waite - "missing u"

pablo cruise - "whatcha gonna do"

style council - "ur the best thing"

ambrosia - "biggest part of me"

johnny hates jazz - "turn back the clock"

steve perry - formerly of journey

windjammer - (pop)

 

??????????

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I will try to get more info about:

 

Nilssen/Pearson

Roger Voudouris

Kashif

Windjammer

 

As for Gerry Rafferty, I think he's a 70s artist but I'll check anyway

Pablo Cruise is a 70s artist

 

As for the others, try to backread, they're all there

Edited May 16, 2006 by hitman531ph

[DomPerignom]

Tears For Fears and Duran Duran

[hitman531ph]

WINDJAMMER

 

Windjammer hail from New Orleans.

 

During 1977, Kevin McLin broke into a hotel and gave Tito Jackson, of The Jacksons, a Windjammer demo tape while riding an escalator.

 

Two years later Jacksons' father and manager Joe Jackson signed them to his management company.

 

A debut single 'Stay' sold well around New Orleans before the group were signed by MCA in 1982.

 

In 1983, their first album 'Windjammer' was released.

 

In 1984, 'Windjammer II' featured 'Tossing And Turning', a UK Top 20 hit.

 

The song was remixed and re-released by Debut Records in 1989.

 

In 1985, a final album for MCA was released, entitled (you've guessed it!), 'Windjammer III'.

 

The group have adopted a low profile since that release.

 

Their most successful record was Windjammer II which also chalked up two R&B hits in the US, 'Anxiously Waiting' and 'Live Without Your Love'

 

'Live Without You Love' received much radio airplay in the Philippines, while 'Anxiously Waiting' eventually became a 99.5RT classic.

 

Windjammer comprised of:

 

Kevin McLin (guitar / producer)

 

Roy Paul Joseph (guitar)

 

Chris Severin (bass)

 

Darrell Winchester (drums)

 

Carl Dennis (lead vocals)

 

and Fred McCray (keyboards).

[hitman531ph]

ROGER VOUDOURIS

 

Roger was born on December 29, 1954 in Sacramento, California. In the Seventies, he played with his own band Roger Voudouris Loud as Hell Rockers as an opening act for The Doobie Brothers, John Mayall and Stephen Stills among others.

 

After an eponymous album in 1978, his second album "Radio Dream" (1979) has featured the hit single "Get Used To It" which reached #21 in the Billboard Charts.

 

Two albums followed: "A Guy Like Me" (1980) and "On The Heels Of Love" (1981) and found a nice Japanese audience.

 

In 1983, he wrote lyrics for the movie "The Lonely Lady" starring Pia Zadora as well as recording some tracks for the film LP.

 

Roger Voudouris passed away on August 3, 2003.

Edited May 16, 2006 by hitman531ph

[hitman531ph]

KASHIF

 

Singer/songwriter/keyboardist/producer Kashif wrote and played on Evelyn King's (aka Evelyn "Champagne" King) number one R&B hits "I'm in Love" and "Love Come Down," Whitney Houston's first hit "You Give Good Love" and one of its follow-ups, "Thinking About You" from her 17-million-selling debut album Whitney Houston. He also contributed to her 17-million selling Whitney LP. His own recording career yielded 17 R&B hit singles and four Top 40 albums. He recorded several duets: "Love Changes" with Mel'isa Morgan, "Love the One I'm With" with Melba Moore, and "Reservations for Two" with Dionne Warwick.

 

Part of the vanguard that includes early pioneers Stevie Wonder and Ronnie McNeir and his '80s contemporaries the System, Kashif helped to revolutionized R&B music through the infusion of the then-emerging affordable, MIDI/synth technology of the '80s. Music synthesizers at one point could easily fill a room. With the advent of the microchip, synths became more portable and had tonal stability and pricing (though most professional-level synths cost a couple thousand dollars or more) during the '80s. Like McNeir, Kashif shares the distinction of having two self-titled albums in his catalog.

 

Born Michael Jones in Brooklyn, NY, in 1959, Kashif was orphaned at an early age, growing up in eight foster homes. His first experience with synthesized instruments came during his years with B.T. Express ("Express," "Do It 'Til You're Satisfied"). He appears on the group's early-'80s sides for Columbia Records (check out "Ride on It " from 1978's Shout! LP, among others). Kashif began playing synthesizer bass using the miniMoog while on the road with the group.

 

After leaving the group, Kashif began making demos with the group Stepping Stone. The demos led to his recording contract with Arista Records in 1983. Because of his burgeoning mastery with synthesizers, Kashif was invited to tour with hitmaker Stephanie Mills at a time when contemporary R&B acts were just beginning to use electronic instruments for live work.

 

Inspired by Gamble & Huff and Thom Bell's Mighty Three Music, he formed Mighty M Productions with Paul Laurence and Morrie Brown, infusing early-'80s R&B with a fresh synth-based sound. One of their first projects was Evelyn Champagne King who had a 1979 gold single, "Shame." Prompting her to sing in her higher register than in her previous records, the Mighty M was were attempting to give the singer a more youthful sound. At the same time, RCA Records suggested that she same drop the "Champagne" from her name, thus becoming Evelyn King. The result of their collaboration was "I'm in Love," whose style and bass sound was different from anything being done at the time. It went to number one R&B in summer 1981. The I'm in Love album, which also included the hit "Don't Hide Our Love," peaked at number six R&B. RCA asked Kashif, Brown, and Laurence to produce her follow-up album. Influenced by songwriter/producer Leon F. Sylvers III, Kashif came up with the sprightly "Love Come Down" on which he played all of the instruments except guitar, which was played by Ira Siegel. The single went all the way to number one R&B and didn't come down for five weeks. It was included on her gold Get Loose LP, which parked at number one R&B for two weeks and yielded the number two R&B smash "Betcha She Don't Love You."

 

Around this time, Kashif had begun working with the New England Digital Synclavier. Kashif invented uses for sampling, for example, replacing drum sounds, lead and background vocal placements, and even dialog editing. Howard Johnson's "So Fine" was the first record on which he used the technique of "flying in" vocals -- some vocal passages could be duplicated by the Synclavier. This created a whole new approach to production with vocalists that continues to be used extensively.

 

Signing with Arista Records in 1983, his self-tilted debut Kashif spawned the hits "I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)," "Stone Love," "Help Yourself to My Love," and "Say Something Love." His other albums are Send Me Your Love, "Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart," "Are You the Woman," Condition of the Heart, Love Changes and 1989's Kashif, with the charming cover of the Four Tops hit "Aint No Woman Like the One I Got." Becoming an in-demand writer/producer, Kashif can be heard on releases by Kenny G ("Keeping Love New"), George Benson, Johnny Kemp, Dionne Warwick, Giorge Pettus, Stacy Lattisaw, Expose, the Wootens, Freda Payne, and others. His Grammy nominations are for the instrumentals "The Mood," "Call Me Tonight," "Edgartown Groove" featuring Al Jarreau, and "The Movie Song."

 

During 1994, Kashif received an invitation from the famed U.C.L.A. Extension program and created a course called Contemporary Record Production With Kashif. In August 1995, Kashif authored the music industry tome Everything You'd Better Know About the Record Industry as CEO of his Los Angeles-based Brooklyn Boy Books, Entertainment, and Information. In 1998, Kashif signed with U.K. label Expansion Records and his album Who Loves You was released that same year.

[hitman531ph]

GERRY RAFFERTY

 

Gerry Rafferty was a popular music giant at the end of the 1970's, thanks to the song "Baker Street" and the album City To City. His career long predated that fixture of top 40 radio, however-indeed, by the time he cut "Baker Street, " Rafferty had already been a member of two successful groups, the Humblebums and Stealers Wheel.

 

Gerry Rafferty was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1947, the son of a Scottish mother and an Irish father. His father was deaf but still enjoyed singing, mostly Irish rebel songs, and his early experience of music was a combination of Catholic hymns, traditional folk music, and 50's pop music. By 1968, at age 21, Rafferty was a singer-guitarist and had started trying to write songs professionally, and was looking for a gig of his own. Enter Billy Connolly, late of Scottish bands like the Skillet-Lickers and the Acme Brush Company. Connelly was a musician and comedian, who'd found that telling jokes from the stage was as appealing an activity to him-and the audience-as making music. He'd passed through several groups looking for a niche before finally forming a duo called the Humblebums with Tam Harvey, a rock guitarist. They'd established themselves in Glasgow, and were then approached by Transatlantic, one of the more successful independent record labels in England at the time, and signed to a recording contract. After playing a show in Paisley, Rafferty approached Connelly about auditioning some of the songs he'd written. Billy Connelly was impressed not only with the songs but with their author, and suddenly the Humblebums were a trio. The Humblebums trio was a major success in England, both on stage and on record, but not without some strain. Connelly was the dominant personality, his jokes between the songs entertaining audiences as much as the songs themselves. Additionally, Rafferty began develop a distinctive style as a singer-guitarist and songwriter, and this eventually led to tension between him and Harvey-the latter exited in 1970, and Rafferty and Connelly continued together for two more albums, their line-up expanding to a sextet, but their relationship began to break down. The records were selling well, and the gigs were growing in prominence, including a Royal Command Performance. Connelly, however, worked himself to the point of exhaustion amid all of this activity, and when he did recover, he and Rafferty ultimately split up over the differing directions in which each was going. Rafferty had noticed that Connelly's jokes were taking up more time in their concerts than the music he was writing.

 

They parted company in 1971. Transatlantic didn't want to give up one of its top money-makers, however, especially if there was a new career to be started. Rafferty cut his first solo album for the label that year. Can I Have My Money Back? was a melodious folk-pop album, on which Rafferty employed the vocal talents of an old school friend, Joe Egan. The LP garnered good reviews but failed to sell.

 

Out of those sessions, however, Rafferty and Egan put together the original line-up of Stealers Wheel, which was one of the most promising (and rewarding) pop-rock outfits of the mid-1970's. Unfortunately, Stealers Wheel's line-up and legal history were complicated enough to keep various lawyers well paid for much of the middle of the decade. Rafferty was in the group, then out, then in again as the line-up kept shifting-their first album was a success, the single "Stuck In The Middle With You" a huge hit, but nothing after that clicked commercially, and by 1975 the group was history. Three years of legal battles followed, sorting out problems between Rafferty and his management.

 

Finally, in 1978, Rafferty was free to record again, and he signed to United Artists Records. That year, he cut City To City, a melodic yet strangely enigmatic album that topped the charts in America, put there by the success of the song "Baker Street." The song itself was a masterpiece of pop production, Rafferty's Paul McCartney-like vocals carrying a haunting central melody with a mysterious and yearning lyric, backed by a quietly thumping bass, tinkling celeste, and understated keyboard ornamentation, and then Raphael Ravenscroft's sax, which we've had a taste of in the opening bars, rises up behind some heavily amplified electric guitars-it was sophisticated '70s pop-rock at its best [and better yet, it wasn't disco! -- author's note], and it dominated the airwaves for months in 1978, narrowly missing the No. 1 spot in England but selling millions of copies and taking up hundreds of cumulative hours of radio time. The publisher and the record company couldn't have been happier. Everyone concerned was thrilled, until it became clear that Rafferty -- who had a reclusive and iconoclastic streak -- was not going to tour America to support the album. The album, which hit No. 1, might've gone double-platinum and meant it (lots of records were shipped platinum in those days, only eventually to return 90% of those copies) had Rafferty toured. His next record, Night Owl (1979), also charted well and got good reviews, but the momentum that had driven City to City to top-selling status wasn't there, and Snakes and Ladders (1980), his next record, didn't sell nearly as well. Ironically, around this time, Rafferty's brother Jim was signed to a recording contract by Decca-London, a label that wasn't long for this world -- something that Gerry would soon have to face about his own situation at United Artists.

 

United Artists Records had seen some major hit records throughout the '60s and '70s, but by the end of the decade, the parent film distribution and production company was revamping all of its operations, in the wake of the mass exodus of several of its top executives. The record label was one of the first things to go -- running a record company was a luxury that the current UA management felt it could do without. Rafferty was practically the last major artist signed to the label, and if City To City had been a hit when the label was sold to EMI, he'd probably have been treated like visiting royalty. But by the time United Artists Records was sold to EMI around 1980, his figures weren't showing millions of units sold anymore. His contract was merely part of a deal, and, in fact, almost none of the UA artists picked up by EMI fared well with the new company -- as with many artists caught up in one of those sale-and-acquisition situations, even if Rafferty had been producing anything comparable to "Baker Street" in popularity, it's doubtful the record would've gotten the push it would've taken to make it a hit.

 

Sleepwalking (1982), issued on the Liberty label, ended that round of Rafferty's public music-making activities, and he was little heard from during the mid-'80s, apart from one song contributed to the offbeat comedy Local Hero, a producer's gig with the group the Proclaimers that yielded a Top Three single ("Letter From America") in 1987. A year later, he released his first album in more than five years, North And South, which failed to register with the public. By that time, Transatlantic had begun exploiting his early recording activity, reissuing his early solo and Humblebums tracks on CD. On A Wing And A Prayer (1992) was similarly ignored by the public, although the critics loved it, and Over My Head (1995) was an attempt to reconsider his own past by re-thinking some Stealers Wheel-era songs. Gerry Rafferty is still remembered, two decades after it was a hit, primarily for "Baker Street" and City To City, which have been released as gold-plated audiophile CDs. And every so often, when some Stealers Wheel track gets picked up for some soundtrack (as "Stuck In The Middle With You" was for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs) or commercial, his voice and guitar also get a fresh airing.

[hitman531ph]

GARY WRIGHT

 

Most closely associated with his atmospheric 1976 smash "Dream Weaver," singer Gary Wright was born April 26, 1943 in Creskill, NJ; a former child actor who appeared on Broadway in a production of Fanny, he fronted a number of local rock bands during his high school years before turning his attention to psychology, completing his studies in Berlin at Frei University. In 1967, Wright's band, the New York Times, opened for Traffic, bringing him to the attention of Island Records honcho Chris Blackwell, who in turn introduced the singer to the members of the band Art; relocating to London, Wright joined the band, soon renamed Spooky Tooth and later emerging among the UK's premier hard rock outfits. When Spooky Tooth temporarily disbanded in 1970, Wright jumped ship to form Wonderwheel, concurrently playing keyboards on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass; the two eventually became close friends and collaborators, together taking a trip to India which inspired the mystical themes of Wright's subsequent solo efforts. He returned to Spooky Tooth in 1973, but when the band again dissolved the following year he returned to his solo career, scoring his greatest success with 1975's The Dream Weaver; both the title track and "Love Is Alive" reached number two on the Billboard pop charts, and the album -- one of the first created solely via synthesizer technology -- achieved platinum status. Follow-ups including Light of Smiles, 1977's Touch and Gone, and 1979's Headin' Home failed to repeat The Dream Weaver's success, however, and in 1981 Wright notched his final chart hit with "Really Wanna Know You," from The Right Place. From there he composed a series of film scores, including 1985's Fire and Ice, which topped the German charts; Wright's first solo album in seven years, Who Am I, featured contributions from Indian classical greats Lakshmi Shankar and L. Subramanium. In 1991, he remade "Dream Weaver" for the soundtrack of the hit film comedy Wayne's World, and in 1995 issued his first world music effort, First Signs of Life. Human Love followed five years later.

[hitman531ph]

GARY LOW

 

Not much is known about Italian-Spanish artist Gary Low whose real life name is Luis Romero.

 

Gary Low had two LPs, "Grandes Exitos" and "Go On" in the late 80s. He had three Italo-disco hits "I Want You," "La Colegiala" and "You Are A Danger"

Edited May 16, 2006 by hitman531ph