Barrett Strong was one of the original Motown singer-songwriters.
His, and the label's, first hit was "Money (That's What I Want)", but he went on the pen (often with Normal Whitfield) hits like "War" (Edwin Starr), "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Gladys Knight & the Pips), and a string of hits including "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and "Cloud Nine" for the Temptations, before finally launching a solo career in the 1970s.
Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight & the Pips joined the Motown roster in 1966, and, although regarded as a second-string act, scored several hit singles, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1967), "The Nitty Gritty" (1969),"Friendship Train" (1969), "If I Were Your Woman" (1970), "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" (1971), the Grammy winner "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" (1972), and "Daddy Could Swear (I Declare)" (1973).
The act left Motown for a better deal with Buddah Records in 1973, and achieved full-fledged success that year with hits such as the Grammy-winning "Midnight Train to Georgia" (their only #1 pop hit), "I've Got to Use My Imagination", and "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me".
While still with The Pips, Knight also joined with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Elton John on the 1986 AIDS benefit single, "That's What Friends Are For" which won a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. In 1989, Gladys Knight recorded the title track for the James Bond movie License to Kill, a top 10 hit in the UK.
Dionne Warwick
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
Dionne Warwick's career effectively began in 1963 with the release of "Don't Make Me Over". The following year saw "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and then the massive "Walk on By", and Dionne was away and running as a major collaborator with Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
The cousin of and sister of Dee Dee Warwick has weathered the years, a major drugs bust, and many rivals, to go on releasing albums well into the 21st century...
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was born in East Orange, New Jersey to John and Cissy Houston. Houston's mother (Cissy), first cousin (Dionne Warwick) and godmother (Aretha Franklin) were all established Gospel/R&B/Soul singers, which resulted in the young Houston always being in the presence of music while she was growing up. At the age of 11, she started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist church in Newark, New Jersey, and would later go on to accompanying her mother in concert. Although a Baptist, she attended a Catholic high school. After singing background on her mother's 1978 album Think It Over, she started as a back up singer for many other established acts, such as Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson, and Lou Rawls. In 1980 at the age of 17, she was featured as the lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's A Party", who previously scored a hit with the single "Let's All Chant".
Chaka Khan
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
I can't help but be slightly surprised that Yvette Marie Stevens, aka Chaka Khan, should have been given an honourary doctorate from Berklee College. She seems so much a part of her funk and post-funk genre, rather than an innovator like so many others associated with that institution... but maybe I'm missing something. Sorry Ms Khan!
Chaka Khan first recorded with the funk band Rufus back in the mid-70s, and has been closely associated with Stevie Wonder throughout her long career, but surely her best-known hit was "I'm Every Woman" recorded in 1978 and produced by the remarkable Turkish-American musician (and Berklee scholar!)
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin, born 1932 in Istanbul, Turkey, is a renowned Turkish-American music producer, who has worked with a wide range of artists, across many different styles and genres of music.
Arif Mardin was born into a renowned family that brought up statesmen, diplomats and leaders in the civic, military and business sectors of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic. His father was partner in a petroleum gas station chain. His sister, Betül Mardin is the "grande dame of public relations" today.
After graduating from Istanbul University in Economics and Commerce, Arif Mardin studied at the London School of Economics. He was influenced by his sister's music records and became a self-professed jazz fanatic, as well as an accomplished orchestrator and arranger. But he never intended to pursue a career in music. However, his fate changed in 1956 after meeting the American jazz musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones in a concert in Istanbul. He became the first recipient of the Quincy Jones Scholarship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston after Quincy Jones was so impressed from Mardin's compositions that were recorded on a tape and sent to him. In 1958 he and his shortly married wife Latife moved from Istanbul to Boston. After graduating in 1961, he taught at Berklee for one year and went to New York City to try his luck. Arif Mardin was later made a trustee of the school and awarded an honorary doctorate.
He produced countless hits artists including Carly Simon, The Young Rascals, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Average White Band, Anita Baker, the Bee Gees, Judy Collins, Phil Collins, Culture Club, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, Donny Hathaway, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Melissa Manchester, Manhattan Transfer, Modern Jazz Quartet, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Scritti Politti, Queen, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie and Jewel.
John Prine (one of my favorites!)
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
The excellent John Prine :D has, over a career spanning more than 3 decades, worked with many artists including Kris Kristoffersen, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, Lucinda Williams, Iris DeMent and Howie Epstein, while his songs have been covered by people like Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Joan Baez, Laura Cantrell and
Eddie Reader
Reader sang for a brief time with disco group Outbar Squeek, but more importantly she teamed up with Mark E. Nevin, a guitarist and songwriter, and they formed Fairground Attraction, together with Simon Edwards (guitaron — a Mexican acoustic bass guitar) and Roy Dodds (drums & percussion). In 1988 the band released their first single, "Perfect", which became a U.K. number one, winning best Single at the 1989 Brit Awards. Their first album, The First of a Million Kisses, was also a success, reaching number two in the U.K. album chart, and winning best Album at the 1989 Brit Awards.
Roy Dodds
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
Roy Dodds, a Guildhall School of Music graduate, cut his teeth in trad jazz bands, moving on by stages to the acid jazz outfit Steps.
Later he worked with the Dave Bitelli band, before forming Fairground Attraction with Reader and co. While still with F.A. he continued his jazz career, playing with Dudu Pukwana, Donal Lunny and Sharon Shannon.
Roy Dodds still records sporadically with Eddi Reader on her solo albums, but is currently drummer with Hank Wangford's Lost Cowboys, along with Kevin Foster, bass; Reg Meuross, acoustic guitar; and legendary electric guitarist and 6-string bass virtuoso
Martin Belmont
Guitarist Martin Belmont began his professional musical career as the lead guitarist for the pub rock band Ducks Deluxe. The Ducks toured the U.K. constantly during the mid-'70s and released four albums before breaking up in 1975. Belmont moved on to Graham Parker's backing band, the Rumour. For the next five years, Belmont was part of the Rumour, who supported Parker on tour and on his records and also recorded three albums on their own. Following the Rumour's disbanding, Belmont played in supporting roles for various artists, playing on records by Carlene Carter, Paul Carrack and John Hiatt, before eventually becoming the guitarist for Nick Lowe's mid-'80s group, the Cowboy Outfit. Once the Cowboy Outfit bit the dust, Belmont continued to support a number of artists, including an appearence on Billy Bragg's 1988 album Worker's Playtime. In the late '80s, he recorded his only solo album, Big Guitar, which was released on the Demon label. During the '90s, Belmont quietly faded from the spotlight and stopped recording.
John Hiatt
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
John Hiatt, throughout a long, distinguished but rarely very publicly successful career, has played with bands including The Four Fifths and White Ducks, and has recorded more than 25 solo albums with musicians including Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner.
His songs have appeared on soundtracks including Dawson's Creek and Raising Helen, and have been covered by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, Iggy Pop, Nick Lowe, the Neville Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Three Dog Night, Dr. Feelgood, Bonnie Raitt, Ronnie Milsap, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, BB King, Eric Clapton, Paula Abdul, and
Mandy Moore
Moore's favourite musicians are Elton John, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Bette Midler.
Elton John
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
Sir Elton Hercules John's list of collaborators over his long and extraordinary careers reads like a who's who of rock, including The Who, John Lennon, Marc Bolan, Tim Rice and the still underrated
Kiki Dee
As well as contributing to the soundtrack of Shaun of the Dead, archetypal Coventry based 2-tone band The Specials (aka The Specials AKA) lent their distinctive sound to the films Grosse Point Blank and The Snatch, as well as to the crazy Irish Catholic comedy series Father Ted.
The theme music to Father Ted, however, was provided by Irish band The Divine Comedy (now there's a happy coincidence of names...) - a band with a famously fluid lineup, the one stable figure in which has been that young veteran singer/songwriter and synthesizer pilot
Neil Hannon