Happy Birthday STEVIE WONDER (video)

#steviewonder #rockfile

Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950, as Stevland Hardaway Judkins), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he became one of the most creative and loved musical performers of the late 20th century. Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11 and has continued to perform and record for Motown as of the early 2010s. He has been blind since shortly after birth.

Among Wonder's works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You"; and albums such as Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 25 Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist, and has sold over 100 million albums and singles, making him one of the top 60 best-selling music artists. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2013, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the U.S. singles chart's 55th anniversary, with Wonder at number six.

source: wikipedia

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Happy Birthday IAN MCCULLOCH (video)

#ianmcculloch #echoandthebunnymen #rockfile

Ian Stephen McCulloch (born 5 May 1959) is an English musician and singer-songwriter, born in Liverpool and best known as the frontman for the rock group Echo & the Bunnymen.

In October 1978 McCulloch founded Echo & the Bunnymen with Will Sergeant (guitar), Les Pattinson (bass), and a drum machine (allegedly named Echo), making their live début at Eric's in November that year. In October 1979 the Bunnymen exchanged the drum machine for Pete de Freitas on drums. With their line up solidified, the Bunnymen played in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating with the release of Ocean Rain in 1984. Shortly before the album was released, McCulloch described "Ocean Rain" as "the greatest album ever made". McCulloch later said: "When I sing 'The Killing Moon' I know there isn't a band in the world who's got a song anywhere near that."

In 1988, McCulloch left the group to pursue a solo career under the impression the Bunnymen would be laid to rest, if only temporarily. When the remaining Bunnymen continued using the name with new singer Noel Burke, the split became permanent with McCulloch referring to the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen".

In 1997, Echo & the Bunnymen reformed and released the album Evergreen to positive reviews and chart success. Evergreen made the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart and the single Nothing Lasts Forever reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The reformed Bunnymen have since released four further albums, the most recent being The Fountain which was released in late 2009.

source: wikipedia

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Remembering J.R.R. TOLKIEN on his birthday (links)

 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

One of the most influential writers ever, I still have my complete Lord Of The Rings/Hobbit book set from 35+ years ago.  Do yourself a favor and read about this fascinating man: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien

source: wikipedia

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My Favorite Albums of 2016 (video)

#rockfile

Since the mid 80's, I've had to listen to and evaluate music for a living. Through this process and my constant search for new music to satisfy my personal cravings, I hear most rock, prog and metal releases every year. Some instantly get mentally marked for airplay, others go into my personal files for later listening. Much like radio charts, these are not just based on opinion but are what I actually listened to in my spare time during the past year.

Here are my favorite albums released in 2016:

Haken - Affinity
Headspace - All That You Fear Is Gone
Steven Wilson - 4 1/2
Gemini Syndrome - Memento Mori
Fates Warning - Theories Of flight
DGM - The Passage
Kansas - The Prelude Implicit
Karmakanic - DOT
Big Big Train - Folklore
Frost* - Falling Satellites
Opeth - Sorceress
The Mute Gods - Do Nothing till You Hear From Me
Metallica - Hardwired... To Self-Destruct
Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage
The Devin Townsend Project - Transcendence
Highly Suspect - The Boy Who Died Wolf
Kyng - Breathe In The Water
Lucid Fly - Building Castles In Air
Katatonia - The Fall Of Hearts
Evergrey - The Storm Within
RavenEye - Nova
Circa - Valley Of The Windmill
Twelve Foot Ninja - Outlier
Cosmograf - The Unreasonable Silence
The Winery Dogs - Hot Streak
The Reticent - On The Eve Of Goodbye
Korn - The Serenity Of Suffering
Dream Theater - The Astonishing
Tiles - Pretending 2 Run
Red Eleven - Collect Your Scars

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Happy Birthday JOE JACKSON (video)

#joejackson #rockfile 

David Ian "Joe" Jackson (born 11 August 1954) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. After years of studying music and playing clubs, Jackson's first release, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" became a hit in 1979. This was followed by a number of new wave singles before he moved to more jazz-inflected pop music and had a Top 10 hit in 1982 with "Steppin' Out". He has also composed classical music. He has recorded 19 studio albums and won 5 Grammy Award nominations throughout the course of his career.

source: wikipedia

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