Jacques Brel (April 8, 1929, Scharbeck, Belgium – October 9, 1978, France) was a Belgian French-speaking poet, bard, actor and director. Jacques was more of a fine artist than songwriter. His compositions are full of passion, action and location.
At school he did not study brilliantly, but from an early age took part in amateur theater performances. His father forced Jacques to join the family business.
In 1951, Brel married Teresa Michilsen, in the same year they had a daughter.
In his early twenties he relocated to Paris.
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Billy Preston (September 2, 1946, Houston – June 6, 2006, Scottsdale) was an American keyboardist. During his musical career, he worked with such performers as Mahalia Jackson, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Sam Cook, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin and Elton John. His career embraced soul, R & B, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll.
William Everett Preston was a child prodigy. Since early childhood he had been playing the piano on his mother’s knee. At the age of ten he performed for gospel giants Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland.
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Jani Lane was an accomplished pianist, guitarist and drummer. He was a songwriter, frontman and leader of the American glam metal group Warrant. The band was popular in the late 80s and until the mid-90.
John Kennedy Oswald (his real name) was born on February 1, 1964 in Akron, Ohio. He was one of a huge family of talented musicians. By the age of 11 he was playing the clubs. After graduating from Field High School, Lane joined the Cyren group as a drummer. In 1983 he moved to Florida and founded the group Dorian Gray. In Dorian Gray, he played drums until the formation of the Plain Jane group with a future Warrant colleague Steven Sweet. It was at this time that Lane took the stage name Jani Lane.
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Alex Harvey was a Scottish rock musician, songwriter and vocalist, best known as the frontman of Sensational Alex Harvey Band.
Alex Harvey was born in Glasgow on 5 February 1935. At the age of fifteen, he left school and then (as he later claimed) tried his hand at 36 different professions (including a lion tamer). In 1954, Harvey made his debut on the professional stage, playing a trumpet at a wedding in Glasgow.
Harvey’s musical roots were in Dixieland jazz and skiffle, and he fronted a soul band during the early sixties. In 1957 Alex was a winner of a Scottish newspaper talent contest and received title Tommy Steel of Scotland.
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Mia Zapata was an American rock singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, soloist of the group The Gits (1986-1993).
Mia Katherine Zapata was born on August 25, 1965 in Louisville, Kentucky.
At the age of 9, the girl learned to play the guitar and piano. She was influenced by such artists as Bessie Smith, Billy Holiday, Jimmy Reed, Ray Charles, Hank Williams and Sam Cook. In 1984, Mia entered the college located in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1986 at college she and her three friends (Joe Spleen, Matt Dresdner and Steve Moriarty) formed the band The Gits.
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Harry Chapin was a famous American musician, poet and composer. He became the author of several songs, which later turned out to be world hits.
Harry Chapin was born on December 7, 1942 in Greenwich Village, New York. He was the son of Jim Chapin, a noted jazz drummer who headed his own sextet. Jim also had been a regular player alongside Woody Herman and Tommy Dorsey during the forties. When his family moved to Brooklyn Heights Harry sang with a local boys’ choir. Harry with two more musical brothers in the family put together an onoff group. In 1966 they recorded an album, Chapin Music.
After graduating from the Brooklyn Technical School, Chapin was drafted into the army. For some time he was a cadet at the US Air Force Academy.
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Barry White was an American rhythm and blues singer. The peak of his popularity was in the middle of 70s. During White’s career in the music business, 106 of his albums became gold, 41 of them received platinum status. 20 singles became gold, 10 – platinum, their sales exceeded 100 million copies. He is one of the best-selling performers of all time. Barry was a winner of two Grammy Awards. His music was influenced by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley.
Barry Eugene Carter (his real name) was born on September 12, 1944 in Galveston. The adult life of White began in a very original way: at the age of 15 he was sentenced to prison for 4 months for stealing Cadillac tires. At the same time, Barry early began to show interest in music. He learned to play the piano, and also sang in a children’s church choir (the usual beginning of a career for most American soul and jazz performers). At school, he formed a group called The Upfronts. Their first release was a song called Little Girl in 1960, released immediately after White’s return from prison.
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