A tribute to Michael Jackson

I have always thought Michael Jackson was a musical genius. He had lots of influence on many musical artists through out the years.
My personal favorite of Michael Jackson's songs is "Billie Jean". Tried to "moonwalk" a couple of times and made a fool of myself!
I also like Smooth Criminal and Dirty Diana.

Her are his # 1 hits:
1979 - "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (One week at #1)
1979 - "Rock With You" (Four weeks at #1)
1983 - "Billie Jean" (Seven weeks at #1)
1983 - "Beat It!" (Three weeks at #1)
1983 - "Say Say Say" with Paul McCartney (Six weeks at #1)
1987 - "Bad" (Two weeks at #1)
1987 - "The Way You Make Me Feel" (One week at #1)
1988 - "Man In the Mirror" (Two weeks at #1)
1991 - "Black Or White" (Seven weeks at #1)
1995 - "You Are Not Alone" (One week at #1)

To follow the success of Off the Wall, Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones headed into the studio with a $750,000 budget. They came out with Michael Jackson's first #1 album and what became ultimately the bestelling album of all time. Thriller spent 37 weeks at the top of the US album chart and generated an unheard of seven top 10 pop singles. It remains a true landmark in pop music history!

Quotes of famous people about Michael Jackson:
“Oh, God! That boy moves in a very exceptional way. That’s the greatest dancer of the century”. - Fred Astaire
“I didn’t want to leave this world without knowing who my descendant was. Thank you Michael!”- Fred Astaire (shortly before his death)
“The only male singer who I’ve seen besides myself and who’s better than me – that is Michael Jackson.” – Frank Sinatra

One of the best Motown groups of all time!

Other members have included: Marv Tarplin: guitar; Billy Griffin: lead vocals; Donald Griffin: guitar. The lead singer's Detroit neighborhood was home to Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and members of the Temptations and the Four Tops. The group leader was ashamed of his high singing voice until he heard the Drifters' Clyde McPhatter. Bob Dylan once praised him as "America's greatest living poet".
Here they are!

One of the best Motown groups of all time

This group formed in Detroit in 1958. The group's lead singer defined romantic soul, both when a group member and in his outstanding solo career. He is one of pop's greatest living songwriters. His falsetto is the finest in rock history. An amateur doo-wopper and devotee of Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson, the lead singer formed his first vocal group at Detroit's Northern high school. He convinced Berry Gordy to form his first label in 1960 (Tamla, not Motown), and the group was Gordy's first signing. The group had 6 top R&B hits and 8 top 10 hits.

New York's "Barge" group

In 1965, this group was discovered by Sid Bernstein, the legendary promoter who had brought the Beatles to America. With their effortless interplay, songwriting skills, and schoolboy outfits - ruffled shirts and knickers, a gimmick thought up by one of the members - they were soon on the charts, although their first smash hit wasn't an original, having already been a R&B hit for the Olympics.
Awards/Honors include: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1997) GRAMMY Hall of Fame (1999). The had 3 # 1 hits and also 3 Top Ten hits. Let's see who remembers this wonderful group. Click here

A New York group makes it Big!

This group from New York was into Pop-soul, Rock and Roll, Pop, Soul, R&B, Jazz-pop, and Psychedelic music at the time. The most consistent hitmakers in what came to be known as "blue-eyed soul". One of the most artistically important American bands in a time dominated by English rock acts. Perhaps the greatest "bar band" to come out of 1960's New York. Able to seamlessly integrate jazz into their pop-soul sound, unlike many white acts. Most of the members got their start in another famous group -- Joey Dee and the Starliters, who scored big in 1962 with "Peppermint Twist." Soon, they were New York's best bar band, roaring through R&B classics at a nightclub called The Barge (which was, indeed, on a barge). They have three # 1 hits and three top 10 hits. I was stationed in Honolulu when this band was very popular. They seemed to me to be the biggest music attraction ever to come to Hawaii.

Most successful folk-rock band of the 60's revealed

The group's founder had been active in the New York music scene since 1957, singing doo-wop, rock, and folk, when he met Holly, an aspiring actress and model, at the Greenwich Village's legendary folk hangout the hungry i. A member of the Mugwumps (which included future members of the Lovin' Spoonful) soon joined and suggested local jazz/folk singer, also from his band.
I happened to be in the Air Force at the time that one of their top 10 hits came out. Stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA, it was very cold the first time their song played on the radio. I was only in the Air Force for 5 months at the time and, hearing this great song, I immediately became homesick. Here is the profile of this fabulous group. Just Click here

Most successful folk-rock band of the 60's

Arguably the most successful of the Sixties' folk-rock bands. Helped put California on the musical map with their sunny pop arrangements while embodying the Sixties West Coast dream. The leader singer is considered one of the era's great songwriters The group's peerless harmonies were the envy of many pop groups of the time. One of the female members of this group remains a crucial feminine icon of the era, and is considered one of pop's great divas.
After a side trip to the Virgin Islands, the four went to Los Angeles, where record producer Lou Adler was instantly taken by the foursome's magic harmonies and original songwriting.
They had 1 # 1 hit and 5 top 10 hits.

The group with the great Falsetto voice

The group had been performing in vocal groups for years before stardom arrived - they even had some limited national success in the 1950's. The group, as we know them, however, date back to 1961, when they changed their name, dropped the lounge-pop they had been doing, and aimed straight for the teen rock market with Philadelphia producer Bob Crewe. The change worked - the song became a # 1 hit in 1962. They went on to have 5 # 1 hits and 10 top 10 hits! Here is the profile of this fabulous group. Just Click here

Rivaled the Beach Boys and The Beatles

This group, formed in New Jersey in 1961, featured the glorious three-octave vocal range and amazing falsetto of the lead singer. They wrote and arranged their own hits, which was rare for a vocal group at that time. They also crafted heartbreaking, highly dramatic tales of teen romance. The group rivaled only the Beach Boys and the Beatles for popularity in the early Sixties. This was quite a feat! First white act signed to Vee-Jay Records. Met Elvis Presley while appearing as their former-named group on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The two young men first became friends on the football team at Los Angeles University High. It wasn't until 1963, with the release of the Four Seasons-inspired "Linda," that the duo's sound began to take shape. After meeting the Beach Boys on the L.A. scene, one of the members befriended leader Brian Wilson, and the two began work on what would become one of the popular surf songs of the 60's. They had one #1 hit and four top ten hits. Now you can find out who they are. The Famous Duo!

Famous Duo helped develop "Hot Rod" music

Along with the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, one member helped develop the sound of vocal "surf" and "hot rod" music. He was a major influence on Wilson's production. Bridged the vocal era of doo-wop and the Southern California sound. Employed the famous "Wrecking Crew" of L.A. session musicians. One of the first rock groups to incorporate classical arrangements. The other member became one of rock's great graphic artists. Recorded a full-length album parody of the "Batman" craze in 1966. In addition to designing many album covers in the Seventies, one member co-created the logo for the band Chicago.

1st Girl Group profile

A young Dionne Warwick got her start filling in for an absent member while on the road . Etta James and Ruth Brown chaperoned the teenage members on their first tour. The group passed on both "The Shoop Shoop Song" and "He's a Rebel." Recorded several songs for the soundtrack of the 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The group originally refused to sing "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," feeling it was too pop for their audience. Finally time to reveal this famous group's profile. Here they are!

The First Girl Group Featured

The first “girl group” to receive wide acclaim, including the first to go to Number One. The first girl group to sell a million records. Among the first female performers to write their own material. A lasting influence on the British Invasion, especially the Beatles
This very talented girl group is rare in rock history in that their spawning ground was also their ticket to fame—specifically, Passaic High School in Passaic, NJ, where the four teenage girls met and formed a vocal group. Originally known as the Poquellos (Spanish for “little birds”), they auditioned for a school talent show with a song they’d written, and won!
Honors & Awards include:
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1996)
Grammy Hall of Fame (1999)
Vocal Hall of Fame (2002)

One of Motown's favorites of all time!

He added an "e" to his last name (a tribute to idol Sam Cooke, who had done the same thing. He crafted a sexy image that established him as Motown's leading man, which garnered him a number of solo hits and duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, and Tammi Terrell. He also considered himself a pop-vocal balladeer at heart.
He had more creative control in the early Seventies, resulting in the dual masterpieces. He spent most of the late Seventies battling his wife in divorce court and nurturing a cocaine habit, but he returned to the charts in 1983. This Motown marvel was one of the greatest of all time! Here he is!

Motown Marvel

One of Motown's most talented artists. Brought jazz elements into soul. Created several of the most romantic records ever made. Helped bring a social consciousness to R&B. Perfected the art of the duet. Utilized several unique production elements in his music. Was the son of a preacher. Had 15 Top 10 Hits. Awards/Honors include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), Grammy Awards (1982) and Grammy Hall of Fame (1999).

The Featured Group is from Portland, Oregon

Although a big fan of both Spike Jones and Jerry Lee Lewis, the young leader was a 19-year-old who made most of his money with the barber shop and drive-in he owned in his hometown of Caldwell, Idaho. He formed an instrumental rock band called the Downbeats. The two founding fathers of this group struck up a fast friendship. By the early Sixties the newly-rechristened band had scored a few hits in Boise. Click here

Pacific Northwest group makes it big!

Our featured band was instrumental in helping popularize the Pacific Northwest garage rock scene of the mid-Sixties, styled as America's answer to the British Invasion. The most consistently popular garage-rock band of the decade. Notable for a hilarious and convoluted stage show unlike anything else at the time. A major influence on mod British bands of the era and their later punk brethren. The first rock band to be given a weekly gig as a "house band" on a major television series (Dick Clark's Where The Action Is, 1965-1967 and also Happening '68, both on ABC).

The 1st British Invasion group to be featured

This band of Brits represented the second wave of the Invasion that swept rock in the mid-Sixties. But by that time, they'd already knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts in their home country, and for a while, they were considered the Fab Four's chief Anglo rivals. Were they peers or opportunists? And do they finally deserve induction into the Rock Hall of Fame? Decide for yourself! Click here

1st British Invasion Featured Group

Led the second wave of the Sixties' "British Invasion," after the Beatles. The first British rock band to tour the U.S. Cultivated a "cleaner" image than even the Beatles had, yet created an arguably harder sound. One of the first UK bands to base their sound around drums as opposed to guitar, and to write its own material. Appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show more often than any other band. One of the first and most successful bands to cross over into movies. Band had only 1 number 1 hit, but had 7 Top 10 hits. Band was formed in 1961 (Tottenham, London, England).

Featured group from Hawthorne, CA

This group was formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. Three brothers, a cousin and a classmate were a major influence in the 60's. Brought the surf craze into the national consciousness. The result was one of the few American acts who could hold their own, creatively and commercially, with the rising British Invasion. Here is the groups profile Click here

Featured Group

The band's leader production techniques proved revolutionary and brilliant. This group helped advance and personalize rock and roll songwriting, created two of the biggest landmarks in pop history, helped influence their peers in the Sixties pop scene tremendously and introduced harmonies which were a major influence on pop and rock. One of the early names of the band was Kenny and the Cadets. The group had 4 number 1 hits and 13 top 10 albums. Some of their songs have been covered by David Lee Roth, Art Garfunkel, The Everly Brothers, Neil Diamond, David Bowie, Andy Williams and The Cowsills.