In late 1981, Tesla was formed by bassist Brian Wheat and guitarist Frank Hannon By 1984, vocalist Jeff Keith and drummer Troy Luccketta had jumped on board. Over the next decade, they established themselves as the “thinking man’s hair metal band,” a welcome (if underappreciated) antidote to overblown posturing of the genre’s biggest bands In…
The Killers are a rock band formed in 2001 in Las Vegas. The founding members of the band are Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning. While Flowers is the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and bassist, Keuning plays the lead guitar and provides backing vocals. A year after the band was formed, Mark Stoermer joined the band as…
Before becoming a household name in the 1960s and ’70s, Carla Thomas made records for her dad. During his tenure as A&R man at Stax Records, Rufus Thomas gave his little girl an outlet to sing and record with the Teen Town Singers in 1952 – at the age of 10. By 1962 she’d earned…
Breaking Benjamin is a notable rock band of the 2000s. It is centered on its lead singer Benjamin Burnley, who inspired its name because he once broke a borrowed microphone. Breaking Benjamin has undergone some significant changes over the course of its existence. For example, the one that is famous isn’t the first band to…
Billie Holiday was a singer known for performing jazz and swing music. She was born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia in 1915 and earned the nickname ‘Lady Day.’ The singer began her career in 1930, and she became an innovative influence on jazz and pop music genres. Holiday was also known for both her improvisational musical…
Not every album Celine Dion has made has been greeted warmly by the critics. In fact, most have received mixed reviews. It hasn’t stopped her from selling them by the boatload though. After releasing several French-language albums in her native Canada, she released her English-speaking debut, Unison, in 1990. It sent her career stratospheric, and…
Few bands can compete with Earth, Wind & Fire’s longevity. Fewer still can compete with their success. Since releasing their self-titled debut in 1971, they’ve released 21 studio albums, almost all of which have been critically acclaimed, and sold over 90 million records to become of the best-selling bands in the world. Widely regarded as…
In 1997, when Sugar Ray released the pop-influenced single, “Fly,” they were destined to be one of the best pop-rock acts of their time. However, their decline was quick and happened all at once, and by the early 2000s, the band could barely sell a thousand albums. The band, which featured members who grew together…
In 1991, vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas came together to form Incubus. Bassist Alex “Dirk Lance” Katunich and Gavin “DJ Lyfe” Koppell joined later, only to be replaced by Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore. After their first two albums failed to make much of an impression, they hit pay…