Christian Lindberg (born 1958) is one of the best known classical trombonists in the world. At the age of 17 he took up the trombone and within two years, he had a position in the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra. One year later, he became the world's first full-time trombone soloist.
Jack Scott (Giovanni Sacfone Jr) was born January 24, 1936 in Windsor Ontario, Canada, and raised in Detroit, an Italian hillbilly who worshipped Hank Williams, and became a rock and roll star. His first album, entitled Jack Scott. One of the first album recorded in stereo, it contained a mixture of rockabilly and ballads of which 10 were Scott's own compositions. Recording for Carlton he came up with a rocking song about a friend in prison titled Leroy. The other side of the record was a sad ballad called My True Love.
The Seekers were a group of Australian folk-influenced popular musicians which was formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve significant chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States. Their 1960s hits included: "I'll Never Find Another You", "A World of Our Own" , "The Carnival Is Over" (which The Seekers have sung at various closing ceremonies in Australia, including Expo '88 and the Paralympics), "Someday One Day"...
Percy Sledge (born 25 November 1941 in Leighton, Alabama) is a US-American R&B and soul performer. Percy Sledge worked in the fields in Leighton before he worked as an orderly at Colbert County Hospital in Sheffield. By the mid-1960s, Sledge was touring the Southeast with the Esquires Combo on weekends and working at the hospital. A former patient who was a friend of producer Quin Ivy introduced the two, an audition followed, and Sledge was signed to a recording contract.
Lou Donaldson (born 1926) is a jazz alto saxophonist, born in Badin, North Carolina. He is best known for his soulful, bluesy approach to the alto saxophone, although in his formative years he was, as many were of the bebop era, heavily influenced by Charlie Parker's improvisational approach. His first recordings were with bop emissaries Milt Jackson and Thelonious Monk in 1952, and lead several small groups with other jazz luminaries such as trumpeter Blue Mitchell, pianist Horace Silver and the indomitable skinsman, Art Blakey.
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (sometimes transliterated Ashkenazi) (Russian: ????????? ?????????? ?????????) (born July 6, 1937) is a Russian conductor and, more notably, a pianist. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Ashkenazy began his studies at the age of 6 and showing prodigious talent, was accepted at the Central Music School at 8. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, he won second prize in the prestigious International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and shared first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition with English pianist John Ogdon.
Marcella Puppini is Italian, and also speaks English and French. She created The Puppini Sisters together with Kate Mullins, Stephanie O'Brien and a versatile band in 2004. The three women met while studying music at Trinity College London, and have created a unique blend of a capella with superbly blended harmonies, jazz and swing. Their two albums to date ('Betcha Bottom Dollar' and 'The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo') have met with acclaim from fans and critics alike.
Bacharach studied music at McGill University and the Mannes School of Music. In the 1950s and the early 1960s he was the pianist, arranger and bandleader for Marlene Dietrich with whom he toured. He teamed with lyricist Hal David and others to write many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s. Bacharach's music has been sung by a number of popular singers including The Beatles,The Carpenters, Aretha Franklin, Jack Jones, Tom Jones, Dusty Springfield, Luther Vandross and The Drifters. He met Dionne Warwick, with whom he would form a famed collaboration.
Chris Montez (born January 17, 1943) is a Mexican-American singer, best known for enduring 1962 single "Let's Dance", which went to #4 in the United States, and #2 in the UK. Following the death of Ritchie Valens, Montez became one of the leading rockers of the Hispanic community of Los Angeles, California. Born Ezekiel Christopher Montanez in Los Angeles, California, Montez was brought up in Hawthorne, California.
Career
The founding members of the group were Conleth (Con) Cluskey (born 18 November 1941), Declan (Dec) Cluskey (born 23 December 1942), and John Stokes (Sean James Stokes) (born 13 August 1940). In 1957 they formed their first band together, "The Harmonichords" (also seen as "The Harmony Chords"), a classically styled instrumental harmonica-act. As The Harmonichords, they appeared on Hughie Green's 'Opportunity Knocks' on Radio Luxembourg[1] and on the 'Ed Sullivan' TV Show St. Patrick's Day Special (filmed in Dublin, broadcast 15 March 1959), where they played "Danny Boy.