ELVIS
ORIGINAL ROCK AND ROLLER - JERRY LEE LEWIS
ORIGINAL ROCK AND ROLLER
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Jackie Wilson
Jackie “Mr Excitement” Wilson was born in Detroit, Michigan. He would go on to be one of the most dynamic performers in R&B and Rock-n-Roll history. Few would match his vocal range. Many critics feel he was an underachiever in the studio, never reaching the massive cross-over hits of the competitive Motown label artists.
However, Wilson had a lot of passion on stage, hence why he got the nickname “Mr Excitement”. His stage style would later inspire the moves of such greats like Elvis and Michael Jackson.
He started out as a member of the vocal group, The Dominoes, but went solo in 1957. Songwriters, Berry Gordy Jr and Roguel Davis would write many hits for Wilson, including “To Be Loved”, “That’s Why” and “Lonely Teardrops”. The latter would eventually hit #7 on the US pop charts and establish him as a superstar in the R&B genre. Gordy would go on to form Motown Records after he stopped writing for Wilson.
In 1958 and under new management, Wilson was pushed to attack the rock-n-roll charts. He had his first hits in the 60s with “Doggin’ Around”, “Baby Workout”, “Alone At Last” and “My Empty Arms”. Between 1964 and 1966, Wilson’s career fizzled out until he released “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” which was a #6 smash in 1967. His final hit was in 1972.
Wilson suffered a severe heart attack while on stage. He fell head-first while singing his hit “Lonely Teardrops” and went into a coma that lasted over 8 years until he finally died at the age of 49. Since his death, he has been covered by a veritable cornucopia of artists including Dexys Midnight Runners and The Commodores.
When Michael Jackson tributed his 1984 Grammy for Thriller to Wilson, an interest resurged in the soul great’s catalogue of music. His first single, “Reet Petite” was re-released and went straight to #1 in the UK charts. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Juanita Appleby
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly(Charles Hardin Holley) born September 7th 1936, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of Rock ’n’ Roll. His music has inspired and influenced bands and musicians including: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Holly was also ranked No. 13 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 50 greatest artists of all time.
Born in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy, as he was always known to his family, learned to play piano, guitar and fiddle as a young boy. At Junior High School, he met and started the duo ‘Buddy and Bob’ with his friend Bob Montgomery performing harmonies at talent shows and in local clubs, taking their influences from bluegrass music. However, after seeing Elvis perform in his hometown, he soon made the transition to rock music. Buddy’s big break came in 1956 when he was spotted by a Nashville talent scout. Soon after he was signed to Decca Records, however, he would release only two singles with the label: “Blue Days Black Nights” and “Modern Don Juan” unfortunately, neither had much success and his contract was not renewed.
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Holly formed his own band of musicians known as The Crickets with Jerry "J.I." Allison on drums, Joe B. Mauldin on bass and Niki Sullivan on rhythm guitar. Norman Petty was hired to manage the group and they were soon signed to Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca Records. However, due to the terms of Holly’s contract with Decca, their next hit “That’ll be the Day” had to credited to The Crickets. Other hits including “Peggy Sue” and “Oh Boy” followed soon after. In 1958, after touring Australia and the UK the group finally split.
Buddy Holly continued to perform as a solo artist and after a performance in Iowa on February 2nd, 1959 he chartered a plane to take him and his backing musicians to the next stop on the tour. Tragically, the plane crashed minutes after take off and all passengers on board were killed.
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