In the spotlight since the age of four, Michael Jackson rose to fame as the lead vocalist for the Jackson Five. In the late 1970s, Jackson embarked on a solo career as a young adult with the Quincy Jones-produced OFF THE WALL. With one hit album unde…

From his beginnings as a sensitive singer and pianist through his ascent to superstardom, Elton John has enjoyed one of the longest and most successful careers in rock & roll. With his outrageous costumes and campy theatricality, the man formerly kno…

When one thinks of the archetypal power-ballad powerhouse Journey, it's hard not to automatically picture an arena full of fans hoisting cigarette lighters. While singer Steve Perry's voice was custom-made for Journey's heartbreaking love songs, guit…

This sophisticated melodic US rock band was put together by guitarists Jim Peterik (formerly of the Ides Of March) and Frankie Sullivan in 1978. Recruiting vocalist Dave Bickler, they recorded their self-titled debut as a three-piece. This featured a…

Part Jerry Lee Lewis, part George Gershwin, piano man Billy Joel combines Tin Pan Alley craftsmanship, rock-&-roll fervor, and a keen sense of vintage melodic balladry. He emerged in the 1970s as the definitive singer-songwriter for those who wanted …

Phil Collins's frontman talents lay dormant for many years when he was the drummer for prog-rockers Genesis, taking a back seat to Peter Gabriel. When Gabriel quit in 1975, Collins stepped out from behind the drums and made Genesis a hit-making machi…

Queen embodied 1970s glam rock--mixing heavy riffs and intricate vocal harmonies with a gender-bending image. Freddie Mercury's operatic voice and Brian May's guitar were multi-tracked ad infinitum to create pomp-rock in the grandest sense. In the '8…

With his distinctive vocals and award winning songwriting skills, Canadian musician Bryan Adams name remains one of the most recognized of our time.

Cyndi Lauper started her recording career in 1980 as the singer for retro-'50s group Blue Angel. In 1983, her first solo album SHE'S SO UNUSUAL made the big-voiced New Yorker a superstar. Her impressive pipes and colorful image should have shot her i…

In the early 1980s, aspiring New Jersey musician John Bongiovi assembled a rock band, secured a record deal, and changed his name to Jon Bon Jovi. By 1986, Bon Jovi's brand of melodic hard rock was a runaway hit, with the band's third album, SLIPPERY…

After leading the group Zoot, Australian pop-rocker Rick Springfield started a solo career in the early 1970s. But because of label troubles, he forsook music for acting. His visibility as a regular on the popular soap opera GENERAL HOSPITAL enabled …

The word "genius" may be used a little too freely when describing pop musicians, but many would have to agree that Prince is deserving of such an accolade. Since his 1978 debut album, the Minneapolis-based multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/singer has …

Bruce Springsteen came out of New Jersey in the early 1970s sounding like a cross between Bob Dylan and early Tom Waits, backed by the rambunctious E Street Band. After toughening up his sound, Springsteen created his 1975 masterpiece, BORN TO RUN, w…

At the dawn of the 1980s, Duran Duran was part of Britain's "futurist" or "new romantic" scene, which merged glam-rock attitude with disco beats and synthesizers to form an intensely fashion-conscious variant on new wave. With their good looks and po…

The siren-voiced Pat Benatar leapt onto the music scene in the late '70s, when hard rock was still pretty much a boys' club. She made a strong impression. On in-your-face hits like "Heartbreaker" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," Benatar issued chall…

Generally acknowledged as the most commercially successful English pop group of the 80s, the Wham! duo first performed together in ska-influenced school band, the Executive. George Michael (b. Georgios (Yorgos) Kyriacos Panayiotou, 25 June 1963, Finc…

Inspired by great 1960s West Coast bands like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield, the Bangles brought a jangly Rickenbacker folk-rock flavor to '80s rock. The L.A.-based band had its own top-notch songwriters in Susanna Hoffs and Debbi Peterson, but m…

U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

Van Halen rode the crest of 1970s riff-rock into 1980s abandon. Always able to produce a smile and a killer hook, their songs captured a West Coast attitude that combined Eddie Van Halen's guitar gymnastics and the high-energy antics of vocalist Davi…

Throughout the 1970s, the Eagles couldn't lose. Each record was bigger than the last; each single seemed to play all summer long. At the forefront of the country-rock movement, the Eagles also typified so-called soft-rock and album rock. Their master…