b. 1 November 1936, Bessemer, Alabama, but raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Williams has made his lasting mark in the R&B industry as a recording artist, songwriter, and producer of the first doo-wop vocal groups and then soul acts. He is noted for …

Tokyos Guitar Wolf plays loud fast dirty punk rock The trio -- which consists of guitarist Seiji bassist Billy and drummer Toru -- formed in the late 80s Though the groups first two albums were released only in Japan imports of the records and word o…

Blacktop was the first post-Gories project for Mick Collins While similar to the legendary garage punk three-piece Blacktop is a clear progression in terms of musicianship and songwriting skill for Collins and is also the beginning of his movement to…

Originally founded out of the ashes of another Montreal punk group this band took its name from a Ron Haydock teen pulp novel After releasing some EPs and singles all of which received praise for their incredible energy and live feeling the group rel…

Consisting of three Detroit, Michigan, USA natives - Mick Collins (b. 18 December 1965), Dan Kroha (b. 30 May 1965; guitar) and Margaret Ann "Peg" O'Neill (b. 29 July 1967; drums) - lo-fi garage rock group the Gories formed in 1986, taking their name…

One of the most influential of all Delta bluesmen, Mississippi-born Eddie James "Son" House was a direct inspiration to Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, having shown both of them some of his guitar techniques. His vibrant, aggressive style was captur…

A garage rock revival was in full force during the early twenty-first century, and it is fitting that the Dirtbombs come from a town most associated with the genre, Detroit, Michigan, USA, the same locale that spawned the Stooges, the MC5, and the mo…

Saturday Looks Good to Me began in late 1999 when Fred Thomas of Flashpapr and Lovesick began to assemble a supergroup of musicians from Michigans indie rock scene to create a festive Beach Boys-inspired pop band Inspired by the experimental pop soun…

A self-proclaimed man among men (and deservedly so), singer/guitarist Bo Diddley is still the only musician in history to have a beat named after him. Diddley's raunchy, distorted 1950s sound and African-derived rhythm have been an enormous influence…

Best known for Motown Records and its car manufacturing companies, Detroit, Michigan, USA is also famous for pumping out a vast legion of garage rock outfits over the years. While the Detroit Cobras posses a certain familiarity to their garage rock g…

Howlin' Wolf's menacing, guttural vocals are among the blues' most distinctive sounds. His repertoire, much of which flowed from the pen of Willie Dixon, is equally classic. Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson make up the Holy Trinity of Chi…

Emerging in the early years of the twenty-first century, New York City, New York, USA-based the Mooney Suzuki were one of several acts on the city's underground scene to base their sound on legendary US subversives the MC5. The band formed during the…

The success of acts such as the White Stripes and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion helped open the door for other minimalist, bluesy rockers, such as the Akron, Ohio, USA-based duo, the Black Keys. Unlike the other aforementioned bands, the Black Keys…

Many would agree that without Chuck Berry, there would not have been rock 'n' roll. Berry's 1955 debut single, "Maybellene," was an energetic smash hit, and led to a slew of successful late-'50s songs. Influencing such future big names as the Beatles…

The new millennium saw an underground musical movement erupt from Detroit, Michigan, USA, as bands such as the White Stripes, Bantam Rooster, Soledad Brothers, and the Von Bondies followed in the same high energy, minimalist punk rock direction that …

Tom Waits started out in the early 1970s as a piano-based barroom balladeer with a penchant for beat poetry and West Coast jazz. By the late '80s he had mutated into a brilliantly adventurous artist whose style suggested an amalgam of Howlin' Wolf, K…

From their early days as the house band for Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the Velvet Underground were the antithesis of late-1960s Flower Power optimism. Lou Reed's decadent lyrics and dour vocals proved to be the perfect match for the …

Musically minimalistic and visually outrageous, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were at the center of the revival of post-punk and garage rock that made New York City a rock & roll hotspot again in the early 2000s. After the success of the Strokes, the trio (led…

Bob Dylan began as a Woody Guthrie acolyte, imitating the dust-bowl balladeer as faithfully as a baby boomer from Hibbing, Minnesota, could. It wasn't long before he found his own voice, spearheading the early-1960s folk revival as well as the singer…