Musician Tribute

Joe Strummer (1952-2002) Joe was an English musician, singer, actor and songwriter who was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the Clash, a punk rock band formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Strummer's musical experience included stints with the 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, the Mescaleros, and the Pogues, in addition to his own solo music career. His work as a musician allowed him to explore other interests, including acting, creating film scores for television and movies, songwriting, radio broadcasting, and a position as a radio host on a BBC show titled "London Calling". Accomplishments:  Their second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) reached number 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with London Calling (1979), and peaking with 1982's Combat Rock, reaching number 7 on the US charts and being certified 2× platinum there. The Clash's explosive po...

Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) Freddie was a British singer, songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "We Are the Champions". He led a solo career while performing with Queen, and occasionally served as a producer and guest musician for other artists. Mercury was born of Parsi descent on Zanzibar and grew up there and in India before moving with his family to Middlesex, England, in his teens. He formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Accomplishments:  In 1992, Mercury was posthumously awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and a tribute concert was held at Wembl...

Tupac Shakur (1971-1996) Tupac was an American rapper and actor. He is considered by many as one of the best rappers of all time. Shakur was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, but relocated to Los Angeles in 1988. When he released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop, introducing social issues in the genre at a time when gangsta rap was dominant in the mainstream.Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me Against the World (1995). Accomplishments:  In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Shakur as the "Number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers. In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang. A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans. Edi...

George Harrison (1943-2001) George Harrison was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work.[2] Although the majority of the band's songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, most Beatles albums from 1965 onwards contained at least two Harrison compositions. His songs for the group included "Taxman", "Within You Without You", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something", the last of which became the Beatles' second-most covered song. Accomplishments:  In June 1965, Harrison and the other Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). They re...

Jim Morrison (1943-1971) Jim Morrison was an American singer-songwriter and poet, best remembered as the lead vocalist of the Doors. Due to his poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, wild personality, performances, and the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock music history. Morrison co-founded the Doors during the summer of 1965 in Venice, California. The band spent two years in obscurity until shooting to prominence with their #1 single in the United States, "Light My Fire", taken from their self-titled debut album. Morrison recorded a total of six studio albums with the Doors, all of which sold well and received critical acclaim. Accomplishments:  The Doors achieved national recognition after signing with Elektra Records in 1967. The single "Light My Fire" spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July...

Buddy Holly (1936-1959) Buddy Holly was an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His style was influenced by gospel music, country music, and rhythm and blues acts, and he performed in Lubbock with his friends from high school. He made his first appearance on local television in 1952, and the following year he formed the group "Buddy and Bob" with his friend Bob Montgomery. In 1955, after opening for Elvis Presley, he decided to pursue a career in music. He opened for Presley three times that year; his band's style shifted from country and western to entirely rock and roll. In October that year, when he opened for Bill Haley & His Comets, he was spotted by Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, who helped him get a contract with Decca Record...

Janis Joplin (1943-1970) Janis, nicknamed "Pearl", was an American rock, soul and blues singer and songwriter, and one of the most successful and widely-known female rock stars of her era. In 1967, Joplin rose to fame during an appearance at Monterey Pop Festival, where she was the lead singer of the then little-known San Francisco psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. After releasing two albums with the band, she left Big Brother to continue as a solo artist with her own backing groups, first the Kozmic Blues Band and then the Full Tilt Boogie Band. She appeared at the Woodstock festival and the Festival Express train tour. Accomplishments:  Joplin, a mezzo-soprano highly respected for her charismatic performing ability, was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Audiences and critics alike referred to her stage presence as "electric". Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its 2004 list of the ...

Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) Born in Aberdeen, Washington, Cobain formed the band Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard in 1987 and established it as part of the Seattle music scene which later became known as grunge. Nirvana's debut album Bleach was released on the independent record label Sub Pop in 1989. After signing with major label DGC Records, Nirvana found success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their second album Nevermind (1991). Nevermind was in part responsible for bringing both alternative rock and grunge to a mainstream audience. It has been ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Time. Following the success of Nevermind, Nirvana was labeled "the flagship band" of Generation X and Cobain was hailed as "the spokesman of a generation." Cobain resented this, believing his message and artistic vision had been misinterpreted by the public, with his personal probl...