Norman Blake (born 20 October 1965, Bellshill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a singer-songwriter in the Glasgow based band, Teenage Fanclub.

Blake and Sean Dickson(The Soup Dragons) were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few. Blake and Carson were also in another Bellshill band Finding Faust which also had Paul Quinn and John & Bobby Nailen.

Blake was a member of the Glasgow group, The Pretty Flowers, with school friend Duglas T. Stewart, Frances McKee and Sean Dickson. After the group split Blake formed the Boy Hairdressers in 1986, the original lineup being really just Blake assisted by Dickson and Stewart. Later Blake was joined by Joe McAlinden, Jim Lambie and three future members of Teenage Fanclub Raymond McGinley, Francis MacDonald and Paul Quinn (after MacDonald’s departure). The group recorded one EP for 53rd and 3rd Records featuring three of Blake’s compositions.

In 1986 Blake also joined BMX Bandits, originally on drums and later moving to guitar. Blake became a key song writer for the Bandits co-authoring some of their best loved material including “Disco Girl”, “Serious Drugs” and “Right Across the Street”. Blake also joined Glasgow garage group The Clouds for a short stay, playing all the guitars on their only single. In 1989 Blake formed Teenage Fanclub with McGinley, later enlisting Francis MacDonald and Gerard Love to record their debut A Catholic Education. When MacDonald left to concentrate on university studies then BMX Bandits, Brendan O’Hare stepped in. The album was primarily composed by Blake and included the anthemic “Everything Flows” (later covered by acts including Velvet Crush, Dinosaur Jr, Idlewild and Gallygows. The album was recorded in Glasgow back to back with the debut album of Blake’s other group at that time, BMX Bandits, the ironically titled C86, which Blake also wrote much of the material for.

Blake officially left the Bandits in 1991 after their Star Wars album but continues to be an occasional contributor to their records. Blake has found international fame and acclaim with Teenage Fanclub for his songwriting talents and vocal abilities in both lead and harmony roles. Blake’s songs are melodic and despite their rock roots betray Blake’s Celtic roots, and an appreciation and understanding of many musical genres. His best loved songs for Teenage Fanclub include “Alcoholiday”, “Did I Say” and “Neil Jung”.

Thomas Jack Black Jr. (born August 28, 1969) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor, comedian and musician.

With his friend Kyle Gass, Black makes up one half of the comedy and rock music duo Tenacious D. The group has a large cult following along with 2 albums and a full-length movie. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He is a member of the Frat Pack, a group of comedians who have appeared together in several Hollywood films, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe award.

Black is the lead singer for the rock comedy band Tenacious D. They have released two albums, a self-titled debut, and the follow up, The Pick of Destiny (from which their song “The Metal” went on to be used in music video game guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock). The latter coincides with the movie Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny. The film, directed by Tenacious D veteran Liam Lynch, features recurring characters such as Lee the superfan and Sasquatch. Tim Robbins cameos (both Black and Gass appeared in Robbins’ 1999 film Cradle Will Rock), as does Dave Grohl as Satan. Ben Stiller also makes an appearance as a worker at guitar Center, and also another appearance in the music video for Tribute.

Tenacious D recently helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation[9] to raise awareness and funds in San Diego on June 16, 2007. Tenacious D can also be seen performing in the Pauly Shore film Bio-Dome, where the duo are performing at a “Save the Environment” party. Black was also a guest star on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show entitled “Ellen the Musical”, alongside Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth and teenage singer-actress Olivia Olson. On the show, besides singing, he discussed his then-upcoming film Nacho Libre with the host.

Black has also appeared on Dave Grohl’s Probot album, providing vocals for the hidden song “I Am The Warlock”, and Lynch’s Fake Songs album, providing vocals for the song “Rock and Roll Whore”. Black performed a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” in the last sequence of High Fidelity. He lent his musical abilities to the Queens of the Stone Age song “Burn the Witch” with rhythmic stomps and claps, some performed with his eyes closed.

Black has appeared in music videos by Beck, “Sexx Laws”; Foo Fighters “Learn To Fly”, “Low”, and “The One”; The Eagles of Death Metal, “I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)”; Sum 41 “Things I Want”; and Weezer “Photograph.”

Clint Patrick Black (born February 4, 1962) is a Grammy Award-winning American country music singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Signed to RCA Records in 1989, Black made his debut with his Killin’ Time album, which produced four straight Number One singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts.

Although his momentum gradually slowed throughout the 1990s, Black consistently charted hit songs into the 2000s. To date, he has amassed more than thirty singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts (of which thirteen have reached Number One), in addition to releasing nine studio albums and several compilation albums. In 2003, Black founded his own record label, Equity Music Group.

Black has also ventured into acting, having made a cameo appearance in the 1994 film Maverick, as well as a starring role in 1998’s Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack.

Black and his friend Hayden Nicholas began playing and writing songs together, soon signing with Bill Ham (manager of ZZ Top, among others) at RCA Records. To date Black has sold over 12 million albums worldwide. Clint’s first single, “A Better Man”, landed him a #1 country hit, as did the next three singles off his debut album, Killin’ Time; the album itself was also #1 in album sales. He swept the Country Music Association’s awards in 1989, winning in six different categories.

Black’s second album, Put Yourself in My Shoes, did not meet with as much critical acclaim as his debut, but nonetheless still included several hit singles. He began touring with Alabama and soon married actress Lisa Hartman. A royalty-lawsuit with Bill Ham was ongoing while Black recorded his third album, The Hard Way, which received mixed reviews but became almost as successful as the previous two. His next albums were popular within the country music scene, although his neo-trad approach to music would become less popular over time. Despite being one of the most popular acts of the 1990s, he would land only one Top 5 hit in the 2000s, a duet with his friend Steve Wariner.

After parting ways with longtime record label RCA, Clint started his own record label, Equity Music Group, in late 2003. Clint has released two mainstream records on his own label, as well as a Christmas album and a collection of love songs. On March 11th, 2008, Black released his first ever digital EP, available for download on all digital websites. Titled “The Long Cool EP,” the collection features Black’s brand new single, “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)”, as well as his recent single, “The Strong One,” and a new duet with his wife Lisa, titled “You Still Get to Me”. The iTunes version of the EP features an exclusive fourth bonus track: Harry Nilsson’s hit “Everybody’s Talkin’.” All of these songs will also be found on his next full-length studio release, due out early in 2009. According to an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Black says the new album does not have a title yet, but expects the album to be released in February 2009.

Clint Black’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of FameAlongside his musical career, Clint has also tried his hand in acting. He has appeared in TV shows such as Wings, King of the Hill, Hope and Faith, Hot Properties and in Las Vegas as himself, not to mention a major role in The Larry Sanders Show (Season 3, episode 16), and an appearance in the final episode of the series, where he sings “A Bad Goodbye” to Larry. He has also had roles in movies such as Maverick, Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac Jack, Going Home, and Anger Management.

For his contribution to the recording industry, Black has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Blvd.

Black was a contestant on the short lived CBS reality show “Secret Talents of the Stars,” which debuted on April 8th, 2008. Black’s secret talent was stand-up comedy. After making it through the first round, he was scheduled to perform again in the semifinals on April 22nd, 2008. However, CBS announced that after airing just one episode they would cancel the series.

Kat Bjelland (Katherine Bjelland, born December 8, 1963) was the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Babes in Toyland. She is also the lead singer/guitarist and founder of the band Katastrophy Wife. Bjelland is known for her loud, dramatic, and powerful vocal range, as well as her keen, intense, powerful physical presence.

Though most associate Bjelland with the music scene that sprung up in the city of Minneapolis, she was actually born in Salem, Oregon and grew up in nearby Woodburn, Oregon. Her mother was Lynne Irene Higginbotham (married to Lyle Bjelland).

She attended Woodburn High School where she was a popular student and cheerleader. It was while a teenager that Bjelland became interested in music. Her uncle, David Higginbotham, taught her to play guitar, and her first performance was at a small bar in Woodburn called Flight 99 (now defunct), with the band called ‘The Neurotics’. A Portland band called ‘The Dots’ opened for them.

Shortly after graduation from high school in 1982, Bjelland moved to Portland, Oregon, where she formed a series of bands, first The Neurotics and then an all-female band called The Venarays, which Bjelland has described as “rock with a ’60s edge”:

The Neurotics were comprised of Kat Bjelland (rhythm guitar); her uncle David Higginbotham (lead guitar); Marty Wyman (vocals); Dave Hummel (drums); and Laura Robertson (bass).

After The Neurotics I got this band together with my best friends, so it was an all-girl band. We were called The Venarays. The name came from the word venary which means actively hunting out sex! We began as a way of having fun with each other.
In reality, the Venarays was not an all girl band. Drums were performed by Dave Hummel, and later, Jack Rhodes. The name ‘Venarays’ was originally taken from a Television character from the early 50’s program called ‘Rocky Jones Space Ranger’ in which actress Sally Mansfield portrayed Vena Ray. After the band was named, some members of the band discovered the word ‘venary’ in the dictionary and became confused regarding the origin.

After quitting The Venarays, Bjelland formed a band with a new friend, Courtney Love, and bassist Jennifer Finch. Love went on to form the band Hole, while Finch would be part of L7. The band went by several names, including: Sugar Babydoll, Sugar Babylon and Sugar Bunnyfarm.

Around 1985, in San Francisco, Bjelland and Love formed a new band called Pagan Babies with Deidre Schletter on drums and Janis Tanaka (later in Stone Fox, L7, and with the famous singer Pink) on bass. When Love left, this lineup played under the name Italian WhoreNuns.

Demo versions of songs that Bjelland and Love worked on together, including “Best Sunday Dress”, which was later played by Hole on numerous occasions, are available on various Hole fan sites.

Big Tom (born Tom McBride in September 1936) from Oram, Castleblayney, County Monaghan, Ireland is an Irish country music singer, guitarist, and saxophone player. Established since 1966 he is currently front man of the Irish showband Big Tom and The Mainliners.

2000 - Big Tom underwent a nodule operation on his throat.
September, 2004 - Big Tom was reported to have been in a list of Irish tax evaders .
8 July 2005 - A plaque was erected by the local community in Big Tom’s home village in appreciation to his contribution to Country and Irish music.
November, 2006 - Big Tom suffered a sudden heart attack at the age of 70 , this had put doubt into whether he would ever tour again with his band.
1 February 2008 - Big Tom began a 12 date tour of Ireland after doctors gave him the all clear.
24 March 2008 - Big Tom performed at Castlebar’s TF Ballroom’s final farewell night (in its current guise) but he was reported to have taken ill on stage during the performance.
25 May 2008 - Big Tom performed for the closure night of the Galtymore dance hall in Cricklewood, London .
27 July 2008 - Big Tom was headline act at London’s Irish Festival .

Forrest Richard “Dickey” Betts (born December 12, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, most known for his work as a founding member of the southern blues/rock group The Allman Brothers Band.

Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, Betts’s early experience was leading a band called The Second Coming, before he and other Florida area musicians met, jammed, and formed The Allman Brothers Band in 1969. Betts was the band’s second lead guitarist, behind Duane Allman, and contributed significantly to their trademark dual lead guitar sound. He also wrote songs including “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Blue Sky” that became radio and concert staples.

After the death of Duane Allman in late 1971, Betts became the band’s sole guitarist, and also took on a greater singing and leadership role. He went on to write such Southern Rock classics as “Jessica”, and the Allmans’ biggest commercial hit, “Ramblin’ Man”.

The Allman Brothers reformed in 1979 for the album “Enlightened Rogues” with a new guitar player (Dan Toler) and a new bassist (David Goldflies). Several albums would follow in the 80s with various personnel changes. The reunion brought Betts back together with founding Allman Brothers members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks, and Jai “Jaimoe” Johanny Johanson. The band was augmented in the late 80s by Warren Haynes (slide and lead guitar), Allen Woody (bass) and Johnny Neel (on keyboards, though Neel left after several tours). This lineup of the band went on to release three acclaimed studio albums, with Betts, Allman and Haynes serving as the primary song writers, as well as several popular live albums throughout the early 1990s.

Betts had to be replaced on numerous tourdates throughout the mid 90s for “personal reasons”. Among the artists to appear in place of Betts were Jimmy Herring (in 1993 and again in 2000), Zakk Wylde, Jack Pearson and David Grissom. John Popper of Blues Traveler also sat in with the Allman Brothers in Betts’ absence.

While the ABB continued to play acclaimed live shows during the 1990s, they failed to release an album of new material following 1994’s Back Where It All Begins. Haynes and Woody formed Gov’t Mule with drummer Matt Abts (formerly of Dickey Betts solo projects) as a side project in 1994 and would leave the Allman Brothers for Gov’t Mule full time following the ABB’s annual Beacon Run in March 1997. Haynes and Woody would not associate with the Allman Brothers Band on stage again until after Betts’ departure in 2000, though they would share the stage with Gregg Allman on several occasions with Gov’t Mule.

The remaining original members, Allman, Trucks and Jaimoe, suspended Betts (reportedly via fax) prior to the launch of the band’s Summer Campaign Tour 2000. Betts was temporarily replaced for that tour by Jimmy Herring, formerly of the Aquarium Rescue Unit among other bands. Warren Haynes also appeared with the Allmans at three shows after Betts’ suspension for the first time in over three years.

Betts quickly filed suit against the other three original Allmans and the separation turned into a permanent divorce (Haynes permanently replaced him following a stand with the band at the Beacon Theatre in March 2001). Betts quickly formed the Dickey Betts Band in 2000 and toured that summer. He now tours under the name Dickey Betts and Great Southern, which has recently added Dickey’s son, Duane Betts, on lead guitar.

Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston hard rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted”. The songs reached #1 and #4, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1991.

He has since recorded a solo project called Schizophonic as well as with bands he founded including Mourning Widows, Population 1, DramaGods, and more recently with The Satellite Party (with Jane’s Addiction’s former front man and Lollapalooza co-founder Perry Farrell).

Since 1990, Bettencourt has had his own line of custom guitars designed by Washburn guitars. His line is known as the N-Series, and is currently promoting the Washburn N4.

As a guitarist and songwriter, Bettencourt draws from an eclectic variety of styles and influences. However, his most prominent work has been in the realm of rock and heavy metal guitar despite his most popular commercial hits being acoustic songs. Bettencourt’s technical guitar playing is influenced by Eddie Van Halen, while his solos and sense of melody are influenced by Brian May of Queen. He is particularly adept at arpeggios articulated via string-skipping tapping.

In 1994, Bettencourt married singer Suze DeMarchi. They have two children together: Bebe Orleans (b. February 2, 1996) and Lorenzo Aureolino (b. August 12, 2002). They currently live in Los Angeles.

Charles Edward Anderson “Chuck” Berry (born October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Chuck Berry is an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website, “While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll, Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together.” Cub Koda wrote, “Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is the first and one of its greatest early songwriters and guitarists, the main shaper of its instrumental voice and one of its greatest performers.” John Lennon was more succinct: “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry’.”

Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a “class” with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest guitarists of All Time.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry’s songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.

Miki Berenyi (born 18 March 1967, in London, UK) is a singer who was formerly the lead singer of Lush.

Berenyi met her friend Emma Anderson at the age of 14 and together they wrote the music fanzine Alphabet Soup and became interested in live music. Berenyi first played bass with The Bugs, before she and Anderson formed Lush. When Meriel Barham left, Berenyi became the lead singer by default.

After Lush split, following the suicide of drummer Chris Acland, she appeared as guest on The Rentals 1999 album Seven More Minutes. She will be appearing on a few tracks as a guest vocalist for Seinking Ships on their debut album, due to be released sometime in 2007. She currently works for IPC magazines as a sub-editor.

George Benson (b. March 22, 1943, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, whose recording career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist. He is however, better known to the public at large as a Pop and R&B singer, famous for such hits as “Give Me the Night”, “Lady Love Me (One More Time)”, “Turn Your Love Around”,”Inside Love(So Personal)”, “In Your Eyes”, and “This Masquerade”, among others.

Benson was born and raised in the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended the defunct Connelly High School and dropped out. He now lives in Englewood, New Jersey’s Bergen County. Benson started out playing straight-ahead instrumental jazz with organist Jack McDuff. Benson got his first experience playing with his several-year stint with McDuff’s group. At the age of 21, Benson recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss guitar, with Brother Jack McDuff on organ.

Benson’s next recording was It’s Uptown with the George Benson Quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax.This album showcases Benson’s talent in constructing swinging bebop lines at blistering tempos. Benson followed it up with The George Benson Cookbook, also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber.

Miles Davis employed Benson’s talents in the mid 1960s; Benson played guitar on “Paraphernalia,” which appeared on the trumpeter’s 1967 Columbia release, Miles in the Sky. He went to Verve Records for a spell afterwards. Then, Creed Taylor signed him up for his CTI label, where he recorded numerous albums with jazz heavyweights guesting to limited financial success. Benson also did his versions of The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road which he entitled, The Other Side of Abbey Road and “White Rabbit” around this time.

By the mid 1980s, Benson cooled down a bit on the charts and spent the rest of the decade and the 1990s and up till today, continuing to tour and record music.

In 1985 Benson and guitarist Chet Atkins succeeded on the smooth jazz charts with their collaboration “Sunrise,” one of two songs from the duo released on Atkins’ disc Stay Tuned.[citation needed] Producer Mike Poston states Benson and Atkins recorded an entire album’s worth of music, but due to disagreements between lawyers for their record companies, the rest of the material has never been released.

In 1992, Benson appeared on Jack McDuff’s Colour Me Blue album.

George Benson toured with Al Jarreau in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to promote their 2006 album Givin’ It Up.

He played during the 2nd Monsoon Cup in Terengganu in 2006 and also Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka celebration alongside Al Jarreau in 2007. One of his guitars was sold at a charity auction at the 3rd Monsoon Cup Charity dinner at RM150,000 to an anonymous bidder.

One of his songs, “Affirmation,” was used in the anime television series, Samurai Champloo, during the episode, “Gamblers and Gallantry.” The track plays as one of the protagonists, named Jin, helps a woman escape from an Edo era Japanese brothel.

In May 2008, and for the first time, Benson took part in Mawazine Festival in Morocco alongside other stars including singer Whitney Houston.

Apart from a few low-profile performances, Benson lives a private life in Southern Florida, where he is an active member as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.