Early years (1972–1983)
 
In 1972, Leonard Haze, Bob Gardner, and Wayne Stitzer had a band in Oakland, CA playing cover tunes. Dave Meniketti auditioned for the job of guitar player in 1973. Shortly after, the band received a call for their first gig, but they needed a name. According to Meniketti and Haze, Leonard chose the name of the album that was playing on his turntable at that moment--"Yesterday & Today"--an early album from The Beatles' LP of the same name. The first lineup—which only played cover tunes (not original music)--consisted of Haze on drums, Stitzer on piano, Gardner on bass, and Meniketti on lead vocals and lead guitar. After Wayne Stitzer quit the group, Bob Gardner went from bass to rhythm guitar and piano, and Phil Kennemore was brought in on bass. In 1974, Gardner left the group and was replaced by Joey Alves. The band, then, began writing original material.
 
The band released their first two studio albums, their self-titled debut and Struck Down, through London Records in 1976 and 1978 respectively. A new record deal in 1980 with A&M Records prompted the band to shorten their moniker to simply Y&T, and encores with fans chanting "Y&T, Y&T, Y&T" sealed the condensed name.[citation needed]
 
The band's first three studio albums under A&M, Earthshaker, released in 1981, Black Tiger, released in 1982, and Mean Streak, released in 1983, did not gain mainstream exposure, but are regarded as some of the band's best work. Songs off the record Earthshaker make up an important part of the band's live shows.
 
Commercial success and breakup (1984–1991)
 
Y&T's sixth studio album, In Rock We Trust, released in 1984, became the band's highest charting and selling album, reaching #46 on the Billboard 200. The album produced Y&T's first big radio hit Don't Stop Runnin' ; the rights to She's A Liar were purchased by Dr Pepper and used in an ad campaign. To date, In Rock We Trust has sold over 450,000 copies, close to reaching gold certification status. This album was the only Y&T album to chart in Canada, reaching #77 on the RPM chart.
 
The band's 1985 hit "Summertime Girls", off their seventh studio album Down for the Count, became the band's highest charting hit to date, reaching #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #17[citation needed] on the U.S. mainstream rock charts. It received tremendous airplay worldwide, played frequently in the Baywatch television series, is graced in several feature films, received heavy rotation on MTV as well as MTV’s top video playlists, and gets regular airplay today on classic rock radio stations throughout the United States.
 
Leonard Haze was replaced by Jimmy DeGrasso in 1986 and Joey Alves was replaced by Stef Burns in 1989. DeGrasso and Burns later played together with Alice Cooper in the 1990s.
 
Y&T's last studio album before their breakup was Ten, released in 1990. The album features some ballad highlights, such as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark", "Ten Lovers", and "Come in from the Rain", together with a few straightforward hard rock songs, including "Hard Times", "City", "Surrender", and the fastest track Y&T ever recorded, the speed metal song "Goin' Off the Deep End".
 
The band officially disbanded in 1991, concluding with the live album Yesterday & Today Live.
 
Reunion (1995–present)
 
Y&T temporarily reformed in 1995 with a lineup of Dave Meniketti, Stef Burns, Phil Kennemore, and Jimmy DeGrasso, and performed sporadically afterward. The band officially reunited in 2001 with the same lineup, only with Leonard Haze replacing DeGrasso. Stef Burns left later on that year to join Huey Lewis and the News, and was replaced by rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist John Nymann, who was an old friend of the band, previously singing backing vocals on Down for the Count. In 2006, Haze was asked to step down and was replaced by Mike Vanderhule on drums. Dave Meniketti and Phil Kennemore have been the only constant members of the band since its formation in 1974.
 
In 2006, a complete concert in the Netherlands was captured on the live DVD One Hot Night.
 
In 2009, Y&T inked a deal with Italy's Frontiers Records for the release of the band's twelfth studio album to be released in May 2010.[2][3][4] Titled Facemelter,[5] it is their first proper studio album in thirteen years (since 1997's Endangered Species).
 
Y&T played the Download Festival, at Donington Park in June 2010.
 
On January 7, 2011, bassist Phil Kennemore died at the age of 57 after a short battle with lung cancer.
 
"Summertime Girls" remains as the band's most widely recognized song, along with fan favorites such as "Mean Streak," "Rescue Me," "Forever" to name a few. Music videos for songs such as "Summertime Girls," "Mean Streak," "Lipstick & Leather," "Don't Stop Runnin'," "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," and "Contagious" are still featured videos on VH1 Classic.

Born into a family with generations-old roots in rural Florida, JJ Grey was raised with a combination of backwoods wisdom and old-school blue-collar values. He heard music at barbeques and in local juke joints, all the while developing a deep love and respect for the land and its culture. Grey’s original songs are inspired by legendary musicians, including Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, soul greats Otis Redding and Toots Hibbert, country stars George Jones and Jerry Reed, as well as by Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower. Whether it is a narrative passed down to him from his grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend, Grey’s ear for detail rings through in true storyteller fashion.

Debuting in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both albums reissued by Alligator), Grey steadily built an intensely loyal following. In 2007 Grey released his Alligator debut, Country Ghetto, followed by 2008’s Orange Blossoms, further growing his already large audience. With the release of 2010’s Georgia Warhorse, Grey stepped further into the mainstream with the AAA radio breakout single The Sweetest Thing.

Grey, an avid outdoorsman, is a dedicated fisherman and surfer and holds an honorary position on the board of the Snook Foundation, dedicated to the protection of coastal fish and fish habitat. He has written passionately and articulately about his love for the untrammeled environment of his north Florida home.
 
After over a decade of hard touring and five studio albums Grey still spends eight months of the year on the road, bringing his music to his loyal, ever-growing, worldwide fan base, laying it all on the line with each and every performance. JJ has played countless festivals, including Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Austin City Limits Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival (Australia), Montreal Jazz Festival and Fuji Rock (Japan). Over the course of his career, Grey has shared stages with the likes of B.B. King, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Los Lobos, Jeff Beck, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Booker T. Jones, Mavis Staples and many others. In 2011 the band invaded the UK, leaving blissful fans and overwhelming praise in their wake. Also in 2011, Grey embarked on his first-ever solo tour, playing packed-to-capacity clubs, getting more personal and up close with his audience.

Grey’s songs have appeared in film and network and cable television programs including House, Flashpoint, Crash, Friday Night Lights, The Deadliest Catch and the film The Hoot. In November 2009, JJ wrote his first film score for the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning documentary The Good Soldier that appeared in theatres and on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. In 2010, Grey played piano, sang and contributed a song (The Wrong Side) to Buckwheat Zydeco’s Grammy-winning Alligator album Lay Your Burden Down.

Born into a family with generations-old roots in rural Florida, JJ Grey was raised with a combination of backwoods wisdom and old-school blue-collar values. He heard music at barbeques and in local juke joints, all the while developing a deep love and respect for the land and its culture. Grey’s original songs are inspired by legendary musicians, including Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, soul greats Otis Redding and Toots Hibbert, country stars George Jones and Jerry Reed, as well as by Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower. Whether it is a narrative passed down to him from his grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend, Grey’s ear for detail rings through in true storyteller fashion.

Debuting in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both albums reissued by Alligator), Grey steadily built an intensely loyal following. In 2007 Grey released his Alligator debut, Country Ghetto, followed by 2008’s Orange Blossoms, further growing his already large audience. With the release of 2010’s Georgia Warhorse, Grey stepped further into the mainstream with the AAA radio breakout single The Sweetest Thing.

Grey, an avid outdoorsman, is a dedicated fisherman and surfer and holds an honorary position on the board of the Snook Foundation, dedicated to the protection of coastal fish and fish habitat. He has written passionately and articulately about his love for the untrammeled environment of his north Florida home.
 
After over a decade of hard touring and five studio albums Grey still spends eight months of the year on the road, bringing his music to his loyal, ever-growing, worldwide fan base, laying it all on the line with each and every performance. JJ has played countless festivals, including Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Austin City Limits Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival (Australia), Montreal Jazz Festival and Fuji Rock (Japan). Over the course of his career, Grey has shared stages with the likes of B.B. King, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Los Lobos, Jeff Beck, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Booker T. Jones, Mavis Staples and many others. In 2011 the band invaded the UK, leaving blissful fans and overwhelming praise in their wake. Also in 2011, Grey embarked on his first-ever solo tour, playing packed-to-capacity clubs, getting more personal and up close with his audience.

Grey’s songs have appeared in film and network and cable television programs including House, Flashpoint, Crash, Friday Night Lights, The Deadliest Catch and the film The Hoot. In November 2009, JJ wrote his first film score for the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning documentary The Good Soldier that appeared in theatres and on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. In 2010, Grey played piano, sang and contributed a song (The Wrong Side) to Buckwheat Zydeco’s Grammy-winning Alligator album Lay Your Burden Down.

Born into a family with generations-old roots in rural Florida, JJ Grey was raised with a combination of backwoods wisdom and old-school blue-collar values. He heard music at barbeques and in local juke joints, all the while developing a deep love and respect for the land and its culture. Grey’s original songs are inspired by legendary musicians, including Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, soul greats Otis Redding and Toots Hibbert, country stars George Jones and Jerry Reed, as well as by Grand Ole Opry comedian Jerry Clower. Whether it is a narrative passed down to him from his grandmother or the tribulations of a childhood friend, Grey’s ear for detail rings through in true storyteller fashion.

Debuting in 2001 with Blackwater, following up in 2004 with Lochloosa (both albums reissued by Alligator), Grey steadily built an intensely loyal following. In 2007 Grey released his Alligator debut, Country Ghetto, followed by 2008’s Orange Blossoms, further growing his already large audience. With the release of 2010’s Georgia Warhorse, Grey stepped further into the mainstream with the AAA radio breakout single The Sweetest Thing.

Grey, an avid outdoorsman, is a dedicated fisherman and surfer and holds an honorary position on the board of the Snook Foundation, dedicated to the protection of coastal fish and fish habitat. He has written passionately and articulately about his love for the untrammeled environment of his north Florida home.
 
After over a decade of hard touring and five studio albums Grey still spends eight months of the year on the road, bringing his music to his loyal, ever-growing, worldwide fan base, laying it all on the line with each and every performance. JJ has played countless festivals, including Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Austin City Limits Festival, Byron Bay Blues Festival (Australia), Montreal Jazz Festival and Fuji Rock (Japan). Over the course of his career, Grey has shared stages with the likes of B.B. King, The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Los Lobos, Jeff Beck, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Booker T. Jones, Mavis Staples and many others. In 2011 the band invaded the UK, leaving blissful fans and overwhelming praise in their wake. Also in 2011, Grey embarked on his first-ever solo tour, playing packed-to-capacity clubs, getting more personal and up close with his audience.

Grey’s songs have appeared in film and network and cable television programs including House, Flashpoint, Crash, Friday Night Lights, The Deadliest Catch and the film The Hoot. In November 2009, JJ wrote his first film score for the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning documentary The Good Soldier that appeared in theatres and on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. In 2010, Grey played piano, sang and contributed a song (The Wrong Side) to Buckwheat Zydeco’s Grammy-winning Alligator album Lay Your Burden Down.

Jimmy LaFave was born in Wills Point, Texas, a small town 30 miles east of Dallas. He began school down the road in Mesquite and by Junior High was making music perched behind his Sears & Roebuck drum kit. It wasn’t long before his mother traded a drawer full of green stamps for his first guitar and the switch to singer–songwriter was in progress. His family later moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he finished high school. Although he has lived in Austin for over 20 years, many people think of him as being from Oklahoma, because of his strong musical ties to the state and what he often refers to as its “red dirt music.” It was in this landscape that he began to define his sound and soak up a combination of his experiences among authentic songwriters from the tradition of Woody Guthrie. Before leaving Oklahoma for Austin, Jimmy did some independent recording and toured the southwest with the first version of his band Night Tribe.

He moved to Austin in 1986, where he continued to write songs and to develop his musical ideas. Shortly after arriving he was asked to help launch the songwriter nights at the new performance venue Chicago House. In 1988 he recorded his self–produced tape, Highway Angels...Full Moon Rain, which won the Austin Chronicle Reader’s Poll Tape of the Year Award. This led to a recording contract with a small independent label and allowed LaFave the opportunity to work with Bob Johnston, producer of several of LaFave’s favorite albums including Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Nashville Skyline. Although these recordings were never released, by 1990 LaFave had put together an Austin version of Night Tribe and had become, according to the Austin American–Statesman, “a perennial presence upon the Austin music scene.” In 1992 Jimmy released a self–produced CD, Austin Skyline, which drew international attention to his songwriting and vocal talents, and led to a publishing agreement with Polygram Music. Due to his growing popularity and radio play on more than 200 stations, Austin Skyline and its label, Bohemia Beat, received national distribution through the Rounder Record Group. His second album, Highway Trance was released in 1994 followed by his third CD, Buffalo Return to the Plains, in 1995.

The grass roots demand and critical acclaim for Jimmy’s music, which led to extensive touring in the United States and Europe, was recognized in 1996 when he was asked to tape a performance for the PBS musical series Austin City Limits, and was invited by Nora Guthrie to appear in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to Woody Guthrie. That same year LaFave won his second consecutive Austin Music Award for Best Singer–Songwriter. His fourth CD, Road Novel, which was released in early 1997, received many glowing reviews. That year he was asked by Nora Guthrie to speak and perform at the induction of Woody Guthrie into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. He traveled to Europe twice that year and also toured the USA and Canada.

LaFave kicked off 1999 with the release of the CD entitled Trail, a 15 year retrospective of bootleg tapes, live performances, radio shows and studio out takes. The double CD contains 31 tracks recorded in Texas and around the world. Including 12 Dylan songs, it answered the demand of fans for a ’LaFave does Dylan’ CD. In the liner notes Dave Marsh noted: “Jimmy LaFave has one of America’s greatest voices, and this album is the story of what he has learned to do with it. It’s a unique instrument, with startling range and its own peculiar sense of gravity, liable to swoop in and wreck your expectations at any instant.”

In 2001 Jimmy released Texoma. The CD received some of the best press of his career. including reviews by the Associated Press,VH–1, Billboard and Playboy. The ballad “Never Is A Moment” from the album, a radio favorite, became his most requested song ever. That year when not playing his own musical dates, Jimmy toured with a Woody Guthrie tribute project he conceived entitled Ribbon Of Highway–Endless Skyway. The show features a rotating cast of notable musicians performing Woody’s songs interspersed with narrations from his many writings. He also appeared that year at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival. Jimmy serves on the Advisory Board for the festival, and has played it twelve straight years. He is always quick to acknowledge it as his favorite musical event.

In 2005 Jimmy signed with the indie label Red House Records, and released Blue Nightfall. This stunningly soulful album was LaFave’s first in 4 years, and once again received many favorable reviews. In April, Jimmy was then honored when one of his musical heroes Bruce Springsteen invited him on stage for a duet at his show at the Nokia Arena in Dallas. Also that month Jimmy was very grateful when Nora Guthrie allowed him to look through the unseen lyrics from the Woody Guthrie Archives. She helped Jimmy choose 19 songs for a future “Woody” CD project, where he will co–write music for the lyrics using his own style and interpretations.

In early 2007 Cimarron Manifesto was Jimmy’s second release on Red House Records where it spent several weeks as number one on the Americana music chart. Later that year, Jimmy along with recording engineer Fred Remmert and Dallas businessman Kelcy Warren established Music Road Records. The label’s first CD release was Ribbon Of Highway–Endless Skyway, a two disc set from the Woody Guthrie tribute tour. Music Road also owns and operates two Texas based recording facilities — Cedar Creek Recording in Austin and Cherokee Creek Recording in the Texas hill country.

In 2010 Music Road released "Favorite's" a CD compilation of sixteen of Jimmy’s most requested songs, and he is currently putting the finishing touches on a new release for Music Road due out Spring of 2011.

Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American musician, best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star.

Musical careerHis association with R.E.M. extends to the mid-90s Seattle scene, where he first met guitarist Peter Buck, with whom he also plays in Scott McCaughey's The Minus 5. Ken also spent time recording and touring with Lagwagon in the late-1990's, during which he helped craft 1997's Double Plaidinum, adding a unique flair to the band's high-paced melodic brand of punk rock. He has also formed a new band with three Norwegian musicians from the band Briskeby, called The Disciplines.

He has released three solo albums: This Sounds Like Goodbye (1997, on the Hidden Agenda label), Touched (2001, on Manifesto Records), and Soft Commands (2004, on Yep Roc Records) as well as an EP with covers by other artists, The Sellout Cover Sessions Vol. 1 (2008, on Sellout Records). Touched was also released outside the United States by Pop Tones with different cover artwork; the Japanese release contains a bonus track (a cover of Robyn Hitchcock's "Airscape"). An international version of Soft Commands was released by Rykodisc; it has the same cover artwork, but contains four bonus tracks (covers of "Never My Love" by The Association, "Down to the Wire" by Neil Young, "New Test Leper" by R.E.M., and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder). In 2003, Stringfellow and Jon Auer released Private Sides, a six-song split EP (Arena Rock Recording Co./Rykodisc).

On December 22, 2007, Stringfellow revealed, via his blog, that he would not be part of R.E.M.'s 2008 tour in support of Accelerate. On mid-2008, Stringfellow visited Serbia and, during his visit, appeared as guest on most of the tracks of the album Nikadjekraj (Neveristheend) by the Serbian rock band Veliki Prezir.

On March 3, 2009 Second Motion Records is set to release the first single from The Disciplines as a digital-only single and limited-edition blue vinyl 7", entitled "Yours For The Taking". The label will release the band's debut album "Smoking Kills" on April 28, 2009 in North America, which will also see the first Worldwide release of the album on Vinyl.

In 2010, he worked with Can Can, an Ecuadorian electro-rock band, by producing their third album, Caos. During his stay in Ecuador, he premiered a new song by The Posies called "Licenses to Hide".

He has recently been working in Queanbeyan, Australia, on Hannah Gillespie's follow up to her debut album Growing Up Stupid.

Betty Jo Haskin was born January 29,1946, in Muskegon, Michigan. The family moved to Detroit when she was 6. Her parents sold corn liquor and her living room was oft-times visited by The Soul Stirrers, The Blind Boys of Mississippi, and many other traveling gospel groups of the day. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Bettye did not get her start in the church, but in that very same living room, where there was a juke box, filled with the blues, country & western, and R&B records of the time. The "5" Royales, Dinah Washington, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Red Foley, ...these were her roots.

By 16, Betty Jo had become enamored with showbiz. She decided to change her name to something more dramatic. She knew a local groupie by the name of Sherma Lavett, liked the sound of the name, and thus, Betty Lavett was born. Singer Timmy Shaw brought her to Johnnie Mae Matthews, notorious Motor City record producer. Bettye's first single was "My Man--He’s a Loving Man.", in the fall of 1962. The record was quickly picked up by Atlantic for national distribution. The record charted #7 R&B and put her on her first national tour, with Ben E. King, Clyde McPhatter, and another newcomer, Otis Redding.

After a brief spell at Detroit's Lupine label, Bettye went back to New York and became the featured singer in the Don Gardner & Dee Dee Ford Review, where their Small's Paradise shows became the talk of the town. Her association with Don and Dee Dee spawned her next big record, for the Calla label. "Let Me Down Easy", written by Dee Dee Ford, was an atmospheric masterpiece. Bettye's pleading voice, set against the moody string arrangement by Dale Warren produced a record that is on many "greatest soul songs of all time" lists. It went # 20 R&B in 1965 and led to an appearance on the television show, Shindig. It also put her on a tour with The James Brown Review.

Then back to Detroit for a one off single on Big Wheel and a series of singles for Ollie McLaughlin's Karen label. One of these songs, "Hey Love", was written expressly for her by Stevie Wonder. In 1969, Kenny Rogers heard her cover of his group's "What My Condition My Condition Was In", and suggested to his brother, producer Lelan Rogers, that he record her. This led to her signing with Silver Fox, and a trip to Memphis, where she made a string of records with a then unknown studio group, who went on to become known as The Dixie Flyers. The recordings were augmented by The Memphis Horns. The first release,"He Made a Woman Out of Me", went #25 R&B, even though it was banned by some stations due to it's risque content. It later went on to be a hit for Bobbie Gentry. In 1970, the follow-up "Do Your Duty" went # 38 R&B. She recorded a number of other songs for the label, some of which were issued on 45. The LP that was to come never did, due to a falling out between label head Shelby Singleton and Lelan Rogers.

In 1971, at the suggestion of her manager, Jim Lewis, she entered a talent competition, and won a Clio Award for a Schaffer Beer Commercial.

"Bettye has always had big ears and a wide open mind, preferring to fulfill the role of a song interpreter, rather than attempt to write her own material. Bettye’s near mystical ability to get inside a song’s lyric, melodic line and harmonic implications, in the process invariably making anything she covers her own, stems from the tutelage and guidance of her late manager Jim Lewis. A veteran of the big band era having played with the screaming and stomping Buffalo-based Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, Lewis managed LaVette for ten years beginning in 1968 and constantly harped on her to listen to master song interpreters such as Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra, pointing out the intricacies of phrasing and timbre manipulation that are part and parcel of the sonic art of any truly great vocalist." - Rob Bowman

In 1972, she was once again signed to Atlantic, through it's Atco subsidiary.
After a few recordings in LA, they sent her down to Muscle Shoals Sound, where, under the guidance of producer Brad Shapiro and accompanied by the famed MSS studio band, cut what was going to be her first released full length LP. The Memphis Horns were dubbed on, as well as strings at Criteria Studios in Miami. The recordings were mastered and readied for release under the title Child of the Seventies. A publicity tour was booked, but at the last minute Bettye was called and told, “We have decided not to go forward with the project. Please return the plane tickets”. She was never given an explanation and the devastation stayed with her for years to come. However, a 45 from the sessions, "Your Turn To Cry", was released and ranks high on the lists of most deep soul collectors.
1975 brought a brief stint with Epic, where "Thank You For Loving Me" went #94 R&B.
The follow up, a cover of Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors", as good as it was, failed to chart.
In 1978 she cut a disco record, "Doin' The Best That I Can" with a 19 year old producer, Cory Robbins, for the West End label. (Cory went on to fame as the creator/producer of Run DMC.) Bettye wanted a release from her contract, and they agreed to it if she signed away all of her rights to the song. She did, and weeks later the record became a huge dance floor hit, selling over 100,000 copies.
In 1979-1982 she was asked to appear in the touring company of the Toni Award winning Broadway musical, "Bubbling Brown Sugar" in the role of Sweet Georgia Brown. She learned to tap dance, and was hired. She worked with Charles "Honi" Coles, and Cab Callaway while with the show. It was here where she learned more about staging than she had ever known.
In 1982, Bettye got a call from Motown. Lee Young, Sr. was president of the label at the time, and he liked Betty. She was signed and sent to Nashville and recorded the Tell Me A Lie album. Produced by Steve Buckingham, the studio players were augmented by The Memphis Horns. Two 45s were released, the first of which, the Sam Dees penned, "Right in the Middle (Of Falling in Love)," went to #35 on the R&B charts. It also allowed for another television appearance, this time on Soul Train. However, a corporate shake-up removed Lee Young, Sr., and the LP itself was never promoted properly.
In 1989, Bettye recorded a CDs' worth of songs for English DJ, Ian Levine's Motor City label. Although most of the instrumentation is synthesized, her vocals were, as always, impeccable 1997 saw a wonderful, but unauthorized, release of Bettye's version of Etta James' "Damn Your Eyes", on cassette only, by the Bar/None label.
All the while, Bettye was a cult favorite in soul circles, especially overseas.
In 2000, French collector/label owner Gilles Petard, while searching the Atlantic tape vaults, came up with the long-thought-lost tapes to the 1972 Child of the Seventies Atco LP . He licensed the tracks and released them in France on his own Art & Soul label as Souvenirs.

At the same time, Dutch fan Ben Mattijssen recorded Bettye at a live show in Utrecht, Holland and released Let Me Down Easy--In Concert, on the Munich label. These two CDs, released almost simultaneously, created a renewed interest in Bettye, and showed that she was still in excellent voice.
In 2002, thanks to Shanachie Records' president Randall Grass, Bettye was introduced to Grammy Award winning producer, Dennis Walker. Dennis got her signed to fledgling label, Blues Express, and they made her comeback CD, A Woman Like Me.
In late 2002, John Goddard, owner of world famous Mill Valley Records decided to give himself a birthday party. Being a fan of Bettye's recordings, he contacted Bettye and asked if she would come and perform at his party. He told her that he would make sure that everybody who was anybody in the area would be there. Amongst the many famous musical guests was Mike Kappus, president of The Rosebud Agency. Although she hadn't had a record out in years, his belief in the power of her live show prompted him to sign her for bookings.
After signing with Rosebud, A Woman Like Me was finally released in 2003. Bettye won the coveted W.C. Handy Award in 2004 for "Comeback Blues Album of the Year" as well as the Living Blues critic pick as "Best Female Blues Artist of 2004."
After her contract with Blues Express expired, Mike Kappus helped her look for a new label home. He invited Anti- Records president Andy Kaulkin to see one of her shows. On the strength of her live show, Kaulkin asked Bettye to sign a three record contract.

For the first project, Kaulkin paired her with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Henry, and suggested an album of songs written entirely by women. The resulting CD, I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise, was on many critics’ “Best of 2005” lists. Due to an unfortunate error, the CD was never submitted to the Recording Academy for Grammy consideration.
In 2006, she received a well-deserved “Pioneer Award” from The Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
Her second Anti- album, The Scene of the Crime, was recorded in Muscle Shoals’ FAME Studios with alt-rockers Drive-By Truckers. On it, she transforms country and rock songs written by Willie Nelson, Elton John, and Don Henley, among others, into devastating mini-dramas. The title of the disc references the now infamous Child of the Seventies LP, which was also recorded in Muscle Shoals. The Scene of the Crime was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary Blues Album” and landed on numerous “Best of 2007” lists.
In 2008, she received a BMA (Blues Music Award) for “Best Contemporary Female Blues Singer”. In December she performed a critically acclaimed version of "Love Reign O'er Me" at The Kennedy Center Honors in a tribute to The Who.
In January 2009 she had the honor of performing "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi for President elect Barack Obama on HBO's telecast of the kick-off Inaugural Celebratory concert, We Are One. In April she shared the stage with Sir Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr at Radio City Music Hall for David Lynch's Change Begins Within benefit concert. A theatrical film release is planned.
In June 2009 a 6 song EP, Change Is Gonna Come Sessions, was released as a download only available on Itunes, Amazon, E Music, Rhapsody, etc. It consisted of songs that were composed by black writers.
In May 2010 her 3rd Anti- CD, Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook was released to rave reviews. The concept was conceived by her husband, music maven Kevin Kiley, who was inspired by the critical acclaim that she received after her performance of "Love Reign O'er Me" at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008. As the title implies, she re-invents songs from the British bands who were initially influenced by American r&b music. Bettye co-produced the record along with Rob Mathes and Michael Stevens, a relationship born at the Kennedy Center Honors and the We Are One events. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary Blues Album”.

She has appeared on National Public Radio's World Cafe, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, and performed a Tiny Desk Concert. She has appeared in a Mississippi Public Broadcasting series, Blues Divas, and is in a film of the same name, both produced by award winning film maker, Robert Mugge. She has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman, The Conan O'Brien Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Lopez Tonight, Austin City Limits, The Prairie Home Companion, The Artist's Den, Good Morning America, The Today Show and The Tavis Smiley Show.

Colin Blunstone (Hatfield (Hertfordshire), 24 juni 1945) is een Brits zanger. In 1964 vormde Blunstone samen met toetsenist Rod Argent, gitarist Paul Atkinson, bassist Chris White en drummer Hugh Grundy de band The Zombies. De bekendste hits waren ‘She's Not There’, ‘Tell Her No’ en ‘Time of the Season’.
Na het uiteenvallen van de band in 1968 begon Blunstone aan zijn solocarrière. Onder het pseudoniem Neil McArthur nam hij nogmaals de Zombies-hit ‘She's Not There’ op, met als B-kant ‘World of Glass’. Andere onder deze naam opgenomen nummers waren: ‘Don't Try to Explain’, ‘Without Her’, ‘It's not Easy’ en ‘Never My Love’. Hij maakte een aantal soloalbums: ‘One Year’ (1971) met daarop de hit ‘Caroline Goodbye’ (over zijn verbroken relatie met fotomodel en actrice Caroline Munro) en ‘Say you don't mind’ . Zijn tweede album ‘Ennismore’ (1972) leverde twee hits op: ‘Andorra’ en ‘I don't believe in Miracles’. Ook twee nummers van zijn volgende album, ‘Journey’, uit 1974, werden hits: ‘Wonderful’ en ‘Weak For You’. Zijn volgende albums, ‘Planes’ (1977), ‘Never Even Thought’ (1978) en ‘Late Nights in Soho’ (1979) haalden slechts een bescheiden verkoop en leverden geen hits op. Ze gelden nu als ware collectors items.

Op het album ‘Tarot Suite’ (1979) van Mike Batt zong Blunstone het nummer ‘Losing Your Way in the Rain’. In 1981 nam hij met Dave Stewart de hit ‘What Becomes of the Broken hearted?’ op en er volgden ook nog twee solo-singles: ‘Tracks of my Tears’ (1982) en ‘Touch’ (1983). Blunstone werkte als zanger bij The Alan Parsons Project mee aan de albums ‘Pyramid’ (1978), ‘Eye in the Sky’ (1982), ‘Ammonia Avenue’ (1984), ‘Vulture Culture’ (1985), en ‘Gaudi’ (1987). De door hem gezongen hit ‘Old and Wise’ is afkomstig van ‘Eye in the Sky’. In 1984 nam hij met Peter Bardens, Ian Bairnson, David Paton en Stuart Elliott het door Alan Parsons geproduceerde album ‘Keats’ op. Ook werkte hij in 1989 mee aan het album ‘No Way Back’ van de Nederlandse zangeres Nadieh.
In 1990 kwamen de oorspronkelijke Zombies-leden Blunstone, White en Grundy weer samen, om met versterking van Sebastian Santa Maria de cd ‘The Return of the Zombies’ op te nemen, en in 1991 nam Blunstone al zijn oude hits opnieuw op: ‘Colin Blunstone sings his Greatest Hits’. Op dit album staan echter ook een paar nieuwe nummers. In 1995 volgde weer een solo-studioalbum: ‘Echo Bridge’, evenals een live-album van BBC-opnamen ‘Live at the BBC’, en in 1998 een studio-cd: ‘The Light Inside’.
In 2000 besloten Colin Blunstone en Rod Argent weer samen te werken: De band The Zombies werd weer tot leven gewekt. In 2001 verscheen het album ‘Out of the Shadows’. De band ging ook weer toeren, met voormalig Kinks-bassist Jim Rodford en diens zoon, drummer Steve Rodford, die ook al op het album meewerkten, en gitarist Keith Airey. In 2004 verschijnt het album ‘As far as I can see’, dat in dezelfde bezetting werd opgenomen. In 2009 kwam opnieuw een album uit ‘The ghost of you and me’ en werd bekend dat de Zombies in de loop van dat jaar in Nederland zouden optreden.

Alan Parsons is een icoon uit de popgeschiedenis. Met Eric Woolfson stond hij aan de wieg van The Alan Parsons Project, bekend van hits als ‘Don’t Answer Me’ en ‘Old And Wise’. Daarvoor was Parsons de man achter de mengtafel bij onder meer Pink Floyds ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. Met zijn Alan Parsons Live Project neemt hij u mee terug in de tijd. In 2010 gaf hij met zijn band een prachtig concert in een uitverkochte LIMBURGzaal.

The Alan Parsons Project was een Britse progressieve rockband uit de late jaren 70 tot eind jaren 80. De band is opgericht door Alan Parsons en Eric Woolfson. De albums van The Alan Parsons Project vertonen vrijwel allemaal eenzelfde kenmerkende structuur: Het zijn conceptalbums.

Het album begint met een instrumentaal intro dat overvloeit in het eerste nummer. Halverwege de B-kant van de LP staat weer een instrumentaal nummer.
Het laatste nummer is meestal een rustig nummer of een ballad.
Vooral de vroegere albums lijken te zijn geïnspireerd door Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Aan dit album werkte Alan mee als geluidstechnicus.
Een andere merkwaardigheid van The Alan Parsons Project is de sterk wisselende bezetting. Vooral de zang leek steeds te worden afgewisseld tussen Woolfson (die vooral de langzamere nummers en de ballades voor zijn rekening nam) en een grote verscheidenheid aan gastvocalisten, die speciaal gekozen lijken te zijn vanwege hun specifieke zangstijl, om die zo goed mogelijk te laten aansluiten bij de stijl en de sfeer van ieder nummer. Een sprekend voorbeeld hiervan is de voormalige zanger van de Zombies, Colin Blunstone in het nummer "Old and Wise".
Volgens velen vormen vooral Alan Parsons en Eric Woolfson de kern van The Alan Parsons Project. Woolfson was accountant van beroep, maar daarnaast een klassiek geschoolde componist en pianist. Woolfson schreef dan ook alle muziek en teksten. Parsons was een succesvolle producer. Samen streefden zij naar de grootst mogelijke perfectie in hun muziek. Ook Andrew Powell (componist en arrangeur), Ian Bairnson (gitaar) en Richard Cottle (synthesizer en saxofoon) waren in sterke mate bepalend voor het specifieke geluid van de band.

Opmerkelijk is ook dat het album Freudiana niet als 'Alan Parsons Project' uitgebracht werd. Het is met name onder de bezielende leiding van Eric Woolfson geproduceerd, aannemelijk vanwege diens voorliefde voor het theater. De muziek op Freudiana is gebruikt in de gelijknamige musical dat Woolfson produceerde (Wenen, 1990), dat is zonder veel fantasie ook goed op het album te horen. Woolfson gebruikte overigens wel meer muziek en tekst voor zijn theaterproducties, o.a. van de albums Gaudí, Turn of a friendly card, Stereotomy en Eye in the sky, maar die albums werden dus wel onder 'The Alan Parsons Project' uitgebracht.

Bill Wyman (Penge, 24 oktober 1936) is een Brits muzikant die bekend is geworden als basgitarist van de Rolling Stones.
Zijn werkelijke naam is William George Perks. Hij werd geboren in Penge (Kent). Vanaf zijn tiende jaar kreeg hij een aantal jaren pianoles, maar hij leerde zichzelf basgitaar te spelen.
Hij werkte een aantal jaren in Londen als klerk voor een wedkantoor en werkte daarna bij de luchtmacht. In de periode daarna begon hij een band met de naam Tucky Buzzard and the End, en vervolgens werd hij een van de oprichters van de Rolling Stones. Tot 1992 was hij basgitarist van deze band. Evenals Charlie Watts, verkoos Wyman er doorgaans voor niet op de voorgrond te treden, hetgeen hem de bijnaam "de stille Stone" opleverde. Tussen 1962 en 1992 bracht hij verschillende soloalbums uit. Wyman bezit een restaurant in Londen genaamd "Sticky Fingers".
Zijn privéleven is niet onbesproken gebleven; hij is drie keer getrouwd geweest, waarvan vooral zijn huwelijk met Mandy Smith veel stof deed opwaaien. Op dit moment is hij getrouwd met Suzanne Acosta.
Nadat hij uit de Rolling Stones stapte heeft hij een aantal succesvolle albums uitgebracht met zijn nieuwe band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. Op 21 oktober 2002 verscheen zijn bijna 500 pagina's tellende boek Rolling with the Stones, gebaseerd op zijn dagboeken en zijn persoonlijke archief.
Een grote hobby van hem is het zoeken naar oude voorwerpen met een metaaldetector. Samen met detectorfabrikant C.Scope bracht hij in 2007 een eigen metaaldetector op de markt: de Bill Wyman Signature Detector.
Na 31 jaar de bassist geweest te zijn van de Rolling Stones heeft Bill Wyman nu, sinds 1997, een eigen band: “The Rhythm Kings”. Deze 9-koppige all-star band weet op sublieme wijze klassiekers uit de Rhythm and Blues, Soul en Rock n Roll zoals ‘You Never Can Tell”, “I Put a Spell on You” en “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” neer te zetten.

Een unieke band dankzij de topmuzikanten en de grote verscheidenheid aan muziek die zij ten gehore brengen. Elk optreden is een feest, voor henzelf, en daardoor zeker ook voor het publiek!

Wie de Rhythm Kings zijn?? Rolling Stone legende Bill Wyman kan kiezen uit een keur van topmusici die samen hebben gespeeld met o.a. Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams e.v.a.!

De toonaangevers in deze outfit zijn o.a. Bill Wyman, Geraint Watkins, Albert Lee, Mike Sanchez, Terry Taylor, Georgie Fame en misschien nog wel een verrassing.