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BIOGRAPHIES:

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TINA TURNER

Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".[1][2] Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.[3] Success followed with a string of hits including "River Deep, Mountain High" and the 1971 hit "Proud Mary". With the publication of her autobiography I, Tina (1986), Turner revealed severe instances of spousal abuse against her by Ike Turner prior to their 1976 split and subsequent 1978 divorce. After virtually disappearing from the music scene for several years following her divorce from Ike Turner, she rebuilt her career, launching a string of hits beginning in 1983 with the single "Let's Stay Together" and the 1984 release of her fifth solo album Private Dancer. Her musical career led to film roles, beginning with a prominent role as The Acid Queen in the 1975 film Tommy, and an appearance in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. She starred opposite Mel Gibson as Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, and her version of the film's theme, "We Don't Need Another Hero", was a hit single. She appeared in the 1993 film Last Action Hero. One of the world's most popular entertainers, Turner has been called the most successful female rock artist[4] and was named "one of the greatest singers of all time" by Rolling Stone.[5] Her combined album and single sales total approximately 180 million copies worldwide.[6][7] She has sold more concert tickets than any other solo music performer in history.[8][9] She is known for her energetic stage presence,[2] powerful vocals, career longevity,[8] and widespread appeal.[10] In 2008, Turner left semi-retirement to embark on her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour.[11][12] Turner's tour became one of the highest selling ticketed shows of 2008–2009.[7] Turner was born a Baptist, but converted to Buddhism and credits the spiritual chants with giving her the strength that she needed to get through the rough times.[13] Rolling Stone ranked her at 63 on their 100 greatest artists of all time and considers her the "Queen of Rock and Roll"

STING

Sting (born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner on 2 October 1951), CBE, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police. Sting has varied his musical style throughout his career, incorporating distinct elements of jazz, reggae, classical, new age, and worldbeat into his music.[1] As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, three Brit Awards — winning Best British Male in 1994, a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award, and several Oscar nominations for Best Original Song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Sting was born in Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne, England,[2] the eldest of four children born to Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer.[3] His siblings were Philip, Angela and Anita. Young Gordon would often assist his father with the early-morning milk-delivery rounds and his "best friend" was an old Spanish guitar with five rusty strings which had been left behind by an uncle who had emigrated to Canada.[4] He attended St. Cuthbert's Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He would often sneak into nightclubs like the Club-A-Go-Go, where he would watch acts such as Cream and Jimi Hendrix, artists who would later influence his own music. After jobs as a bus conductor, a construction labourer, and a tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education, (which later became part of Northumbria University) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher.[5] He then worked as a schoolteacher at St. Paul's First School in Cramlington for two years.[6] Sting performed in jazz bands on evenings, weekends, and during breaks from college and from teaching. He played with local jazz bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit. He gained his nickname after he performed wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes while onstage with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon[7] thought that the sweater made him look like a bee, which prompted the nickname "Sting".[8] In the 1985 documentary Bring on the Night he was addressed by a journalist as "Gordon", and replied: "My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?"[9] In a 2011 interview for Time magazine, he stated: "I was never called Gordon. You could shout Gordon in the street and I would just move out of your way."[10] [edit] Musical career [edit] The Police Main article: The Police In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London, and soon thereafter he joined Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers) to form the New Wave band The Police. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five chart-topping albums and won six Grammy Awards. Although their initial sound was punk inspired, The Police soon switched to reggae-tinged rock and minimalist pop. Their last album, Synchronicity, which included their most successful song, "Every Breath You Take", was released in 1983. According to Sting, who appeared in the documentary Last Play at Shea, he decided to leave The Police while onstage during the 18 August 1983 concert at Shea Stadium because he felt that playing that venue was "Everest".[11] While never formally breaking up, after Synchronicity the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, particularly Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming. In 2007, however, the band reformed and undertook a world tour.[12] [edit] Early solo work In September 1981, Sting made his first live solo appearance, performing on all four nights of the fourth Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis. He performed solo versions of "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle". He also led an all-star band (dubbed "The Secret Police") on his own arrangement of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released". The band and chorus included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, all of whom except Beck later worked together on Live Aid. His performances were featured prominently in the album and movie of the show and drew critical attention to his work. Sting's participation in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the beginning of his growing involvement in raising money and consciousness for political and social causes. In 1982 he released a solo single, "Spread a Little Happiness" from the film version of the Dennis Potter television play Brimstone and Treacle. The song was a re-interpretation of a song from the 1920s musical Mr. Cinders by Vivian Ellis, and was a surprise Top 20 hit in the UK.[13] [edit] 1980s His first solo album, 1985's The Dream of the Blue Turtles, featured a cast of jazz musicians, including Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim, and Branford Marsalis. It included the hit singles "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free", "Fortress Around Your Heart", "Love Is the Seventh Wave", and "Russians", the last of which was based on a theme from the Lieutenant Kijé Suite.[14] Within a year, the album reached Triple Platinum. This album would garner Sting a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The film Bring on the Night, directed by Michael Apted, documented the formation of the band and its first concert in France. Also in 1985, he sang the introduction and chorus to "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. Sting was reportedly embarrassed when his publishing company insisted on a co-writing credit (and royalties) since his "I Want My MTV" line, was sung to the exact same notes as the chorus of "Don't Stand So Close to Me". He performed this song with Dire Straits at the Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium.[15] Prior to the Live Aid concert, in November 1984 Sting performed "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with Band Aid for the relief of poverty in Africa.[16] In 1985 Sting provided a short guest vocal performance on the Miles Davis album You're Under Arrest. He also sang backing vocals on Arcadia's single "The Promise", and on two songs from Phil Collins' album No Jacket Required. He also contributed a version of "Mack the Knife" to the Hal Willner-produced tribute album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill. In September 1985, Sting performed "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards at the Radio City Music Hall in New York.[17] Sting released ...Nothing Like the Sun in 1987, including the hit songs "We'll Be Together", "Fragile", "Englishman in New York", and "Be Still My Beating Heart", dedicated to his mother, who had recently died. It eventually went Double Platinum. The song "The Secret Marriage" from this album was adapted from a melody by German composer Hanns Eisler, and "Englishman In New York" was about the eccentric writer Quentin Crisp. The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.[18] Soon thereafter, in February 1988, he released Nada como el sol, a selection of five songs from Sun sung (by Sting himself) in Spanish and Portuguese. He was also involved in two other recordings in the late 1980s, the first in 1987 with jazz arranger Gil Evans, who placed Sting in a big band setting for a live album of Sting's songs (the CD was not released in the U.S.), and the second on Frank Zappa's 1988 Broadway the Hard Way album, where Sting performs an unusual arrangement of "Murder By Numbers", set to the tune "Stolen Moments" by jazz composer Oliver Nelson, and "dedicated" to fundamentalist evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. October 1988 saw the release of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale with the London Sinfonietta conducted by Kent Nagano. It featured Vanessa Redgrave, Sir Ian McKellen and Sting in the role of the soldier.[19]

JAMES HETFIELD (Metallica)

James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler, searching for band members. Since then, Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released nine studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays and 24 singles. In 2009, Hetfield was ranked number 8 in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists,[2] and ranked twenty-fourth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. Early life Hetfield was born August 3, 1963.[3] He is of German, English, Irish and Scottish descent. He has two older half-brothers from his mother's first marriage and one younger sister. He attended Downey High School his freshman and sophomore years. His father, Virgil, was a truck driver who left the family when Hetfield was young. His mother, Cynthia, was a light opera singer. The two divorced in 1976. Virgil and Cynthia were very strict Christian Scientists, and in accordance with their beliefs, Hetfield's parents strongly disapproved of medicine or any other medical treatment and remained loyal to their faith even as Cynthia was dying from cancer. This upbringing became the inspiration for many of Hetfield's lyrics later in his career with Metallica, such as songs like "The God That Failed". Cynthia Hetfield died of cancer in 1979 when James was 16 years old. After the death of his mother, Hetfield went to live with his older half-brother David. Virgil died in late 1996, during Metallica's Load tour.[4] Musical influences Hetfield was nine years old when he first began piano lessons, after which he took on his brother David's drums and finally, at the age of fourteen, he began to play guitar with Robert Okner .[5] He also was in a few bands as a teenager – one being Leather Charm and another, Obsession. Hetfield identifies Aerosmith as having been his main musical influence as a child,[6] and has said they were the reason he wanted to play guitar. He also cited Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Motörhead, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent and Deep Purple as important influences. Metallica (1981–present) Main article: Metallica In the early days of the band, Metallica experimented with a few different vocals and guitar combinations, essentially creating a setup similar to that of Diamond Head. Some of the options considered included adding another guitar player, having John Roads play lead guitar, as well as asking John Bush from Armored Saint (who later joined Anthrax) to sing for the band. The finalized line-up of the band became Hetfield (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Dave Mustaine (lead guitar), and Ron McGovney (bass) who was replaced by Cliff Burton soon. From 1982 to 1983, Mustaine's alcoholism sparked heated altercations between himself and Hetfield.[7] Mustaine also once poured beer onto Ron McGovney's bass[7] very nearly causing serious damage. On April 1, 1983, the band recruited lead guitarist Kirk Hammett from the band Exodus and 10 days later Hetfield and Ulrich officially ejected Mustaine due to his alcoholic tendencies.[7][8] Mustaine was sent home on a 4-day bus journey, and went on to form the heavy metal band Megadeth. Later, Mustaine would be quoted to wonder why Metallica did not send him to rehab. Hetfield in 2008 Until the mid-1990s, Hetfield recorded all rhythm tracks and most harmony tracks[citation needed]. Since the recording of Load, Hammett is recording rhythm guitars as well. Hetfield occasionally plays guitar solos on songs such as "Nothing Else Matters", "My Friend of Misery", the outro solo on "The Outlaw Torn", the second solo on "To Live Is to Die", the first solo on "Suicide and Redemption", the first interlude solo on "Master of Puppets" and the introduction harmonic solo in "The Day That Never Comes". He also writes the majority of the guitar harmonies, as well as writing the lyrics, vocal melodies, and co-arranging the songs with Ulrich. Hetfield has been involved in a number of onstage accidents, most notable being an incident with pyrotechnics at Olympic Stadium in Montreal during the Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour on August 8, 1992. Hetfield was the victim of a severe pyrotechnics accident during the song "Fade to Black", in which a pyrotechnic exploded. Hetfield's guitar protected him from the full force of the blast; however, the fire engulfed his left side, burning his hand, arm, eyebrows, face and hair. He suffered second and third-degree burns, but was back on stage 17 days later, although his guitar duties were delegated to former guitar tech and Metal Church guitarist John Marshall for four weeks while he made a full recovery.[9] Hetfield has also broken his arm a number of times while skateboarding, which prevented him from playing guitar on stage, and subsequently caused Hetfield's management company Q Prime to add a clause in Hetfield's contract forbidding him to ride a skateboard while Metallica was touring.[10] During a live performance on tour for the Metallica, Hetfield experienced complications with his vocals after performing a cover of the Anti-Nowhere League song "So What?", forcing him to take vocal lessons for the first time. He did basic warm-up exercises to piano keys with his vocal coach who also gave him a cassette tape of the piano warm-up for future use. Hetfield still uses the same cassette he was given in the early nineties to this day before any live performance or any recording Metallica does. Hetfield talks about his vocal training endeavours in the Metallica documentary film, Some Kind of Monster produced & directed by Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky.[11] During the recording of the band's eighth studio album St. Anger in 2001, Hetfield went into rehab to address his alcohol addiction. He rejoined the band after seven months in rehab and four months recovering with his family. He is now clean and sober and is determined to remain so, all of which is featured in Some Kind of Monster.[11] Some Kind of Monster also shows the making of the St. Anger album and documents the various conflicts and issues the band were facing at the time including the departure of the band's bassist, Jason Newsted, alcoholism, family commitments, and the future of the band with many in the rock press questioning whether the band would even still be together to see the completion of the St. Anger album.

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Omar Fdo Sanchez

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