Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Robert Plant
landscape	Yes
background	solo_singer
birth name	Robert Anthony Plant
born	August 20, 1948West Bromwich, Birmingham, England
instrument	Vocals, harmonica, percussion, guitar, bass guitar
genre	Rock, hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, folk rock, world music, country rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	1966–present
label	Atlantic, Swan Song, Es Paranza, Sanctuary, Mercury, Universal, Rounder
associated acts	Band of Joy, Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers, Page and Plant, Strange Sensation, Alison Krauss, The New Yardbirds
website	Official website }}

Robert Anthony Plant, CBE (born 20 August 1948), is an English rock singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career. In 2007, Plant released ''Raising Sand'', an album produced by T-Bone Burnett with American bluegrass soprano Alison Krauss, which won the 2009 Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Plant is regarded as one of the most significant singers in the history of rock music, and has influenced contemporaries and later singers such as Freddie Mercury and Axl Rose. In 2006, heavy metal magazine ''Hit Parader'' named Plant the "Greatest Metal Vocalist of All-Time". In 2009, Plant was voted "the greatest voice in rock" in a poll conducted by ''Planet Rock''. In 2011, a ''Rolling Stone'' readers' pick placed Plant in first place of the magazine's "Best Lead Singers of All Time".

Life and career

Early career

Plant was born in the Black Country town of West Bromwich (then in Staffordshire now in West Midlands) to parents Robert C. who worked as a civil engineer and Annie C. (Cain) Plant, but grew up in Kidderminster, in Worcestershire. Plant gained an interest in singing and rock and roll music at an early age.

When I was a kid I used to hide behind the curtains at home at Christmas and I used to try and be Elvis. There was a certain ambience between the curtains and the French windows, there was a certain sound there for a ten year old. That was all the ambience I got at ten years old... I think! And I always wanted to be a curtain, a bit similar to that.

He left King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys in Stourbridge in his mid-teens and developed a strong passion for the blues, mainly through his admiration for Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and early rendition of songs in this genre.

I suppose I was quite interested in my stamp collection and Romano-British history. I was a little grammar school boy and I could hear this kind of calling through the airwaves

He abandoned training as a chartered accountant after only two weeks to attend college in an effort to gain more GCE passes and to become part of the English Midlands blues scene. "I left home at 16", he said "and I started my real education musically, moving from group to group, furthering my knowledge of the blues and of other music which had weight and was worth listening to."

Plant's early blues influences included Robert Johnson, Bukka White, Skip James, Jerry Miller, and Sleepy John Estes. Plant had various jobs while pursuing his music career, one of which was working for the major British construction company Wimpey in Birmingham in 1967 laying tarmac on roads. He also worked at Woolworths in Halesowen town for a short period of time. He cut three obscure singles on CBS Records and sang with a variety of bands, including The Crawling King Snakes, which brought him into contact with drummer John Bonham. They both went on to play in the Band of Joy, merging blues with newer psychedelic trends. Though his early career met with no commercial success, word quickly spread about the "young man with the powerful voice".

Led Zeppelin (1968-1980)

Early years

In 1968, the guitarist Jimmy Page was in search of a lead singer for his new band and met Plant after being turned down by his first choice, Terry Reid, who referred him to a show at a teacher training college in Birmingham— where Plant was singing in a band named Hobbstweedle. Page explained:

When I auditioned him and heard him sing, I immediately thought there must be something wrong with him personality-wise or that he had to be impossible to work with, because I just could not understand why, after he told me he'd been singing for a few years already, he hadn't become a big name yet. So I had him down to my place for a little while, just to sort of check him out, and we got along great. No problems.

According to Plant:

I was appearing at this college when Peter and Jimmy turned up and asked me if I'd like to join The Yardbirds. I knew The Yardbirds had done a lot of work in America - which to me meant audiences who would want to know what I might have to offer - so naturally I was very interested.

Plant and Page immediately hit it off with a shared musical passion and began their writing collaboration with reworkings of earlier blues songs, although Plant would receive no songwriting credits on the band's first album, allegedly because he was still under contract to CBS Records at the time. Plant brought along John Bonham as drummer, and they were joined by John Paul Jones, who had previously worked with Page as a studio musician. Jones called Page on the phone before they checked out Plant, and Page hired Jones immediately.

Initially dubbed the "New Yardbirds" in 1968, the band soon came to be known as Led Zeppelin. The band's self-titled debut album hit the charts in 1969 and is widely credited as a catalyst for the heavy metal genre. Plant has commented that it is unfair for people to think of Zeppelin as heavy metal, as almost a third of their music was acoustic.

In 1975, Plant and his wife Maureen (now divorced) were seriously injured in a car crash in Rhodes, Greece. This significantly affected the production of Led Zeppelin's seventh album ''Presence'' for a few months while he recovered, and forced the band to cancel the remaining tour dates for the year.

In July 1977 his son Karac died aged five of a stomach infection while Plant was engaged on Led Zeppelin's concert tour of the United States. It was a devastating loss for the family. Plant retreated to his home in the Midlands and for months afterward he questioned his future. Karac's death later inspired him to write the song "All My Love" in tribute, featured on Led Zeppelin's final studio LP, 1979's ''In Through the Out Door''.

Lyrics

Plant did not begin writing song lyrics with Led Zeppelin until the making of ''Led Zeppelin II'', in 1969. According to Jimmy Page:

Plant's lyrics with Led Zeppelin were often mystical, philosophical and spiritual, alluding to events in classical and Norse mythology, such as the "Immigrant Song", which refers to Valhalla and Viking conquests. However, the song "No Quarter" is often misunderstood to refer to the god Thor; the song actually refers to Mount Thor (which is named after the god). Another example is "The Rain Song".

Plant was also influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien, whose book series inspired lyrics in some early Led Zeppelin songs. Most notably "The Battle of Evermore", "Misty Mountain Hop", "No Quarter", "Ramble On" and "Over the Hills and Far Away" contain verses referencing Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit''. Conversely, Plant sometimes used more straightforward blues-based lyrics dealing primarily with sexual innuendo, as in "The Lemon Song", "Trampled Under Foot", and "Black Dog".

Welsh mythology also forms a basis of Plant's interest in mystical lyrics. He grew up close to the Welsh border and would often take summer trips to Snowdonia. Plant bought a Welsh sheep farm in 1973, and began taking Welsh lessons and looking into the mythology of the land (such as Black Book of Carmarthen, Book of Taliesin, etc.) Plant's first son, Karac, was named after the Welsh warrior Caratacus. The song "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is named after the 18th Century Welsh cottage Bron-Yr-Aur owned by a friend of his father; it later inspired the song "Bron-Yr-Aur". The songs "Misty Mountain Hop," "That's the Way", and early dabblings in what would become "Stairway to Heaven" were written in Wales and lyrically reflect Plant's mystical view of the land. Critic Steve Turner suggests that Plant's early and continued experiences in Wales served as the foundation for his broader interest in the mythologies he revisits in his lyrics (including those myth systems of Tolkien and the Norse).

The passion for diverse musical experiences drove Plant to explore Africa, specifically Marrakesh in Morocco where he encountered Umm Kulthum.

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That musical inspiration eventually culminated in the classic track "Kashmir" (which is not in North Africa, but rather in India). Both he and Jimmy Page revisited these influences during their reunion album ''No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded'' in 1994. In his solo career, Plant again tapped from these influences many times, most notably in the 2002 album, ''Dreamland''.

Arguably one of Plant's most significant achievements with Led Zeppelin was his contribution to the track "Stairway to Heaven", an epic rock ballad featured on ''Led Zeppelin IV'' that drew influence from folk, blues, Celtic traditional music and hard rock among other genres. Most of the lyrics of the song were written spontaneously by Plant in 1970 at Headley Grange. While never released as a single, the song has topped charts as the greatest song of all time on various polls around the world.

Plant is also recognised for his lyrical improvisation in Led Zeppelin's live performances, often singing verses previously unheard on studio recordings. One of the most famous Led Zeppelin musical devices involves Plant's vocal mimicking of band mate Jimmy Page's guitar effects. This can be heard in the songs "How Many More Times", "Dazed and Confused", "The Lemon Song", "You Shook Me", "Nobody's Fault but Mine" and "Sick Again".

He is also known for his light-hearted, humorous, and unusual on-stage banter, often referred to as "plantations." Plant often discusses the origin and background of the songs during his shows, and sometimes provides social comment as well. He frequently talks about American blues musicians as his inspiration, mentioning artists like Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Blind Willie Johnson, and Willie Dixon at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the 2007 Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert with Led Zeppelin.

Stage persona

Plant enjoyed great success with Led Zeppelin throughout the 1970s and developed a compelling image as the charismatic rock-and-roll front man, similar to his contemporary in The Who, singer Roger Daltrey (who adopted the look in the late 1960s), Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, and his other fellow contemporary, Jim Morrison of The Doors. With his mane of long blond hair and powerful, bare-chested appearance, Plant helped to create the "god of rock and roll" or "rock god" archetype. On stage, Plant was particularly active in live performances, often dancing, jumping, skipping, snapping his fingers, clapping, making emphatic gestures to emphasise a lyric or cymbal crash, throwing back his head, or placing his hands on his hips. As the 1960s-1970s progressed he, along with the other members of Led Zeppelin, became increasingly flamboyant on-stage and wore more elaborate, colourful clothing and jewellery.

According to ''Classic Rock'' magazine, "once [Plant] had a couple of US tours under his belt, 'Percy' Plant swiftly developed a staggering degree of bravado and swagger that irrefutably enhanced Led Zeppelin's rapidly burgeoning appeal." In 1994, during his "Unledded" tour with Jimmy Page, Plant himself reflected tongue-in-cheek upon his Led Zeppelin showmanship:

I can't take my whole persona as a singer back then very seriously. It's not some great work of beauty and love to be a rock-and-roll singer. So I got a few moves from Elvis and one or two from Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin' Wolf and threw them all together.

Solo career (since 1982)

As a solo artist

After the break-up of Led Zeppelin in 1980 (following the death of John Bonham), Plant pursued a successful solo career beginning with ''Pictures at Eleven'' in 1982, followed by 1983's ''The Principle of Moments''. Popular tracks from this period include "Big Log" (a Top 20 hit in 1983), "In the Mood" (1983), "Little by Little" (from 1985's ''Shaken 'n' Stirred''), "Tall Cool One" (a #25 hit off 1988's ''Now and Zen'') and "I Believe" (from 1993's ''Fate of Nations''), another song written for and dedicated to his late son, Karac. In 1984, Plant formed a short-lived all-star group with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck called The Honeydrippers, who had a #3 hit with a remake of the Phil Phillips' tune, "Sea of Love" and a followup hit with a cover of Roy Brown's "Rockin' at Midnight". Although Plant avoided performing Led Zeppelin songs through much of this period, his tours in 1983 (with drummer Phil Collins) and 1985 were very successful, often performing to sold-out arena-sized venues.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Plant co-wrote three solo albums with keyboardist/songwriter Phil Johnstone. ''Now and Zen'', ''Manic Nirvana'', and ''Fate of Nations'' (featuring Máire Brennan of Clannad). It was Johnstone who talked Plant into playing Led Zeppelin songs in his live shows, something Plant had resisted, not wanting to be forever known as "the former Led Zeppelin vocalist."

Although Led Zeppelin split in 1980, Plant and Page occasionally collaborated on various projects, including ''The Honeydrippers: Volume One'' album in 1984. In the spring 2 years later Robert performed at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986. The pair again worked together in the studio on the 1988 Page solo effort, ''Outrider'', and in the same year Page contributed to Plant's album ''Now and Zen''. Also, on 15 May 1988 Plant appeared with Page as a member of Led Zeppelin (and in his own right as a solo artist) at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert.

As Page and Plant (1994-1998)

Page and Plant became a full-fledged performing act from 1994 through 1998, releasing the ''Unledded'' album in 1994 and following with an enormously successful tour in 1995: Fourteen years of speculation from their fans and occasional sniping between the two former members ended when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin reconvened their former musical partnership to produce No Quarter. Having long resisted offers from MTV to reform to do an Unplugged show, they finally accepted as part of a deal that also allowed them to visit Morocco to record new material. The album combines the results of both of these projects. The Led Zeppelin material features new arrangements and new instrumentation, including strings, Egyptian musicians and the haunting vocals of British-Asian star Najma Akhtar. Page and Plant recorded their only post-Zeppelin album of original material on the 1998 album, ''Walking into Clarksdale'', an effort that was unsuccessful commercially, leading Plant to return to his solo career. A song from this album, "Please Read the Letter", was re-recorded by Plant with Alison Krauss, winning the 2009 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

With Priory of Brion (1999-2000)

Starting in mid-1999, Plant performed until the end of 2000 at several small venues with his folk-rock band, named Priory of Brion.

In 1999, Plant contributed to the tribute album for Moby Grape co-founder Skip Spence, who was terminally ill. The album, ''More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album'' (Birdman, 1999), with the album title referring to Spence's only solo album, ''Oar'' (Columbia, 1969), contained Plant's version of Spence's "Little Hands". Plant had been an admirer of Spence and Moby Grape since the release of Moby Grape's eponymous 1967 debut album.

In 2001, Plant appeared on Afro Celt Sound System's album ''Volume 3: Further in Time''. The song "Life Begin Again" features a duet with Welsh folksinger Julie Murphy, emphasising Plant's recurring interest in Welsh culture (Murphy would also tour in support of Plant).

With The Strange Sensation (2001-2007)

In 2002, with his then newly-formed band Strange Sensation, Plant released a widely acclaimed collection of mostly blues and folk remakes, ''Dreamland''. Contrasting with this lush collection of often relatively obscure remakes, the second album with Strange Sensation, ''Mighty ReArranger'' (2005), contains new, original songs. Both have received some of the most favourable reviews of Plant's solo career and four Grammy nominations, two in 2003 and two in 2006. As a former member of Led Zeppelin, along with Page and John Paul Jones, Plant received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and the Polar Music Prize in 2006.

From 2001 to 2007, Plant actively toured the US & Europe with The Strange Sensation. His sets typically included recent, but not only, solo material and plenty of Led Zeppelin favourites, often with new and expanded arrangements. A DVD titled ''Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation'', featuring his ''Soundstage'' performance (filmed at the Soundstage Studios in Chicago on 16 September 2005), was released in October 2006.

On 23 June 2006, Plant was the headliner (backed by Ian Hunter's band) at the Benefit For Arthur Lee concert at New York's Beacon Theatre, a show which raised money for Lee's medical expenses from his bout with leukaemia. Plant and band performed thirteen songs - five by Arthur Lee & Love, five Led Zeppelin songs and three others including a duet with Ian Hunter. At the show, Plant told the audience of his great admiration for Arthur Lee dating back to the mid-Sixties. Lee died of his illness six weeks after the concert.

An expansive box set of his solo work, ''Nine Lives'', was released in November 2006, which expanded all of his albums with various b-sides, demos, and live cuts. It was accompanied by a DVD. All his solo works were re-released with these extra tracks individually.

In 2007, Plant contributed two tracks to the Fats Domino tribute album ''Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino'', "It Keeps Rainin'" with the Lil' Band O' Gold and "Valley of Tears" with The Soweto Gospel Choir.

With Alison Krauss (2007-2008)

From 2007-2008, Plant recorded and performed with bluegrass star Alison Krauss. A duet album, ''Raising Sand'', was released on 23 October 2007 on Rounder Records. The album, recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles and produced by T-Bone Burnett, includes performances of lesser-known material from R&B;, Blues, folk, and country songwriters including Mel Tillis, Townes Van Zandt, Gene Clark, Tom Waits, Doc Watson, Little Milton and The Everly Brothers. The song "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" from ''Raising Sand'' won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals in 2008. ''Raising Sand'' also won Album of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards. The album has been successful critically and commercially, and was certified platinum on 4 March 2008.

Plant and Krauss began an extended tour of the US and Europe in April 2008, playing music from ''Raising Sand'' and other American roots music as well as reworked Led Zeppelin tunes. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize in July 2008. Also in 2008, Plant performed with bluegrass musicians at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. He appeared as a surprise guest during Fairport Convention's set at the 2008 Cropredy Festival, performing Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore" with Kristina Donahue as a tribute to Sandy Denny. In October 2008, it was reported that Plant collaborated on an album by original Fairport vocalist Judy Dyble, but the album has not materialised.

On 8 February 2009, Plant and Krauss won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Country Collaboration with Vocals, and Contemporary Folk/Americana Album.

In 2010, Plant realised a lifelong ambition by playing live at Molineux Stadium, home of the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Plant performed with the amateur cover band No Rezerve.

With Band of Joy (2010)

In July 2010, Robert Plant embarked on a twelve-date (summer) tour in the United States with a new group called Band of Joy (reprising the name of his very first band in the 1960s). The group includes singer Patty Griffin, singer-guitarist Buddy Miller, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Darrell Scott, bassist-vocalist Byron House, and drummer-percussionist-vocalist Marco Giovino.

After a unique show in the United States on 12 September 2010 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, another eleven-date autumn tour in Europe was announced to last from October to November 2010. North America tour dates were announced 16 November 2010, with the first show being 18 January 2011 in Asheville, North Carolina.

A new studio album called ''Band of Joy'' was released on 13 September 2010 on the Rounder Records label.

The band played their final scheduled show together at the Big Chill Festival at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Herefordshire on 7 August 2011. The show ended with Plant bidding his bandmates "a fond farewell".

Led Zeppelin-related projects and reunion rumours

Plant performed with living members of Led Zeppelin both on 13 July 1985 for Live Aid (with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson on drums) and on 15 May 1988 for Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary. At the 1988 reunion, Jason Bonham, the son of Led Zeppelin's late drummer John Bonham, played drums. Both sets featured only a few songs, performed with minimal rehearsal. Plant was unhappy with both performances, saying that "it was like sleeping with your ex-wife but not making love." At the 1990 Silver Clef Award Winners Concert at Knebworth, Plant was joined by Jimmy Page. Some of their set was released on the subsequent live album and video. In 1995, Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Plant performed at the induction show with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham, Neil Young, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, performing spirited versions of "Bring It On Home", "Honeybee", and "When the Levee Breaks."

After years of reunion rumours, Led Zeppelin performed a full two-hour set on 10 December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert, with Jason again filling in on drums. Despite enormous public demand, Plant declined a $200 million offer to tour with Led Zeppelin after the 2007 show. In interviews following the 2007 show, Plant left the door open to possible future performances with Led Zeppelin, saying that he enjoyed the reunion and felt that the show was strong musically. Although Page, Jones, and Bonham have expressed the strong desire to tour as Led Zeppelin, Plant has consistently opposed a full tour and has responded negatively to questions about another reunion. In a January, 2008 interview, he stated that he does not want to "tour like a bunch of bored old men following the Rolling Stones around." In a statement on his web site in late 2008, Plant stated, "I will not be touring with Led Zeppelin or anyone else for the next two years. Anyone buying Led Zeppelin tickets will be buying bogus tickets."

Personal life

Robert Plant married Maureen Wilson on 9 November 1968. The couple had three children: daughter Carmen Jane (1968) (married to Charlie Jones, Plant's bass player for solo tours); and sons Karac Pendragon (1972–1977) (died of a virus; the reason Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American Tour was cut short), and Logan Romero (1979). The couple divorced in August 1983. Also, Plant has a younger son, Jesse Lee (1991), the son of Shirley Wilson, sister of Maureen.

On 14 August 2009, it was announced via the Wolverhampton Wanderers text message news service that "Rock Legend and lifelong Wolves fan Robert Plant is to become the club's third Vice President." Plant officially received the honour before kick off at the club's first match of the season against West Ham. Plant was five years old when he first visited Molineux. He recalled in an interview with his local paper Express & Star in August 2010: "I was five when my dad took me down for the first time and Billy Wright waved at me. Honest, he did. And that was it – I was hooked from that moment.

According to ''The Sunday Times'' Rich List Plant is worth £80 million as of 2009.

In late 2010 on BBC2, a documentary featured Robert Plant discussing his journey with Led Zeppelin and various projects since.

Legacy

Robert Plant is one of the most significant singers in rock music and has influenced the style of many of his contemporaries, including Geddy Lee, Ann Wilson, Sammy Hagar, and later rock vocalists such as Jeff Buckley and Jack White who imitated his performing style extensively. Freddie Mercury of Queen, and Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses were also influenced by Plant. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' notes "Exaggerating the vocal style and expressive palette of blues singers such as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, [Robert] Plant created the sound that has defined much hard rock and heavy metal singing: a high range, an abundance of distortion, loud volume, and emotional excess". Plant received the Knebworth Silver Clef Award in 1990.

In 2006, heavy metal magazine ''Hit Parader'' named Plant #1 on their list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All-Time, a list which included Rob Halford (2), Steven Tyler (3), Freddie Mercury (6), Geddy Lee (13), and Paul Stanley (18), all of whom were influenced by Plant. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' named Plant as number 15 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time. In 2009, he was voted the "greatest voice in rock" in a poll conducted by ''Planet Rock''. Plant was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours for his "services to popular music". He was included in the ''Q'' magazine's 2009 list of "Artists Of The Century" and was ranked at number 8 in their list of "100 Greatest Singers" in 2007. In 2009, Plant also won the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize at the Q Awards. He was placed at no. 3 on ''SPIN'''s list of "The 50 Greatest Rock Frontmen of All Time".

On 20 September 2010 National Public Radio (NPR) named Plant as one of the "50 Great Voices" in the world.

Solo discography

References

External links

Led Zeppelin Official Site

Official Robert Plant Homepage

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Official Site

Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:British harmonica players Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:English-language singers Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:English tenors Category:English rock singers Category:English heavy metal singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Led Zeppelin members Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People from Halesowen Category:People from West Bromwich Category:Welsh-speaking people Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:Silver Clef Awards winners Category:Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Name	Alison Krauss
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Born	July 23, 1971Decatur, IllinoisUnited States
Occupation	Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Bandleader
Instrument	Vocals, Fiddle, Viola
Genre(s)	Bluegrass, Country, Adult Contemporary, R&B;
Years active	1984–present
Associated acts	Dan Tyminski, Robert Plant, John Waite, Rhonda Vincent, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Jerry Douglas
Label	Rounder
Website	AlisonKrauss.com}}

Alison Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS), and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989.

She has released twelve albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and helped renew interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' soundtrack, an album also credited with raising American interest in bluegrass, and the ''Cold Mountain'' soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards. As of the 2011 Grammy Awards, she has won 26 Grammy Awards, making her the most awarded singer, the most awarded female artist, and tied for the third most awarded artist overall in Grammy history. At the time of her first award, at the 1991 Grammy Awards, she was the second youngest winner ever (currently tied as third youngest).

Biography

Alison Maria Krauss was born in Decatur, Illinois. Her parents are originally from Columbus, Mississippi. Krauss was raised in Champaign, Illinois. She began studying classical violin at age five but soon switched to bluegrass. Krauss said she first became involved with music because "[my] mother tried to find interesting things for me to do" and "wanted to get me involved in music, in addition to art and sports." At the age eight she started entering local talent contests, and at ten she had her own band. At 13 she won the Walnut Valley Festival Fiddle Championship, and the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass in America named her the Most Promising Fiddler in the Midwest. Krauss first met Dan Tyminski around 1984 at a festival held by the Society. Every current member of her band, Union Station, first met her at these festivals.

1985–1991: Early career

Krauss made her recording debut in 1985 on the independent album, ''Different Strokes'', featuring her brother Viktor, Swamp Weiss and Jim Hoiles. From the age of 12 she performed with bassist and songwriter John Pennell in a band called "Silver Rail". Pennell later formed Union Station, and Krauss joined at his invitation, replacing their previous fiddler Andrea Zonn. Pennell remains one of her favorite songwriters and wrote some of her early work including the popular "Every Time You Say Goodbye."

Later that year she signed to Rounder Records, and in 1987, at 16, she released her debut album ''Too Late to Cry'' with Union Station as her backup band.

Krauss' debut solo album was followed shortly by her first group album with Union Station in 1989 ''Two Highways''. The album includes the traditional tunes, Wild Bill Jones and Beaumont Rag, along with a bluegrass interpretation of The Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." Alison Krauss and Union Station would later perform at the 1989 Newport Folk Festival.

Krauss' contract with Rounder required her to alternate between releasing a solo album and an album with Union Station, and she released the solo album ''I've Got That Old Feeling'' in 1990. It was her first album to rise onto the Billboard charts, peaking in the top seventy-five on the country chart. The album also was a notable point in her career as she earned her first Grammy Award, the single "Steel Rails" was her first single tracked by Billboard, and the title single "I've Got That Old Feeling" was the first song for which she recorded a music video.

1992–1999: Rising success

{| Class=wikitable style="float:right;margin:0 0 0 1em;" |- !colspan=2|Alison Krauss & Union Station |- !align="center" valign="bottom"|Name !align="center" valign="bottom"|Role |- |Alison Krauss |Lead vocals, fiddle, viola |- |Larry Atamanuik |drums, Percussion |- |Barry Bales |Bass |- |Ron Block |Guitar, Banjo |- |Jerry Douglas |Dobro |- |Dan Tyminski |Guitar, Mandolin |- |} Krauss' second Union Station album ''Everytime You Say Goodbye'' was released in 1992, and she went on to win her second Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album of the year. She then joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1993 at the age of 21. She was the youngest cast member at the time, and the first bluegrass artist to join the Opry in twenty-nine years. She also collaborated on a project with the Cox Family in 1994, a bluegrass album called ''I Know Who Holds Tomorrow''. Mandolin and guitar player Dan Tyminski replaced Tim Stafford in Union Station in 1994. Late in the year, Krauss recorded with the band Shenandoah on its single "Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart," which brought her to the country music Top Ten for the first time. Also in 1994, Krauss collaborated with Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash to contribute "Teach Your Children" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. In 1997, she recorded vocals and violin for "Half a Mind," on Tommy Shaw's 7 Deadly Zens album.

''Now That I've Found You: A Collection'', a compilation of older releases and some covers of her favorite works by other artists, was released in 1995. Some of these covers include Bad Company's "Oh Atlanta," The Foundations' "Baby, Now That I've Found You," which was used in the Australian hit comedy movie ''The Castle'', and The Beatles' "I Will." A cover of Keith Whitley's "When You Say Nothing at All" reached the top five on the Billboard country chart; the album peaked in the top fifteen on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, and sold two million copies to become Krauss' first double-platinum album. Krauss also was nominated for four Country Music Association Awards and won all of them.

''So Long So Wrong'', another Union Station album, was released in 1997 and won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. One critic said its sound was "rather untraditional" and "likely [to] change quite a few . . . minds about bluegrass." Included on the album is the track "It Doesn't Matter," which was featured in the second season premiere episode of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and was included on the ''Buffy'' soundtrack in 1999.

Her next solo release in 1999, ''Forget About It'', included one of her two tracks to appear on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, "Stay." The album was certified gold, and charted within the top seventy-five of the Billboard 200 and in the top five of the country chart. In addition, the track "That Kind of Love" was included in another episode of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer.''

2000–present: Current career

Adam Steffey left Union Station in 1998, and was replaced with renowned Dobro player Jerry Douglas. Douglas had provided studio back-up to Krauss's records since 1987's ''Too Late To Cry''. Their next album, ''New Favorite'', was released on August 14, 2001. The album went on to win the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album, with the single "The Lucky One" winning a Grammy as well. ''New Favorite'' was followed up by the double platinum double album ''Live'' in 2002 and a release of a DVD of the same live performance in 2003. Both the album and the DVD were recorded during a performance at The Louisville Palace and both the album and DVD have been certified double Platinum. Also in 2002 she played a singing voice for one of the characters in "Eight Crazy Nights"

''Lonely Runs Both Ways'' was released in 2004, and eventually became another Alison Krauss & Union Station gold certified album. Ron Block described ''Lonely Runs Both Ways'' as "pretty much... what we've always done" in terms of song selection and the style in which those songs were recorded. Krauss believes the group "was probably the most unprepared we've ever been" for the album and that songs were chosen as needed rather than planned beforehand. She also performed a duet with Brad Paisley on his album ''Mud on the Tires'' in the single "Whiskey Lullaby." The single was quickly ranked in the top fifty of the Billboard Hot 100 and the top five of the Hot Country Songs, and won the Country Music Association Awards for "Best Musical Event" and "Best Music Video" of the year.

Krauss recorded a collaborative album, ''Raising Sand'' with Robert Plant in 2007 which would ultimately be RIAA certified platinum. ''Raising Sand'' was nominated for and won 5 Grammys at the 51st Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album, and Record of the Year ("Please Read the Letter"). Krauss and Plant recorded a Crossroads special in October 2007 for the Country Music Television network which first aired on February 12, 2008. The pair are currently working on a new album. Alison Krauss has announced a new album release called ''Paper Airplane'' with Union Station on April 12, 2011, the follow-up album to "Lonely Runs Both Ways" (2004)

Other work

Krauss has made multiple guest appearances on other records with lead vocals, harmony vocals, or fiddle playing. In 1993 she recorded vocals for the Phish song "If I Could" in Los Angeles. In 1997 she contributed harmony vocals in both English and Irish to Irish traditional band Altan's ''Runaway Sunday'' album. She has contributed to numerous motion picture soundtracks, most notably the soundtrack ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' in 2000. She and co-vocalist Dan Tyminski contributed multiple tracks to the soundtrack, including "I'll Fly Away" (with Gillian Welch), "Down to the River to Pray", and "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow." She also makes a guest appearance on Heart's March 2010 concert DVD Night At Sky Church, providing the lead vocals for the song These Dreams.

In the film, Tyminski's vocals on "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" were used for George Clooney's character. The soundtrack sold over seven million copies and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2002. The unexpected success of the album has been partially credited, as was Krauss herself, with bringing a new interest in bluegrass to the United States. She has said, however, that she believes Americans already liked bluegrass and other less-heard musical genres, and that the film merely provided easy exposure to the music. She did not appear in the movie, at her own request, as she was nine months pregnant during its filming.

In 2007, Krauss released the anthology ''A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection'' which was a collection of soundtrack work, duets with artists such as John Waite, James Taylor, Brad Paisley and esteemed fiddle player Natalie MacMaster, and newer tracks. The album was very commercially successful, but was received with a lukewarm reception from critics. One of the tracks, "Missing You", a duet with Waite (and a cover of his hit single from 1984), was similarly received as a single. On August 11, television network Great American Country aired a one-hour special, "Alison Krauss: A Hundred Miles or More" based on the album and featured many of the album's duets and solo performances.

Other soundtracks for which Krauss has performed include ''Twister'', ''The Prince of Egypt'', ''Eight Crazy Nights'', ''Mona Lisa Smile'', ''Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'', ''Alias'', ''Bambi II'' and ''Cold Mountain''. She also contributed the song "Jubilee" to the 2004 documentary ''Paper Clips''. The ''Cold Mountain'' songs "The Scarlet Tide" by T-Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello, and "You Will Be My Ain True Love", by herself and Sting were nominated for an Academy Award, and she performed both songs at the 76th Academy Awards, the first with Costello and Burnett and the other with Sting. She also worked as a producer for Nickel Creek on their debut self-titled album in 2000 and the follow-up ''This Side'' in 2002, which won Krauss her first Grammy as a music producer.

Reception and influences

Krauss's earliest musical experience was as an instrumentalist, though her style has grown to focus more on her vocals with a band providing most of the instrumentation. Musicians she enjoys include Lou Gramm of Foreigner and Paul Rodgers of Bad Company. Krauss' family listened to "folk records" while she was growing up, but she had friends who exposed her to groups such as AC/DC, Carly Simon, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ELO. She cites Dolly Parton, with whom she has since collaborated a number of times, as a major influence. Some credit Krauss and Union Station, at least partially, with a recent revival of interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Despite being together for nearly two decades and winning numerous awards, she said the group was "just beginning right now" (in 2002) because "in spite of all the great things that have happened for the band, [she] feel[s] musically it's just really beginning." Although she alternates between solo releases and works with the band, she has said there is no difference in her involvement between the two. and "the tightest band around." While they have been successful as a group, many reviews note Krauss still "remains the undisputed star and rock-solid foundation" and have described her as the "band's focus" with an "angelic" voice that "flows like honey". Her work has been compared to that of The Cox Family, Bill Monroe, and Del McCoury, and has in turn been credited with influencing various "Newgrass" artists including Nickel Creek, for which she acted as record producer on two of their albums. In addition to her work with Nickel Creek, she has acted as producer to the Cox Family, Reba McEntire and Alan Jackson. Adam Sweeting of ''The Guardian'' has said Krauss and Union Station are "superb when they stick to hoedowns and hillbilly music, but much less convincing when they lurch towards the middle of the road," and ''Blender magazine'' has said the "flavorless repertoire [Krauss] sings... steers her toward Lite FM". In addition, ''Q'' magazine and ''The Onion'' AV Club have said their newer releases are "pretty much the usual," and that although Krauss is generally "adventurous," these recent releases contain nothing to "alienate the masses".

Voice, themes, and musical style

Krauss's vocal range could generally be described as mezzo soprano with little to no vibrato: her clear vocals have been described as "angelic". She has said her musical influences include J. D. Crowe, Ricky Skaggs, and Tony Rice. Many of her songs are described as sad, and are often about love, especially lost love. Krauss herself has said of her song selection that she looks for "tunes that [she] can relate to". Though she has a close involvement with her group and a long career in music, she rarely performs music she has written herself. She has also described her general approach to constructing an album as starting with a single song and selecting other tracks based on the first, to give the final album a somewhat consistent theme and mood. She most commonly performs in the bluegrass and country genres, though she has had two songs on the adult contemporary charts, has worked with rock artists such as Phish and Sting, and is sometimes said to stray into pop music.

Music videos

Krauss did not think she would make music videos at the beginning of her career, and after recording her first she was convinced it was so bad that she would never do another. Nonetheless, she has gone on to make further videos. Many of the first videos she saw were by bluegrass artists, although Dan Tyminski has noted that the video for ''Thriller'' was very popular at the time she was first exposed to music videos. She has made suggestions on the style or theme to some videos, though she tends to leave such decisions up to the director of the particular video. The group chooses directors by seeking out people who have previously directed videos bandmembers have enjoyed. The director for a video to "If I Didn't Know Any Better" from ''Lonely Runs Both Ways'', for example, was selected because Krauss enjoyed work he had done with Def Leppard, and she wondered what he could do with their music. While style decisions are generally left to the various directors of the videos, many —including for "The Lucky One", "Restless", "Goodbye is All We Have", "New Favorite", and "If I Didn't Know Any Better"—follow a pattern. In all of these videos Krauss walks, sometimes interacting with other people, while the rest of the band follows her.

Performances

Krauss has said she used to dislike working in the studio where she had to play the same song repeatedly, but has come to like studio work roughly the same as live stage performances. Her own favorite concert experiences include watching three Foreigner concerts during a single tour, a Dolly Parton concert, and a Larry Sparks concert. She appeared on ''Austin City Limits'' in 1992 and opened the show in 1995 with Union Station. The ''New Favorite'' tour, after AKUS' album of the same name, was planned to start September 12, 2001 in Cincinnati, Ohio, but was delayed until September 28 in Savannah, Georgia following the September 11 terrorist attacks Krauss also took part in the ''Down from the Mountain'' tour in 2002, which featured many artists from the ''O Brother, Where Art Thou''. ''Down from the Mountain'' was followed by the ''Great High Mountain Tour'', which was composed of musicians from both ''O Brother'' and ''Cold Mountain'', including Krauss. She has also given several notable smaller performances including at Carnegie Hall (with the Grand Ole Opry), on Lifetime Television in a concert of female performers, on the radio show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' where she sang two songs not previously recorded on any of her albums, and a performance at the White House attended by then-President Bill Clinton and then-Vice President Al Gore.

Awards

Alison Krauss has won a record twenty-six Grammy Awards over the course of her career as a solo artist, as a group with Union Station, as a duet with Robert Plant, and as a record producer. This is more than any other female artist and is the third most won by any artist overall. She overtook Aretha Franklin for the most female wins at the 46th Grammy Awards where Krauss won three, bringing her total at the time to seventeen (Franklin won her sixteenth that night). The Recording Academy (which presents the Grammy Awards) presented her with a special musical achievement honor in 2005. She has also won 14 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, 8 Country Music Association Awards, 2 Gospel Music Association Awards, 2 CMT Music Awards, 2 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 1 Canadian Country Music Award. Country Music Television ranked Krauss 12th on their "40 Greatest Women of Country Music" list in 2002.

At the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004, where she performed two nominated songs from the ''Cold Mountain'' soundtrack, Alison Krauss was chosen by Hollywood shoe designer Stuart Weitzman to wear a pair of $2 million 'Cinderella' sandals with 4½ inch clear glass stiletto heels and two straps adorned with 565 Kwiat diamonds set in platinum. Feeling like a rather unglamorous choice, Krauss said, "When I first heard, I was like, 'What were they thinking?' I have the worst feet of anybody who will be there that night!" In addition to the fairy-tale-inspired shoes, Weitzman outfitted Krauss with a Palm Trēo 600 smartphone, bejeweled with 3,000 clear-and-topaz-colored Swarovski crystals. The shoes were returned, but Krauss kept the crystal-covered phone. Weitzman chose Krauss to show off his fashions at the urging of his daughters, who are fans of Krauss' music.

Discography

1985: ''Different Strokes''

1987: ''Too Late to Cry''

1989: ''Two Highways''

1990: ''I've Got That Old Feeling''

1992: ''Every Time You Say Goodbye''

1994: ''I Know Who Holds Tomorrow''

1997: ''So Long So Wrong''

1999: ''Forget About It''

2001: ''New Favorite''

2002 "Live"

2004: ''Lonely Runs Both Ways''

2007: ''Raising Sand''

2011: ''Paper Airplane''

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1997	''Annabelle's Wish''	Additional Voices	UncreditedVoice only
2002	''Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights''	Jennifer	Voice only
Television
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1991	''Hee Haw''	Herself	1 episodeEpisode: #22.21
1996	''Austin City Limits''	Herself	5 episodes, 1996–2005
1997	''Miracle on Highway 31''	Herself	TV movie
2005	''Sesame Street''	Herself	1 episodeEpisode: "American Fruit Stand"
2006	''CMT Cross Country''	Performer	with Vince Gill
2008	''CMT Crossroads''	Performer	with Robert Plant

References

External links

Official site

Rounder Records site for Alison Krauss

[ Alison Krauss] on Allmusic database

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:Alison Krauss & Union Station members Category:American bluegrass fiddlers Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American Christians Category:People from Decatur, Illinois Category:People from Champaign, Illinois Category:Musicians from Illinois Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American musicians of French descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American performers of Christian music Category:Rounder Records artists

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Name	Roger Daltrey
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Roger Harry Daltrey
Born	March 01, 1944Hammersmith, London, England
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, harmonica,percussion, trombone
Genre	Rock, art rock, hard rock, power pop
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter,film producer, actor
Years active	1959–present
Label	Various
Associated acts	The Who,The RD Crusaders,No Plan B Band,Pete Townshend
Website	www.thewho.com }}

Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE (born 1 March 1944), is an English singer-songwriter and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also producing films.

Early life

Roger Harry Daltrey was born in the Hammersmith area of London, but was raised in Acton, the same working class suburban neighbourhood that produced fellow Who members Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. He was one of three children born to parents Irene and Harry Daltrey, and grew up with two sisters, Gillian and Carol. Harry Daltrey worked for a water closet manufacturer, and Irene Daltrey was told she would be unable to have children because of losing a kidney in 1937. Nevertheless, she went into labour during a World War II air raid and gave birth to her son at the nearby Hammersmith Hospital, West London. At the age of three, the young Roger swallowed a rusty nail which had to be surgically removed, leaving a visible scar. At the age of five, the rust from the nail caused an ulcer in his stomach which required him to be hospitalised.

Daltrey attended Victoria Primary School and then Acton County Grammar School for boys along with Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. He showed academic promise in the English state school system, ranking at the top of his class on the eleven plus examination that led to his enrollment at the Acton County Grammar School. His parents hoped he would eventually continue on to study at the university, but Daltrey turned out to be a self-described "school rebel" and developed a dedicated interest in the emerging rock and roll music scene instead.

He made his first guitar from a block of wood, a cherry red Strat copy, and joined an existing skiffle band called The Detours in need of a lead singer. They told him he had to bring a guitar, and within a few weeks he showed up with it—and he could play it too. When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the lead guitarist for the band and soon afterwards was expelled from school for smoking. Describing the post-war times, Pete Townshend wrote in his autobiography, "Until he was expelled, Roger had been a good pupil. Then he heard Elvis and transmogrified into a Teddy Boy with an electric guitar and a dress-sneer. Was it simply rock ‘n’ roll? It was obvious to a young man as intelligent as Roger that there was no future in conforming any more."

Daltrey became a sheet metal worker during the day, while practising and performing nights with the band at weddings, pubs and men's clubs. He invited schoolmate John Entwistle to play bass in the band, and on the advice of Entwistle, invited Pete Townshend to play guitar. At that time, the band consisted of Daltrey on lead guitar, Pete Townshend on rhythm guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums and Colin Dawson on lead vocals. After Colin Dawson left the band, Daltrey switched to vocals and played harmonica as well, while Townshend became the lead guitarist. In 1964 drummer Doug Sandom left the band, eventually being replaced by Keith Moon.

Early on, Daltrey was the band's leader, earning a reputation for using his fists to exercise control when needed, despite his small stature (his height is reportedly 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m)). According to Townshend, Roger "ran things the way he wanted. If you argued with him, you usually got a bunch of fives." He generally selected the music they performed, including songs by The Beatles, various Motown artists, James Brown, and other rock standards.

In 1964 the group discovered another band working as The Detours and discussed changing their name. Pete Townshend suggested "The Hair" and Townshend's roommate Richard Barnes suggested "The Who." The next morning, Daltrey made the decision for the band, saying "It's The Who, innit?"

During 1964, band manager Peter Meaden renamed the band The High Numbers as part of a move to establish the band as Mod favourites. The name was a reference to the T-shirts with "numbers" that the Mods used at the time. Pete Meaden composed Mod songs for them (in fact, the songs were almost copies of Mod hits at the time, with changed lyrics) and they released one single, "I'm The Face/Zoot Suit", on Fontana Records. The single was unsuccessful.

After Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp discovered The High Numbers at the Railway Hotel, the band quickly changed their name back to The Who, since neither Lambert nor Stamp liked the name "The High Numbers".

Music career

The Who years

With the band's first hit single and record deal in early 1965, Townshend began writing original material and Daltrey's dominance of the band began to decline.

The other members of The Who expelled Daltrey from the band in late 1965 after he beat up drummer Keith Moon for supplying drugs to Townshend and Entwistle, causing him to re-examine his methods of dealing with people. A week later, Daltrey was admitted back to the band, but was told he'd be on probation. He promised there would be no more violent outbursts or assaults. Daltrey recalled, "I thought if I lost the band I was dead. If I didn't stick with The Who, I would be a sheet metal worker for the rest of my life."

The band's second single, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was the only song on which Daltrey and Townshend collaborated, and Daltrey only wrote two other songs for the band during these years. As Townshend developed into one of rock's most accomplished composers, Daltrey's vocals became the vehicle through which Townshend's visions were expressed, and he gained an equally vaunted reputation as a powerful vocalist and riveting frontman. The Who's stage act was highly energetic, and Daltrey's habit of swinging the microphone around by its cord on stage became his signature move.

Daltrey's Townshend-inspired stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration and arrogance in the band's breakthrough single, "My Generation", captured the revolutionary feeling of the 1960s for many young people around the world and became the band's trademark. Later, his scream near the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" became a defining moment in rock and roll.

By 1973, he was experiencing considerable success with his solo projects and acting roles. While others of the band worked on recording the music for ''Quadrophenia'', Daltrey used some of this time to check The Who's books. He found they had fallen into disarray under the management of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. Kit Lambert was also Pete Townshend's artistic mentor and challenging him led to renewed tension within the band. During a filming session (in an incident that Daltrey claimed was overblown) Townshend and Daltrey argued over the schedule. Townshend whacked the singer over the head with his guitar and Daltrey responded by knocking Townshend unconscious, again with a single blow.

With each of The Who's milestone achievements, ''Tommy'', ''Who's Next'', and ''Quadrophenia'', Daltrey was the face and voice of the band as they defined themselves as the ultimate rebels in a generation of change. When Ken Russell's adaptation of ''Tommy'' appeared as a feature film in 1975, Daltrey played the lead role, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture" and appeared on the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine on 10 April 1975. Afterward, Daltrey worked with Russell again, starring as Franz Liszt in ''Lisztomania''. He worked with Rick Wakeman on the soundtrack to this film, writing the lyrics to three songs and also performing these, as well as others. The Who went on after the death of Keith Moon in 1978, but tension continued as Daltrey felt new drummer Kenney Jones was the wrong choice for The Who. In 1980 Daltrey completed a major project for The Who Films, Ltd., a dramatic film called ''McVicar'' about U.K. bank robber John McVicar. Daltrey produced and starred in the film, and completed a striking soundtrack with other members of the band. This success, along with other stresses, contributed to a deterioration of relations with Townshend, and The Who retired from active touring in 1982 when Townshend felt he was no longer able to write for the band. The band continued to work together sporadically, reuniting for the Live Aid concert and recording songs for Daltrey's solo album ''Under a Raging Moon'' and Townshend's solo album ''Iron Man''.

Daltrey turned to working as an actor, completing such high profile projects as ''The Beggar's Opera'' and ''The Comedy of Errors'' for the BBC. He also appeared in several film, television and stage productions during this period, including Mike Batt's ''The Hunting of the Snark'' (1987), ''The Little Match Girl'' (1987), ''Buddy's Song'' (1990), which he also produced, and ''Mack the Knife'' (1990). In 1991 he received a Grammy Award with The Chieftains for ''An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast''.

The Who returned in 1989 with their 25th Anniversary Tour, which was also the 20th anniversary of the rock opera ''Tommy''. The tour featured a large backing band and guest appearances by Steve Winwood, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins, Elton John, and Billy Idol. Although Daltrey experienced severe health problems due to an abdominal hemangioma, he managed to complete the tour. He continued to work on stage and screen during this period, completing projects such as ''The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True'' (1995) appearing as the Tin Woodman alongside Nathan Lane, Joel Grey, Natalie Cole, and Jewel Kilcher as Dorothy. During this time, he also began to appear in U.S. television shows.

In 1994 Daltrey celebrated his 50th birthday by performing a two-night spectacular at Carnegie Hall titled ''A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who,'' and popularly called ''Daltrey Sings Townshend''. The show was produced by Daltrey's manager at the time, Richard Flanzer. The Who's music was arranged for orchestra by Michael Kamen, who conducted The Juilliard Orchestra for the event. Bob Ezrin, who produced Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'' CD, among other famous albums, produced the live CD. Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Eddie Vedder (who performed a special acoustic tribute), Sinéad O'Connor, Lou Reed, David Sanborn, Alice Cooper, Linda Perry, The Chieftains and others performed as special guests. Michael Lindsay-Hogg directed the telecast, which was aired on satellite TV. The concert, at the time, was the fastest sell out in the famed venue's history. The event was followed by a major tour financed by Daltrey and including John Entwistle on bass, Zak Starkey on drums and Simon Townshend on guitar. Although the tour was considered an artistic success, it failed to make a profit due to the expense of providing extraordinary musicians and orchestras in every city to replicate the Carnegie Hall event. Significantly, the tour attracted attention to songs from The Who's rock opera ''Quadrophenia'' and gathered support for a staging and major tour of the rock opera in 1996-1997.

In 1996 Pete Townshend was approached to produce ''Quadrophenia'' for The Prince's Trust concert at Hyde Park, London. He at first planned to perform the opera as a solo acoustic piece using parts of the film on the screens, but after receiving offers of financing decided on a full-out production. When he first contacted Daltrey to request a collaboration, Daltrey refused, but after some discussion, he agreed to help produce a one-off performance. The opera was performed with a large backing band, including John Entwistle on bass, Pete Townshend on acoustic guitar and vocals, Zak Starkey on drums, Rabbit Bundrick and Jon Carin on keyboards, Simon Townshend on guitar and special guests including David Gilmour, Adrian Edmondson, Trevor McDonald and Gary Glitter. A horn section and backing vocalists were added, along with other actors. On the night before the show, Daltrey was struck in the face by a microphone stand swung by Gary Glitter. The accident fractured his eye socket and caused considerable concern that he might not be able to perform safely, but Daltrey donned an eye-patch to cover the bruises and completed the show as scheduled. Afterward, Townshend decided to take the production on tour in 1996-1997 as The Who.

After their ''Quadrophenia'' tour was successful, the band returned as The Who in a stripped-down, five-piece lineup for tours in 1999-2000. The band continued to work together, making a major impact at The Concert for New York City. After Entwistle's death in June 2002, both Daltrey and Townshend decided to continue with an already planned tour as The Who. Bassist Pino Palladino was chosen to fill Entwistle's place. The band also completed a brief tour in 2004. In 2006, they released their first studio album of new material in twenty-four years, ''Endless Wire,'' leading some fans and critics to say that the highly acclaimed artistic tension within The Who lay between the two principals Daltrey and Townshend. The band completed a world tour in 2006-2007 to support this album.

In February 2010, Townshend and Daltrey, headlining as The Who, performed the halftime show at Super Bowl XLIV in front of 105.97 million viewers across the globe. In March 2010, Townshend and Daltrey, along with an extensive backing band, performed ''Quadrophenia'' at the Royal Albert Hall in London as a tenth anniversary charity benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam sang the part of the Godfather, and Tom Meighan of Kasabian sang the part of Aceface. Tom Norris, London Symphony Orchestra Co-Principal Second Violin, played violin for the production. On 3 July He performed the Opening act for Eric Clapton at DTE Energy music theatre.

Rock persona

When Colin Dawson left The Detours, Roger Daltrey took over as lead vocalist, giving up his guitar. The band as a whole acknowledged Moon and Entwistle's innovation and talent on their instruments, and Pete Townshend had begun writing hit songs, but Daltrey struggled to find a voice to present their new music. His expression carried Townshend’s material well enough in recordings, and at the time his live persona suited the small club scene where The Who made their beginnings. However, this presentation lacked the confidence of later years, and he was arguably still a singer seeking a voice.

The Who first toured North America in 1967, appearing at the Monterey Pop Festival, and Daltrey brought back new experiences in dealing with larger venues and stages. 1968 proved a pivotal year with Townshend's movement beyond the quick three-minute single towards his goal of writing a rock opera. Beginning with "A Quick One (While He's Away)", a nine-minute mini-opera, Daltrey’s performance in ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'' showed him with a new confidence in dealing with Townshend’s material. In 1969, The Who’s first major rock opera ''Tommy'' was released, and Daltrey found a voice for the lead character that carried The Who to world stardom at such music venues as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight Festival, and in opera houses around the world during the next two years. Townshend later remarked in the film ''Amazing Journey'', that with ''Tommy'', and with Daltrey's adaptation to portraying the character on-stage, the singer evolved from what was essentially a tight, tough guy to one who outstretched his arms, bared his body to the audiences, and began to truly engage them. "With this change, the band was at last complete," he summed up. "It was a marriage," Townshend emphasised, "but it was a ''good'' marriage. ''Those'' were glorious years". Daltrey confirmed this, saying, he felt at last accepted, displaying a newly energetic role and sound during live performances.

Daltrey has long been known as one of the most charismatic of rock’s frontmen. His stage persona embraces the audience and projects The Who’s repertoire as heroic anthems and touching ballads that have gripped the emotions and imagination of audiences for over 40 years. According to Pete Townshend, "He almost invented the pseudo-messianic role taken up later by Jim Morrison and Robert Plant." Daltrey projected a naturally masculine and yet refined power that proved to be one of the most potent in rock and roll history. This persona has earned him a position as one of the “gods of rock and roll” His appearance in the early 1970s included striking, long blond curly hair with a sexual magnetism built for teenage appeal. This look would become markedly more masculine as the '70s and '80s progressed. Daltrey developed a trademark move of swinging and throwing his microphone through a complex sequence, matching these sequences with the tempo of the song that was being played at the moment. Although Daltrey reduced the athleticism of his performance in later years, his presentation remained dynamic and gripping.

Musical equipment

Roger Daltrey hand-built his first guitar from a piece of plywood and also built guitars for the band in the early days when they had little money to buy equipment. As lead guitarist for the Detours, Daltrey played a 1961 Epiphone Wilshire solidbody electric guitar which he later sold to Pete Townshend on an easy payment plan. After he took over vocals for the band in the sixties and during the seventies, Daltrey rarely played guitar on stage; however, he played a Martin acoustic guitar for appearances to promote his solo album ''Daltrey''. He began playing guitar with The Who again during the band's tours in the eighties, and used a Fender Esquire to play a second guitar part for the song "Eminence Front" on The Who's 1982, 1989 and later tours. During the 1989 tour, he played a Gibson Chet Atkins SST guitar for the song "Hey Joe." During The Who's 1996-97 Quadrophenia tour, Daltrey played a Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar.

After 1999, it became more common for Daltrey to play guitar during both The Who and solo shows. He ordered a Versoul Buxom 6 handmade acoustic guitar that he played on The Who's 2002 tour. Daltrey owns a Gibson Everly Brothers Flattop acoustic guitar which he played on The Who and solo tours in the late first decade of the 21st century. On his 2009 tour with No Plan B, Daltrey played Pete Townshend's "Blue, Red and Grey" on an Ashbury cutaway tenor EQ ukulele.

Roger Daltrey is known as one of the harmonica players who brought the instrument out of blues and into popular music. Although the mouth harps that Daltrey uses have varied over the years, brands he has used include Hohner and Lee Oskar harmonicas. Daltrey plays using the blues harp (2nd position) or cross harp technique which originated in blues music.

Daltrey uses Shure microphones with cords which he tapes to reinforce the connection and avoid cutting his hands when he swings and catches the microphone. He commonly uses a standard Shure SM58, but has also used Shure SM78 (in 1981), Shure model 565D Unisphere 1, and Shure model 548 Unidyne IV. Daltrey also uses a hybrid monitoring system with one in-ear monitor supplemented by floor wedges.

Honours

In 1976 Roger Daltrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture" for his starring role in the film version of The Who's rock opera ''Tommy''. He also performed as a guest on the Chieftains' recording of ''Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House'' which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in 1993. With The Who, Daltrey received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 for outstanding artistic significance in music.

In 1990 Daltrey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio as a member of The Who. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also included three songs that Daltrey recorded with The Who on the list of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, including: "My Generation", "Go to the Mirror Boy", and "Baba O'Riley". In 2005 Daltrey received a British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Gold Badge Award for special and lasting contributions to the British entertainment industry.

In 2003, Daltrey was honoured by ''Time'' magazine as a European Hero for his work with the Teenage Cancer Trust and other charities. In the New Year's Honours List published on 31 December 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Music, the Entertainment Industry, and Charity.

As a member of The Who, Daltrey was inducted in 2005 into the UK Music Hall of Fame. In December 2008, he and Pete Townshend were honoured with America's most prestigious cultural awards as recipients of the 31st annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. by then-President of the United States, George W. Bush. On 4 March 2009, three days after his 65th birthday, Daltrey accepted the James Joyce Award from the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin for outstanding success in the music field. On 12 March 2011, he received the Steiger Award (Germany) for excellence in music.

Charities

Roger Daltrey supports many charities both as a solo artist and jointly with other members of The Who. All The Who's Encore Series profits go to young peoples' charities. Roger Daltrey was instrumental in starting the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series in 2000, with The Who actually playing in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2010. Daltrey played benefits with The RD Crusaders in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008; performed with The Who at Live 8 in 2005, for the Nordoff-Robbins Silver Clef benefit in 2005, and for the Los Angeles area City of Hope benefit in 2001 and 2004. The Who played with special guest Michael J. Fox at the 2008 "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's" benefit.

With The Who, he performed for the Robin Hood Foundation at The Concert for New York City and other benefits in 2001; at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit in 1999; and in the Quadrophenia Concert for The Prince's Trust in Hyde Park, 1996. In addition, Daltrey performed at benefits in Vail, Colorado, in 1999, and attended a PETA benefit with Sarah McLachlan and Chrissie Hynde in the same year.

Daltrey appeared in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True in 1995 for The Children's Defense Fund, and at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert to benefit AIDS research in 1992. Roger Daltrey's 1994 ''Celebration'' raised funds to support Babies and Children Hospital in New York City, as well.

He sang "Rock and Roll" on a charity single released as ''McEnroe & Cash with The Full Metal Rackets'' for Rock Aid Armenia in 1986, and performed with The Who at Live Aid in 1985 and Concert for Kampuchea in 1979. In 1976, he performed at the Celtic Football Ground in Glasgow, Scotland. An audience of 35,000 attended and a sum of over £100,000 was donated to charity.

Daltrey performed at the first ChildLine Rocks concert at London's IndigO2 on 13 March 2008. In 2009 Daltrey was a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. In the same year, he appeared again on stage with Michael J. Fox for the "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's" benefit. In April 2010, he headlined the Imagine A Cure II show honouring the legacy of John Lennon, which raised money for the Puget Sound Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer charity.

Personal life

Daltrey has been married twice. In 1964, he married the former Jacqueline "Jackie" Rickman, and had one child, born in 1964, Simon. The couple divorced in 1968. In 1967, Daltrey's son Mathias was born, the result of an affair with Swedish model Elisabeth Aronsson. In 1967, he met the American Heather Taylor, his current wife whom he married in 1971. Together, they have three children, Rosie Lea (born in 1972), Willow Amber (born in 1975) and Jamie (born in 1981). He also has four granddaughters, Lily, Lola, Ramona and Scarlet; and one grandson, Jonjo. He also has three other children from relationships during the 1960s & '70s.

Daltrey owns a country estate near Burwash, East Sussex, as well as his parents' old home in London. He bought a home in Los Angeles in the early 2000s.

Daltry is a supporter of Arsenal F.C..

Views and advocacy

Daltrey is a supporter of the Countryside Alliance and has played concerts to raise funds for the organisation. Daltrey is a supporter of the Labour Party in Britain, but is strongly critical of its policy of "mass immigration", arguing that the current immigration policies undermine the British working class. He has also expressed his admiration for Queen Elizabeth II ;;

Literary work

Roger Daltrey contributed to a collection of childhood fishing stories published in 1996 entitled ''I Remember: Reflections on Fishing in Childhood''.

Who songs written by Daltrey

Although never a writing force in The Who and overshadowed by the song writing talents of Townshend and Entwistle, Daltrey did contribute a small handful of songs to the band's catalogue during their early career:

"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (1965)-The Who's second single, co-written by Townshend.

"See My Way" (1966)-Daltrey's contribution to ''A Quick One''.

"Here for More" (1970)-B-side to "The Seeker".

Daltrey also wrote a song called "Crossroads Now" for The Who which grew out of an onstage jam in 1999 after the song "My Generation." Another Daltrey song, entitled "Certified Rose," was rehearsed by The Who shortly before the death of John Entwistle. The band had planned on playing it (as well as Townshend's "Real Good Looking Boy") during their 2002 tour, but plans were halted after Entwistle's death. Although it was rumoured that a studio version was recorded during the ''Endless Wire'' sessions (and might feature Entwistle's basslines from 2002), Townshend later stated that no such recording was made.

"Early Morning Cold Taxi", a song recorded during ''The Who Sell Out'' sessions in 1967 and released in 1994 on the ''Thirty Years of Maximum R&B;'' boxset, is credited to Roger Daltrey and Who roadie Dave "Cy" Langston. Some sources report that the song was solely written by Langston. At the time Daltrey and Langston were planning to form a writing-partnership, where all songs written by either of them would be credited as Daltrey/Langston. The partnership produced only one other song—an unreleased demo titled "Blue Caravan." Langston went on to play guitar on John Entwistle's first solo album, ''Smash Your Head Against the Wall'', in 1970.

Solo music career

Daltrey has released eight solo albums. The first was the self-titled ''Daltrey'' in 1973, recorded during a hiatus in The Who's touring schedule. The top single off the album, "Giving It All Away", reached number five in the UK and the album, which introduced Leo Sayer as a songwriter, made the Top 50 in the United States. The inner sleeve photography shows a ''trompe-l'œil'' in reference to the Narcissus myth, as Daltrey's reflection in the water differs from his real appearance. He also released a single in 1973, "Thinking" with "There is Love" on the B-side. Bizarrely, the UK release, with considerable airplay of "Giving it all away" (first lines "I paid all my dues so I picked up my shoes, I got up and walked away") coincided with news reports of the Who being sued for unpaid damage to their hotel on a recent tour, including a TV set being thrown out of the window.

Daltrey's second album, ''Ride a Rock Horse'', was released in 1975 and is his second most commercially successful solo album. Its cover, photographed by Daltrey's cousin Graham Hughes, is remarkable for depicting the singer as a rampant centaur.

When Sayer launched his own career as an artist, Daltrey called on a widening group of friends to write for and perform on his albums. Paul McCartney contributed the new song "Giddy" to ''One of the Boys'', where the band included Hank Marvin, Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee and Mick Ronson. On this cover, another visual trick is played with Daltrey's mirror image, with reference to Magritte's famous painting ''Reproduction Interdite''.

''McVicar'' was billed as a soundtrack album for the film of the same name, in which Daltrey starred and also co-produced. It featured all the other members of The Who (Townshend, Entwistle and Kenney Jones). ''McVicar'' included two hit singles, "Free Me" and "Without Your Love", and is Daltrey's best-selling solo recording.

The title track to ''Under a Raging Moon'' was a tribute to Who drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978. Each of the album's tracks, including "Let Me Down Easy" by Bryan Adams, expresses the frustration of growing older as only a man who sang "Hope I die before I get old" can. Daltrey is credited as co-writer on "Don't Talk to Strangers," "The Pride You Hide," "Move Better in the Night" and "It Don't Satisfy Me."

On ''Can't Wait to See the Movie'', Daltrey is credited as co-writer on the tracks "Balance on Wires" and "Take Me Home." On ''Rocks in the Head'', Daltrey is credited (along with Gerard McMahon) for co-writing seven of the eleven tracks, including: "Times Changed," "You Can't Call It Love," "Love Is," "Blues Man's Road," "Days of Light," "Everything A Heart Could Ever Want" and "Unforgettable Opera." On this album, Daltrey's voice ranges from a powerful bluesy growl à la Howlin' Wolf to the tender vocals shared with his daughter Willow on the ballad 'Everything A Heart Could Ever Want". This was his first major effort as a song-writer for his own solo albums.

For his compilation album ''Moonlighting'', Daltrey co-wrote the song "A Second Out" with Steve McEwan of the band UnAmerican. The recording features Daltrey's vocals backed by McEwan on acoustic guitar.

In 1992, Daltrey appeared in The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, singing the hard rock song "I Want It All", to pay homage to his longlife friend Freddie Mercury, who died the previous year one day after a public announcement that he suffered from AIDS.

Daltrey celebrated his fiftieth birthday in 1994 by performing at Carnegie Hall in two shows (23 and 24 February ) later issued on CD and video called ''A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who'', sometimes called ''Daltrey Sings Townshend'', accompanied by The Juilliard Orchestra, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Irish dancers and other special guests. The success of these two shows led to a U.S. tour by the same name, featuring Pete Townshend's brother Simon on lead guitar with Phil Spalding taking bass duties for the first half of each show and John Entwistle playing for the second half. An Australian leg was considered but eventually scrapped.

Daltrey took on a number of other solo projects, including a tour with the British Rock Symphony in 1998, and the Night of the Proms in 2005. Daltrey also worked with the Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp, raising money for charities during the final concert.

Besides the songs Daltrey co-wrote for his solo albums, he is credited for co-writing others, including: "Child O Mine" with Gerard McMahon, used on the soundtrack for ''The Banger Sisters'' and on the TV show ''Witchblade''. On the soundtrack for ''Lisztomania'', Daltrey is credited with "Love's Dream", "Orpheus Song" and "Peace at Last."

In 2005, Daltrey had a short weekly series on BBC Radio 2, presenting a personal choice of rock'n'roll favourites. In 2006, he wrote and performed a specially commissioned song, "Highbury Highs", for Highbury Farewell ceremony following the final football match on 7 May at Arsenal Stadium between Arsenal and Wigan, in which Arsenal celebrated the previous 93 years at Highbury, preparing for their move to the Emirates Stadium, Ashburton Grove, the following season.

No Plan B band

Roger Daltrey embarked on a solo tour of the U.S. and Canada on 10 October 2009, officially called the "Use It or Lose It" tour with a new band that he called "No Plan B". The band included Simon Townshend on rhythm guitar and vocals, Frank Simes on lead guitar, Jon Button on bass, Loren Gold on keyboards, and Scott Devours on drums. Eddie Vedder made a guest appearance at the Seattle, WA show on 12 October. In 2010, Daltrey and No Plan B appeared for several dates with Eric Clapton, including Summerfest at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band also scheduled additional dates in 2010 without Clapton.

In 2011 the band performed the rock opera ''Tommy'' and other songs at a warm-up show in Bournemouth at the O2 Academy 19 March in preparation for a show scheduled at Royal Albert Hall to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust on 24 March. Pete Townshend played and sang as a guest at the TCT show. Later in 2011, the band scheduled the "Tommy Reborn" tour of the UK, to be followed by a tour of the US and Canada.

Discography

Collaborations

In 1984, Daltrey appeared on "Bad Attitude", the title track of an album by Meat Loaf, sharing the lead vocal. The following year, he appeared in Barbra Streisand's music video for her single "Emotion", playing Streisand's emotionally uninterested husband.

In 1992, he appeared on The Chieftains' Grammy Award-winning album, ''An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House''. He also released an album with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1998 with selections from ''A Christmas Carol''. Also in 1998, Daltrey performed two songs with the Jim Byrnes Blues Band at the Los Angeles Highlander Convention. He borrowed a guitar to play for the songs, after reassuring the owner that he would not break it. Daltrey taught thirteen-year-old Drake Bell how to play the guitar in 1999. Drake later starred in ''Drake and Josh'' and released two albums.

In 2001, Daltrey provided backing vocals for the title track of the Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros album ''Global a Go-Go''. In 2003, he provided backing vocals for thrash-metal band Anthrax on the song "Taking the Music Back" from their album ''We've Come for You All''. The collaboration came about through Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian's girlfriend, Pearl Aday, daughter of Meat Loaf, whose mother was a friend of Daltrey and his wife. In 2005, Daltrey collaborated with the British pop band, McFly to sing his hit song "My Generation".

On 12 January 2009, Daltrey headlined a one-off concert along with Babyshambles at the O2 Academy Bristol for Teenage Cancer Trust. On Sunday 5 July 2009, Daltrey joined Paul Weller onstage at Hop Farm Festival in Kent for an encore of "Magic Bus".

Film and stage career

Film roles

After The Who retired from active work in 1982, Daltrey developed his career in film and on the theatre stage. Daltrey's appearances in over 30 feature films include early starring roles in ''Tommy'', as "deaf, dumb and blind boy" Tommy Walker in 1975; ''Lisztomania'', as Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1975, and ''McVicar'', as British armed-robber-turned-journalist John McVicar in 1980.

In 2003, Roger Daltrey starred as the voice of Argon the Dragon Bus Driver in the children's DVD called ''The Wheels on the Bus: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventure'' from Armstrong Moving Pictures. The DVD featured Daltrey as a costumed children's dragon, who drove a bus for two lost puppets trying to return to their home at the zoo. Daltrey provided vocals for children's classics, such as "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round," in addition to songs written specifically for the home video. He later appeared in two other videos for this series.

Filmography

Roger Daltrey has acted in ads, television and films, and maintains an extensive filmography. A sampling of his films is as follows:

''Tommy'' (Tommy Walker), 1975

''Lisztomania'' (Franz Liszt), 1975

''The Legacy'' (Clive), 1978

''McVicar'' (John McVicar), also Producer, 1980

''The Beggar's Opera'' (Macheath), 1983

''Murder: Ultimate Grounds for Divorce'', 1985

''The Little Match Girl'' (Jeb Macklin), 1987

''Mack the Knife'' (Street Singer), 1990

''Cold Justice'' (Keith Gibson), 1989

''Buddy's Song'' (Terry Clark); also Music Score Composer, Producer, 1991

''If Looks Could Kill - Teen Agent'' (Blade), 1991

''The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert'', 1992

''Lightning Jack'' (John T. Coles), 1994

''A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who'', 1994

''The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True'' (Tin Man), 1995

''Vampirella'' (Vlad), 1996

''Sliders'' (Col. Angus Rickman), 1997

''Like It Is'' (Kelvin), 1998

''The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns'' (King Boric), 1999

''Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula'' (King Janos), 2000

''Best'' (Rodney Marsh), 2000

''The Young Messiah - Messiah XXI '' (2000) (DVD)

''Strange Frequency 2'' (Host/Devil), 2001

''Chasing Destiny'' (Nehemiah Peoples), 2001

''.com for Murder'' (Ben), 2002

''That 70's Show'' (Mr. Wilkinson), 2002

''The Wheels on the Bus'' (Argon the dragon), 2003

''Johnny Was'' (Jimmy Nolan), 2006

Television roles

Daltrey has played a number of television roles, including BBC Television Shakespeare as both Dromios in ''The Comedy of Errors'', the police drama series ''The Bill'', the science fiction series ''Sliders'' as Col. Angus Rickman, the ''VH1'' series ''Strange Frequency 2'', ''Witchblade'' as the devil, and was a recurring guest star in ''Highlander: The Series'' as Immortal Hugh Fitzcairn, one of the closest friends of lead character Duncan MacLeod. In 1983, he played Macheath, the outlaw hero of BBC TV's production of John Gay's 1728 ballad opera, 'The Beggar's Opera'.

In 1986 he acted in the TV series ''Buddy''. In 1993, He guest-starred (along with Steve Buscemi) in an episode of ''Tales From The Crypt'' entitled "Forever Ambergris". Daltrey appeared as a villain in a 1996 episode of ''Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. He also played Nobby Clegg, a character named after the band Nobby Clegg and the Civilians, in the Showtime series ''Rude Awakening''.

Daltrey appeared in an episode of ''The Simpsons'', "A Tale of Two Springfields", as himself along with John Entwistle (Pete Townshend was replaced by his brother Paul for the episode). The Who helped Homer break down a wall he had built through the town of Springfield.

A self-described history buff, Daltrey often involves himself in history research related media including television documentaries. ''Pirate Tales'' from 1997, is a documentary/action show about the age of piracy in the 18th century, in which Daltrey impersonated English buccaneer William Dampier in a main role as the narrator throughout the series. In 2003 he hosted the History Channel's ''Extreme History with Roger Daltrey'' talking about historical events and explaining the survival techniques the civilisations treated had available. He also appeared in "That '70s Musical", the 100th episode of ''That '70s Show'' as Fez's musical director.

Daltrey guest starred in a 7 November 2006 episode of ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' ("Living Legend") as Mickey Dunn, a prominent Las Vegas 1970s mob boss who returns to Las Vegas to avenge his attempted murder. The Who's music, and Daltrey's singing, provide the themes for all three of the series in the ''CSI'' franchise every week ("Who Are You" for the original show, "Won't Get Fooled Again" for ''CSI: Miami'' and "Baba O'Riley" for ''CSI: NY'').

In 2005, Daltrey had a cameo appearance as himself in the episode "The Priest and the Beast" in Series 2 of ''The Mighty Boosh''. He is found by the main characters vacuuming a desert, presumably as a "karmic" consequence of leaving Woodstock early and not helping to clean up.

Daltrey has also performed on the soundtrack of a number of films and television shows, most notably ''CSI''. He also appeared in the music video for "Emotion" by Barbra Streisand, although neither he nor The Who were the featured act.

In 2005 he played the part of loblolly boy in the TV drama ''Trafalgar Surgeon''.

Stage roles

Daltrey has appeared in stage in productions including Mike Batt's ''The Hunting of the Snark'' in 1987 as The Barrister, and also in Batt's ''Philharmania'' with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1998. He appeared in ''The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True'' in 1995 as the Tin Man. Also in 1995 he starred in a three part Bert Coules BBC radio dramatisation of the ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' novels of Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, and in 1996 he starred in a BBC Radio 2 production of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' as Judas. In 1998, Daltrey played the part of Scrooge in the Radio City Music Hall production of ''A Christmas Carol'' in New York City. In 2003, he starred as Alfred P. Doolittle in a production of ''My Fair Lady'' at the Hollywood Bowl alongside John Lithgow and Melissa Errico.

Producer

In addition to his career as an actor, Daltrey has acted as producer on several films, including: ''Buddy's Song'' (1990), ''McVicar'' (1980), ''Quadrophenia'' (1979) and a project in development ''See Me Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked for Your Pleasure''.

Quotation

Notes

References

Geoffrey Giuliano (1996). ''Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend.'' Penguin Books, Ltd. ISBN 0-8154-1070-0

Steve Huey, ''Roger Daltrey – Biography'', [ AllMusic.com]

David M. Barling, ''Biography of Roger Daltrey'',

External links

Roger Daltrey as a European Hero in ''Time'' magazine

Daltrey plays solo at Cannes 2009

Audio stream Roger Daltrey King Biscuit Recording, 1985 Concert Vault

Roger Daltrey audio interview segments from 1982

Babyshambles and Roger Daltrey concert photograph by ''SPIN''

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English rock singers Category:English rock guitarists Category:British harmonica players Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:English rock musicians Category:English tenors Category:English guitarists Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:English-language singers Category:English songwriters Category:English film actors Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Musicians from London Category:The Who members Category:People from Acton, London Category:People from Chiswick Category:People from Hammersmith Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

ca:Roger Daltrey cs:Roger Daltrey da:Roger Daltrey de:Roger Daltrey es:Roger Daltrey fr:Roger Daltrey gl:Roger Daltrey id:Roger Daltrey it:Roger Daltrey he:רוג'ר דלטרי nl:Roger Daltrey ja:ロジャー・ダルトリー no:Roger Daltrey nn:Roger Daltrey pl:Roger Daltrey pt:Roger Daltrey ro:Roger Daltrey ru:Долтри, Роджер simple:Roger Daltrey fi:Roger Daltrey sv:Roger Daltrey

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Jimmy Page
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	James Patrick Page
born	January 09, 1944Heston, Middlesex, England
instrument	Guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, theremin, bass, banjo, harmonica, dobro, sitar, keyboards, tambourine, tamboura, hurdy gurdy, pedal steel guitar
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, rock and roll, folk rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
years active	1957–present
label	Swan Song, Atlantic, Geffen, Fontana, Mercury
associated acts	The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers, The Firm, Coverdale and Page, Page and Plant, Herman's Hermits, XYZ, Joe Cocker, The Edge, Jack White, Donovan, The Black Crowes
website
notable instruments	}}

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.

Jimmy Page is viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the most influential and important guitarists and songwriters in rock music. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine has described him as "the pontiff of power riffing & probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked No.2 in Gibson's list of "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time" and, in 2007, No.4 on ''Classic Rock Magazine'''s "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". Page was ranked ninth in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2003. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of The Yardbirds (1992), and once as a member of Led Zeppelin (1995).

Early years

Jimmy Page was born to parents James and Patricia Page in the West London suburb of Heston, which today forms part of the London Borough of Hounslow. His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother was a doctor's secretary. In 1952 they moved to Feltham, and later again to Miles Road, Epsom in Surrey, which is where Page came across his first guitar. "I don't know whether [the guitar] was left behind by the people [in the house] before [us], or whether it was a friend of the family's — nobody seemed to know why it was there." First playing the instrument at the age of twelve years, he took a few lessons in nearby Kingston, but was largely self-taught:

When I grew up there weren't many other guitarists ... There was one other guitarist in my school who actually showed me the first chords that I learned, and I went on from there. I was bored so I taught myself the guitar from listening to records. So obviously it was a very personal thing.

Among Page's early influences were rockabilly guitarists Scotty Moore and James Burton, who both played on recordings made by Elvis Presley. Hearing the Elvis Presley song "Baby Let's Play House" is cited by Page as being his inspiration to take up playing the guitar. Although he appears on BBC1 in 1957 with another guitar, Page states that his first guitar was a second-hand 1959 Futurama Grazioso, which was later replaced by a Telecaster.

Page's musical tastes included skiffle (a popular English music genre of the time) and acoustic folk playing, particularly that of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the blues sounds of Elmore James, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin. "Basically, that was the start: a mixture between rock and blues."

At the age of 13, Page appeared on Huw Wheldon's ''All Your Own'' talent quest programme in a skiffle quartet, one performance of which aired on BBC TV in 1957. The group played "Mama Don't Want To Skiffle Anymore" and another very American-flavoured song, "In Them Ol' Cottonfields Back Home". Televised Contest. When asked by Wheldon what he wanted to do after schooling, Page said, "I want to do biological research" to find a cure for "cancer, if it isn't discovered by then".

In an interview with ''Guitar Player'' magazine, Page stated that "there was a lot of busking in the early days, but as they say, I had to come to grips with it, and it was a good schooling." Page would take a guitar to school each day and have it confiscated and handed back to him at 4:00 P.M. Although he had an interview for a job as a laboratory assistant, he ultimately chose to leave Danetree Secondary School, West Ewell, to pursue music instead.

Initially, Page had difficulty finding other musicians with whom he could play on a regular basis. "It wasn't as though there was an abundance. I used to play in many groups... anyone who could get a gig together, really." Following stints backing recitals by Beat poet Royston Ellis at the Mermaid Theatre between 1960–61, and singer Red E. Lewis, he was asked by singer Neil Christian to join his band, The Crusaders, after Christian had seen a fifteen-year-old Page playing in a local hall. Page toured with Christian for approximately two years and later played on several of his records, including the November 1962 single, "The Road to Love".

During his stint with Christian, Page fell seriously ill with glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis) and couldn't continue touring. While recovering, he decided to put his musical career on hold and concentrate on his other love, painting, and enrolled at Sutton Art College in Surrey. As he explained in 1975:

Session musician

While still a student, Page would often perform on stage at The Marquee with bands such as Cyril Davies' All Stars, Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and with guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He was spotted one night by John Gibb of Brian Howard & The Silhouettes, who asked him to help record a number of singles for Columbia Graphophone Company, including "The Worrying Kind". Mike Leander of Decca Records first offered Page regular studio work. His first session for the label was the recording "Diamonds" by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan, which went to Number 1 on the singles chart in early 1963.

After brief stints with Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, Mike Hurst and the Method, and Mickey Finn and the Blue Men, Page committed himself to full-time session work. As a session guitarist he was known as 'Little Jim' so there was no confusion with other noted British session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. Page was mainly called in to sessions as "insurance" in instances when a replacement or second guitarist was required by the recording artist. "It was usually myself and a drummer", he explained, "though they never mention the drummer these days, just me ... Anyone needing a guitarist either went to Big Jim [Sullivan] or myself." He has also stated that "In the initial stages they just said, play what you want, cos at that time I couldn't read music or anything."

Page was the favoured session guitarist of producer Shel Talmy. As a result, he secured session work on songs for The Who and The Kinks. Page is credited with playing acoustic twelve string guitar on two tracks on The Kinks' debut album "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter" and "I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain" and possibly on the b-side "I Gotta Move". He played six-string rhythm guitar on the sessions for The Who's first single "I Can't Explain" (although Pete Townshend was reluctant to allow Page's contribution on the final recording, Page also played lead guitar on the B-side "Bald Headed Woman"). Page's studio output in 1964 included Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", The Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone" (released on ''Metamorphosis''), Van Morrison & Them's "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Here Comes the Night", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" and "My Baby Left Me", Brenda Lee's "Is It True," and Petula Clark's "Downtown".

In 1965 Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer and A&R; man for the newly-formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on and/or produce tracks by John Mayall, Nico, Chris Farlowe, Twice as Much and Eric Clapton. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then romantic interest, Jackie DeShannon. He also composed and recorded songs for the John Williams album ''The Maureeny Wishful Album'' with Big Jim Sullivan. Page worked as session musician on Donovan Leitch's ''Sunshine Superman'' (1966) and the Johnny Hallyday albums ''Jeune Homme'' (1968) and ''Je Suis Né Dans La Rue'' (1969), the Al Stewart album ''Love Chronicles'' (1969), and played guitar on five tracks of Joe Cocker's debut album, ''With a Little Help from My Friends''.

When questioned about which songs he played on, especially ones where there exists some controversy as to what his exact role was, Page often points out that it is hard to remember exactly what he did given the enormous number of sessions he was playing at the time. In a radio interview he explained that "I was doing three sessions a day, fifteen sessions a week. Sometimes I would be playing with a group, sometimes I could be doing film music, it could be a folk session ... I was able to fit all these different roles."

Although Page recorded with many notable musicians, many of these early tracks are only available as bootleg recordings, several of which were released by the Led Zeppelin fan club in the late 1970s. One of the rarest of these is the early jam session featuring Jimmy Page playing with Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, featuring a cover of "Little Queen of Spades" by Robert Johnson. Several songs which featured Page's involvement were compiled on the twin album release, ''Jimmy Page: Session Man''.

Page decided to leave studio work when the increasing influence of Stax Records on popular music led to the greater incorporation of brass and orchestral arrangements into recordings at the expense of guitars. However, he has stated that his time as a session player served as extremely good schooling for his development as a musician:

The Yardbirds

In late 1964, Page was approached about the possibility of replacing Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds, but he declined the offer out of loyalty to his friend. In February 1965 Clapton quit the Yardbirds, and Page was formally offered Clapton's spot, but because he was unwilling to give up his lucrative career as a session musician, and because he was still worried about his health under touring conditions, he suggested his friend, Jeff Beck. On 16 May 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a new supergroup featuring Beck, along with The Who's John Entwistle on bass and Keith Moon on drums. However, the lack of a quality vocalist and contractual problems prevented the project from getting off the ground. During this time, Moon suggested the name "Lead Zeppelin" for the first time, after Entwistle commented that the proceedings would take to the air like a lead balloon.

Within weeks, Page attended a Yardbirds concert at Oxford. After the show he went backstage where Paul Samwell-Smith announced that he was leaving the group. Page offered to replace Samwell-Smith and this was accepted by the group. He initially played electric bass with the Yardbirds before finally switching to twin lead guitar with Beck when Chris Dreja moved to bass. The musical potential of the line-up was scuttled, however, by interpersonal conflicts caused by constant touring and a lack of commercial success, although they released one single, "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago". (While Page and Jeff Beck played together in The Yardbirds, the trio of Page, Beck and Clapton never played in the original group at the same time. The three guitarists did appear on stage together at the ARMS charity concerts in 1983.)

After Beck's departure, the Yardbirds remained a quartet. They recorded one album with Page on lead guitar, ''Little Games''. The album received indifferent reviews and was not a commercial success, peaking at only number 80 on the Billboard Music Charts. Though their studio sound was fairly commercial at the time, the band's live performances were just the opposite, becoming heavier and more experimental. These concerts featured musical aspects that Page would later perfect with Led Zeppelin, most notably performances of "Dazed and Confused".

After the departure of Keith Relf and Jim McCarty in 1968, Page reconfigured the group with a new line-up to fulfill unfinished tour dates in Scandinavia. As he said:

To this end, Page recruited vocalist Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham, and he was also contacted by John Paul Jones who asked to join. During the Scandinavian tour the new group appeared as "The New Yardbirds", but soon recalled the old joke by Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Page stuck with that name to use for his new band. Peter Grant changed it to "Led Zeppelin", to avoid a mispronunciation of ''"Leed Zeppelin."''

Led Zeppelin

Page has explained that he had a very specific idea in mind as to what he wanted Led Zeppelin to be, from the very beginning:

Post-Led Zeppelin career

Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham at Page's home, The Old Mill House at Clewer in Berkshire. For some time Page refused to touch a guitar out of sadness for the loss of his friend Bonham, but he eventually made a return to the stage at a Jeff Beck show in March 1981 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Also in 1981 Page joined with Yes bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White to form a supergroup called XYZ (for ex-Yes-Zeppelin). They rehearsed several times, but the project was shelved. Demos of these sessions have turned up on bootleg and they reveal that some of the material emerged on later projects, notably The Firm's "Fortune Hunter" and Yes songs "Mind Drive" and "Can You Imagine?". Page would later join Yes on stage in 1984 at Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany, playing "I'm Down".

In 1982 Page collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the ''Death Wish II'' soundtrack. This, and several subsequent Page recordings including ''Death Wish III'' soundtrack (1985), were recorded and produced at his own recording studio, The Sol in Cookham, which he had purchased from Gus Dudgeon in the early 1980s.

In 1983 Page appeared with the A.R.M.S. (Action Research for Multiple Sclerosis) charity series of concerts which honoured Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, who suffered from the disease. For the first shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Page's set consisted of songs from the ''Death Wish II'' soundtrack (with Steve Winwood on vocals) and an instrumental version of "Stairway to Heaven". A four-city tour of the United States followed, with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company replacing Winwood as vocalist. During the US tour, Page and Rodgers also performed "Midnight Moonlight" which would later be recorded for The Firm's first album. All of the shows featured an on stage jam of "Layla" that reunited Page with Yardbirds guitarists Beck and Eric Clapton. According to the book ''Hammer of the Gods'', it was reportedly around this time that Page told friends that he'd just given up heroin after seven years of use. On 13 December 1983, Page joined Robert Plant on-stage for one encore at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Page next linked up with Roy Harper for the 1984 album (''Whatever Happened to Jugula?'') and occasional concerts, performing a predominantly acoustic set at folk festivals under various guises such as the MacGregors, and Themselves. Also in 1984 Page recorded with former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant as The Honeydrippers on the album''The Honeydrippers: Volume 1'', and with John Paul Jones on the film soundtrack ''Scream for Help''.

Page subsequently collaborated with Paul Rodgers to record two albums under the name The Firm. The first album, released in 1985, was the self-titled ''The Firm''. Popular songs included "Radioactive" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed". The album peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard'' pop albums chart and went gold in the US. It was followed by ''Mean Business'' in 1986. The band toured in support of both albums but soon split up.

Various other projects followed, such as session work for Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and The Rolling Stones (on their 1986 single "One Hit (to the Body)"). In 1986, Page reunited temporarily with his ex-Yardbirds band members to play on several tracks of the Box of Frogs album ''Strange Land''. Page released a solo album entitled ''Outrider'' in 1988 which featured contributions from Robert Plant, with Page contributing in turn to Plant's solo album ''Now and Zen'', which was released the same year. Page also embarked on a collaboration with David Coverdale in 1993 entitled Coverdale Page.

Throughout these years Page also reunited with the other former members of Led Zeppelin to perform live on a few occasions, most notably in 1985 for the Live Aid concert with both Phil Collins and Tony Thompson filling drum duties. However, the band members considered this performance to be sub-standard, with Page having been let down by a poorly tuned Les Paul. Page, Plant and Jones, as well as John Bonham's son Jason, performed at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show on 14 May 1988, closing the 12-hour show. In 1990, a Knebworth concert to aid the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre and the British School for Performing Arts and Technology saw Plant unexpectedly joined by Page to perform "Misty Mountain Hop", "Wearing and Tearing" and "Rock and Roll". Page also performed with the band's former members at various private family functions.

In 1994, Page reunited with Plant for the penultimate performance in ''MTV'''s "Unplugged" series. The 90-minute special, dubbed ''Unledded'', premiered to the highest ratings in MTV's history. In October of the same year, the session was released as the CD ''No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded'', and in 2004 as the DVD ''No Quarter Unledded''. Following a highly successful mid-90s tour to support ''No Quarter'', Page and Plant recorded 1998's ''Walking into Clarksdale''.

Since 1990, Page has been heavily involved in remastering the entire Led Zeppelin back catalogue and is currently participating in various charity concerts and charity work, particularly the ''Action for Brazil's Children Trust'' (ABC Trust), founded by his wife Jimena Gomez-Paratcha in 1998. In the same year, Page played guitar for rap singer/producer Puff Daddy's song "Come with Me", which heavily samples Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" and was included in the soundtrack of ''Godzilla''. The two later performed the song on ''Saturday Night Live''.

In October 1999, Page teamed up with The Black Crowes for a two-night performance of material from the Led Zeppelin catalogue and old blues and rock standards. The concert was recorded and released as a double live album, ''Live at the Greek'' in 2000. In 2001 he made an appearance on stage with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst and Wes Scantlin of Puddle of Mudd at the MTV Europe Video Music Awards in Frankfurt, where they performed a version of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You".

In 2005, Page was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his Brazilian charity work for Task Brazil and Action For Brazil's Children's Trust, made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro later that year, and was awarded a Grammy award.

In November 2006, Led Zeppelin was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The television broadcasting of the event consisted of an introduction to the band by various famous admirers (including Roger Taylor, Slash, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, Jack White and Tony Iommi), a presentation of an award to Jimmy Page, and then a short speech by the guitarist. After this, rock group Wolfmother played a tribute to Led Zeppelin, playing the song "Communication Breakdown".

In 2006, Page attended the induction of Led Zeppelin to the UK Music Hall of Fame. During an interview for the BBC for said event, he expressed plans to record new material in 2007, saying "It's an album that I really need to get out of my system... there's a good album in there and it's ready to come out" and "Also there will be some Zeppelin things on the horizon".

On 10 December 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, as well as John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham played a charity concert at the O2 Arena London.

For the 2008 Olympics, Jimmy Page, David Beckham and Leona Lewis represented Britain during the closing ceremonies on 24 August 2008. Beckham rode a double-decker bus into the stadium, and Page and Lewis performed "Whole Lotta Love".

In 2008 Page co-produced a documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim entitled ''It Might Get Loud''. The film examines the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film premiered on 5 September 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival. Page also participated in the 3 part BBC documentary ''London Calling: The making of the Olympic handover ceremony'' on 4 March 2009. On 4 April 2009, Page inducted Jeff Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Page has announced his 2010 solo tour while talking to the Sky News on 16 December 2009.

On 7 June 2008, Page and John Paul Jones appeared with the Foo Fighters to close out the band's concert at Wembley Stadium, performing "Rock and Roll" and "Ramble On."

In January 2010, Jimmy Page announced he is publishing an autobiography through Genesis Publications, in a hand-crafted, limited edition of 2,500 copies. Page has also been honoured with a first-ever Global Peace Award by the United Nations' Pathways to Peace organisation after confirming reports that he would be among the headliners at a planned Show of Peace Concert in Beijing, China on 10 October 2010.

On 13 July 2011, Page made an unannounced appearance with The Black Crowes at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.

Legacy and influence

Page's past experiences both in the studio and with the Yardbirds were very influential in contributing to the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. As a producer, composer, and guitarist he helped make Led Zeppelin a prototype for countless future rock bands, and was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, influencing a host of other guitarists. Allmusic states that "just about every rock guitarist from the late '60s/early '70s to the present day has been influenced by Page's work with Led Zeppelin". For example, Dictators bassist Andy Shernoff states that Jimmy Page's sped up, downstroke guitar riff in "Communication Breakdown", an influential song that contained elements of protopunk, was an inspiration for The Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone's downstroke guitar style. Ramone, who has described Page as "probably the greatest guitarist who ever lived", stated in the documentary ''"Ramones:The True Story"'' that he improved at his down-stroke picking style by playing the song over and over again for the bulk of his early career. Brian May of Queen, who was also influenced by Page, has said "I don't think anyone has epitomised riff writing better than Jimmy Page – he's one of the great brains of rock music". Tom Scholz of Boston was heavily influenced by Jimmy Page and credits the dual guitar harmonies in Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" as the inspiration for Boston's distinctive sound. Page's guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as being the inspiration for his two-hand tapping technique after he had seen Led Zeppelin perform in 1971. Similarly, Steve Vai has also commented about the song in a September 1998 ''Guitar World'' interview: "This one [Heartbreaker] had the biggest impact on me as a youth. It was defiant, bold, and edgier than hell. It really is the definitive rock guitar solo."

Many other rock guitarists were also influenced by Jimmy Page, such as Ace Frehley, Joe Satriani, John Frusciante, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Angus Young, Slash, Dave Mustaine, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Stone Gossard, Mick Mars, Paul Stanley, Alex Lifeson, and Dan Hawkins.

Page has been described by ''Uncut'' as the "rock's greatest and most mysterious guitar hero". According to ''msnbc.com'' Jimmy Page "played some of the most fundamental and memorable guitar in rock history—from the heaviest crunch to the most delicate acoustic finger picking." Page's solo in the famous epic "Stairway to Heaven" has been voted by readers of ''Guitar World'' and ''Total Guitar'' as the greatest guitar solo of all time, and he was named 'Guitarist of the Year' five times during the 1970s in ''Creem'' magazine's annual reader poll. ''Guitar World'' wrote: "Truly a guitar god, Jimmy Page is one of the most captivating soloists the rock world has ever known." In 1996 ''Mojo Magazine'' ranked him number 7 on their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time". In 2002 he was voted the second greatest guitarist of all time in a ''Total Guitar'' magazine reader poll. In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine named him number nine on their list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". In 2007, ''Classic Rock Magazine'' ranked him #4 on their list of the "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". ''Gigwise.com'', an online music magazine, ranked Page #2 on their list of the "50 greatest guitarists ever" in 2008. In August 2009, ''Time Magazine'' ranked him the 6th greatest electric-guitar player of all time. In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked #2 on Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".

David Fricke, a senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, described Jimmy Page in 1988 as "probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." Roger Daltrey of The Who has been a longtime fan of Page and expressed his desire to form a supergroup with Page in 2010 saying: "I’d love to do something, I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page." Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has described Jimmy Page as "one of the best guitar players I've ever known." Jimmy Page was the first inductee onto the British Walk of Fame in August 2004. Page was awarded "Living Legend Award" at ''Classic Rock Magazine'' Roll of Honour 2007. In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Surrey for his services to the music industry. Page was inducted into ''Mojo'' Hall Of Fame at the magazine's award ceremony on 11 June 2010.

In August 2010, Auburn University graduate student Justin Havird named a new species of fish "Lepidocephalichthys zeppelini" after Led Zeppelin, because the fish's pectoral fin reminded him of the double-neck guitar used by Jimmy Page.

Equipment and recording techniques

Guitars

For the recording of most of Led Zeppelin material from Led Zeppelin's second album onwards, Page used a Gibson Les Paul guitar (sold to him by Joe Walsh) with Marshall amplification. A Harmony Sovereign H-1260 was used in-studio on ''Led Zeppelin III'' and ''Led Zeppelin IV'' and on-stage from 5 March 1971 to 28 June 1972. During the studio sessions for ''Led Zeppelin'', and later for recording the guitar solo in "Stairway to Heaven", he used a Fender Telecaster (a gift from Jeff Beck). He also used a Danelectro 3021, tuned to DADGAD, most notably on live performances of "Kashmir".

Page also plays his guitar with a cello bow, as on the live versions of the songs "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times". This was a technique he developed during his session days. On MTV's ''Led Zeppelin Rockumentary'', Page said that he obtained the idea of playing the guitar with a bow from David McCallum, Sr. who was also a session musician. Page used his Fender Telecaster and later his Gibson Les Paul for his bow solos.

Notable guitars

1959 Fender Telecaster (given to Page by Jeff Beck and repainted with a psychedelic dragon design by Page) played with the Yardbirds. Used to record the first Led Zeppelin album and used on the early tours during 1968–1969. In 1972, it was used for recording the "Stairway to Heaven" solo.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (No. 1) (Given as a gift to Page by Joe Walsh) modified with a shaved neck and the addition of a push/pull pot to put the humbuckers out of phase while the toggle is in the middle position. English luthier Roger Giffin re-produced an exact replica of this guitar for Page in 1991 (nicknamed No. 3, Jimmy had a deal with Gibson that he would receive the first guitar from the 26 custom guitars that were designed). Giffin's work was later copied for Gibson's original run of Jimmy Page Signature model Les Pauls in the mid-1990s. This guitar was also used by Gibson as the model for the company's second run of Page signature models in 2004. Produced by Gibson and aged by luthier Tom Murphy, this second generation of Page tribute models was limited to 25 guitars signed by Page himself; and only 150 guitars in total for the aged model issue.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (No. 2) with a shaved down neck to match the profile on his No.1; He added four push/pull pots to coil split the humbuckers as well as phase and series switches which were added under the pick guard after the break-up of Led Zeppelin.

1971 Gibson EDS-1275 (used for playing "Stairway to Heaven", "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song", "Celebration Day" during live concerts and the Knebworth, "Tangerine" at the 1975 Earls Court shows, and "Sick Again" throughout the 1977 North American tour)

1959 Danelectro 59-DC (tuned to DADGAD and used live for "White Summer", "Black Mountain Side", "Kashmir" and "Midnight Moonlight" with The Firm).

Danelectro 3021 (tuned to open G and used on the ''Outrider'' tour for "In My Time Of Dying". This one has a smaller pickguard, as opposed to the large "seal" pickguard on his first Danelectro.

1967 Vox 12-String used during the recording for the Yardbirds Little Games album and for on-stage appearances.

1960 Black Gibson Les Paul Custom (with Bigsby Tremolo) – stolen in 1970. An ad was placed by Page for the recovery of this highly modified instrument but the guitar was never recovered. In 2008 the Gibson Custom Shop produced a limited run of 25 re-creations of the guitar, each with a Bigsby Tremolo and a new custom 6-way toggle switch.

Due to the fact the guitar was too heavy, one of Jimmy Page's Les Paul Custom Black Beauty guitars is now owned by Dan Hawkins of The Darkness.

1969 Gibson Les Paul Standard (seen in "The Song Remains The Same" during the theremin/solo section of "Whole Lotta Love" and for "Kashmir" at the O2 reunion concert. This guitar was later fitted with a Parsons-White B-string bender and used extensively by Page from the mid-to-late 1980s onward, including the Outrider tour, and the Page/Plant "Unledded" special on MTV.

1964 Lake Placid Blue Fender Stratocaster (Used during recording sessions for ''In Through the Out Door'' at Earls Court 1975 and in 1979 at Knebworth for ''In the Evening'').

1966 Cream Fender Telecaster (Used on ''Physical Graffiti'' and on All My Love during the Tour Over Europe 1980).

1953 Brown Fender Telecaster featuring a Parsons and White B-string bender, and neck salvaged from the "Dragon Telecaster". Seen primarily during the 1980s The Firm and Outrider era. Also used at Knebworth in 1979, notably on "Ten Years Gone" and "Hot Dog".

1965 Fender Electric XII (12-String) used to record Thank You and Stairway to Heaven.

Strings

Ernie Ball electric guitar strings

Signature models

Gibson released Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul which was discontinued in 1999, then released another version in 2004, which has also been discontinued. The 2004 version included 25 guitars signed by Page, 150 aged by a former Gibson employee (an acknowledged ageing 'master'), and 840 'unlimited' production guitars. The Jimmy Page Signature EDS-1275 has been produced by Gibson. Recently, Gibson reproduced Page's 1960 Les Paul Black Beauty, the one stolen from him in 1970, with modern modifications. This guitar was sold in 2008 with a run of 25, again signed by Page, plus an additional 500 unsigned guitars.

In December 2009, Gibson released the 'Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul'. This is a re-creation of Page's famous number 2 Les Paul used by him since about 1974 until present. The model includes the same pick-up switching setup as devised by Page, shaved-down neck profile, Burstbucker pick-up at neck and 'Pagebucker' at the bridge. A total of 325 were made in three finishes: 25 Aged by Gibson's Tom Murphy, signed and played by Page ($26,000), 100 aged ($16,000) and 200 with VOS finish ($12,000).

Amplifiers and effects

He usually recorded in studio with a Vox AC30, Fender, and Orange amplification. The first Led Zeppelin album and the solo on "Stairway to Heaven" were played on a Fender Telecaster through a Supro amplifier.

Page used a limited number of effects, including a Maestro Echoplex, a Dunlop Cry Baby, and an MXR phaser and Blue Box (distortion/octaver). Page also played a theremin.

Music production techniques

Jimmy Page is credited for the innovations in sound recording he brought to the studio during the years he was a member of Led Zeppelin, many of which he had initially developed as a session musician:

This apprenticeship ... became a part of [learning] how things were recorded. I started to learn microphone placements and things like that, what did and what didn't work. I certainly knew what did and didn't work with drummers because they put drummers in these little sound booths that had no sound deflection at all, and the drums would just sound awful. The reality of it is the drum is a musical instrument, it relies on having a bright room and a live room ... And so bit by bit I was learning really how ''not'' to record.

He developed a reputation for employing effects in new ways and trying out different methods of using microphones and amplification. During the late 1960s, most British music producers placed microphones directly in front of amplifiers and drums, resulting in the sometimes "tinny" sound of the recordings of the era. Page commented to ''Guitar World'' magazine that he felt the drum sounds of the day in particular "sounded like cardboard boxes." Instead, Page was a fan of 1950s recording techniques, Sun Studios being a particular favourite. In the same ''Guitar World'' interview, Page remarked, "Recording used to be a science", and "[engineers] used to have a maxim: distance equals depth." Taking this maxim to heart, Page developed the idea of placing an additional microphone some distance from the amplifier (as much as twenty feet) and then recording the balance between the two. By adopting this technique, Page became one of the first British producers to record a band's "ambient sound" – the distance of a note's time-lag from one end of the room to the other.

For the recording of several Led Zeppelin tracks, such as "Whole Lotta Love" and "You Shook Me", Page additionally utilised "reverse echo" – a technique which he claims to have invented himself while with The Yardbirds (he had originally developed the method when recording the 1967 single "Ten Little Indians"). This production technique involved hearing the echo before the main sound instead of after it, achieved by turning the tape over and employing the echo on a spare track, then turning the tape back over again to get the echo preceding the signal.

Page has stated that, as producer, he deliberately changed the audio engineers on Led Zeppelin albums, from Glyn Johns for the first album, to Eddie Kramer for ''Led Zeppelin II'', to Andy Johns for ''Led Zeppelin III'' and later albums. He explained that "I consciously kept changing engineers because I didn't want people to think that they were responsible for our sound. I wanted people to know it was me."

John Paul Jones acknowledged that Page's production techniques were a key component of the success of Led Zeppelin:

In an interview that Page himself gave to ''Guitar World'' magazine in 1993, he remarked on his work as a producer:

Personal life

Page had relationships with a number of rock groupies in the 1970s, including Pamela Des Barres, Bebe Buell and Lori Maddox. French model Charlotte Martin was Page's partner from 1970 to about 1982 or 1983. Page called her 'My Lady'. Together they have a daughter, Scarlet Page (born in 1971), who is a photographer.

From 1986 to 1995 Page was married to Patricia Ecker, a model and waitress. They have a son, James Patrick Page III (born April 1988). Page later married Jimena Gómez-Paratcha, whom he met in Brazil on the No Quarter tour. He adopted her oldest daughter Jana (born 1994), and they have two children together: Zofia Jade (born 1997) and Ashen Josan (born 1999).

In 1972 Page bought, from Richard Harris, the home which William Burges (1827–1881) designed for himself in London, The Tower House. "I had an interest going back to my teens in the pre-Raphaelite movement and the architecture of Burges", he said. "What a wonderful world to discover." The reputation of Burges rests on his extravagant designs and his contribution to the Gothic revival in architecture in the nineteenth century.

From 1980 to 2004 Page owned The Mill House, Mill Lane, Windsor, which was formerly the home of actor Michael Caine. Fellow Led Zeppelin band member John Bonham died at the house in 1980.

From the early 1970s to the early 1990s, Page owned the Boleskine House, the former residence of occultist Aleister Crowley. Sections of Page's fantasy sequence in the film ''The Song Remains the Same'' were filmed at night on the mountain side directly behind Boleskine House.

According to ''The Sunday Times'' Rich List, Page's assets are worth £75 million as of 2009. He resides in West Sussex.

Recreational drug use

Page has acknowledged heavy recreational drug use throughout the 1970s. In an interview with ''Guitar World'' magazine in 2003, he stated, "I can't speak for the [other members of the band], but for me drugs were an integral part of the whole thing, right from the beginning, right to the end." After the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States, Page told Nick Kent, "Oh, everyone went over the top a few times. I know I did and, to be honest with you, I don't really remember much of what happened."

In 1975, Page began to use heroin, a fact attributed to Richard Cole, who stated that Page (in addition to himself) was taking the drug during the recording sessions of the album ''Presence'' in that year, and that Page admitted to him shortly afterwards that he was addicted to the drug.

By Led Zeppelin's 1977 tour of the United States, Page's heroin addiction was beginning to hamper his guitar playing performances. By this time the guitarist had lost a noticeable amount of weight. His onstage appearance was not the only obvious change; his addiction caused Page to become so inward and isolated it altered the dynamic between him and Plant considerably. During the recording sessions for ''In Through the Out Door'' in 1978, Page's diminished influence on the album (relative to bassist John Paul Jones) is partly attributed to his heroin addiction, which resulted in his absence from the studio for long periods of time.

Page reportedly kicked his heroin habit in the early 1980s. In a 1988 interview with ''Musician'' magazine, Page took offence when the interviewer noted that heroin had been associated with his name, and insisted "Do I look as if I'm a smack addict? Well, I'm not. Thank you very much."

In an interview he gave to ''Q magazine'' in 2003, Page responded to a question as to whether he regrets getting so involved in heroin and cocaine:

Interest in the occult

The appearance of four symbols on the jacket of Led Zeppelin's fourth album has been linked to Page's interest in the occult. The four symbols represented each member of the band. Page's own so-called "Zoso" symbol originated in 'Ars Magica Arteficii' (1557) by Gerolamo Cardano, an old alchemical grimoire, where it has been identified as a sigil consisting of zodiac signs. The sigil is reproduced in "Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils" by Fred Gettings.

During tours and performances after the release of the fourth album, Page often had the "Zoso" symbol embroidered on his clothes, along with zodiac symbols. These were visible most notably on his "Dragon Suit", which included the signs for Capricorn, Scorpio and Cancer which are Page's Sun, Ascendant, and Moon signs, respectively.

The artwork inside the album cover of ''Led Zeppelin IV'' is from a painting by William Holman Hunt, influenced by the traditional Rider/Waite Tarot card design for the card called "The Hermit". Page transforms into this character during his fantasy sequence in Led Zeppelin's concert film ''The Song Remains the Same''.

In the early 1970s Page owned an occult bookshop and publishing house, "The Equinox Booksellers and Publishers" in Kensington High Street, London, eventually closing it as the increasing success of Led Zeppelin resulted in his having insufficient time to devote to it. The company published a facsimile of English occultist's Aleister Crowley's 1904 edition of ''The Goetia''. Page has maintained a strong interest in Crowley for many years. In 1978, he explained:

Page was commissioned to write the soundtrack music for the film ''Lucifer Rising'' by another occultist and Crowley admirer, underground movie director Kenneth Anger. Page ultimately produced 23 minutes of music which Anger felt was insufficient because the film ran for 28 minutes and Anger wanted the film to have a full soundtrack. Anger claimed Page took three years to deliver the music, and the final product was only 23 minutes of droning. The director also slammed the guitarist in the press by calling him a "dabbler" in the occult and an addict, and being too strung out on drugs to complete the project. Page countered that he had fulfilled all his obligations, even going so far as to lend Anger his own film editing equipment to help him finish the project.

Although Page collected works by Crowley, he has never described himself as a Thelemite nor was he ever initiated into the O.T.O. The Equinox Bookstore and Boleskine House were both sold off during the 1980s, as Page settled into family life and participated in charity work.

Discography

Single

"She Just Satisfies"/"Keep Moving" (February 1965)

Albums

Pre-Led Zeppelin (1963–1969)

Many pre-Led Zeppelin session recordings have been released on various labels and compilation packages, including:

''Blues Anytime 1, 2, 3'' series on Immediate Records featuring the Immediate All-Stars, mid 1960s

''No Introduction Necessary'' (1968), Recordings feat. John Paul Jones, Albert Lee, Nicky Hopkins, Clem Cattini and Keith de Groot

''Jimmy Page and Friends – Wailing Sounds'' (2006). Includes ''Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends'' album (1970) + six tracks from the 1968 sessions for Keith De Groot's debut album.

''Guitar Boogie'' (1971) Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton compilation album from the recordings on the ''Blues Anytime'' series on Immediate Records.

''Special Early Works'' (1972), 1965 session recordings with Sonny Boy Williamson

''Smoke and Fire'' (1984), session recordings with Jeff Beck, Noel Redding and Nicky Hopkins

''Jimmy Page: Session Man Vol. 1'' (1989)

''Jimmy Page: Session Man Vol. 2'' (1990)

''Jimmy's Back Pages...The Early Years'' (1992)

''Jimmy Page and His Heavy Friends: Hip Young Guitar Slinger'' (2000, double cd)

''This Guitar Kills: More 60s Groups & Sessions – remastered by Jimmy Page'' (2007, the 2003 ed. is not remastered) (double cd)

''Jimmy Page and Friends'' (2006, double cd)

Please note that there are several duplicates amongst all these albums.

Post-Led Zeppelin

References

Published sources

Mylett, Howard (1984) ''Jimmy Page: Tangents Within a Framework'', London: Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-0265-8.

Welch, Chris (1985) ''Power & Glory: Robert Plant & Jimmy Page'', London: Zomba Books, ISBN 0-946391-74-2.

External links

Official Jimmy Page site

Official Led Zeppelin site

ASCAP titles

Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page – Genesis Publications Limited Edition Book

Category:English blues guitarists Category:English heavy metal guitarists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English session musicians Category:English songwriters Category:TVT Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:Led Zeppelin members Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Pedal steel guitarists Category:People from Heston Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Windsor, Berkshire Category:Slide guitarists Category:The Yardbirds members Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Skiffle Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:British rhythm and blues boom musicians

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Demetri Martin (born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer and humorist. Martin is best known for his work as a stand-up comedian, contributor on ''The Daily Show'' and for his Comedy Central show ''Important Things with Demetri Martin''.

Early life

Demetri Martin was born to a Greek American family in New York City, New York, and grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. He is the son of Lillian, a nutritionist, and Dean C. Martin, now deceased, a Greek Orthodox priest. Martin graduated from Yale University in 1995. Although he was accepted into Harvard Law School, he went to New York University School of Law after he received a full scholarship.

Career

In 2001, Martin caught his first big break in stand-up comedy when he appeared on Comedy Central's stand-up showcase ''Premium Blend''. At the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe he won the Perrier award with his show ''If I...''. The show was turned into a British television special in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Martin wrote for ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. In 2004, Martin had his own ''Comedy Central Presents'' stand-up special. His special was divided into three parts. In the first, he performed in traditional stand-up comedy fashion. In the second segment, he used humorous drawings as visual aids, which would serve either as the punchline or a background. During the third segment, he played a guitar and put on a pseudo-play where he would strum his guitar while alternating between playing harmonica and talking; some of his comedian friends dressed as fairies and dragons acted according to the story he was telling, detailing the magical land where his jokes came from. Martin's mother and grandmother also appeared.

Since late 2005, he has been credited as a contributor on ''The Daily Show'', on which he has appeared as the named "Senior Youth Correspondent" and on which he hosts a segment called "Trendspotting". He has used this segment to talk about so-called hip trends among youth such as hookahs, wine, guerilla marketing and Xbox 360. A piece about social networking featured his profile on MySpace. On March 22, 2007, Demetri made another appearance on ''The Daily Show'', talking about the Viacom lawsuit against Google and YouTube.

He has recorded a comedy CD/DVD titled ''These Are Jokes'', which was released on September 26, 2006. This album also features ''Saturday Night Live'' member Will Forte and stand-up comedian Leo Allen.

Martin returned to ''The Daily Show'' on March 22, 2006, as the new Youth Correspondent, calling his segment "Professional Important News with Demetri Martin". In 2007, he starred in a Fountains of Wayne music video for "Someone to Love" as Seth Shapiro, a character in the song. He also starred in the video for the new Travis single "Selfish Jean", in which he wears multiple t-shirts with lyrics written on them.

On September 2, 2007, Martin appeared on the season finale of the HBO series ''Flight of the Conchords''. He appeared as a keytar player named Demetri.

He also had a part in the movie ''The Rocker'' (2008) starring Rainn Wilson. Martin played the part of the videographer when the band in the movie was making their first music video.

In 2009, he hosted and starred in his own television show called Important Things With Demetri Martin on Comedy Central. Later in June, it was announced his show had been renewed for a second season. The second season premiered, again on Comedy Central, on February 4, 2010. Martin has stated that ''Important Things'' will not return for a third season.

Prior to completing work on his second season, Martin starred in the comedy-drama film ''Taking Woodstock'' (2009), directed by Ang Lee, which premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In the film Martin plays Elliot Tiber, a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskill Mountains motel. The film is based on the book written by Tiber.

On April 25, 2011, Martin released his first book, titled ''This Is a Book by Demetri Martin''.

Martin was slated to portray Paul DePodesta as Oakland Athletics assistant GM to Billy Beane in the 2011 movie ''Moneyball'', however was dropped and Jonah Hill took his place in the movie.

Future plans

Martin sold his movie concept ''Will'' to DreamWorks; he is expected to play a key supporting role. He will play the lead in the film ''Moon People'', a pitch that he sold to Columbia Pictures.

Martin also signed a blind script deal with CBS in October 2010 to produce, write, and star in his own television series.

After CBS was shown the pilot for the series, they decided not to air it.

On August 11, 2011, Fox ordered a presentation of a new animated show they might air.

''If I''

''If I'' is a Perrier Comedy Award-winning comedy one-man show written and performed by Demetri Martin at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was also aired on British television as a special. The show is an autobiographical examination of Martin's life, as seen through various definitions of the word "if."

The title of the special comes from a lengthy palindromic poem that Martin wrote; the words "if I" are at the center of the poem.

Comedic style

Martin is known for being an unconventional stand-up comic. He uses one-liners and drawings on a "large pad", as well as accompanying his jokes with music on either guitar, harmonica, piano, keyboard, glockenspiel, toy bells, ukulele, or tambourine, sometimes all at once. He has cited comedian Steven Wright as an important influence (both use deadpan one-liners in their acts) and he is also a fan of Bill Cosby.

Personal life

According to a July 2011 interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Demetri had a short-lived marriage to a girl he knew from high school. They began dating after high school and got married when he was in NYU Law School and she was attending NYU Medical School. He was aged 25 and in the end of his marriage when his stand-up career began.

He is extremely allergic to nuts and peanuts.

Martin moved to Santa Monica, California in 2009.

Filmography

''Invite Them Up'' (2005)

''These Are Jokes'' (2006)

''Demetri Martin. Person.'' (2007)

''Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009-2010)

Filmography and television work

''If I'' ''12:21'' ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' "''Someone to Love (Fountains of Wayne song) ''Flight of the Conchords (TV series) ''The Rocker (film) ''Paper Heart'' ''Post Grad'' ''Taking Woodstock'' ''Important Things with Demetri Martin'' ''Take Me Home Tonight (film) ''Contagion (film) ''Conan_(TV_series)

Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2002	''Analyze That''	Personal Assistant
2003	|	Himself	British television special, also writer
2004	|	Himself	short film, also writer
2004	|	Himself	1 episode, series writer
2007	Someone to Love''" ||	Seth Shapiro	''Fountains of Wayne'' music video
2007	Flight of the Conchords'' ||	Demetri	Season 1, Episode 12
2008	The Rocker'' ||	Kip (a music video producer)
2009	|	Himself
2009	|	Ad Exec
2009	|	Elliot Tiber
2009–2010	|	Himself / Various	writer, series creator, executive producer, and composer
2011	Take Me Home Tonight'' ||	Carlos
2011	Contagion'' ||	Dr. David Eisenberg
2011	Conan'' ||	Himself	guest

Written works

''This Is a Book'', April 2011, .

Awards and nominations

AwardPerrier Comedy AwardEmmy Awards Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Writers Guild of America Award Shared with Mike Sweeney (writer)Barry Award (for comedy)

Year	|	For	Category	Result	Other notes
2003	|	''If I''		Won	At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
2004	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program	Nominated	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2005	|	''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''	Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) - Series	Won	Mike Sweeney (head writer), Chris Albers, Jose Arroyo, Andy Blitz, Kevin Dorff, Daniel J. Goor, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Michael Koman, Brian McCann, Guy Nicolucci, Conan O'Brien, Allison Silverman, Robert Smigel, Brian Stack, Andrew Weinberg
2006	Barry Award ||	''Dr. Earnest Parrot Presents Demetri Martin''		Won	Award for best show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

References

External links

Interview from November, 2006, in Onion AV Club

Interview from October 2006, in The DePaulia

Article, in ''The Scotsman''

Article, in ''Gelf Magazine''

Interview by Brian M. Palmer

MP3 Audio Interview on ''The Sound of Young America'' public radio show and podcast

Interview Believer Mag

New Jersey Monthly Magazine

Fresh Air, NPR.org

Category:1973 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Actors from New York City Category:American comedians Category:American comedy musicians Category:American comedy writers Category:American film actors Category:American humorists Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:Writers from New York City Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:Yale University alumni Category:The Daily Show correspondents and contributors

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