Name	Microsoft Windows
Logo
Screenshot
Website
Developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed source / Shared source
Released	(as Windows 1.0)
Family	Windows 9x, Windows CE and Windows NT
Source model	Closed source / Shared source
Frequently updated	yes
Marketing target	Personal computing
Kernel type	Hybrid
Ui	Graphical (Windows Shell)
Programmed in	C, C++ and Assembly language
License	Proprietary commercial software
Language	Multilingual (listing of available Windows 7 language packs)
Working state	Publicly released
Supported platforms	ARM, IA-32, x86-64 and Itanium
Updatemodel	Windows Update }}

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.

Microsoft introduced an operating environment named ''Windows'' on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer market, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984. As of October 2009, Windows had approximately 90% of the market share of the client operating systems for usage on the Internet.

The most recent client version of Windows is Windows 7; the most recent server version is Windows Server 2008 R2; the most recent mobile version is Windows Phone 7.

Versions

The term ''Windows'' collectively describes any or all of several generations of Microsoft operating system products. These products are generally categorized as follows:

Early versions

The history of Windows dates back to September 1981, when Chase Bishop, a computer scientist, designed the first model of an electronic device and project "Interface Manager" was started. It was announced in November 1983 (after the Apple Lisa, but before the Macintosh) under the name "Windows", but Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985. The shell of Windows 1.0 was a program known as the MS-DOS Executive. Other supplied programs were Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal, and Write. Windows 1.0 did not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows were tiled. Only dialog boxes could appear over other windows.

Windows 2.0 was released in October 1987 and featured several improvements to the user interface and memory management. Windows 2.0 allowed application windows to overlap each other and also introduced more sophisticated keyboard-shortcuts. It could also make use of expanded memory.

Windows 2.1 was released in two different versions: Windows/386 employed the 386 virtual 8086 mode to multitask several DOS programs, and the paged memory model to emulate expanded memory using available extended memory. Windows/286 (which, despite its name, would run on the 8086) still ran in real mode, but could make use of the high memory area.

The early versions of Windows were often thought of as simply graphical user interfaces, mostly because they ran on top of MS-DOS and used it for file system services. However, even the earliest 16-bit Windows versions already assumed many typical operating system functions; notably, having their own executable file format and providing their own device drivers (timer, graphics, printer, mouse, keyboard and sound) for applications. Unlike MS-DOS, Windows allowed users to execute multiple graphical applications at the same time, through cooperative multitasking. Windows implemented an elaborate, segment-based, software virtual memory scheme, which allowed it to run applications larger than available memory: code segments and resources were swapped in and thrown away when memory became scarce, and data segments moved in memory when a given application had relinquished processor control.

Windows 3.0 and 3.1

Windows 3.0 (1990) and Windows 3.1 (1992) improved the design, mostly because of virtual memory and loadable virtual device drivers (VxDs) that allowed them to share arbitrary devices between multitasked DOS windows. Also, Windows applications could now run in protected mode (when Windows was running in Standard or 386 Enhanced Mode), which gave them access to several megabytes of memory and removed the obligation to participate in the software virtual memory scheme. They still ran inside the same address space, where the segmented memory provided a degree of protection, and multi-tasked cooperatively. For Windows 3.0, Microsoft also rewrote critical operations from C into assembly.

Windows 95, 98, and Me

Windows 95 was released in August 1995, featuring a new user interface, support for long file names of up to 255 characters, and the ability to automatically detect and configure installed hardware (plug and play). It could natively run 32-bit applications, and featured several technological improvements that increased its stability over Windows 3.1. There were several OEM Service Releases (OSR) of Windows 95, each of which was roughly equivalent to a service pack.

Microsoft's next release was Windows 98 in June 1998. Microsoft released a second version of Windows 98 in May 1999, named Windows 98 Second Edition (often shortened to Windows 98 SE).

In February 2000, Windows 2000 (in the NT family) was released, followed by Windows Me in September 2000 (''Me'' standing for ''Millennium Edition''). Windows Me updated the core from Windows 98, but adopted some aspects of Windows 2000 and removed the "boot in DOS mode" option. It also added a new feature called System Restore, allowing the user to set the computer's settings back to an earlier date.

Windows NT family

The NT family of Windows systems was fashioned and marketed for higher reliability business use. The first release was NT 3.1 (1993), numbered "3.1" to match the consumer Windows version, which was followed by NT 3.5 (1994), NT 3.51 (1995), NT 4.0 (1996), and Windows 2000, which is the last NT-based Windows release that does not include Microsoft Product Activation. Windows NT 4.0 was the first in this line to implement the "Windows 95" user interface (and the first to include Windows 95’s built-in 32-bit runtimes).

Microsoft then moved to combine their consumer and business operating systems with Windows XP that was released in August 2001. It came both in home and professional versions (and later niche market versions for tablet PCs and media centers); they also diverged release schedules for server operating systems. Windows Server 2003, released a year and a half after Windows XP, brought Windows Server up to date with Windows XP. After a lengthy development process, Windows Vista was released toward the end of 2006, and its server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 was released in early 2008. On July 22, 2009, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 were released as RTM (release to manufacturing). Windows 7 was released on October 22, 2009.

64-bit operating systems

Windows NT included support for several different platforms before the x86-based personal computer became dominant in the professional world. Versions of NT from 3.1 to 4.0 variously supported PowerPC, DEC Alpha and MIPS R4000, some of which were 64-bit processors, although the operating system treated them as 32-bit processors.

With the introduction of the Intel Itanium architecture (also known as IA-64), Microsoft released new versions of Windows to support it. Itanium versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 were released at the same time as their mainstream x86 (32-bit) counterparts. On April 25, 2005, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions to support the x86-64 (or ''x64'' in Microsoft terminology) architecture. Microsoft dropped support for the Itanium version of Windows XP in 2005. Windows Vista was the first end-user version of Windows that Microsoft released simultaneously in x86 and x64 editions. Windows Vista does not support the Itanium architecture. The modern 64-bit Windows family comprises AMD64/Intel64 versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008, in both Itanium and x64 editions. Windows Server 2008 R2 drops the 32-bit version, although Windows 7 does not.

Windows CE

Windows CE (officially known as ''Windows Embedded Compact''), is an edition of Windows that runs on minimalistic computers, like satellite navigation systems and some mobile phones. Windows Embedded Compact is based on its own dedicated kernel, dubbed Windows CE kernel. Microsoft licenses Windows CE to OEMs and device makers. The OEMs and device makers can modify and create their own user interfaces and experiences, while Windows CE provides the technical foundation to do so.

Windows CE was used in the Dreamcast along with Sega's own proprietary OS for the console. Windows CE is the core from which Windows Mobile is derived. Microsoft's latest mobile OS, Windows Phone 7, is based on components from both Windows CE 6.0 R3 and the upcoming Windows CE 7.0.

Windows Embedded Compact is not to be confused with Windows XP Embedded or Windows NT 4.0 Embedded, modular editions of Windows based on Windows NT kernel.

Future of Windows

Windows 8, the successor to Windows 7, is currently in development. Microsoft has posted a blog entry in Dutch on October 22, 2010 hinting that Windows 8 will be released in 2 years. Also, during the pre-Consumer Electronics Show keynote, Microsoft's CEO announced that Windows 8 will also run on ARM CPUs. Since ARM CPUs are usually in the form of SOCs found in mobile devices, this new announcement implies that Windows 8 will be more compatible with mobile devices such as netbooks, tablet personal computers, and smartphones.

History

thumb|center|500px|The Windows family tree. Microsoft has taken two parallel routes in its operating systems. One route has been for the home user and the other has been for the professional IT user. The dual routes have generally led to home versions having greater multimedia support and less functionality in networking and security, and professional versions having inferior multimedia support and better networking and security.

The first version of Microsoft Windows, version 1.0, released in November 1985, lacked a degree of functionality and achieved little popularity, and was to compete with Apple’s own operating system. Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system; rather, it extends MS-DOS. Microsoft Windows version 2.0 was released in November 1987 and was slightly more popular than its predecessor. Windows 2.03 (release date January 1988) had changed the OS from tiled windows to overlapping windows. The result of this change led to Apple Computer filing a suit against Microsoft alleging infringement on Apple's copyrights.

Microsoft Windows version 3.0, released in 1990, was the first Microsoft Windows version to achieve broad commercial success, selling 2 million copies in the first six months. It featured improvements to the user interface and to multitasking capabilities. It received a facelift in Windows 3.1, made generally available on March 1, 1992. Windows 3.1 support ended on December 31, 2001.

In July 1993, Microsoft released Windows NT based on a new kernel. Windows NT 3.1 was the first release of Windows NT. NT was considered to be the professional OS and was the first Windows version to utilize preemptive multitasking. Windows NT would later be retooled to also function as a home operating system, with Windows XP.

On August 24, 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95, a new, and major, consumer version that made further changes to the user interface, and also used preemptive multitasking. Windows 95 was designed to replace not only Windows 3.1, but also Windows for Workgroups, and MS-DOS. It was also the first Windows operating system to use Plug and Play capabilities. The changes Windows 95 brought to the desktop were revolutionary, as opposed to evolutionary, such as those in Windows 98 and Windows Me. Mainstream support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2000 and extended support for Windows 95 ended on December 31, 2001.

The next in the consumer line was Microsoft Windows 98 released on June 25, 1998. It was followed with the release of Windows 98 Second Edition (Windows 98 SE) in 1999. Mainstream support for Windows 98 ended on June 30, 2002 and extended support for Windows 98 ended on July 11, 2006.

As part of its "professional" line, Microsoft released Windows 2000 in February 2000. During 2004 part of the Source Code for Windows 2000 was leaked onto the Internet. This was bad for Microsoft as the same kernel used in Windows 2000 was used in Windows XP. The consumer version following Windows 98 was Windows Me (Windows Millennium Edition). Released in September 2000, Windows Me implemented a number of new technologies for Microsoft: most notably publicized was "Universal Plug and Play". Windows Me was heavily criticized due to slowness, freezes and hardware problems.

In October 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP, a version built on the Windows NT kernel that also retained the consumer-oriented usability of Windows 95 and its successors. This new version was widely praised in computer magazines. It shipped in two distinct editions, "Home" and "Professional", the former lacking many of the superior security and networking features of the Professional edition. Additionally, the first "Media Center" edition was released in 2002, with an emphasis on support for DVD and TV functionality including program recording and a remote control. Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009. Extended support will continue until April 8, 2014.

In April 2003, Windows Server 2003 was introduced, replacing the Windows 2000 line of server products with a number of new features and a strong focus on security; this was followed in December 2005 by Windows Server 2003 R2.

On January 30, 2007, Microsoft released Windows Vista. It contains a number of new features, from a redesigned shell and user interface to significant technical changes, with a particular focus on security features. It is available in a number of different editions, and has been subject to some criticism.

On October 22, 2009, Microsoft released Windows 7. Unlike its predecessor, Windows Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being compatible with applications and hardware which Windows Vista was not at the time. Windows 7 has multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with a new taskbar, referred to as the Superbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and performance improvements.

Timeline of releases

Timeline of releases
Release date	Product name	Current Version / Build	! Notes	Internet Explorer>IE
> November 1985		1.01	Unsupported	—
> November 1987		2.03	Unsupported	—
> May 1988		2.10	Unsupported	—
> March 1989		2.11	Unsupported	—
> May 1990	Windows 3.0	3.0	Unsupported	—
> March 1992	Windows 3.1x	3.1	Unsupported
> October 1992		3.1	Unsupported
> July 1993	Windows NT 3.1	NT 3.1	Unsupported
> December 1993		3.11	Unsupported
> January 1994	Windows 3.2 (released in Simplified Chinese only)	3.2	Unsupported
> September 1994	Windows NT 3.5	NT 3.5	Unsupported
> May 1995	Windows NT 3.51	NT 3.51	Unsupported
> August 1995	Windows 95	4.0.950	Unsupported
> July 1996	Windows NT 4.0	NT 4.0.1381	Unsupported
> June 1998	Windows 98	4.10.1998	Unsupported
> May 1999		4.10.2222	Unsupported
> February 2000	Windows 2000	NT 5.0.2195	Unsupported
> September 2000	Windows Me	4.90.3000	Unsupported
> October 2001	Windows XP	NT 5.1.2600	Extended Support for Windows XP SP3
> March 2003	[[Windows XP 64-bit Edition (IA-64)	NT 5.2.3790	Unsupported
> April 2003	Windows Server 2003	NT 5.2.3790	Extended Support for SP2 until July 14, 2015. (RTM and SP1 unsupported).
> April 2005	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition	NT 5.2.3790	Extended Support for SP2 until April 8, 2014. (RTM and SP1 unsupported).
> July 2006	Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs	NT 5.1.2600	Current
> November 2006 (volume licensing)January 2007 (retail)	Windows Vista	NT 6.0.6002	Current (RTM unsupported).Version changed to NT 6.0.6001 with SP1 (February 4, 2008) and to NT 6.0.6002 with SP2 (April 28, 2009).
> July 2007	Windows Home Server	NT 5.2.4500	Current
> February 2008	Windows Server 2008	NT 6.0.6002	CurrentVersion changed to NT 6.0.6002 with SP2 (April 28, 2009).
> October 2009	Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2	NT 6.1.7601	CurrentVersion changed to NT 6.1.7601 with SP1 (February 22, 2011).
> April 2011	Windows Home Server 2011	NT 6.1.8400	Current

Usage share

! Source	Net Market Share	W3Counter	Global Stats	StatOwl	W3Schools
! Date	July 2011	July 2011	July 2011	July 2011	July 2011
! All versions	87.57%	80.43%	91.51%	85.3%	85.4%
! Windows XP	49.69%	36.33%	43.89%	35.65%	39.1%
! Windows 7	27.92%	32.89%	36.06%	32.42%	39.1%
! Windows Vista	9.27%	11.09%	11.56%	15.97%	6.3%
! Windows Server 2003	0.44%	—	—	1.08%	0.9%
! Windows 2000	0.19%	0.12%	—	0.18%	—
! Windows 98	0.06%	—	—	—	—

Security

Consumer versions of Windows were originally designed for ease-of-use on a single-user PC without a network connection, and did not have security features built in from the outset. However, Windows NT and its successors are designed for security (including on a network) and multi-user PCs, but were not initially designed with Internet security in mind as much, since, when it was first developed in the early 1990s, Internet use was less prevalent.

These design issues combined with programming errors (e.g. buffer overflows) and the popularity of Windows means that it is a frequent target of computer worm and virus writers. In June 2005, Bruce Schneier’s ''Counterpane Internet Security'' reported that it had seen over 1,000 new viruses and worms in the previous six months. In 2005, Kaspersky Lab found around 11,000 malicious programs—viruses, Trojans, back-doors, and exploits written for Windows.

Microsoft releases security patches through its Windows Update service approximately once a month (usually the second Tuesday of the month), although critical updates are made available at shorter intervals when necessary. In versions of Windows after and including Windows 2000 SP3 and Windows XP, updates can be automatically downloaded and installed if the user selects to do so. As a result, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, as well as Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003, were installed by users more quickly than it otherwise might have been.

While the Windows 9x series offered the option of having profiles for multiple users, they had no concept of access privileges, and did not allow concurrent access; and so were not true multi-user operating systems. In addition, they implemented only partial memory protection. They were accordingly widely criticised for lack of security.

The Windows NT series of operating systems, by contrast, are true multi-user, and implement absolute memory protection. However, a lot of the advantages of being a true multi-user operating system were nullified by the fact that, prior to Windows Vista, the first user account created during the setup process was an administrator account, which was also the default for new accounts. Though Windows XP did have limited accounts, the majority of home users did not change to an account type with fewer rights – partially due to the number of programs which unnecessarily required administrator rights – and so most home users ran as administrator all the time.

Windows Vista changes this by introducing a privilege elevation system called User Account Control. When logging in as a standard user, a logon session is created and a token containing only the most basic privileges is assigned. In this way, the new logon session is incapable of making changes that would affect the entire system. When logging in as a user in the Administrators group, two separate tokens are assigned. The first token contains all privileges typically awarded to an administrator, and the second is a restricted token similar to what a standard user would receive. User applications, including the Windows Shell, are then started with the restricted token, resulting in a reduced privilege environment even under an Administrator account. When an application requests higher privileges or "Run as administrator" is clicked, UAC will prompt for confirmation and, if consent is given (including administrator credentials if the account requesting the elevation is not a member of the administrators group), start the process using the unrestricted token.

File permissions

All Windows versions from Windows NT 3 have been based on a file system permission system referred to as AGLP (Accounts, Global, Local, Permissions) AGDLP which in essence where file permissions are applied to the file/folder in the form of a 'local group' which then has other 'global groups' as members. These global groups then hold other groups or users depending on different Windows versions used. This system varies from other vendor products such as Linux and NetWare due to the 'static' allocation of permission being applied directory to the file or folder. However using this process of AGLP/AGDLP/AGUDLP allows a small number of static permissions to be applied and allows for easy changes to the account groups without reapplying the file permissions on the files and folders.

Windows Defender

On January 6, 2005, Microsoft released a Beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware, based upon the previously released Giant AntiSpyware. On February 14, 2006, Microsoft AntiSpyware became Windows Defender with the release of Beta 2. Windows Defender is a freeware program designed to protect against spyware and other unwanted software. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users who have genuine copies of Microsoft Windows can freely download the program from Microsoft's web site, and Windows Defender ships as part of Windows Vista and 7.

Third-party analysis

In an article based on a report by Symantec, internetnews.com has described Microsoft Windows as having the "fewest number of patches and the shortest average patch development time of the five operating systems it monitored in the last six months of 2006."

A study conducted by Kevin Mitnick and marketing communications firm Avantgarde in 2004 found that an unprotected and unpatched Windows XP system with Service Pack 1 lasted only 4 minutes on the Internet before it was compromised, and an unprotected and also unpatched Windows Server 2003 system was compromised after being connected to the internet for 8 hours. However, it is important to note that this study does not apply to Windows XP systems running the Service Pack 2 update (released in late 2004), which vastly improved the security of Windows XP. The computer that was running Windows XP Service Pack 2 was not compromised. The AOL National Cyber Security Alliance Online Safety Study of October 2004 determined that 80% of Windows users were infected by at least one spyware/adware product. Much documentation is available describing how to increase the security of Microsoft Windows products. Typical suggestions include deploying Microsoft Windows behind a hardware or software firewall, running anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and installing patches as they become available through Windows Update.

Emulation software

Emulation allows the use of some Windows applications without using Microsoft Windows. These include: Wine – a free and open source software implementation of the Windows API, allowing one to run many Windows applications on x86-based platforms, including Linux and Mac OS X. Wine developers refer to it as a "compatibility layer"; and make use of Windows-style APIs to emulate the Windows environment.

*CrossOver – A Wine package with licensed fonts. Its developers are regular contributors to Wine, and focus on Wine running officially supported applications.

*Cedega – TransGaming Technologies' proprietary fork of Wine, designed specifically for running games written for Microsoft Windows under Linux. A version of Cedega known as Cider is used by some video game publishers to allow Windows games to run on Mac OS X. Since Wine was licensed under the LGPL, Cedega has been unable to port the improvements made to Wine to their proprietary codebase. Cedega ceased its service in February 2011.

*Darwine – A bundling of Wine to the PowerPC Macs running OS X by running Wine on top of QEMU. Intel Macs use the same Wine as other *NIX x86 systems.

ReactOS – An open-source OS that is intended to run the same software as Windows, originally designed to simulate Windows NT 4.0, now aiming at Windows XP and Vista/7 compatibility. It has been in the development stage since 1996.

See also

Architecture of the Windows NT operating system line

Criticism of Microsoft Windows

Comparison of operating systems

Comparison of Windows and Linux

Comparison of Windows versions

List of Microsoft Windows components

List of operating systems

Wintel

References

External links

Microsoft Developer Network

Windows Client Developer Resources

Microsoft Windows History Timeline

Pearson Education, InformIT – History of Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows 7 for Government

Category:1985 software

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name	Amos Lee
background	solo_singer
birth name	Ryan Anthony Massaro
birth date	June 22, 1977
origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
instrument	Guitar, vocals
genre	Jazz fusion, soul, folk, blues
occupation	Singer-songwriter, guitarist
years active	2004–present
label	Blue Note
website	amoslee.com }}

Amos Lee (born June 22, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose musical style encompasses folk, rock and soul. He has released four albums on Blue Note Records and toured with musical acts such as Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Norah Jones, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, John Prine, Dave Matthews Band and Adele. In 2011 his album ''Mission Bell'' debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

Early life and education

Born Ryan Anthony Massaro in 1977, Lee grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Cherry Hill, New Jersey and graduated from Cherry Hill High School East. During his youth Lee played basketball, wrote songs on an acoustic guitar given to him by his stepfather and played the bass guitar in a rock band. While working at a jazz record store, Lee discovered Luther Vandross, Bill Withers, Joni Mitchell and John Prine, who became some of his favorite artists. He enrolled at the University of South Carolina in 1995 and graduated with a degree in English.

Career

Upon returning to Philadelphia Lee held jobs as a second grade school teacher and a bartender, before pursuing a full time music career. His style was noticed by Bob Dylan who asked Lee to join his performance tour.

In 2003, Lee released a self-produced, five song EP which came to the attention of Norah Jones who invited Lee to be the opening act for her 2004 tour. ''Colors'', one of Lee's best known songs, appeared on the TV show Grey's Anatomy and the film Just Like Heaven.

In 2005, Lee recorded a self-titled, debut album, which an NPR music reporter said "brought a feel of county sweetness to the northern blues". Norah Jones made an appearance on several of the tracks, contributing both piano and vocals. The album found commercial success and peaked at #2 on the ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers chart and later that month Lee appeared on ''Rolling Stone'''s "Top 10 Artists to Watch." That same year Lee performed on ''The Late Show with David Letterman'', ''The Tonight Show'', ''Total Request Live'', and ''Austin City Limits'' which later aired on PBS.

In 2006, Lee released his second album, ''Supply and Demand'', which was produced by Barry McGuire. An NPR Music reviewer commented that "Lee continues to augment his angst with more complicated instrumentation and production" on this album. The album yielded the single "Shout Out Loud" and peaked at #76 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Another song from the album, "Sweet Pea", was used in an AT&T; ad campaign.

In 2008, Lee's third studio album, ''Last Days at the Lodge'', was released and seemed to "emphasize his grounding in folk and soul". The songs "Listen" and "What's Been Going On" were released as singles and Lee performed at the Change Rocks voter registration rally for Barack Obama, in Philadelphia.

In 2011, Lee released his fourth album on Blue Note Records, entitled ''Mission Bell'' which was produced by Joey Burns of the band Calexico. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was characterized as a “a restless album with a gentle soul” that included duets with Lucinda Williams and Willie Nelson. Other artists who appear on the album include Priscilla Ahn, Pieta Brown, James Gadson, and Sam Beam. The album features tunes placed in "a stark landscape, enveloped by rustling percussion and reverberant drones". Sonically not much has changed from his self-titled debut album, but on his album ''Mission Bell'' the tone of the lyrics is more optimistic. The song "Windows are Rolled Down" became a top 10 hit on USA TODAY’s adult-alternative chart. The album debuted in the number one spot on the Digital Albums chart and number two on the Internet chart after it topped the Amazon Top-Selling Albums and iTunes charts the previous week.

Lee has toured with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Merle Haggard, Paul Simon and John Prine.

Reception

Lee's songs have become popular on TV shows and movies such as ''Six Degrees'', ''Parenthood (TV series)'', ''Army Wives'', Studio 60, ''ER'' ''Brothers & Sisters'' and ''My Blueberry Nights''.

A New York Times reviewer described Lee as having a "honeyed singing voice — light amber, mildly sweet, a touch of grain" which he features "squarely, without much fuss or undue strain" in his "1970s folk rock and rustic soul" musical song craft. According to a music writer at ABC News, Lee "has that folksy, bluesy vibe, with a bit of country twang; his voice, with that slight rasp, is ever soulful. And acoustic strums of the guitar are ...the centerpiece of his most moving work".

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"	! width="35"
! scope="row"		* Release date: March 1, 2005	* Label: Blue Note Records	Compact disc>CD, music download	113	—	72	112	75	13	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: October 3, 2006	* Label: Blue Note Records	* Formats: CD, music download	76	25	—	—	—	23	—
''Last Days at the Lodge''		* Release date: June 24, 2008	* Label: Blue Note Records	* Formats: CD, music download	29	11	—	—	—	—	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: January 25, 2011	* Label: Blue Note Records	* Formats: CD, music download	1	1	—	—	98	39	61

Extended plays

Title	Details
''Amos Lee (EP)''		* Release date: 2004	* Label: Blue Note Records	* Formats: CD, music download
''Live from KCRW''		* Release date: 2005	* Label: Blue Note Records	* Formats: CD, music download

Singles

! Year	Single	! Album
2010	"Windows Are Rolled Down"
2011	"Flower"

References

External links

Amos Lee's official website

Amos Lee at Blue Note Records

Amos Lee at NPR Music

Category:1977 births Category:American folk singers Category:American folk guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:American soul guitarists Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Category:Blue Note Records artists

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