- published: 28 May 2010
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If was a progressive rock band formed in Britain in 1969. Referred to by Billboard as "unquestionably the best of the so-called jazz-rock bands", in the period spanning 1970-75, they produced eight studio-recorded albums and did some 17 tours of Europe, the US and Canada.
They toured extensively in Europe and the United States during the early 1970s, with two U.S. tours during their first year, performing at most of the major venues and festivals of the day including Newport, Reading, Fillmore East (November 10, 1970, sharing the billing with Black Sabbath and Small Faces) and Fillmore West, Whisky A Go-Go, and The Marquee.
They also shared billings with, amongst others, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Leon Russell as well as many of the classic rock bands of the day, such as Traffic, Yes, Grand Funk Railroad, Ten Years After, Kiss, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
If thus became one of the most highly acclaimed groups of the Seventies to never quite make the big time, despite good record sales and full venues. The band was managed and its albums produced by Lew Futterman, who had previously produced US jazz/soul stars Brother Jack McDuff and J.J. Jackson, among others. Signed on by Chris Blackwell, an enthusiastic early fan, to Island Records in the UK and to Capitol Records in the US, their debut album, If (1970), entered the charts in both the States (Billboard) and the UK, as well as winning a design award for its cover. It was followed that same year by If 2, also released on Island and Capitol.
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David John "Dave" Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is a South African-born American singer-songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to Westchester County, New York at the age of 2. Matthews mainly plays acoustic guitar, which he started playing at age 9.
From 1991 to 2003, Matthews predominantly focused on songwriting and performing with the Dave Matthews Band, which he started in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. Since then, he has also done various solo performances and produced other records. During the period from 2000 to 2010, his band sold more tickets and earned more money than any other act in North America. The band's most recent album, Away from the World, released in 2012, made them the only group to have six consecutive studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard charts.