Left Frizzell, was born William Orville Frizzell, in Corsincana, Texas. Shortly after his birth his family moved to El Dorado, Arkansas. He picked up the guitar at a young age, and by 12 was appearing live on the radio in Arkansas. As a teenager, the family returned to Texas and Frizzell began playing music at talent shows, fairgrounds and other venues, gaining a following in the area.

Frizzell was an oil field worker by trade, following in the footsteps of his father, but soon his weekend hobby of playing his music in local honky tonks began to take priority. At one particular show at the Ace of Clubs in Big Spring, record producer Don Law heard Frizzell and signed him to Columbia Records.

Frizzell had immediate success as a songwriter and performer, with numerous top ten hits throughout the 50s. At one time he had 4 singles in the top 10, a feat only the Beatles could top when they had 5 in the 60s.

He began playing the Grand Ole Opry in 1950, and began touring with friend and fellow musician Ralph Spicer in support of country superstar at the time, Hank Williams. They were referred to on the tour as the “Kings of the Honky Tonks.”

Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil” became a huge hit in 1959, and became one of the first so called “crossover” songs between country and rock. It was covered by numerous artists over the years. He also had great success a few years later with “Saginaw, Michigan” which also had success on both charts.

Over the years Frizzell’s great success and income fueled his addiction to alcohol, and sadly it brought about his demise. He died at the age of 47 in 1975 after a massive stroke.

He was incredibly influential as a songwriter and in his singing style. Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakham, Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley and numerous other country artists have credited him as a major influence on their careers and their style. In addition his songs have been covered by a wide variety of artists.

Lefty Frizzell – If You’ve Got the Money Honey I’ve Got the Time

John Lee Curtis Williamson, also known as Sonny Boy Williamson (not to be confused with later Blues artist Rice Miller, who also used the moniker Sony Boy Williamson and who is often referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II), was born near Jackson, Tennessee, in 1914.

He became well known at an early age as an innovator of the harmonica as a lead instrument in blues music. He had a hit in 1937 with “Good Morning, School Girl”. This and other singles such as made Williamson quite popular to southern audiences. His harmonica style was incredibly influential to later artists including Little Walter, Snooky Pryor and Junion Wells as well as to other blues artists such as Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers.

Though no legal action took place over Rice Miller’s use of the name “Sonny Boy Williamson”, it is said that Sonny confronted him about it, and Miller “chased him out of there”, according to one report. Miller did not record under the name until after Sonny Boy’s death in 1948.

Sonny Boy Williamson worked extensively in the late 30s and through the 40s both with his own music and as a sideman for many other artists. He recorded mostly for the Bluebird label, and many sessions took place at the Leland Hotel in Aurora, Illinois, before the label moved to Chicago. Williamson’s last recording session took place in December of 1947 backin Big Joe Williams. His last live performance was June 1 of 1948 at the Plantation Club in Chicago. Sadly Sonny Boy Williamson was killed in a mugging on his way home from that gig.

Sonny Boy Williamson – Good Morning Little School Girl

Perry Farrell is best known as the lead singer and songwriter for Jane’s Addiction, which he fronted from 1985-1991.

He also founded the Lallapalooza Tour, originally as a going away tour for Jane’s Addiction, but then it became an annual traveling event with a broad lineup of artists and attractions. Most recently the tour was scaled back to a one time weekend event in Chicago’s Grant Park.

In addition to owning the Lallapalooza franchise, Farrell has been a staunch supporter of the Coachella Music Festival, having appeared at all 8 of the festivals in 5 different musical variations, including of the Jane’s Addiction reunions in 2001.

Farrell was born in Queens, NY, and raised in Long Island and Miami. He set out on his own after high school and moved to California to become a surfer.

He joined Psi Com and became part of the local LA punk community including members of X, Minutemen, the Chili Peppers, and others. Psi Com broke up in 1985, and Farrell teamed up with Eric Avery to form what would become Jane’s Addiction.

The band also included Stephen Perkins on Drums and Dave Navarro on guitar. They would release 3 albums with the original line up, and stay together through 1991. They’ve reunited several times since, though Avery did not participate until the most recent reunion in 2008. He subsequently left the band again in 2010.

After Jane’s Addiction broke up in 1991, Farrell formed Porno For Pyros, which included Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, and who released 2 albums through 1998.

In more recent years Farrell has released solo albums, and also has formed a new group, Satellite Party. He continues to record and perform.

Jane’s Addiction – Jane Says

Musician, singer and songwriter Hoyt Axton was born in Duncan, Oklahoma (like so many talented musicians and songwriters).

He spent a lot of time there and in Commanche, OK, before the family moved to Florida to be with his Naval officer father. Hoyt went to High School in Florida before returning to Oklahoma for a brief stint at OSU. He opted to follow in his father’s footsteps and joined the Navy.

After leaving the Navy, Hoyt landed in San Francisco and began writing and performing. Many of his songs became huge hits for other artists, including the Kingston Trio (Greenback Dollar), Ringo Starr (No No Song), Steppenwolf (Snowblind Friend, The Pusher), and most successfully, Three Dog Night (Joy to the World, Never Been to Spain).

Hoyt had several hits of his own including “Boney Fingers”, “Lion in the Winter” and many others.

Many of his songs referenced his own battles with cocaine, including the Ringo Starr hit “The No No Song”, and the Steppenwolf song’s The Pusher and Snowblind Friend.

In addition to his songwriter and music career he also acted in several movies and television shows.

It would appear that Hoyt came by his songwriting skills genetically, as his mother, Mae Boren Axton was credited with writing over 200 songs, including co writing Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel.

Hoyt continued to record and tour well into the 1990s, before suffering a debilitating stroke in 1995. He never fully recovered from his stroke, and had numerous heart issues in the late 90s. Ultimately he died of a heart attack in 1999 in Montana.

Hoyt Axton – Snowblind Friend

Lowe began playing music professionally in the late 60s, with Kippington Lodge, later called Brinsley Schwartz. They had moderate success as a pub rock band in England, before Lowe left in 1975.

In 1976 Lowe became an producer for Stiff Records, as well as continuing to work on his own solo material and with Dave Edmunds as Rockpile.

Most famous among his production work was Elvis Costello’s first 5 albums. Lowe also produced albums for The Damned, Dr Feelgood, Carlene Carter, and The Rumor, among others.

Rockpile only released one official Rockpile album, due to contractual obligations most of Lowe and Edmunds collaborations were released as solo albums with one or the other’s name. The last Rockpile collaboration, Seconds of Pleasure, is the only one to bear the bands name.

Lowe married Carlene Carter, daughter or June Carter Cash, and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash, in 1979. The marriage ended in the mid 80s, but he remained close to her and to the Carter-Cash family.

After Rockpile ended, Lowe worked with Noise To Go and later with The Cowboy Outfit. He was also a member of Little Village, with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner, who originally got together to record Hiatt’s 1987 album Bring the Family.

Lowe continues to record and tour, and is becoming a staple in the so called American Roots music genre.

Ocasek is best known as a founding member, singer, songwriter and guitarist for the band The Cars.

The band had an incredibly successful run from the mid 70s through their breakup in 1988.

Ocasek and fellow Cars singer/songwriter Benjamin Orr originally met and began working together in the early 70s, in Ohio. They later moved to Boston, where they went through various bands and lineups including Elliott Eastman and Greg Hawkes (both of the Berklee School of Music in Boston). They worked together initially in Boston as Cap’n Swing, until Ocasek got rid of the bassist, drummer and keyboardist and decided to reform.

Orr took over on bass, and David Robison, formerly of the Modern Lovers came in on drums. The band was dubbed “The Cars” and began gaining exposure all over New England and perfecting their sound.

The garnered a record contract through Electra thanks to a local Boston DJ playing the demo of “Just What I Needed”. They released their debut album in 1978.

For ten years they stayed on top of the Rock/Pop charts with great, smart songs, and finally called it quits in 1988.

Since the Cars disbanded Ocasek has gone on to release numerous solo albums, and has become a successful producer, working with Weezer, Bad Religion, No Doubt, and Guided by Voices, among others.

Ocasek has been married to wife Paulina Porizkova for over 20 years, and they have 2 sons. Ocasek has 4 other sons, 2 each from his 1st and second marriages.

Townes Van Zandt was born to a wealthy and historic Ft Worth, Texas family in 1944. He showed signs of high intelligence at an early age and it was thought he would follow in the footsteps of his corporate lawyer father.

However early on there was a dark side to his genius, he was diagnosed in college with severe depression, and his family tried several extreme measures including shock therapy, to help him.

He received his first guitar at age 12, and has said that seeing Elvis on Ed Sullivan cemented his desire to be a guitar player. By 1965 he was playing clubs in Houston and singing cover songs of friends and fellow musicians such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker and others.

Upon his death bed his father encouraged him to write his own material and stop doing covers, which Townes began doing in earnest.

He move to Nashville on the advice of friends, and began working with producer Jack Clement. He was very prolific in his songwriting, though through much of his career was considering a “cult” artists. His songs were covered by numerous other artists, including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle.

To battle his severe depression Townes turned to substance abuse early on, developing severe alcohol and heroin habits that would last his entire adult life and be his demise. It is said that he was so bad at one point that he offered all of his song royalties to a friend for $20 he could get some heroin.

Townes continued to write, record and perform through the 70s, 80s and 90s, and often his shows were negatively affected by his substance abuse.

Close friend Steve Earle was quoted as saying that Townes was the greatest songwriter ever, and that he would stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table and repeat that. Townes didn’t appreciate the quote however, as he felt Dylan, along with Hank Williams and a few others were his greatest influence.

After decades of alcohol and drug abuse, and dozens of stint in rehab, Van Zandt died of so called “natural causes” on New Years day, 1997, at age 54. Yet another sad case of self induced substance abuse related self destruction.

What an incredible waste.

Van Zandt was an incredibly gifted and prolific songwriter over the years and left behind an incredible body of work. One of my favorites is the sadly prophetic Waiting Around to Die.

Townes Van Zandt – Waitin’ Around to Die

David Gilmour is best known as the songwriter, lead singer and guitarist for Pink Floyd.

Though he was friends with and went to school with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett, he wasn’t a founding member of the band. He was asked to come in later after Barrett’s drug use and mental state rendered him unpredictable and unreliable as a band member.

Gilmour joined Pink Floyd in 1967, initially to cover for Barrett, but eventually replaced him completely. Gilmour was instrumental in bringing a new sound and voice to Pink Floyd, and his unmistakable guitar work is as vital to the sound of Pink Floyd as anything else.

After the massive success of Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, Roger Waters, the band’s bassist and lyricist, seemed (according to Gilmour) to take on a more dominant role in the band’s musical direction. This left Gilmour feeling under used after Animals, so he recorded his first, and self titled, solo album.

Pink Floyd next began work on The Wall, and Gilmour describes the time as very negative, with Waters dominating and the music suffering from the songs being so “wordy” and that the songs were “souless” for the most part. The tensions between the members of Pink Floyd were great at this time, and at one point Roger Waters even fired Richard Wright.

The Final Cut, the band’s next album, has been described as basically a Roger Waters solo album. He and Gilmour argued often on the concept and songs of the album. It would be the last Pink Floyd album with Roger Waters.

In 1984 Gilmour released another solo album, About Face, which featured a wide variety of subject matter including John Lennon’s death and Roger Waters. Gilmour toured the US and Europe for the album.

After the tour Gilmour played guitar with/for various artists and produced music for other artists, including Dream Academy’s Life in A Northern Town.

In 1985 Roger Waters declared Pink Floyd “a spent force creatively”, and attempted to disband the band and prevent the further use of the band’s name. Gilmour and Mason however, with Wright coming back into the fold, continued to record and tour as Pink Floyd without Waters.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the live album Delicate Sound of Thunder, and the Division Bell followed, all quite successful despite the absence of Roger Waters.

Despite years of animosity and conflict with the band and Roger Waters, they all reformed briefly in 2005 for the Live 8 concert in London. The band performed several Pink Floyd classics including Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here, Breathe, and others.

Gilmour released On an Island, his third solo album, on his 60th birthday , March 6, 2006. Two years later, Live in Gdansk was released.

David Gilmour is one of the greatest guitarists, singers and songwriters of our time, and co creator of some of the most incredible music in history. Today he continues to work and make music through his solo work and collaborations with various artists, though he assures anyone who will listen that it will most likely not be with any form of Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd – Time

John Frusciante is most widely known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

He was a musical prodigy at a young age and encouraged by his artistic minded parents to pursue music.

After his parents separation, he and his mother moved to Santa Monica, and then Mar Vista, CA, where he immersed himself in the local punk rock culture and music.

By ten he was proficient on guitar and learning the music of Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, and eventually Frank Zappa.

At 15 Frusciante became a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and became acquainted with guitarist Hillel Slovak. He obsessively learned all of the bands bass and guitar parts and was a die hard fan. He also became acquainted with Flea through friend D. H. Peligro, former Dead Kennedy’s drummer. The three would often jam together at Peligro’s house.

Flea immediately felt a connection with Frusciante, and months later when Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose, he mentioned Frusciante as a replacement. Frusciante fully intended to audition for Frank Zappa’s band, but decided against it when he found out Zappa had a strict no drugs policy for his band.

After Slovak’s death, drummer Jack Iron’s also left the band, unable to deal with the death. Anthony Kiedis and Flea brought in guitarist DeWayne McKnight intially, and Peligro on drums. However it was soon evident that McKnight didn’t fit well with the band’s style, and Flea suggested Frusciante, who was elated to join the band.

It was soon evident that Peligro’s drug use was causing problems with his drumming, so he was fired and Chad Smith brought it.

The new lineup recorded Mother’s Milk, with Frusciante attempting more to emulate Slovak than to bring his own style to the band.

The band would work with Rick Rubin on their next album, the incredible successful Blood Sugar Sex Magic. They lived and recorded in a mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Flea and Frusciante also started a side project The Three Amoebas around this time, with Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins.

Blood Sugar Sex Magic was hugely successful, selling over 13 million copies and catapulting the band almost overnight to super stardom. The instant success took Frusciante by surprise and he didn’t enjoy it, arguing with the band that they were too big and too popular. He often threatened to quit and finally did in 1992 during a tour of Japan.

He returned to California where he entered into a state of depression and severe drug addiction. He would record several solo albums during this time, but his life was spiraling seriously out of control. he lived in squalor in a Hollywood Hills mansion, which eventually burned down and nearly took his life.

Finally in 1997, Frusciante entered rehab and got clean from his addiction to heroin and crack cocaine.

During his absence from the Chili Peppers the band had added guitarist Dave Navarro, formerly of Jane’s Addiction. He recorded one album with them, One Hot Minute, but never really fit in with the band. In 1998, Kiedis and Flea fired Navarro and the band was on the verge of breaking up. They felt the only way of going forward would be with Frusciante back in the band. So they asked him, and he agreed happily.

They recorded and released Californication in 1999, and began a world tour for the successful album. Frusciante was very prolific during this time in creating new solo material as well as giving it all to the band. In 1991 they returned to the studio and released By the Way and again toured the world. Then released Stadium Arcadium in 2005.

Frusciante worked on more solo projects in between all of this, as well as side projects and collaborations such as Ataxia, work on soundtracks such as Brown Bunny, and collaboration with friend Omar Rodriguez Lopez on Mars Volta’s first three albums.

In 2008 the Chili Peppers went on a permanent hiatus, citing exhaustion from a decade of non stop touring and recording. In 2009 Frusciante officially announced that he was leaving the band.

He continues to work on solo albums and other musical projects, including working with Mars Volta as well as serving as the executive producer of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s directorial debut, The Sentimental Engine Slayer.