John Sebastian (born John Benson Sebastian on 17 March 1944, in Greenwich Village, New York City) is an American songwriter and harmonica player. He is best known as a founder of The Lovin' Spoonful, a band inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. His tie-dyed denim jacket is prominently displayed there. Early in their recording and airwave career, Lovin' Spoonful members termed their approach "good-time music". Unlike many pop groups of the day, the Lovin' Spoonful played all the instruments on their records, and aside from a few covers, wrote all their own material. His group The Lovin' Spoonful played a major role in the mid-'60s rock revolution, but what leader, singer and songwriter Sebastian had in mind was actually a counter-revolution. "We were grateful to the Beatles for reminding us our rock & roll roots," John explains, "but we wanted to cut out the English middlemen, so to speak, and get down to making this new music as an 'American' band." This the Lovin' Spoonful did like nobody before or since, putting their first seven singles into the Top 10. This was unprecedented, and utterly unthinkable at the height of Beatlemania. At first they'd taken older material from blues, country, folk and jug band sources - what we now term "roots music" - and made it sound modern. Then, in a series of original songs composed and sung by John Sebastian, they did the reverse, creating thoroughly modern music that sounded like it contained the entire history of American music. Which it did. He embarked on a moderately successful solo career after leaving the Lovin' Spoonful in 1968. Sebastian was popular among the rock festival circuits. He had a memorable, albeit unscheduled appearance at Woodstock, appearing after Country Joe McDonald's set, playing songs such as "I Had A Dream," "Rainbows All Over Your Blues" and "Younger Generation" which he dedicated to a newborn baby at the festival. Documentary remarks by festival organizers revealed that Sebastian was under the influence at the time, hence his spontaneity and casual, unplanned set. Sebastian also returned for Woodstock '94, playing harmonica for Crosby, Stills and Nash. Sebastian released his eponymous LP John B. Sebastian in 1970, which featured him accompanied by various L.A. musicians. Sebastian played harmonica with The Doors on the song Roadhouse Blues under the pseudonym G. Puglese to avoid problems with his contract, which was featured on Morrison Hotel album, also played on "Little Red Rooster" on the live album Alive, She Cried and on seven songs on Live In Detroit. He is also credited with playing harmonica on Crosby Stills Nash & Young's "Déjà Vu" from the album of the same name. He had been involved in music for films (most notably Francis Ford Coppola's "You're A Big Boy Now" and Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily") and Broadway, but when producers of a TV show called "Welcome Back Kotter" commissioned a theme song in 1976, Sebastian's "Welcome Back" became a chart-topping solo record. Thankfully John's induction into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 hasn't slowed him down. Whether the stage is at Carnegie Hall or a folk festival in some far-flung locale, John is still out there spreading his gospel of American roots music. He is the subject of the current PBS special "Do You Believe In Magic: The Music of John Sebastian," and a new album of duets with David Grisman was released in 2007. He has also lent his music in support of social, environmental and animal rights causes. Recently he joined a delegation of songwriters (including Lamont Dozier, Allen and Marilyn Bergman, and Mike Stoller) in Washington, DC to campaign on behalf of the National Music Publisher's Association. Perhaps because it has been the product of heart and soul and history, the oldest song in the Sebastian catalog is as fresh and vital as the song he's about to write tomorrow. That's why you still hear his music everywhere - in movies, on television, in cover versions and samples - and why it's always welcome. John is also a welcome media presence; his commentary, insights and anecdotes and stories are regularly featured in print, radio, TV and film documentary projects. John Sebastian is not only a master musician, writer and performer, he remains one of the best ambassadors American music has ever had. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Raydio was a funk and R&B vocal group formed in 1977, by Ray Parker Jr. along with Vincent Bohnam, Jerry Knight, and Arnell Carmichael. The group released their self-titled, debut album in 1978. The LP was propelled to gold status by the hit song "Jack and Jill", which peaked at #8 and #5, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts while also reaching #11 on the UK singles chart. Their successful follow-up hit, "You Can't Change That", was released in 1979, and was lifted from their Rock On album. The single made it to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the R&B listings that year. By 1980, the group had become known as Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio, releasing two more albums: Two Places at the Same Time in 1980 and A Woman Needs Love in 1981. Together, the albums spawned four hit singles: "Two Places at the Same Time" (#30 Pop, #6 R&B) and "For Those Who Like to Groove" (#14 R&B) in 1980 followed by "That Old Song" (#21 Pop, #26 R&B, #7 Adult Contemporary) in 1981. Their last and biggest hit, "A Woman Needs Love", also released in 1981, went to # 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and became the groups only #1 R&B single. Raydio finally broke up in 1981. Ray Parker, Jr. started his solo career, scoring six Top 40 hits, including "The Other Woman" (#4 Pop, #1 R&B), and "Ghostbusters", which spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Pop charts while also topping the R&B charts. Jerry Knight formed Ollie & Jerry, with Ollie Brown. Their two biggest hits came from soundtracks. "Breakin'... There's No Stoppin' Us" was the theme to the motion picture Breakin', and hit #9 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Their second single "Electric Boogaloo" (from the movie Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo), did not enter the pop charts, but did climb to #43 on the dance chart. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the No. 3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first No. 1 hit the following year with "You've Got a Friend", a recording of Carole King's classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. Every album that he released from 1977 to 2007 sold over 1 million copies. He enjoyed a resurgence in chart performance during the late 1990s and 2000s, when he recorded some of his most-awarded work (including Hourglass, October Road, and Covers). He achieved his first number-one album in the US in 2015 with his recording Before This World. He is known for his popular covers of other people's songs, such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and the aforementioned "You've Got A Friend", as well as originals such as "Fire and Rain". Taylor's four siblings (Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate) have also been musicians with recorded albums. Livingston is still an active musician; Kate was active in the 1970s but did not record another album until 2003; Hugh operates a bed-and-breakfast with his wife, The Outermost Inn in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard; and Alex died in 1993 on James's birthday. After his divorce from Carly Simon in 1983, Taylor married actress Kathryn Walker on December 14, 1985 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. She had helped him get off heroin, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. On February 18, 2001, at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[81] They had begun dating in 1995, when they met as he appeared with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Part of their relationship was worked into the album October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July". The couple reside in the town of Washington, Massachusetts, with their twin boys, Rufus and Henry, born in April 2001. Henry shares James' intrest and talents. Sally and Ben, his children with Carly Simon, have also embarked on musical careers. After they were born, Taylor moved with his family to Lenox, Massachusetts. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

John Stewart (September 5, 1939 – January 19, 2008) was an American songwriter and singer. He is best-known as the songwriter of The Monkees' No.1 hit song Daydream Believer, and he has also been recognized for his contributions to the American folk music movement of the early and mid 1960s while a member of The Kingston Trio (1961–1967). Originally the main force of The Kingston Trio, Stewart also released many solo albums the most successful of which was Bombs Away Dream Babies in 1979, produced by Lindsey Buckingham and featuring Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac. The first single, "Gold", featuring Nicks singing back-up, proved to be his biggest hit reaching No.5 on the US charts. Stewart suffered a massive stroke or brain aneurysm and died early Saturday, January 19, 2008, at a San Diego hospital. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.