After working with Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs and Edgar Winter, guitarist Ronnie Montrose (Colorado, USA) formed Montrose in San Francisco in the autumn of 1973. Comprising vocalist Sammy Hagar (b. Samuel Roy Hagar, 13 October 1947, Monterey, California, USA), bass player Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi, they signed to Warner Brothers Records in 1973 and released their
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Although British in origin, Foghat relocated to the USA, where this boogie-blues band built a large following during the 70s. The band originally comprised Lonesome Dave Peverett (16 April 1943, Dulwich, London, England, d. 7 February 2000; vocals/guitar), Tony Stevens (b. 12 September 1949, Willsden, London, England; bass/vocals), Roger Earl (b. 16 May 1946, Lon
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Samuel Roy Hagar, 13 October 1947, Monterey, California, USA. Hagar is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose father was a professional boxer. Legend has it that Elvis Presley persuaded him not to follow in his fathers footsteps, and instead he started out in 60s San Bernardino bands the Fabulous Castillas, Skinny, Justice Brothers and rock band Dust Cloud. He joine
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Formed in 1989, the Damn Yankees were one of several supergroups, including Bad English, to emerge in the USA towards the end of the decade. ex-Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw had already been writing with the larger-than-life guitarist and solo artist Ted Nugent and they were soon joined by Jack Blades on bass and vocals (from the recently demised Night Ranger) and Michael
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Formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1972, this hard rock outfit featured former Guess Who member Randy Bachman (27 September 1943, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; guitar, lead vocals). Bachman had left the Guess Who in July 1970, recorded a solo album, Axe, and, owing to a bout of illness, had to cancel a projected collaboration with former Nice keyboard player Kei
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This Lynyrd Skynyrd -style, blues rock outfit emerged from the US deep south. The name derived from a tale of a woman in seventeenth-century Salem who beheaded her lovers with an axe after sleeping with them. The initial line-up comprised Dave Hlubek (guitar), Steve Holland (guitar), Duane Roland (3 December 1952, Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA, d. 19 June 2006, St. Augustine,
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Formed in Solothurn, Switzerland, Krokus appeared in 1974 playing symphonic rock similar to Yes, Genesis and Emerson, Lake And Palmer. After four years and two rather lacklustre albums, they switched to a hard rock style and dropped the frills in favour of a back-to-basics approach in the mode of AC/DC. The most stable early line-up of the band featured Chris Von Rohr (vocals),
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This Los Angeles, California, USA-based heavy metal band was formed (as Dante Fox) in 1981 by Jack Russell (5 December 1960, Montebello, California, USA; vocals), Mark Kendall (b. 29 April 1957, Loma Linda, California, USA; guitar), Lorne Black (bass) and Gary Holland (drums). Changing their name to Great White, they adopted a no-frills approach from the start, relying on th
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This Canadian power trio formed in Toronto during 1975. Comprising Rik Emmett (10 July 1953, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; guitar/vocals), Gil Moore (b. 12 February 1951, Canada; drums) and Mike Levine (b. 1 June 1949, Canada; bass/keyboards), Triumph shared many similarities to Rush aside from geographical location. All three members were highly accomplished musicians who exper
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12 May 1950, Boston, USA. Having gained valuable experience as guitarist in the power-pop group Sidewinders, Squier, who had also appeared in the less celebrated Magic Terry And The Universe, formed his own band under the name of Piper and recorded two albums for A&M Records during the late 70s. He dissolved Piper in 1979 and signed a solo contract with Capitol Records.
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This solid, highly acclaimed UK heavy rock outfit was formed in 1973, with a line-up comprising Paul Rodgers (17 December 1949, Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England; vocals), Simon Kirke (b. 28 July 1949, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England; vocals/drums), Mick Ralphs (b. Michael Geoffrey Ralphs, 31 May 1944, Hereford, Herefordshire, England; vocals/guitar) and Boz
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Southern US rock practitioners Blackfoot formed in 1970, with the original line-up featuring Rick Medlocke (17 February 1950, USA; guitar/vocals), Charlie Hargrett (guitar), Greg Walker (bass/vocals) and Jakson Spires (b. 12 April 1951, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, d. 16 Mach 2005, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA; drums/vocals). The quartet shared common origins with Lynyrd Skyny
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10 October 1953, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Roth, the former lead vocalist with US hard rockers Van Halen, first expressed his desire to go solo during a period of band inactivity during 1985. He subsequently recorded a mini-album, Crazy From The Heat, featuring a varied selection of material that was a departure from the straight metal approach of Van Halen. The album was f
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Formed in 1968, Grand Funk Railroad was the first American heavy rock power trio to achieve massive fame, while alienating another large segment of the rock audience and critics at the same time. The group was a spin-off of Terry Knight And The Pack, a popular soul rock group in the Michigan area in the mid-60s, and originally comprised guitarist Mark Farner (29
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