Alan Jackson was born in Newnan, Georgia on October 17, 1958. Alan Jackson was born to Eugene Jackson and Ruth Musick and has four sisters, whom are all older than him. As a youth, Jackson primarily listened to gospel music, and otherwise was not a major music fan. However, a friend of his introduced him to the music of Gene Watson, John Anderson and Hank Williams Jr. Jackson started a band after high school. After a time, he and his beautiful wife of six years, Denise, moved from Newnan to Nashville hoping to pursue music full-time. In 1989 he released his debut album, Here in the Real World. It produced five singles: "Blue Blooded Woman", "Here in the Real World", "Wanted", "Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow", and "I’d Love You All Over Again", Jackson’s first number one hit. Alan Jackson has since gone on to release fourteen more albums, with his latest being Good Time. Good Time has produced four singles on the country singles charts. The first two of these "Small Town Southern Man", the title track, and "Country Boy" have all become Number One hits. Out of Alan Jackson’s fifty-six singles, fifty-five have reached Top 40 or higher on the Billboard country singles charts, including twenty-six number one hits.
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Josh Turner was born Nov. 20, 1977, and was raised in Hannah, S.C. Growing up in the church, he found himself singing the bass and baritone parts in numerous choirs. After high school, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music and enrolled in Belmont University. After college, his fledgling career got a boost on Dec. 21, 2001, during his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, when he debuted a song he wrote titled "Long Black Train." He received a standing ovation in the middle of the song, then sang it again for an encore.
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The Killers was formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002. It consist of Brandon Flowers on vocals and keyboard, Dave Keuning on guitar, Mark Stoermer on bass and Ronnie Vannucci Jr on drums and percussion. The Killers played at small clubs in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the band’s lineup stable and its repertoire of songs expanding, the band attracted the attention of Alex Gilbert, a British representative for Warner Bros. Though Warner Bros did not like the band, he took the demo back with him, showing it to friend Ben Durling, who worked at UK indie label Lizard King. The Killers were then signed to the label and in June 2004 released their debut album entitled Hot Fuss. The album reached #1 in both the UK and Australia and was certified triple platinum in Canada. Singles from the album include, in order released, "Somebody Told Me", "Mr. Brightside", "All These Things That I’ve Done" and "Smile Like You Mean It". It has been nominated for five Grammys and has achieved worldwide sales of more than six million units. In 2006 they released their second album "Sam’s Town". It spawned the singles, "When You Were Young", "Read My Mind" and "For Reasons Unknown". In the US, the album opened at #2, selling 315,000 in its first week and went straight to #1 in the UK selling over 260,000 in a week. Riding the success of their two previous albums, The Killers released Day & Age in 2008. The album debuted at number one in the UK and at number six in the United Kingdom. It has since gone platinum in Australia and New Zealand and has gone gold in the United States.
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Green Day is an American rock trio consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, vocals), and Tre Cool (drums, percussion). The band was formed in 1987. The band adopted the name Green Day, allegedly due to their fondness for the drug marijuana. Green Day released it’s debut album, 39/Smooth in 1990 on Lookout! Records but it wasn’t a commercial success and most fans rate is as being only average. On January 17, 1992, the band released Kerplunk!. The album went on to become one of the bestselling independent albums ever and Green Day realised that they had outgrown the independent label and eventually signed with Reprise Records. Under Reprise Records they released Dookie on February 1, 1994. It would go on and become a worldwide commercial success, reaching number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 and charting in seven countries. Since then Green Day has gone on to release five more albums, Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997), Warning (2000), American Idiot (2004) and 21st Century Breakdown (2009) . Since it’s inception Green Day has sold over 22 million records in the United States. They have also won three Grammy Awards, Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
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Sting is the stage name of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. He was born on October 2, 1951 in Wallsend, England. In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London, and soon thereafter he joined Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers) to form the New Wave band The Police. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five chart-topping albums and won six Grammy Awards. On June 1,1985 Sting released his debut The Dream of the Blue Turtles. It also includes Sting’s first hit after The Police, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"; a jazzed-up reworking of The Police song "Shadows in the Rain"; and a song inspired by Anne Rice’s book Interview with the Vampire, "Moon over Bourbon Street". Sting has since released seven albums which include Nothing Like the Sun, The Soul Cages, Ten Summoner’s Tales, Mercury Falling, Brand New Day and Songs from the Labyrinth. His albums have sold over 100 million records worldwide. Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, and receiving an Oscar nomination for best song.
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Weezer was formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, California. The band consisted of Rivers Cuomo on lead vocals and guitar, Patrick Wilson on drums, Matt Sharp on bass, and Jason Cropper on guitar. Cropper was later replaced by Brian Bell. Matt Sharp was subsequently replaced by Mikey Welsh who was later replaced with Scott Shriner. Weezer’s first gig was opening for Keanu Reeves’ band Dogstar. Weezer recorded their self titleddebut album with producer Ric Ocasek at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. As of December 2007, the album had sold 3,146,000 copies in the United States where it peaked at number 16. It is currently certified triple-platinum, making it Weezer’s best selling album. It has also sold over 200,000 copies in Canada where it has been certified double-platinum. Weezer has since released five more studio albums, with their latest being entitled "Weezer". The first single from the album, "Pork and Beans" spent 11 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. This made the song the fastest rising song ever for the group as the song hit number one after only three weeks on the chart. The second single from the album, "Troublemaker", debuted at number 39 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Weezer has sold more than eight million records in the US to date.
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Oasis, formerly known in a previous incarnation as Rain, was formed in Manchester, UK in 1991. It’s comprised of Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock. The band initially gained prominence performing on the Manchester club circuit. They were signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993. Their debut album, Definitely Maybe was released in 1994. It was an immediate commercial success in the UK. It was the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK when released, and has been certified seven times Platinum. Their first single, "Supersonic", was released in April 1994, reaching number 31 in the charts. The release was followed by the single "Shakermaker". Oasis released their third album, Be Here Now in 1997, which is the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. Since their debut, Oasis has released six records total. Oasis have sold over fifty million records worldwide, have had eight UK number-one singles and have collected fifteen New Musical Express Awards, five BRIT Awards, nine Q Awards and four MTV Europe Music Awards. Oasis has also won a Vodafone Live Music Award in 2007 for the album, Morning Glory.
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Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He is the youngest of seven children and started his career at the age of 11 by performing in the Jackson Five. Then in 1971 he started what would become a very successful solo career. Michael Jackson has created some of the highest grossing records of all time including Thriller, Bad, Dangerous and Off The Wall. All together he has released ten albums. During the eighties Michael Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moon walk. His highly stylized videos transformed music videos to an art form and helped popularize the fairly new music channel, MTV. Michael Jackson is one of the most successful entertainers of all time. He has had over seven hundred and fifty million record sales worldwide and has13 Grammy Awards and 13 number one singles. Michael Jackson also has the honor of having the most expensive music video of all time. It was to the single "Scream" , directed by Mark Romanekand and co-starring his sister Janet Jackson. It cost roughly seven million dollars. In 1984 Michael Jackson was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was also inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice. Once for his role in the Jackson 5 in 1997 and as a solo artist in 2001.
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LL Cool J is the stage name of James Todd Smith. He was born on January 14, 1968 in Queens, New York. At age 16, LL Cool J produced and created demos using a mixing table purchased by his grandfather at Sears. He then sent them to various record companies, including Def Jam Recordings. Def Jam released his first record, the 12" single "I Need a Beat". The single sold over 100,000 copies and helped establish LL as a rapper in the music industry. The success of "I Need a Beat" helped lead to a distribution deal with Def Jam and Columbia Records in 1985. Soon after, LL Cool J dropped out of Hillcrest High School to record his debut album, Radio. The album earned considerable Billboard chart success and sold in excess of 500,000 copies within its first five months of release. On April 19, 1989, it was certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). LL Cool J has since released thirteen records which include Bigger and Deffer (1987), Mama Said Knock You Out (1990), Phenomenon (1997) and Exit 13 (2008). He now resides in Manhasset, New York with his wife and four children. The couple has also adopted several times.
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Casting Crowns is a Grammy Award winning Christian band that was created in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida as part of a youth group. He also serves as a lead vocalist. Later they moved to McDonough, Georgia and more members joined creating the band now known as Casting Crowns. It’s members include Mark Hall – lead vocals, Melodee Devevo – violins, Juan Devevo – acoustic guitar and Andy Williams – drums. In 2003, Casting Crowns released their self titled debut album. The album peaked at the number two position on the Top Christian Albums Chart and at number fifty-nine on the Billboard 200 Chart. They followed up on it’s success with the release of their sophomore album, Lifesong. In 2007, they released their third album, The Altar and the Door. It includes two cover songs, including Chandler’s "I Know You’re There" and Steve Fee’s "All Because of Jesus". The album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 129,000 copies in its first week. Casting Crowns latest album was released on October 7, 2008 and is entitled "Peace on Earth". In 2008, Casting Crowns scored their eighth number one hit with "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", a track from their newly-released Christmas album entitled Peace on Earth.
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