The Parlor Mob
The Parlor Mob is the rock quintette of Sam Bey (drums), Mark Melicia (vocals), David Rosen (guitar), Paul Ritchie (guitar), and Nick Villapiano (bass) founded in the New Jersey town of Red Bank in 2004. Roughing their knuckles on the Jersey Shore and New York's club scene, the band released their first EP DIY/commando style in 2006. By 2007, The Parlor Mob signed with Roadrunner Records and entered the studio with producer Jacquire King (Modest Mouse, Tom Waits) and recorded their album debut. These gentlemen summon the bells and whistles of earnest rock 'n' roll at its best and with their own style. "Can't Keep No Good Boy Down," from The Parlor Mob's 2008 release And You Were a Crow, most recently featured on HBO's Entourage, is press-rewind enthralling.
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Genre: Rock
Artist: The Parlor Mob
Song: Can't Keep No Good Boy Down
Album: And You Were a Crow
Dean Martin
Singer and actor Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in June 1917 in Ohio, the youngest of two sons. A high-school dropout, Dino got his first job making deliveries for a bootlegger and later worked as a croupier, a card dealer, and a boxer. The velvet crooner, beloved for his work with Jerry Lewis and Frank Sinatra, made over 50 films. For decades, Martin was a radio/TV mainstay with The Martin and Lewis Show, The Dean Martin Show, and his legendary Celebrity Roasts. With three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and more than 100 recordings, Martin enjoyed a cornucopia of hits. Collaborations include Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Vincent Falcone Jr. The King of Cool passed in 1995; remember him with the classic recording "Kiss," from Dino-The Essential Dean Martin.
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Genre: Classic Pop
Artist: Dean Martin
Song: Kiss
Album: Dino-The Essential Dean Martin
Electric Six
Electric Six is the Detroit-based rock ensemble of Dick Valentine (vocals), The Colonel (guitar), Johnny Na$hinal (guitar), Smorgasbord (bass), Tait Nucleus? (keys), and Percussion World (drums). The unit was founded in the mid-'90s as the Wildbunch. Their revolving-door cast has cooked up six recordings to date. In 2003, Electric Six twice charted in the British top 10 and was featured on the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle soundtrack. Collaborations include The White Stripes' Jack White and producer Damien Mendis. "She's White," from the 2003 album Fire, is oh so charming. Currently on tour.
Don Gibson
Country songmaster/landlord of the Nashville sound Don Gibson was born in North Carolina in 1928. An impoverished childhood pushed him into the workforce before the age of 9, yet in spite of the hardship, he taught himself to read, write, and play guitar. By 1949, he cut his first side for Mercury Records. During his illustrious career, Gibson made records for RCA, Columbia, Victor, Hickory, MGM, and K-Tel. Compositions include "I Can't Stop Loving You" (a Grammy winner for Ray Charles), "Sweet Dreams" (a hit for Patsy Cline, then Roy Orbison), and "Oh Lonesome Me" (immortalized by Neil Young). Collaborations include Dottie West and Chet Atkins. Accolades for Gibson, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, include inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame, as well as dozens of chart-toppers. Gibson, dubbed "The Sad Poet," passed away in 2003; remember him with the divine "Sweet Dreams," from Don Gibson: All-Time Greatest Hits.
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Genre: Country
Artist: Don Gibson
Song: Sweet Dreams
Album: Don Gibson: All-Time Greatest Hits
Vangelis
Avant-electronic film composer Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, a.k.a. Vangelis, was born in 1943 in Greece. A child prodigy, Evangelos started to write music by the age of 4. His professional career began in the '60s with pop bands The Formynx and Aphrodite's Child. By the late '70s, Vangelis partnered with rock master vocalist Jon Anderson of Yes fame, releasing albums as Vangelis & Jon. In the '80s, the ever-enigmatic Vangelis became the "It" film composer, winning the Oscar for Best Original Music Score with Chariots of Fire (1981). He also penned the theme music for the 2004 Sydney Olympics. "Memories of Green," from the 1982 Blade Runner soundtrack, is ominous and delicate.
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Genre: Soundtrack
Artist: Vangelis
Song: Memories of Green
Album: "Blade Runner" Soundtrack
Chad Lawson
Gifted jazz pianist Chad Lawson was born in North Carolina in the mid-'70s. As a young man in Charlotte, he learned jazz-piano tradition under the wing of Don Brown (Jazz Messengers) and founded the Chad Lawson Trio. After cutting some vinyl and hitting the top 10 on the jazz charts, Lawson relocated to New York, where he studied with piano maestro Hal Galper (Chet Baker, Stan Getz). On the heels of dues paying with local bands and a world tour with Julio Iglesias, Lawson went back into the studio with a fresh batch of songs. Among his credits are film and TV work, including a track for Dawson's Creek. The title "Promises Made on Signal Mountain," from Lawson's 2009 release Set on a Hill, produced by luminary William Ackerman, is a lullaby that swells with intricate elegance.
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Genre: Inspirational
Artist: Chad Lawson
Song: Promises Made on Signal Mountain
Album: Set on a Hill