"Since reigniting mainstream interest in rockabilly as the generously bequiffed, Gretsch guitar-toting frontman with the Stray Cats, Brian Setzer has played alongside Bob Dylan and Robert Plant (in The Honeydrippers), made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in La Bamba, and been the first guitarist (with his 17-piece Brian Setzer Orchestra) to give his name to a full-on swing and jump-blues big band while racking up multiple Grammys along the way"
"Cartoons aren't just for kids (...) "Futurama" may be the best TV show that the producer Matt Groening has ever made. Set in the 31st century, this loving spoof, which was canceled after four seasons on Fox and later revived by Comedy Central, features smart riffs on classic science-fiction tropes like robot uprisings, ecological disasters and alien invasions"
"Rich was on record as disliking bebop and only agreed to the session because of his admiration for Parker. His biographer, singer Mel Tormé, has pointed out that Buddy stuck relentlessly to a four-to-the-bar bass drum because he thought most bop drummers were too "busy" behind the soloist: "He was willing to bow to the new wave up to a point...[he] was critical of the current crop of drummers who, in his opinion, were hamstrung in the bebop bag and did not swing"
"Coen brothers, American filmmakers known for their stylish films that combine elements of comedy and drama and often centre on eccentric characters and convoluted plots. Though both brothers contributed to all phases of the filmmaking process, Joel Coen was usually solely credited as the director, and Ethan Coen was nominally the producer, with the brothers sharing screenwriting credit and using the pseudonym "Roderick Jaynes" for editing"
"Like The Beatles before him, who were hailed as rock 'n' roll saviours, Hendrix thought of himself as more of a skilful synthesist of what had come before than a whole new entity. He always said he was channelling the blues into his own thing with "a little science fiction". In interviews, he was generous about name-checking his inspirations, and they were numerous"
Terry Gilliam, American-born director, writer, comedian, and actor who first achieved fame as a member of the British comedy troupe Monty Python: "I'm talking about being a man accused of all the wrong in the world because I'm white-skinned. So I better not be a man. I better not be white. OK, since I don't find men sexually attractive, I've got to be a lesbian. What else can I be? I like girls. These are just logical steps"
"October 3rd, 1978. Paul McCartney assembled Rockestra - the largest group of rock legends to record together up to that date. The cream of the rock elite joined Wings to record two tracks for their upcoming Back To The Egg album that day at London's Abbey Road Studios for the instrumental "Rockestra Theme" and "So Glad To See You Here" (...) Among those invited that couldn't make the session were Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck & Keith Moon"
The Three Tenors with conductor James Levine. "In 1990, three of the world's most celebrated tenors - namely, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti - combined forces to create the Three Tenors (...) The Three Tenors phenomenon permanently altered how a large amount of classical music is presented, packaged and sold"
Worldwide pop stars Swedish supergroup ABBA. "Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid were seasoned performers in Sweden long before they met. Bearded Benny Andersson was perhaps the best known. From the age of 18 he had been keyboard player and lyricist with pop group The Hep Stars. Known as the Swedish Beatles, their successes included three No 1 hits in their home country in 1966 alone"
