Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones

As a kid, a lot of my friends could not imagine how I could listen to old songs from The Beatles, Chuck Berry, The Animals, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones when I should be gushing about the boybands of the late 80s like New Kids on the Block.

Honestly, I don't know. There's just something about Brit rock that kinda just grabs you and never lets go... ever. This holds specially true for me when it I first heard The Rolling Stones over the radio. I believe I was 10 years old then, and the song was Angie.

“But angie, I still love you, baby

Evrywhere I look I see your eyes

There aint a woman that comes close to you

Come on baby, dry your eyes

But angie, angie, aint it good to be alive?

Angie, angie, they cant say we never tried”

These are some of the lyrics of the song “Angie” by The Rolling Stones. It was released a good seven years before I was born. It was included in the 1973 released Goat's Head Soup album. There were words going around about Mick Jagger supposedly writing this song for Angie Bowie, the great David Bowie's wife, after being rumored to have had an affair with her. Tori Amos did a cover of this song in 1992. Not too sure what, and for whom that song, though.

Then again, the Rolling Stones have been around for over four decades. That's forty years of rock 'n' roll greatness. A lot of artists of their generation and ours have covered their songs. One of the most commonly covered songs in the Rolling Stone's discography is (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. The late, great Jimi Hendrix covered this song back in 1972. Skid Row did their own rendition of the song in 1976. The quirky but nonetheless unforgettable band, Devo did their own take of Satisfaction in 1978. The most recent popular cover of the song was done by Britney Spears in 2000.

The Rolling Stones was originally composed of frontman Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, pianist Ian Stewart, and original band leader Brian Jones. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts soon followed and completed the ensemble. Because of Jagger and Richards' great songwriting partnership, leadership of the band was passed to Jagger and Richards. Ian Stewart soon left the band but continued on as road manager and session keyboardist for the group until he died in 1985.

Since then, the Stones went through some line-up changes until they got to the present members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood. They have since released 24 studio albums in the United States and nine concert albums, not to mention a few compilation albums. They got inducted to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and were ranked in the top five of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

Last I heard of The Rolling Stones, they released a new studio album on 2005, entitled A Bigger Bang. They also followed it up with a series of concert tours that extended up til late summer of last year (2007). I'm just sad that I wasn't able to see the Stones live in action. That would've been a real sight to behold.

Resource box : A bassist herself, Abbey Grace Yap has been listening to classic rock since she was a kid. She looks up to the likes of Paul McCartney, Flea, Geezer Butler, and Jaco Pastorius for inspiration. She enjoys making good music with her four-stringed musical weapon, as well as listen to old and new songs, and sharing her views about music and her idols.

Freddie Mercury : The Singer, The Legend

Just fairly recently, I came across a certain arcade game that requires the player to bang on a bata drum. You choose a music and you hit the drum when the game tells you too. It was quite unusual that I came across a certain song from one of the bands I love. I saw Killer Queen and immediately thought of Freddie Mercury from the band queen. I decided to play the song for the level, and just as the song started, I was raring to see if there were other Queen songs in the lineup. Unfortunately, Killer Queen was the only one included in the game.

When I got home, I started looking for my Queen mp3 compilation and found gold. I immediately listened to the classic songs of Queen and remembered why I fell in love with Freddie Mercury's voice. More than just the music, it was Queen's front man that brought the songs to life. His exuberant stage performances brings the house down whenever they perform for concerts.

Born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5th 1946. Freddie Mercury was of Persian descent. He was born and raised in Zanzibar. He got his nickname “Freddie” from the English boarding school he went to when he was young. Growing up, Mr. Mercury was said to be an athletic and talented artist. He loved music so much that the school's headmaster could not fail to notice it. He took up piano lessons and started participating in music and theater related activities. It didn't take long for young Freddie to join a band. Together with five of his friends, they formed their own rock band, playing in school functions, fetes, dances, and parties.

Soon after, a lot of Persians were driven out of Zanziber, Freddie's family included. They moved to England and settled there. It was when they got to England that young Freddie Mercury became a fan of various class acts like The Beatles, The Who, Elvis Prestley, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and The Jackson 5.

It was in 1970 that Freddie Mercury teamed up with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor to form the great band we all know as Queen. John Deacon, the bassist, joined the team the following year. Up to this day, Queen is regarded as the one of the best British acts in the past three decades.

Freddie Mercury brings to the group a classic vibe with his distinct vocal stylings. His speaking voice a deep baritone range, while his singing voice has a range of almost four octaves. His singing voice belongs to the tenor range, making him stand out from the singing styles of his competitions.

But apart from being a great singer, he was a very talented composer and song writer. Their greatest hits album which contained 17 songs had 10 of the many songs written and composed by the man himself.

After lots of hit records with Queen and a few solo releases, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury faced the biggest battle of his life. In spring of 1987, Mercury was diagnosed with HIV. He was tested HIV positive and admittedly had AIDS. A little over a day of announcing his illness, he died of bronchial pneumonia that resulted from the AIDS virus he acquired. The whole world mourned the loss of a great rock icon. The legend, the singer, the man who was Freddie Mercury.

Resource Box :  A bassist herself, Abbey Grace Yap has been listening to classic rock since she was a kid. She looks up to the likes of Paul McCartney, Flea, Geezer Butler, and Jaco Pastorius for inspiration. She enjoys making good music with her four-stringed musical weapon, as well as listen to old and new songs, and sharing her views about music and her idols.