Bonnie Raitt

     Bonnie Lynn Raitt (born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer-songwriter who was born in Burbank, California. The daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt, Raitt is best known for her songs “Nick of Time” and “Something to Talk About”, the latter of which was written by Richard Crawford for her to sing. Raitt married actor Michael O’Keefe in 1991, however divorced in 1999. Raitt is also an avid political activist, raised a quaker, and has been accoladed nine Grammy Awards in her career.
     Singer-Songwriter phenomenon Bonnie Raitt has spent her career playing blues-heavy music. Bonnie Raitt was born in Burbank, California in 1949. She began playing guitar at the age of 12. Raitt toiled in relative obscurity until a TV appearance with Roy Orbison in the ’80s brought her to national attention. Raitt is the daughter of notable Broadway star John Raitt and pianist/singer Marge Goddard. Raitt attended Harvard’s Radcliffe College for a short while, majoring in Social Relations and African Studies.

Listen to, download, and burn Bonnie Raitt music now.

Tool

     Tool is an American rock band that was formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of drummer Danny Carey, bassist Justin Chancellor, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Tool has won three Grammy Awards, hosted worldwide tours, and produced albums which have performed well on international music charts.
     Tool specialize in creating murky metal with progressive overtones. The funny thing is: it’s pretty good. Formed in Los Angeles in 1990, Tool was quickly signed and sent out on tour with Rollins Band. Tool’s ‘93 album “Undertow” was a breakthrough for the band despite the video for “Prison Sex” getting pulled from MTV. In interviews, the band often counts King Crimson as their biggest influence. Most of the band’s videos are made by guitarist Adam Jones.
     The band emerged with a heavy metal sound on their first LP at a time when the genre was dominated by thrash metal, and later reached the top of the alternative metal movement with the release of their second LP, Ænima, in 1996. Their efforts to unify musical experimentation, visual arts, and a message of personal evolution continued with Lateralus (2001) and their most recent album, 10,000 Days (2006), gaining the band critical acclaim and success around the world. Due to Tool’s incorporation of visual arts and relatively long and complex releases, the band is generally described as a style-transgressing act and part of progressive and art rock. The relationship between the band and today’s music industry is ambivalent, at times marked by censorship and the band members’ insistence on privacy.

Listen to, download, and burn Tool music now.

Bruce Springsteen

     Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has recorded and toured with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock infused with pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered around his native New Jersey. His eloquence in expressing ordinary, everyday problems has earned him numerous awards, including eighteen Grammy Awards and an Academy Award, along with a notoriously dedicated and devoted global fan base. His most famous albums, Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A., epitomize his penchant for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily life. He has sold over 65 million albums in the U.S.
     Bruce Springsteen is the definitive all-American rock singer-songwriter of the ’70s and ’80s. In the ’70s, Bruce ruled with Born to Run; in the ’80s, Nebraska blew minds and Born in the U.S.A. spoke to millions. Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1949. He bought himself an $18 guitar when he was 13. He started playing with Steven Van Zandt in 1969, and by 1971 the rest of the E Street Band had been formed. Between 1984 and 2006, Springsteen won 15 Grammy Awards. Six of them were in various Vocal Performance categories.
     Springsteen’s lyrics often concern men and women struggling to make ends meet. He has gradually become identified with progressive politics. Springsteen is also noted for his support of various relief and rebuilding efforts in New Jersey and elsewhere, and for his response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, on which his album The Rising reflects.

Listen to, download, and burn Bruce Springsteen music now.

Eminem

     Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem, is an Oscar and multiple Grammy Award winning American rapper, record producer, and actor. Having sold over seventy million albums worldwide, Eminem is one of the highest-selling rappers of all time. Eminem was discovered by rapper and producer Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre later signed Eminem to his record label, Aftermath Entertainment.
     An immensely popular rapper from Detroit, Eminem has amassed multiplatinum success and an enormous global fanbase. Eminem’s independently released “Infinite” tape dropped in 1996. On the D-12 “Devil’s Night” album, Em calls out Fred Durst and DJ Lethal on the hidden track “Girls.” Eminem has also hurled dis rhymes at Christina Aguiliera, Everlast, and Dilated Peoples. As a ridiculously sad publicity stunt, Eminem’s mom recorded a song lashing out at him with no-name rappers ID-X.
     Eminem is praised for his “verbal energy” and high quality of lyricism. However, he is often infamous for the controversy surrounding many of these lyrics. With the success of his highly acclaimed music, and its subsequent nomination for multiple Grammy awards including Album of the Year, critics such as GLAAD denounced his lyrics as homophobic and misogynist, while others claimed that it promoted violence.

Listen to, download, and burn Eminem music now.

Usher

     Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978), known simply by his first name Usher, is an American R&B and pop singer and actor who rose to fame in the mid-late 1990s. To date, he has sold approximately 30 million albums worldwide and has won five Grammy Awards. Usher is also a part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers National Basketball Association franchise. He also has his own record label, US Records.
     Discovered at age 14 by LaFace Records, Usher’s been bringing the lyrical love since 1994. Usher notched up a gold album and a couple of hit singles before he even graduated from high school. Usher has acted in many TV shows and movies, taking lead roles in “Light It Up,” “Texas Rangers” and “In the Mix.” Usher has said that his primary musical influences include Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Donny Hathaway. Usher says he watches old movies with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and studies their dance moves.

Listen to, download, and burn Usher music now.