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Kurt Cobain and His Orchestra: Shifts in Naming Conventions of Popular Music Groups,
1923-2003
David Wilton dave@wilton.net
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Précis
The paper identifies a sudden and profound shift in the naming of popular
music groups that occurred in 1965-66. The shift is one away from plural names
(e.g., The Temptations) to singular ones (e.g., Better Than Ezra). Other, less
dramatic, shifts also occur in this period.
This study gathers 1854 names of popular music groups either formed or
first appearing in popular music charts during the years 1923-2003. 98% of the
tokens are from the years 1955-2003. These are then categorized into one of five
mutually exclusive morphological categories based on the number of words in
the name and whether they are singular or plural:
• Plural Names of 1-2 Words (e.g., The Platters, The Supremes).
• Singular Names of 1-2 Words (e.g., Oingo Boingo, Aztec Camera).
• Plural Names of 3+ Words (e.g., Nine Inch Nails, These Immortal
Souls).
• Singular Names of 3+ Words (e.g., Naughty by Nature, Toad the Wet
Sprocket).
• Collective Names (e.g., Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, The Alan Parsons
Project).
Additionally, the tokens are tagged with non-exclusive markers to indicate
semantic features contained within. These are:
• Literal Description (e.g., Atlanta Rhythm Section).
• Invented Words (e.g., Fugees).
• Nonsensical (e.g., The Soup Dragons).
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• Wordplay (e.g., The Beatles).
• Personal Names (e.g., The Greg Kihn Band).
• Number in Band (e.g., The Jackson Five).
Analysis of the data demonstrates the shift in naming practices in 1965-
66. Prior to 1965, plural names of one or two words constitute 80% of the tokens.
In the decade from 1965-74, the incidence of this form drops to 31% and falls to
15% by the years 1995-2003, largely replaced by singular names of one or two
words. This form's incidence rises from 3% of the pre-1965 tokens to 49% in the
decade from 1965-74 and to 70% by the years 1995-2003.
A similar rise is seen in singular names of three or more words, which
jumps from 1% to 7% incidence starting in 1965. Plural names of three or more
words remain at 5% or less incidence throughout the studied period.
A similar, but less sudden, decline is seen in the use of collective nouns,
like orchestra, band, and group, down from 15% in 1955-64 to 3% in 1995-2003.
Changes in the semantic content of the tokens occur as well. Groups with
literal names decline from 18% in 1955-64 to 1% in 1995-2003 and groups with
personal names in the group name decline from 38% to 5%.
Rises in the uses of nonsensical names and in the use of wordplay and
creative spellings are also seen, but later than the morphological shifts, spiking in
the decade of 1975-84.
The paper concludes with speculation about the reasons behind the
morphological shift from plural to singular names, namely that it accompanied the
rise of the 60s counterculture and a shift in musical style from professionally
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produced and marketed groups to home grown, rawer rock music. The shift in
naming conventions is an attempt to differentiate this new style from the old.
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Abstract
The paper examines 1820 names of popular music groups from the years
1955-2003 plus 34 names from before 1955 and identifies several morphological
and semantic changes to naming conventions during this period.
The primary change is a sudden shift from plural names (e.g. The
Supremes) to singular ones (e.g. Toad The Wet Sprocket) occurring in a two-
year period from 1965-66. Other less sudden changes include a steady decline in
the use of collective nouns in group names (e.g., band, trio) and a decline in the
use of personal names in band names (e.g., The Greg Kihn Band).
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Kurt Cobain and His Orchestra:
Shifts in Naming Conventions of Popular Music Groups
Strawberry Alarm Clock, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Concrete Blonde: all
names for rock groups and all nonsensical and rather bizarre. Yet, we don't blink
when we hear names like these. They may be nonsensical, yet they are fairly
conventional for rock group names. Yet this was not always so. The early days of
rock and roll are filled with bands with names like Little Anthony and the
Imperials, The Four Freshmen, and The Shirelles. When, how, and why did the
current naming conventions come into vogue?
The "when" and the "how" are clearly demonstrated in the analysis of the
data collected here. The shift occurred in a very short period, specifically 1965-66
and the primary shift was away from plural forms to singular ones.
The "why" is more speculative. Presumably, it occurred because of social,
musical, and commercial changes that were occurring at the same time. The
groups that took names in the new style were riding the leading edge of the
cultural changes of the 1960s. They also differed musically from their
predecessors and in the new names the groups were looking to further
differentiate themselves from the popular music groups that came before them.
Finally, the business of music was changing. Earlier groups were heavily
produced, often creations of the record labels, and the names were chosen to
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maximize marketing. The new groups were artist-formed, raw in both musical
style and marketing, and they chose their own names.
This study grew out of an observation1 that the naming conventions of
Rock and Roll bands underwent a dramatic shift in the mid-to-late 1960s. Where
previously band names were dominated by personal name of the leader coupled
with a fanciful name for the band members (e.g., Bill Haley and The Comets),
later bands tended to take a singular name denoting a unified whole (e.g.,
Spooky Tooth).
Detailed analysis of 1,854 names of bands and musical groups has borne
out this observation.2 Starting in 1965 there was a sudden and dramatic shift
away from plural names of one or two words (e.g., The Beatles) in favor of
singular names of one or two words (e.g., Bananarama).
Methodology
The study takes the names of 1,854 popular music groups from two
sources, the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (George-Warren, 2001)
and The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (Whitburn, 2004). These two sources
provide excellent coverage of popular music groups of the latter half of the
twentieth century. George-Warren focuses on groups of musical significance as
well as popularity, including groups that did not chart but were influential to other
musicians. The focus is on Rock & Roll, but includes groups from other genres
as well as some coverage of popular music groups from the first half of the
twentieth Century. This source also usually provides the date the group was
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formed, especially valuable data. Whitburn, on the other hand, lists those groups
that made the Billboard charts. It provides coverage of genres, like Rap, which
are given short shrift by the other source, as well as popular but musically
insignificant groups. Whitburn does not include the date the groups were formed,
providing only the date they first appeared in the Billboard charts. Whitburn's
coverage starts in 1955.
Excluded from the analysis are soloist and duo acts that go by the names
of the performers (e.g., Elvis Presley or Hall and Oates). Larger groups that use
a personal name (e.g., The Charlie Daniels Band) are included. No attempt was
made to separate pseudonyms and stage names from birth names. Stage names
of solo or duo acts that do not comport to patterns of personal names (e.g., Nine
Inch Nails, the stage name for soloist musician Trent Reznor) are included in the
analysis. Also excluded were groups formed in non-English-speaking countries
that have non-English names (e.g., Germany's Kraftwerk). Groups with non-
English names that were formed in English-speaking countries (e.g., Los Lobos,
formed in the United States) are included. Because many groups are
multinational in composition or consist of musicians from one country but were
formed in another, no attempt was made to segregate the analysis by the groups'
country of origin. The sources used do, however, create an American bias in that
all of the groups, regardless of their country of origin, were popular or influential
in the American music scene and market.
The groups were then sorted by year formed or, if that is not known, by
the year they first published an album or appeared on the Billboard charts.
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The 1854 tokens were then categorized into one of five mutually exclusive
morphological categories based on the number of words in the name and
whether they are singular or plural:
• Plural Names of 1-2 Words. Examples: The Chantels, The Four
Freshmen, The Smiths. Focus is on the band name, excluding the
name of the leader from the word count; so groups such as Buddy
Holly and the Crickets are included in this category. ("Crickets" being
one word.) Articles and possessive pronouns are also excluded from
the word count, but prepositions and other small words are not.
• Singular Names of 1-2 Words. Examples: Sister Sledge, Santana,
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, XTC.
• Plural Names of 3+ Words. Examples: Mothers of Invention,
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, New Kids on the Block.
• Singular Names of 3+ Words. Examples: Barclay James Harvest,
The Strawberry Alarm Clock, Rage Against the Machine. Names with
plural elements, but which form a singular whole are included here and
not in the plurals, e.g., Guns 'n' Roses.
• Collective Names. Names that use a collective noun to denote the
band are placed in this category. Examples: The Tommy Dorsey
Orchestra, Butterfield Blues Band, The Alan Parsons Project.
Additionally, the tokens were tagged with markers to indicate non-
exclusive semantic features. These are:
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• Literal Description. Band names that are literal descriptions are given
this tag. Examples: The Walker Brothers, The Blues Project.
• Invented Words. Band names that contain invented or nonce words
are given this tag. Examples: Archie Bell and the Drells, Cibo Matto.
Fanciful spellings of existing words are not included in this category,
instead being counted under Wordplay.
• Nonsensical. Band names composed of existing words, but which
make no sense in combination are tagged thusly. Poetic license is
given to plural appellations that are not literal; everyone knows, for
example, that Buddy Holly's band members were not actually Crickets
and such names are not included in this category. Examples:
matchbox 20, The Soup Dragons, Electric Prunes.
• Wordplay. Names that use fanciful spellings, contain puns, and
otherwise make creative use of language are given this tag. Examples:
The Count Five, The Beatles, The Voxpoppers.
• Personal Names. Band names that incorporate the names of one or
more of their members. Examples: Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm
Orchids, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Jackson 5. Bands named after
people unconnected with the group are excluded. Hence Jethro Tull,
named for the 18th century inventor of the seed drill, and Lynyrd
Skynrd, named for a gym teacher, Leonard Skinner, who punished
male students with long hair, are not included in this category.
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• Number in Band. Band names that incorporate a number or word that
refers to the number of people in the group. Examples: NRBQ
(quartet), The Louis Ramsey Trio, Fun Boy Three.
One factor that was considered but rejected for tracking was
inclusion/exclusion of the definite article in popular music group names. Some
groups, such as Talking Heads, reject the use of the definite article in their
names. While it appears likely that there is an ongoing pattern of excluding the
definite article that dates to the 1970s, this is difficult to prove. Sources show little
consistency in the use of definite articles, sometimes both including and
excluding it in the same paragraph.
Similarly, no attempt is made to categorize the groups by musical genre
and analyze naming trends within these genres. Accurate and consistent
categorization by genre is exceedingly difficult and is perhaps impossible in many
categories. Where does one draw the line between Jazz and R&B and between
R&B and Rock & Roll? Where in this continuum does one place Doo Wop
groups? What is the difference between Punk and New Wave? Many long-lived
groups have adopted various genres at different times. The Bee Gees, for
example, are best known for their Disco hits of the 1970s, but the group was
formed in 1958 and their early style was quite different from that of their biggest
hits.
Data Collected
1854 tokens were collected covering the years 1923 to 2003. Only 34
tokens from 1923-54 were collected, so conclusions from this early period should
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be considered suspect, but are included because they demonstrate an ongoing
pattern that extends into the next period. The complete breakdown by decade is
as follows:
Table 1: Tokens Categorized by Decade
Decade Total
Tokens Plural 1-2 Words
Sing 1-2
Words
Plural Multi Word
Sing Multi Word
Collective Words
1923-54 34 30 0 0 0 4 1955-64 375 296 13 5 4 57 1965-74 499 155 246 16 36 46 1975-84 406 117 215 9 23 42 1985-94 366 77 213 12 37 27 1995-03 174 26 121 9 13 5 1854 701 808 51 113 181
The differences in the number of tokens in each decade are due to bias in
the sources and periods covered, rather than to changes in the rate of
proliferation of popular music groups. George-Warren covers the Rock & Roll of
the late-1960s and early-1970s more extensively than other decades, hence the
increase in that decade. That same source was published in 2000, so coverage
of the first years of the twenty-first century is missing, resulting in fewer tokens
from 1995-03.
The same data, expressed as percentages, is as follows:
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Table 2: Category Percentages by Decade
Decade Plural 1-2
Words Sing
1-2 Words Plural Multi
Word Sing Multi
Word Collective
Words 1923-54 88% 0% 0% 0% 12% 1955-64 79% 3% 1% 1% 15% 1965-74 31% 49% 3% 7% 9% 1975-84 29% 53% 2% 6% 10% 1985-94 21% 58% 3% 10% 7% 1995-03 15% 70% 5% 7% 3%
Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Figure 1 portrays the same data graphically, emphasizing the dramatic
singular to plural shift:
Figure 1: Category Percentages by Decade
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1923-54 1955-64 1965-74 1975-84 1985-94 1995-03
Collective
Sing Multi
Sing 1-2
Plural Multi
Plural 1-2
Plural To Singular Shift
From this data it is clear that there is a dramatic change in the naming
conventions of popular music groups that begins in 1965. This is the shift from
plural names of one or two words (e.g., The Dream Weavers, The Five Satins,
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Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Monotones) to singular names (e.g., The
Velvet Underground, Buffalo Springfield, Fairport Convention, The Experience).
Before 1965 eighty percent or more of the tokens are plural and almost all
of these consist of names of one or two words. Names like The Drifters and The
Platters are typical of the period.
The bulk of the remainder of the popular music group names incorporate
collective nouns like The Spencer Davis Group, The Philip Upchurch Combo,
and Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra. The pattern [personal name] and his
Orchestra is common prior to 1965, appearing in the data thirty-two times.
Prior to 1955, no singular band names are found in the data. The small
number of tokens overall from this period requires the application of some
skepticism--undoubtedly a wider search would turn up some singular tokens, but
it is clear that they are rare in this period.
In the decade from 1955 to 1964, only thirteen singular band names of
one or two words are found in the data and only four with more than two words.
The thirteen are: Sister Sledge, The Mark IV, Tavares, Golden Earring,
Bloodstone, The Guess Who, Status Quo, The Essex, Harper's Bizarre, Styx,
Them, The Main Ingredient, and The Who. The four are: The Cowboy Church
Sunday School, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ides of March, and Ladysmith
Black Mambazo.
This plural to singular shift happens in a two-year period, 1965-66. Prior to
this year singular names are rare, all but absent in the 1950s and less than ten
percent of the tokens from the first half of the 1960s. In 1965, the percentage of
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singular tokens rises to fifteen percent. 1966 sees a jump to over fifty percent of
the groups being formed taking singular names. In subsequent years the
percentage of singular names continues to grow until it exceeds eighty percent.
Figure 2, which shows the percentage data by year instead of by decade, shows
the this shift occurred suddenly.
Figure 2: Category Percentages by Year
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Pre-19
5519
5719
6019
6319
6619
6919
7219
7519
7819
8119
8419
8719
9019
9319
9619
9920
02
Years
Collective
Sing Multi
Sing 1-2
Plural Multi
Plural 1-2
The vast majority of singular band names consist of one or two words,
although there is steady growth of multi-word singular names dating from the
1965-66.
One particular form of band name that all but disappears starting in 1965
is the form [personal name] and the/his [band name], examples include Gladys
Knight and the Pips or Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The form
accounts for six of the thirty-four tokens in the pre-1955 era, or 18%, and for 27%
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of the names appearing between 1955-64. The frequency drops to 8% in 1965-
74, climbs back to 12% in the next decade, before dropping to 3% in 1985-94
and 1% in the years 1995-2003.
A subgroup of this form is [personal name] and His Orchestra. It is
somewhat common in this early era, appearing thirty four times in the years
before 1965. This is 8% of the total number of tokens and 56% of the tokens with
collective names.
After 1964, there is a sharp decline in this form of name. Only four groups
in the post-1964 period name themselves with the pattern of [personal name] and
His Orchestra. This decline probably predates 1964 by some years as many of
the and His Orchestras appear in Whitburn and are dated from their earliest
appearance on the Billboard charts and not from when they were actually
formed. Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra, for example, charted in 1964 and has
this date in the data, but existed for some decades before this. Similarly, the
post-1964 appearances of this form (the last is in 1971) are undoubtedly bands
from an earlier era that achieved some success in the charts long after their
heyday. Several other later bands use the word orchestra in their names, but few
couple it with the name of the band leader; Electric Light Orchestra being
perhaps the most famous of these.
The disappearance of this form is emphasized by the 1992 formation of
The Brian Setzer Orchestra, a retro swing band that took its name to echo the
bands of the past.
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The Decline of the Collective Name
The rise of the singular band names comes primarily at the expense of the
plural, although there is also a decline in the use of collective names as well.
Four of the thirty-four tokens, or 12%, from the pre-1955 era are collective
names, The Ferko String Band, The King Cole Trio, Billy Vaughn and His
Orchestra, and Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra.
The decade from 1955 to 1964 has fifty seven such tokens, or 15%,
approximately the same rate. Most of these are orchestras, but we also find
groups, bands, trios, quartets, quintets, a couple of combos, a company, a
chorus, an incorporated, and numbers like three, five and six.
After 1964, the use of collective names steadily declines until it consists of
only 3% of the names of bands formed between 1995 and 2003. Unlike the plural
to singular shift, this decline occurs at a steady pace over a long period.
There is also much more variability in the collective nouns used in the later
period. While band is the most common, other choices include club, organization,
crew, productions, gang, and network.
Semantic Shifts in Naming
Accompanying the morphological shifts are some semantic ones as well.
The band names were also tagged with six different markers to indicate whether
they contained certain types of semantic content. Four of these markers showed
a trend toward decline or rise in that type of marker over the years; two did not
show significant changes in the rate of their occurrence.
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The Decline of the Literal and Personal
The use of literal descriptions of bands, e.g, The Spencer Davis Group,
The Blues Project, The Five Americans, declined from some 18% of the tokens in
the pre-1965 era to about 1% in the period from 1995 to 2003.
Similarly, the number of tokens that contain personal names also declines,
e.g., The Youngbloods; Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces; and Crosby, Stills,
Nash, & Young. From a high of 38% in the decade of 1955-64, the use of
personal names in bands declines to just 5% in the period 1995-2003.
Figure 3: Semantic Tokens by Decade
Decade Literal Tokens
Invented Tokens
Nonsense Tokens
Wordplay Tokens
Personal Tokens
Numerical Tokens
1923-54 6 1 0 0 11 6 1955-64 69 42 2 25 141 26 1965-74 36 32 31 26 87 17 1975-84 22 57 69 114 81 21 1985-94 7 25 25 50 28 9 1995-03 1 11 17 35 8 6
Figure 4: Semantic Token Percentages by Decade
Decade Literal
Percent Invented Percent
Nonsense Percent
Wordplay Percent
Personal Percent
Numerical Percent
1923-54 18% 3% 0% 0% 32% 18% 1955-64 18% 11% 1% 7% 38% 7% 1965-74 7% 6% 6% 5% 17% 3% 1975-84 5% 14% 17% 28% 20% 5% 1985-94 2% 7% 7% 14% 8% 2% 1995-03 1% 6% 10% 20% 5% 3%
The Rise of the Nonsensical and Playful
The converse of the decline of the literal is the rise of the nonsensical
names and those names that engage in wordplay. Nonsensical names include
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Pink Floyd, Buffalo Springfield, Steel Pulse, Quiet Riot, and The Teardrop
Explodes. Some examples of names that use wordplay and fanciful spellings are
XTC, The Plimsouls, Nu Shooz, and of course, The Beatles.
This rise did not, however, parallel the decline of the literal in time.
Nonsensical and playful names remained fairly rare, below 10%, of new band
names until the decade running 1975-84. They surged in this decade to highs of
17% and 28% respectively. Afterwards they declined somewhat, but remained
fairly strong.
Numbers and Invented Words
Names that incorporate numbers in their names to indicate the number in
the band, such as The Mark IV, The Ivy Three, and The Don Shirley Trio, have
remained fairly steady at below 5%. The number of tokens that use numbers is
18% in the pre-1955 era, but the small number of tokens from this era makes this
suspect. The fact that the 1955-64 decade is 7%, slightly higher than subsequent
years, indicates that they might be a decline in numerical names starting around
1955, but more tokens from the earlier era are needed before this can be
concluded.
Similarly the use of invented words in names of bands like The Ran-Dells,
Disco Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes, and the Wu-Tang Clan remains fairly steady at
below 10%. The rate hits 11% in 1955-64 and again rises to 14% in 1975-84
(coinciding with a similar trend in nonsensical names and wordplay), but overall
remains steady.
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Causes of the Shifts
The data collected and analyzed here does not, in and of itself, support
firm conclusions as to why these shifts occurred. One can speculate, however,
as to reasons why the dramatic morphological shift from plural to singular
occurred in 1965-66.
The dramatic shift from plural to singular corresponds with the beginnings
of the 60s counterculture movement. The shift away from the construction of a
leader and his supporting musicians to that of a band being a collective whole is
consistent with the new cultural values of the 1960s.
The mid-60s also saw the rise of entrepreneurial musicians, who named
their own bands instead of having names chosen by the marketing arms of
record labels. The introduction of the FM-stereo radio in the early 1960s and the
invention of the modern concert tour by The Beatles in 1965 opened up large
new markets for music that were filled by the new bands.
The music was also changing. Rock and popular music moved further
away from its R&B roots, incorporating folk and other styles. The heavily
produced and marketed sounds of Motown and Phil Spector gave way to the
rawer music of garage bands and psychedelic rock. The new styles demanded a
new type of name.
In light of the wider counterculture movement and shift in musical styles, it
is only natural that bands would choose a different naming convention to
differentiate themselves from what came before.
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Further research could lend support for this speculation. In particular, an
examination of the Rap and Punk band names of the late-70s and early-80s.
Both these groups are underrepresented in this data sample, in part because
they were not mainstream, but also in the case of Rap because many of the
"bands" were solo or duo acts. These bands represent subcultures expressing
themselves musically and their use of different naming conventions from
mainstream popular music would be indicative. Similarly, collection of more
tokens from the pre-1955 era and a comparison of R&B and Doo-wop band
names with those of more traditional popular musical groups of the day might
show a similar pattern.
Conclusion
The new naming patterns that emerged in 1965 are still going strong, as
evidenced by the samples from the last year studied. 2003 plural names of one
or two words are the Ataris, Maroons, Young Gunz, and Youngbloodz. Plural
multi-word names are Black Eyed Peas, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, and Ying
Yang Twins. Singular names of one or two words are Coldplay, Evanescence,
Floetry, Good Charlotte, G-Unit, Simple Plan, t.A.t.u., and Trapt. And 2003 also
has the multiword singular Fountains of Wayne and one collective, Field Mob.
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz is a very traditional, old school type name.
The others show a good mix of wordplay and nonsense--Fountains of Wayne.
The new patterns are firmly entrenched, perhaps waiting for the next coincidence
of social, musical, and commercial changes to usher in a new pattern of rock
band names.
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Notes
1Larry Gritz and Eric Enderton, colleagues of the author, first made this
observation and did some informal research to preliminarily confirm it. The
data set presented here is a more comprehensive look at the question.
2The complete data set used in this paper, including categorization and markers
is available at http://www.wordorigins.org/music/musicgroups.xls.
Bibliography
George-Warren, H., P. Romanowski, et al. (2001). The Rolling stone encyclopedia of rock & roll. New York, Fireside.
Whitburn, J. (2004). The Billboard book of top 40 hits, 8th edition. New York, Billboard Books.
Names of Bands The 1854 tokens used in this study follow: 1923: Ferko String Band 1928: Dixie Hummingbirds; Ink Spots 1935: Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys 1939: King Cole Trio 1946: Chordettes; Clovers; Orioles 1948: "5" Royales; Robins
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1949: Weavers 1950: Billy Ward and His Dominoes; Moonglows 1951: Crows; Flamingos 1952: Bill Haley and His Comets; Dells; Gladys Knight and the Pips; Spaniels 1953: Cadillacs; Drifters; Platters; Staple Singers 1954: Ames Brothers; Billy Vaughn and His Orchestra; Charms; Five Keys;
Four Aces; Four Tops; Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra; Jazz Crusaders; Penguins; Teresa Brewer with The Lancers; Three Chuckles
1955: Art Mooney and His Orchestra; Boyd Bennett And His Rockets; Cheers;
Cliffe Stone and His Orchestra; Coasters; Cowboy Church Sunday School; Crew-Cuts; Dream Weavers; El Dorados; Five Satins; Four Coins; Four Lads; Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers; George Cates and His Orchestra; Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes; Hilltoppers; Isley Brothers; Johnny Maddox and The Rhythmasters; Les Baxter His Chorus and Orchestra; Mighty Clouds of Joy; Mitch Miller and his Orchestra and Chorus; Nat "King" Cole and the Four Knights; Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra; Perez Prado and His Orchestra; Russ Morgan and His Orchestra; Somethin' Smith & The Redheads; Sunnysiders; Sweet Inspirations; Voices of Walter Schumann
1956: Blue Stars; Bobbettes; Cadets; Chantels; Cyril Stapleton and His
Orchestra; Del-Vikings; Diamonds; Dick Jacobs and His Orchestra; Four Freshmen; Four Seasons; Four Voices; Gadabouts; G-Clefs; Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps; Helmut Zacharias and His Magic Violins; Highlights; Jayhawks; Lonnie Donegan and His Skiffle Group; Lou Busch and His Orchestra; Rover Boys; Six Teens; Tarriers; Teen Queens; Turbans; Vibrations
1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets; Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids;
Champs; Charles McDevitt Skiffle Group; Danny and the Juniors; Dubs; Fireballs; Four Esquires; Hollywood Flames; Impressions; Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids; Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra; Jive Bombers; Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones; Kingston Trio; Lee Andrews and the Hearts; Little Anthony and the Imperials; Little Joe and The Thrillers; Mar-Keys; Mello-Tones; Osmonds; Owen Bradley Quintet; Ralph Marterie and His Orchestra; Rays; Shepherd Sisters; Smokey Robinson and the Miracles; Spinners; Techniques; Terry Gilkyson and The Easy Riders; Tune Weavers; Victor Young and His Singing Strings; Will Glahé and His Orchestra
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1958: Applejacks; Aquatones; Bee Gees; Boots Brown and his Blockbusters;
Contours; Crescendos; Crests; Danleers; Dicky Doo and the Don'ts; Dion and the Belmonts; Eddie Platt and His Orchestra; Elegants; Fleetwoods; Four Preps; Gone All Stars; Jamies; Joey Dee and the Starliters; John Fred and His Playboy Band; Kingsmen; Kirby Stone Four; Link Wray & His Ray Men; Moe Koffman Quartette; Monotones; Nu Tornados; O'Jays; Olympics; Pastels; Paul Revere and the Raiders; Pets; Playmates; Poni-tails; Quin-Tones; Raymond Lefevre and his Orchestra; Reg Owen and His Orchestra; Royal Teens; Royaltones; Shadows; Shirelles; Silhouettes; Sister Sledge; Teddy Bears; Tokens; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra; Voxpoppers
1959: Annette with the Afterbeats; Beatles; Bell Notes; Bill Black's Combo;
Chris Barber's Jazz Band; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Dovells; Ernie Fields Orchestra; Falcons; Fiestas; Fireflies; Gerry and the Pacemakers; Impalas; Islanders; Johnny and The Hurricanes; Johnny Kidd and the Pirates; Mark IV; Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs; Mickey Mozart Quintet; Mystics; Nutty Squirrels; Ohio Players; Phil Phillips with The Twilights; Quaker City Boys; Revels; Robert Maxwell; His Harp and Orchestra; Rocco Granata and the International Quintet; Rock-A-Teens; Ronettes; Skyliners; Supremes; Swingin' Blue Jeans; Tavares; Tempos; Tremeloes; Ventures; Virtues; Wailers
1960: Al Brown's Tunetoppers; Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra; Brothers
Four; Charlie Ryan and the Timberline Riders; Chiffons; Chi-Lites; Danté and the Evergreens; Demensions; Don Costa and his Orchestra; Fendermen; Freddie and the Dreamers; Hank Ballard and The Midnighters; Henry Mancini and His Orchestra; Hollywood Argyles; Intruders; Ivy Three; Kathy Young with The Innocents; Lettermen; Little Dippers; Marvelettes; Miracles; Monty Kelly and His Orchestra; Paradons; Percy Faith and His Orchestra; Rosie and The Originals; Safaris; Shells; Temptations; Tobin Mathews & Co.; Tommy James and the Shondells
1961: Al Caiola and His Orchestra; Angels; B.Bumble & The Stingers; Beach
Boys; Blue Jays; Blues Incorporated; Bob Moore and His Orchestra; Booker T. and the MG's; Castells; Cathy Jean and The Roommates; Chimes; Cleftones; Corsairs; Crystals; Dave Brubeck Quartet; Dave Clark Five; Don Shirley Trio; Donnie and the Dreamers; Dreamlovers; Duals; Echoes; Edsels; Flares; Golden Earring; Halos; Jarmels; Jay and the Americans; Jive Five; Kentucky Colonels; Little Caesar and the Romans; Manhattans; Marathons; Marcels; New Christy Minstrels; Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles; Philip Upchurch Combo; Ramrods; Regents; Rochell and The Candles; Searchers; Shep and the Limelites;
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Starlets; Stereos; String-A-Longs; Temptations (different group than the 1960 one); Velvets
1962: ? And the Mysterians; Animals; Billy Joe & The Checkmates;
Bloodstone; Bobby "Boris" Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers; Bobby Gregg and His Friends; Cookies; David Rose and His Orchestra; Dillards; Duprees; Exciters; Guess Who; Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass; Hollies; Ikettes; Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen; Les Cooper and the Soul Rockers; Little Joey and The Flips; Majors; Marketts; Martha and the Vandellas; Orlons; Persuasions; Rolling Stones; Ronnie and the Hi-Lites; Routers; Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs; Sensations; Sherrys; Status Quo; Surfaris; Toots and the Maytals; Tornadoes; Turtles; Volume's; Whispers
1963: Barbarians; Barry and the Tamerlanes; Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas;
Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans; Bob Marley and the Wailers; Busters; Butterfield Blues Band; Caravelles; Cascades; Chantay's; Chieftains; Classics; Dartells; Dixiebelles; Earls; Easybeats; Essex; Garnet Mimms and the Enchanters; Gentrys; Glencoves; Harper's Bizarre; Herman's Hermits; Holy Modal Rounders; Jaynetts; Jim Kweskin Jug Band; Joe Harnell and His Orchestra; John Mayall's Bluesbreakers; Kinks; Merseybeats; Murmaids; Pastel Six; Pixies Three; Raindrops; Ran-Dells; Randy & The Rainbows; Rebels; Righteous Brothers; Rocky Fellers; Rooftop Singers; Ruby and The Romantics; Secrets; Skatalites; Spencer Davis Group; Styx; Sunny & The Sunglows; Them; Tom Glazer and The Do-Re-Mi Children's Chorus; Toys; Trashmen; Tymes; Vince Guaraldi Trio; Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders; Yardbirds; Zombies
1964: Bachelors; Barry and the Remains; Beau Brummels; Blues Magoos;
Byrds; Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band; Carefrees; Charlatans; Chartbusters; Delfonics; Devotions; Dixie Cups; Gary Lewis and the Playboys; Hondells; Honeycombs; Ides of March; Jelly Beans; Jr. Walker and the All Stars; Kool and the Gang; Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Larks; Main Ingredient; Manfred Mann; Moody Blues; Mothers of Invention; Nashville Teens; Newbeats; Patty & The Emblems; Premiers; Pyramids; Reflections; Rip Chords; Rivieras; Ronny & The Daytonas; Sammy Kaye and His Orchestra; Sapphires; Serendipity Singers; Shangri-Las; Sir Douglas Quintet; Tams; Village Stompers; Walker Brothers; Who
1965: 13th Floor Elevators; Ad Libs; Alvin Cash and the Crawlers; Amboy
Dukes; Archie Bell and the Drells; Association; Bar-Kays; Big Brother and the Holding Company; Blues Project; Bobby Fuller Four; Bonzo Dog Band; Buckinghams; Cannibal and the Headhunters; Castaways; Classics IV; Count Five; Country Joe and the Fish; Cowsills; Doors; Electric Prunes; Flamin' Groovies; Fortunes; Fugs; Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames; Grateful Dead; Heptones; Incredible String Band;
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Jaggerz; Jefferson Airplane; Left Banke; Louis Ramsey Trio; Love; Lovin' Spoonful; Mamas and the Papas; Marvelows; MC5; McCoys; Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels; Moments; Monkees; Pink Floyd; Quicksilver Messenger Service; Rascals; San Remo Golden Strings; Seeds; Seekers; Silkie; Small Faces; Sounds Orchestral; Spokesmen; Statler Brothers; Strangeloves; T-Bones; Trade Winds; Trammps; Troggs; Unit Four plus Two; Velvet Underground; Vogues; Waikikis; We Five; Youngbloods
1966: Amen Corner; American Breed; Blues Image; Bob Kuban and the In-
Men; Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces; Brass Ring; Buffalo Springfield; Canned Heat; Capitols; Chicago Loop; Cream; Critters; Cyrkle; Fifth Dimension; Five Americans; Genesis; Grass Roots; Happenings; Iron Butterfly; Just Us; Kaleidoscope; Knickerbockers; Leaves; Lynyrd Skynrd; Moby Grape; Move; Music Machine; New Vaudeville Band; Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; Outsiders; Pozo-Seco Singers; Procol Harum; Royal Guardsmen; Savoy Brown; Shades of Blue; Shadows of Knight; Soft Machine; Spanky and Our Gang; Standells; Steve Miller Band; Swingin' Medallions; Syndicate of Sound; Vanilla Fudge; Viscounts
1967: The Band; Barclay James Harvest; Black Sabbath; Blood, Sweat, and
Tears; Blue Cheer; Box Tops; Brenda and the Tabulations; Casinos; Chicago; Chicken Shack; Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen; Davie Allan and the Arrows; Edwin Hawkins Singers; Electric Flag; Esquires; Every Mother's Son; Experience; Fairport Convention; Family; Fifth Estate; First Edition; Fleetwood Mac; Foundations; Friends of Distinction; Gary Puckett and the Union Gap; Hombres; Iggy and the Stooges; Innocence; J. Geils Band; Jackson 5; James Gang; Jay and the Techniques; Jethro Tull; Jon & Robin and the In Crowd; Joy of Cooking; Kingpins; Lemon Pipers; Meters; Mojo Men; Music Explosion; Nazz; Nice; NRBQ; Parade; Pentangle; Rose Garden; Santana; Shaggs; Sly and the Family Stone; Sopwith Camel; Soul Survivors; Spirit; Spooky Tooth; Steppenwolf; Strawberry Alarm Clock; Strawbs; Sunshine Company; T.Rex; Tangerine Dream; Ten Years After; Three Dog Night; Traffic; Tubes; Van der Graaf Generator; Yellow Balloon; Young-Holt Unlimited
1968: 1910 Fruitgum Company; Archies; Avant-Garde; Badfinger; Balloon
Farm; Blodwyn Pig; Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers; Brooklyn Bridge; Bull & The Matadors; Can; Chambers Brothers; Climax Blues Band; Commodores; Con Funk Shun; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks; Deep Purple; Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show; Emotions; Equals; Flying Burrito Brothers; Four Jacks and a Jill; Free; Friend and Lover; Grand Funk Railroad; Henry Cow; Hesitations; Hugo Montenegro, His Orchestra And Chorus; Human Beinz; Irish Rovers; It's a Beautiful Day; Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus; Led Zeppelin;
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Magic Lanterns; Mandrill; Max Frost and The Troopers; Mott the Hoople; Nazareth; New Colony Six; Ohio Express; O'Kaysions; Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra; People; Poco; Redbone; REO Speedwagen; Sandpebbles; Sandpipers; Sergio Mendes & Brazil '66; Slade; Stylistics; Sweet; Tower of Power; Unifics; Yes
1969: Alabama; Allman Brothers Band; America; Arbors; Argent; Art Ensemble
of Chicago; Bill Deal & The Rhondels; Black Oak Arkansas; Blind Faith; Blue Öyster Cult; Bread; Bubble Puppy; Cat Mother and The All Night News Boys; Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band; Checkmates, LTD.; Clique; Crazy Elephant; Crow; Cuff Links; Derek and the Dominos; Desmond Dekker & The Aces; Digable Planets; Dyke and the Blazers; Earth, Wind & Fire; Electric Indian; Flaming Ember; Flirtations; Flying Machine; Focus; Harlow Wilcox and The Oakies; Hawkwind; Hues Corporation; Humble Pie; Illusion; Intrigues; Judas Priest; King Crimson; Little Feat; Manhattan Transfer; Mercy; Motherlode; Mountain; Mungo Jerry; Neon Philharmonic; New Riders of the Purple Sage; Originals; Osibisa; Peppermint Rainbow; Plastic Ono Band; Rare Earth; Renaissance; Rugbys; Rush; Seals and Crofts; Sha Na Na; Shocking Blue; Smith; Spiral Staircase; Steam; Steeleye Span; Stone The Crows; Supertramp; Thunderclap Newman; Tony Williams Lifetime; Underground Sunshine; Vanity Fare; War; Winstons
1970: 100 Proof Aged In Soul; Aerosmith; Alive and Kicking; Asleep at the
Wheel; Assembled Multitude; Bay City Rollers; Brinsley Schwarz; Brotherhood of Man; Chairmen of the Board; Crabby Appleton; Doobie Brothers; Edison Lighthouse; El Chicano; Emerson, Lake and Palmer; Fanny; Five Flights Up; Five Stairsteps; Flo & Eddie; Frijid Pink; Funkadelic; Gentle Giant; Gong; Heart; Hot Chocolate; Hotlegs; Kansas; Little Sister; Lost Generation; Mark-Almond Band; Marmalade; Mashmakhan; Michael Nesmith & The First National Band; Neighborhood; New Seekers; Original Caste; Pacific Gas & Electric; Parliament; Partridge Family; Pipkins; Poppy Family; Presidents; Raspberries; Redeye; Residents; Street People; Sugarloaf; Suicide; Tee Set; Thin Lizzy; Three Degrees; Tony Orlando and Dawn; Uriah Heep; Weather Report; White Plains; ZZ Top
1971: 8th Day; ABBA; Ambrosia; Atlanta Rhythm Section/ARS; Beginning of
the End; Bells; Big Star; Bloodrock; Bullet; Buoys; C Company Featuring Terry Nelson; Charlie Daniels Band; Chase; Coven; Cymarron; Dr. Feelgood; Dramatics; Eagles; Electric Light Orchestra; Five Man Electrical Band; Foghat; Francis Lai and his Orchestra; Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush; Free Movement; Fuzz; Glass Bottle; Grin; Hillside Singers; Honey Cone; Lighthouse; Liz Damon's Orient Express; Mahavishnu Orchestra; Malo; Marshall Tucker Band; Mike Curb Congregation; Motels; New Birth; New York Dolls; Nite-Liters; Ocean;
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Ozark Mountain Daredevils; Paul Humphrey & The Cool Aid Chemists; People's Choice; Persuaders; Pointer Sisters; Queen; Roxy Music; Scorpions; Seldom Scene; Sounds of Sunshine; Sparks; Stampeders; Sweathog; Tin Tin; Undisputed Truth; Wings
1972: 10cc; Ace; Addrisi Brothers; Apollo 100; April Wine; Average White
Band; Bachman-Turner Overdrive; Be-Bop Deluxe; Blue Haze; Blue Ridge Rangers; Chakachas; Climax; Detroit Emeralds; Devo; English Congregation; Flash; Flatlanders; Gallery; Gap Band; Hot Butter; Hot Tuna; Jo Jo Gunne; Kiss; Looking Glass; Lords of the New Church; Love Unlimited; MFSB (Mother, Father, Son, Brother); Orleans; Sailcat; Split Enz; Stealers Wheel; Steely Dan; Stories; Think
1973: AC/DC; Bad Company; Brighter Side of Darkness; Brownsville Station;
Cabaret Voltaire; DeFranco Family; Dixie Dregs; Edgar Winter Group; Edward Bear; First Choice; George Thorogood and the Destroyers; Gunhill Road; Independents; Jam; JB's; Journey; KC and the Sunshine Band; King Harvest; Los Lobos; Mighty Diamonds; New York City; Pablo Cruise; Skylark; Sylvers; Television; Twisted Sister; Ultravox
1974: Amazing Rhythm Aces; B.T. Express; Black Uhuru; Blondie; Blue Magic;
Blue Swede; Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods; Cameo; Cheap Trick; Dictators; Disco Tex & His Sex-O-Lettes; Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band; Fabulous Thunderbirds; Fancy; Firefall; First Class; Japan; Mink DeVille; Montrose; Natural Four; Outlaws; Paper Lace; Prelude; Ramones; Reunion; Rubettes; Soul Children; Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes; Squeeze; Stranglers; Utopia; Van Halen; Wednesday; Wet Willie
1975: .38 Special; 5000 Volts; Alan Parsons Project; Babys; Bazuka;
Blackbyrds; Boomtown Rats; Boston; Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; Buzzcocks; Cramps; Greg Kihn Band; Heartbreakers; Jigsaw; Johnny Wakelin & The Kinshasa Band; Little River Band; Molly Hatchet; Motörhead; Nerves; Pere Ubu; Pilot; Pure Prairie League; Quiet Riot; Rainbow; Road Apples; Rumour; Runaways; Saints; Sex Pistols; Shirley & Company; Silver Convention; Sly and Robbie; Steel Pulse; Talking Heads; Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers; Undertones; Wing And A Prayer Fife And Drum Corps; Zapp
1976: Air Supply; Andrea True Connection; B-52's; Beausoleil; Bob Segar &
The Silver Bullet Band; Boys Next Door; Brass Construction; Brick; Brothers Johnson; Cars; Chic; Clash; Cledus Maggard and The Citizen's Band; Cure; Damned; Dead Boys; Feelies; Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids; Fleshtones; Foreigner; Generation X; Iron Maiden; Joy Division; L.T.D.; Lady Flash; Midnight Oil; Modern Lovers; Only Ones; Rhythm Heritage; Richard Hell and the Voidoids; Rick Dees and His
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Cast of Idiots; Rockpile; Rose Royce; Salsoul Orchestra; Silver; Siouxsie and the Banshees; Slits; Soft Boys; Starbuck; Starland Vocal Band; Wire
1977: Adam and the Ants; Black Flag; C.J. & Co.; Def Leppard; Dickies; Dire
Straits; DNA; Enchantment; Facts of Life; Fall; Floaters; Gang of Four; Go_Betweens; Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; Heatwave; High Energy; Hot; Human League; INXS; Lipps, Inc.; Magazine; Mekons; Motors; Neville Brothers; Odyssey; Player; Police; Q; Raincoats; Ram Jam; Romantics; S.O.S. Band; Santa Esmerelda; Shalamar; Slave; Smokie; Specials; Stallion; Starz; Sugar Hill Gang; Thompson Twins; Tom Robinson Band; U.K.; Village People; Wilton Place Street Band; X; XTC
1978: Alarm; Celebration Featuring Mike Love; Chanson; City Boy; dB's; Dead
Kennedys; DeBarge; Duran Duran; Echo and the Bunnymen; English Beat; Exile; Flying Lizards; Foxy; Go-Go's; Killing Joke; Knack; Lindisfarne; Love and Kisses; Madness; Michael Zager Band; Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD); Patti Smith Group; Plasmatics; Plimsouls; Pretenders; Psychedelic Furs; Public Image, Ltd.; Pulp; Rubicon; Simple Minds; Spinal Tap; Stargard; Stonebolt; Switch; Taste of Honey; Teardrop Explodes; Toby Beau; Toto; Tuxedo Junction; U2; UB40; Whitesnake; Yellow Magic Orchestra
1979: Bad Brains; Bauhaus; Beat; Berlin; Blackfoot; Blasters; Blues Brothers;
Bram Tchaikovsky; Brave Combo; Buggles; Bush Tetras; Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers; Fishbone; Flipper; Gonzalez; GQ; Heaven 17; Huey Lewis and the News; Hüsker Dü; Instant Funk; Ironhorse; Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns; Keith and the Satellites; Lounge Lizards; Loverboy; Material; Men at Work; Minutemen; Mission of Burma; Modern English; New England; Night; Niteflyte; Oingo Boingo; Pink Lady; Pylon; Rockets; Romeo Void; Rossington-Collins Band; Sector 27; Selecter; Sniff 'n' The Tears; Social Distortion; Spandau Ballet; Spyro Gyra; Stray Cats; The The; Triumph; Tycoon; Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
1980: ABC; Aztec Camera; Birthday Party; Bongos; Bow Wow Wow; Change;
Chills; Church; Circle Jerks; Depeche Mode; Eurythmics; Flock of Seagulls, A; Frankie Goes to Hollywood; Haircut 100; Happy Mondays; Hooters; Icicle Works; Indigo Girls; Kid Creole and the Coconuts; King's X; Korgis; Larsen-Feiten Band; Meat Puppets; Missing Persons; New Order; Oak; R.E.M.; Replacements; Sisters of Mercy; Smithereens; Soft Cell; Spider; Throwing Muses; Tierra; Tommy Tutone; Vapors; Vixen
1981: 10,000 Maniacs; Afternoon Delights; Anthrax; Asia; Balance;
Bananarama; Bangles; Beastie Boys; Billy Vera and the Beaters; Butthole Surfers; Champaign; Chilliwack; Cocteau Twins; Concrete
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Blonde; Culture Club; Diesel; Divinyls; Dream Syndicate; Everything But The Girl; Franke & The Knockouts; Fun Boy Three; Get Wet; Hoodoo Gurus; Jason and the Scorchers; Loose Ends; Metallica; Michael Stanley Band; Ministry; Mötley Crüe; New Edition; Oak Ridge Boys; Pet Shop Boys; Point Blank; Psychic TV; Quarterflash; Queensrÿche; Rank and File; Ratt; Run-D.M.C.; Shriekback; Silver Condor; Sneaker; Sonic Youth; Soul Asylum; Stars On 45; Stetsasonic; Survivor; Time; Tones on Tail; Violent Femmes; Was (Not Was)
1982: a-ha; Atlantic Starr; Audioslave; Big Black; Big Country; Cheri; Dazz
Band; Eye To Eye; Faith No More; Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; Larry Elgart And His Manhattan Swing Orchestra; Le Roux; Levert; Long Ryders; Moving Pictures; Pogues; Poison; Prefab Sprout; Prism; Public Enemy; Scandal; Skyy; Slayer; Smiths; Soul II Soul; Steel Breeze; Tears for Fears; Til Tuesday; Tom Tom Club; U.T.F.O.; Waterboys, UK; Weather Girls; Wham!; Yaz
1983: After The Fire; American Music Club; Art of Noise; BoDeans; Bon Jovi;
Charlie; Cinderella; Cult; Dexys Midnight Runners; Dream Academy; Eleventh Dream Day; Elvis Costello and the Attractions; Fine Young Cannibals; Fixx; Flaming Lips; Georgia Satellites; JoBoxers; John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band; Judds; Jump 'N the Saddle; Kajagoogoo; Living Colour; Lone Justice; Megadeath; Men Without Hats; Musical Youth; Naked Eyes; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; Night Ranger; Oxo; Phish; Red Hot Chili Peppers; Saga; Style Council; Surface; Tag Team
1984: Ambitious Lovers; Big Audio Dynamite; Bruce Hornsby and the Range;
Camper Van Beethoven; Dinosaur Jr; Face To Face; Firm; Heavy D. and the Boyz; Honeydrippers; Jesus and Mary Chain; Laid Back; Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam; My Bloody Valentine; Nena; Offspring; Primus; Prince and the Revolution; Real Life; Re-Flex; Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians; Screaming Trees; Simply Red; Soundgarden; Talk Talk; They Might Be Giants; Timbuk 3; W.A.S.P.; Wang Chung; Yo La Tengo
1985: 2 Live Crew; Animotion; Arcadia; Autograph; Boy Meets Girl; Cock
Robin; Cowboy Junkies; Crowded House; De La Soul; Dead or Alive; Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians; Erasure; Extreme; General Public; Giuffria; Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine; Goo Goo Dolls; Guided By Voices; Guns 'n' Roses; Guy; Highwaymen; Housemartins; Jayhawks; Jeff Healey Band; Katrina and The Waves; Klymaxx; L7; Live; Love and Rockets; Mary Jane Girls; Midnight Star; Mike and the Mechanics; Mr. Mister; New Kids on the Block; Power Station; Ready For The World; Salt-n-Pepa; Scritti Politti; Silos; Starpoint; Stone Roses; Swing Out Sister; Ta Mara & The Seen; White Zombie
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1986: Blow Monkeys; Boogie Down Productions; Boys Don't Cry; Danzig;
Deee-Lite; Device; Double; EPMD; Exposé; fIREHOUSE; Force M.D.'s; Geto Boys; Glass Tiger; GTR; Honeymoon Suite; Hootie & The Blowfish; Hothouse Flowers; Inspiral Carpets; Jane's Addiction; Jets; Jungle Brothers; Lemonheads; Level 42; Models; N.W.A.; Naughty by Nature; No Doubt; Nu Shooz; Opus; Outfield; Pixies; Roxette; Sebadoh; Skid Row; Sly Fox; Sugarcubes; That Petrol Emotion; Timex Social Club; Toad the Wet Sprocket; Winger; World Party
1987: Alice in Chains; Babes in Toyland; Blues Traveler; Bourgeois Tagg;
Breakfast Club; Club Nouveau; Color Me Badd; Communards; Company B; Cutting Crew; Europe; Fat Boys; Fugazi; Go West; Hipsway; Ice House; Kane Gang; KLF; Living in a Box; Massive Attack; Mother Love Bone; Nine Inch Nails; Nirvana; Nylons; Other Ones; Pretty Poison; Pseudo Echo; Radiohead; Restless Heart; Robert Cray Band; Roots; Stryper; System; Take 6; These Immortal Souls; T'Pau; Uncle Tupelo; Wa Wa Nee
1988: 808 State; Arrested Development; Bad English; Bardeux; Barenaked
Ladies; Beautiful South; Bell Biv DeVoe; Black Crowes; Boys Club; Boyz II Men; Breathe; Cover Girls; Cypress Hill; Dan Reed Network; Deele; Digital Underground; E.U.; En Vogue; Escape Club; Gang Starr; Giant Steps; Gipsy Kings; Information Society; J.J. Fad; Jodeci; Johnny Hates Jazz; M/A/R/R/S; Milli Vanilli; Mudhoney; Orb; Pavement; Rapeman; Sheriff; Spin Doctors; Sublime; Times Two; Traveling Wilburys; Tribe Called Quest, A; Underworld; When In Rome; White Lion; Will To Power
1989: Belle Stars; Blur; Boys; Counting Crows; Damn Yankees; Destiny's
Child; Dixie Chicks; EMF; Great White; Green Day; Hole; Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers; Kix; Kon Kan; London Suede; Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids; Mavericks; One 2 Many; Orbital; P.M. Dawn; Roachford; Seduction; Shakespear's Sister; Smashing Pumpkins; Snap!; Sugar Ray; Sweet Sensation; Synch; Technotronic; Teenage Fanclub; Tesla; Texas Tornados; Warrant; Waterfront
1990: 2 In A Room; Adventures of Stevie V; After 7; Alias; Basehead; Bikini
Kill; Black Box; Brand Nubian; Brat Pack; Breeders; Brother Beyond; C+C Music Factory; Cracker; Cranberries; Del Amitri; Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy; Electronic; Faster Pussycat; Flecktones; Giant; House of Pain; Indecent Obsession; L.A. Guns; Lightning Seeds; Linear; Morphine; Partners In Kryme; Pearl Jam; Perfect Gentlemen; Prodigy; Soho; Stereolab; Stone Temple Pilots; Tony! Toni! Toné!; Tortoise; U-Krew; Verve; Wallflowers; Whistle; Wu-Tang Clan
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1991: 3rd Bass; Another Bad Creation; Belly; Bingoboys; Dave Matthew's Band; Hi Five; Jesus Jones; Jomanda; Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; Kris Kross; Londonbeat; Luna; Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch; Natural Selection; Oasis; Prince and the New Power Generation; Rage Against the Machine; Rancid; Rembrandts; Rhythm Syndicate; Riff; Rude Boys; Steelheart; Stereo MC's; Tami Show; TLC; Tool; Triplets; Urban Dance Squad
1992: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals; Blink-182; Bone Thugs-N-
Harmony; Brian Setzer Orchestra; Bush; Cause and Effect; Chemical Brothers; Cornershop; Das EFX; Elastica; Everclear; Fugees; Golden Smog; Hanson; Heights; Jade; Joe Public; K.W.S.; Lidell Townsell & M.T.F.; Lighter Shade of Brown; Lo-Key?; Mint Condition; Mr. Big; N2Deep; Party; Portrait; Right Said Fred; RTZ; Saigon Kick; Shamen; Shellac; Soup Dragons; Storm; Sugar; Ugly Kid Joe; Wreckx-N-Effect
1993: 4 Non Blondes; 95 South; Ace of Base; Backstreet Boys; Blind Melon;
Captain Hollywood Project; D.R.S.; Duice; Fu-Schnickens; Garbage; Gin Blossoms; Green Jelly; H-Town; Inner Circle; Intro; Korn; Men at Large; Onyx; OutKast; Proclaimers; S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.; Shai; Silk; Squirrel Nut Zippers; Sunscreem; Supergrass; SWV; UNV; Xscape; Zhané
1994: 20 Fingers; 4 P.M.; 69 Boyz; All-4-One; Ben Folds Five; Big Mountain;
Blackstreet; Candlebox; Changing Faces; Cibo Matto; Collective Soul; Corona; Crash Test Dummies; Deadeye Dick; Eternal; Foo Fighters; Immature; Limp Bizkit; Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories; M People; Masta Ace Incorporated; Portishead; Puppies; Real McCoy; Savage Garden; Sleater-Kinney; Smash Mouth; Spearhead; Spice Girls; US3; Weezer; Whiskeytown; Wilco
1995: 702; 2 Unlimited; 3T; Air; Better Than Ezra; Black Grape; Blessid Union
of Souls; Brownstone; Creed; Deep Blue Something; Goodie Mob; Groove Theory; Junior M.A.F.I.A.; Kut Klose; La Bouche; matchbox 20; Mokenstef; N Sync; Planet Soul; Presidents of the United States of America; Redman; Rednex; Silverchair; Son Volt; Soul For Real; Subway; Take That; Toadies; Total
1996: 112; 311; Az Yet; Belle and Sebastian; Black Star; Cake; Cardigans;
Crucial Conflict; DC Talk; Delinquent Habits; Dishwalla; Do Or Die; Dog's Eye View; Dru Hill; Eels; Folk Implosion; Ghost Town DJ's; Jars of Clay; Long Beach Dub AllStars; Los Del Rio; Lost Boyz; No Mercy; Porno for Pyros; Primitive Radio Gods; Quad City DJ's; Seven Mary Three; Spacehog; Westside Connection
1997: 98°; Allure; Aqua; B-Rock & The Bizz; Chumbawamba; Le Click; Lox;
LSG; Luscious Jackson; Mack 10 & Tha Dogg Pound; Mighty Mighty
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Bosstones; Milestone; Mr. President; Next; Nu Flavor; Peach Union; She Moves; Somethin' For The People; Third Eye Blind; Tonic; Verve Pipe; X-Ray Spex
1998: All Saints; Cleopatra; Divine; Eve 6; Everything; Fastball; Five; Harvey
Danger; Imajin; Jagged Edge; Marcy Playground; Ol Skool; Public Announcement; Semisonic; Voices of Theory
1999: B*witched; Blaque; Citizen King; Eiffel 65; Filter; Ideal; Len; LFO;
Lonestar; New Radicals; Sixpence None The Richer; Sporty Theivz; Train
2000: 3 Doors Down; 504 Boyz; Baha Men; BBMAK; Dream; Fuel; Lucy Pearl;
M2M; Marymary; Ninedays; O-Town; Profyle; Rascal Flatts; Ruff Endz; Son By Four; Souldecision; Vertical Horizon; Westlife
2001: 3LW; Alien Ant Farm; ATC; Calling; City High; Corrs; Crazy Town; D12;
Eden's Crush; Five For Fighting; Incubus; Lifehouse; Linkin Park; Nickelback; QB Finest; S Club 7; Staind; Wiseguys
2002: B2K; Big Tymers; Clipse; Default; Dirty Vegas; Emerson Drive; Inc.;
Jimmy Eat World; Nappy Roots; No Good; P.O.D.; Prymary Colorz; Puddle of Mudd; TG4
2003: Ataris; Black Eyed Peas; Coldplay; Evanescence; Field Mob; Floetry;
Fountains of Wayne; Good Charlotte; G-Unit; Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz; Maroons; Simple Plan; t.A.t.u.; Trapt; Ying Yang Twins; Young Gunz; Youngbloodz
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