Widowmaker (American Band)
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Widowmaker (American Band)
Widowmaker was an American heavy metal band formed by American musician Dee Snider in 1991 after the demise of his previous band, Desperado. The line-up consisted of Snider and fellow former Desperado member Marc Russell on bass, drummer Joey Franco who had played on the final Twisted Sister album, ''Love Is for Suckers'', and guitarist Al Pitrelli, fresh off his stint with Alice Cooper. They recorded two albums and toured the country in support but ultimately disbanded. Dee Snider went on to a number of other projects, including a reunion of Twisted Sister. Members *Dee Snider – vocals (1992–1994) *Al Pitrelli – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (1992–1994) *Marc Russell – bass, backing vocals (1992–1994) *Joey Franco – drums (1992–1994) ;Touring members *Freddy Villano - bass, backing vocals (1994) Discography *''Blood and Bullets ''Blood and Bullets'' ( it, Sangue di sbirro, also known as ''Knell, Bloody Avenger'') is a 1976 Italian poliziottesco film w ...
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Heavy Metal Music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distortion (music), distorted guitars, extended guitar solos, emphatic Beat (music), beats and loudness. In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple – were founded. Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss (band), Kiss; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith; and the flashy guitar leads and party rock of Van Halen. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence,Walser (1993), p. 6 while Motörhea ...
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Music For Nations
Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1983 by Martin Hooker, Music For Nations established itself as a European leader in the rock and metal world, with early signings like Tank, Exciter, Metallica (who had three gold albums while on MFN), Slayer and Megadeth paving the way. As MFN grew, the company expanded its operation to include not just licensed acts from the United States, but its own signings. It released albums by artists including Paradise Lost, Opeth, Anathema, Cradle of Filth, Testament and countless other metal bands. As well as the traditional metal bands MFN went on to sign up and coming UK bands such as Tigertailz who had a top 40 album while signed to Music For Nations. In 2004, the label closed down. The company's catalogue — which had also previousl ...
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Sony Music Japan
, often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is operating independently from the United States-based Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry. Its subsidiaries include the anime, Japanese animation production enterprise, Aniplex, which was established in September 1995 as a joint-venture between Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, but which in 2001 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was prominent in the early to mid '90s producing and licensing music for animated series such as ''Roujin Z'' from acclaimed Japanese comic artist Katsuhiro Otomo and Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' animated series. Until March 2007, Sony Music Japan also had its own North American sublabel, Tofu ...
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CMC International
CMC International was an American independent record label founded by Bill Cain and Tom Lipsky in 1991, focused mainly on classic rock, and classic heavy metal. The label was the haven of many hard rock, arena rock, thrash metal, glam metal, and AOR artists in the period when all the majors were investing all their financial efforts on grunge and alternative rock acts. In 1995 CMC started a partnership with BMG Entertainment, which in 1999 owned the majority of the company, with founder Tom Lipsky holding a minority stake. CMC International became a division of Sanctuary Records Group in 2000, with Lipsky becoming president of Sanctuary Records North America. After Universal Music Group acquired Sanctuary in 2007, CMC International ceased to exist. However, due to conditions imposed by the European Commission following UMG's 2012 acquisition of EMI, it sold Sanctuary to BMG Rights Management in 2013 for over €46 million ($71.875 million). Since then, Sanctuary has been distri ...
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Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with music videos noted for their sense of slapstick humor. Twisted Sister evolved from a band named Silver Star, and experienced several membership changes before settling on the classic lineup of Jay Jay French (guitars), Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda (guitars), Dee Snider (lead vocals), Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (bass), and A. J. Pero (drums) in 1982. It was this lineup which recorded the band's first four albums. Twisted Sister's first two albums, ''Under the Blade'' (1982) and ''You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll'' (1983), were critically well received and earned the band underground popularity. The band achieved mainstream success with their third album, ''Stay Hungry'' (1984), and its single "We're Not Gonna Take It", which was their only Top 40 h ...
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Dee Snider
Daniel "Dee" Snider (born March 15, 1955)Tayler, LettaTwisted Sister's Dee Snider remembers his challenging Long Island upbringing "Newsday", March 15, 2016Archived here/ref> is an American singer, songwriter, radio personality, and actor. He was the lead singer and songwriter of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He was ranked 83 in the ''Hit Parader'''s Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Early life Born in Astoria, Queens, New York City, Snider was raised in nearby Freeport, New York and Baldwin, New York, both on Long Island. His father, Bob, is a retired New York State Trooper and Nassau County court clerk, and his mother, Marguerite, is a retired art teacher. His father is Jewish, whereas his mother is from a Catholic family of Swiss descent. He is also of Ukrainian descent from his grandfather. Snider and his siblings were raised as Episcopalians after his mother joined the church. As a child, he sang in a church choir, several school choruses, and concert choir in ...
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Desperado (band)
Desperado was an American heavy metal band formed by Dee Snider in 1988, after Twisted Sister was disbanded. The band dissolved in the early 1990s due to problems with the record label and the then emerging grunge trend. The album, much bootlegged, was issued officially some years later and reissued as Ace on ''Angel Air''. ''Dee Snider Desperado Limited Edition'' was released on April 21, 2009, featuring eleven tracks from '' Bloodied But Unbowed''. Past members * Dee Snider – Vocals (1988-1990) *Bernie Tormé Bernie Tormé (born Bernard Joseph Tormey; 18 March 1952 – 17 March 2019) was an Irish rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner. Tormé is best known for his work with Gillan, as well as his brief stints wi ... - Guitars (1988-1990) *Marc Russell – Bass (1988-1990) * Clive Burr – Drums (1988-1990) Discography *'' Bloodied But Unbowed'' (1996) *''Ace'' (2006) *''Dee Snider Desperado Limited Edition'' (2009) External links ...
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Al Pitrelli
Al Pitrelli is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Joe Lynn Turner, Asia and Savatage. Career Early career (1982–1995) Pitrelli attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the early 1980s (where keyboardist Derek Sherinian was his dorm roommate; they would later work together in the Alice Cooper band). While at Berklee, Pitrelli formed an original 1980s metal band with classmates that included Venom guitarist Mike Hickey. After dropping out of Berklee, Pitrelli worked as a session musician and taught guitar lessons in Manhattan and in Bellmore, Long Island. His first major label gig was performing with Michael Bolton, helping him support his single " Fool's Game". Pitrelli said of the single, "This was when Michael Bolton was still trying to be Sammy Hagar and not Engelbert Humperdinck." In 1989, Pitrelli featured as second guitar on the song "Uptown" on bassist Randy Coven's first album "Funk ...
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Joey Franco
Joe "Seven" Franco (born 1951) is an American drummer best known for his work with the band The Good Rats in the late 1970s and later as a replacement member of Twisted Sister. Biography Joe Franco, a 1969 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, became a member of the band The Good Rats in 1972. He also produced and played in the horror rock band Van Helsing's Curse, which also featured Twisted Sister lead vocalist Dee Snider, and on the Magellan album ''Hundred Year Flood''. Franco replaced A. J. Pero in Twisted Sister in 1986, and stayed in the band for about a year until its break-up in 1987. He also played in Snider's group Widowmaker; and with guitarists Vinnie Moore and Blues Saraceno. and also former Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh on his solo album ''Shadowman''. Franco is the author of the book ''Double Bass Drumming'' (1984; Alfred, 1993) and is featured in the accompanying video (1988; Warner Bros., 2005). He has also lectured and written articles about drumming ...
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Encyclopedia Of Popular Music
''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Knowledge'', Christmas edition, 22 December 2007- 4 January 2008. It was described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged". History of the encyclopedia Larkin believed that rock music and popular music were at least as significant historically as classical music, and as such, should be given definitive treatment and properly documented. ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is the result. In 1989, Larkin sold his half of the publishing company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an encyclopedia of popular music. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a pre-internet age, "relying instead on information gleaned from music magazines, individual expertise ...
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Guinness Publishing
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The brainchild of Sir Hugh Beaver, the book was co-founded by twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter in Fleet Street, London, in August 1955. The first edition topped the best-seller list in the United Kingdom by Christmas 1955. The following year the book was launched internationally, and as of the 2022 edition, it is now in its 67th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 23 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in ''Guinness World Records'' becoming the primary international authority ...
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Love Is For Suckers
''Love Is for Suckers'' is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister. It was released by Atlantic Records in July 1987, with the single "Hot Love" being released on August 1. It was the band's last album before their breakup and subsequent reunion and release of '' Still Hungry'' in 2004. It is also their last album to be composed of entirely new, original material. Overview The sound of the album was strongly influenced by glam metal, and was one of the causes of conflict which led to the band splitting after its release. The band got rid of the more extreme elements of their look, to "fit in with every other hair metal band out there at that time". According to interviews contained in the ''Live at Wacken'' DVD and in Snider's autobiography, the material was originally meant to be a solo album by Twisted Sister's lead singer, Dee Snider, but the label pushed for it to be released under the Twisted Sister name instead. The tour for the album lasted ju ...
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