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Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 - August 24, 1978) was born into a musical family in New Orleans. His family emigrated from Sicily, Italy, and after a brief stay in Argentina settled in the United States. Prima studied violin for several years as a child. His older brother Leon was a well regarded local bandleader. Prima was proud of his heritage, and made a point of letting the audience know at every performance that he was Italian-American and from New Orleans. Read more on Last.fm

Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits, in Pomona, California, on December 7, 1949) is a prolific American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit 'n' sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation, novelists like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Bukowski. Waits is often compared to Charles Bukowski, being similar both in content and lifestyle Read more on Last.fm

Cat Stevens is the former stage name of Steven Demetre Georgiou (born in London on 21 July 1948). He is a British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, humanitarian and education philanthropist. In December 1977, Stevens converted to Islam and adopted the name Yusuf Islam the following year. He began releasing music as Yusuf in 2006. Stevens' albums Tea for the Tillerman (1970) and Teaser and the Firecat (1971) were both certified triple platinum in the US by the RIAA. Read more on Last.fm

Cream was a British rock supergroup formed in London in 1966. The group consisted of bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Jack Bruce was the primary songwriter and vocalist, with contributions from Clapton and Baker. The band members had previously been part of successful groups, and Cream is often recognized as one of the first supergroups. The band was known for the instrumental skills of its members. During their career from 1966 to 1968 Read more on Last.fm

The Smashing Pumpkins is an American alternative rock band from Chicago. The band was formed in 1988 by Billy Corgan and James Iha, with bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joining shortly after. Despite going through many lineup changes, the current lineup is identical to the original, with the exception of Wretzky, who would end up leaving the band just before their initial breakup in 2000. Disavowing the punk rock roots of many of their alt-rock contemporaries Read more on Last.fm

Polly Jean "PJ" Harvey, born 9 October 1969, is an English singer-songwriter. She is known primarily as a vocalist and guitarist, and is skilled in playing multiple instruments. Harvey started her music career in 1988 by joining the local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist, and saxophonist. John Parish, the band's frontman, has remained a long-term collaborator with her. In 1991, she formed a trio called PJ Harvey, marking the beginning of her career under that name. Read more on Last.fm

Reverend Albert Green (born April 13 1946 in Forrest City, Arkansas) is an American Grammy award winning soul and gospel singer who enjoyed great popularity in the 70s with hit singles such as "Let's Stay Together", Tired of Being Alone", and "You Oughta Be With Me". Green has boasted a voice capable of both fluid high streams of sugar and deep south growls and rasps. He has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and he was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 Read more on Last.fm

Department of Eagles began in 2001, when Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus were randomly assigned to live together by New York University. During their academically lax spring semester, they made an "album" of beat-type songs best described as "What DJ Shadow's retarded little brother would sound like." Nevertheless, a small record company in California heard the CDR and wanted to release a couple of 7" singles. Around that time, a friend's father, Jeff Saltzman, invited the group to record in his new studio. Read more on Last.fm

Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits, in Pomona, California, on December 7, 1949) is a prolific American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit 'n' sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation, novelists like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Bukowski. Waits is often compared to Charles Bukowski, being similar both in content and lifestyle Read more on Last.fm

The Flaming Lips is an American neo-psychedelic band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States in 1983. Throughout their career, band members have come and gone, but currently The Flaming Lips consist of original members Wayne Coyne (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Michael Ivins (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), along with members Steven Drozd (drums, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Derek Brown (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). Read more on Last.fm