Desert Trip: An Event of a lifetime.
As the years go by, many of the music industry’s brightest lights seem to slowly pass out of the public eye. They do it because, either it is sadly their time to depart this world, or because they are not able to perform at the same level. In any case, every time this happens, it is a sad day for the industry and the world as a whole. In recent times, many such icons have been lost, including David Bowie, Prince, B.B. King and Merle Haggard, and each time people have wondered what they could have done to see these legends in concert one last time.
Even though many great artists are gone, there are still quite a few living legends that continue to make music and keep doing what they love on a daily basis. The upcoming music tour in California, called the Desert Trip is one place where true fans can go to listen to some of the most iconic names in the history of the music industry. These include Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Neil Young, The Who as well as The Rolling Stones. If you want to catch their performances for yourself, then book your Desert Trip tickets and get ready for a show that will take you back in time, when the world was ruled by Rock n Roll.
October 7, 2016
The Rolling Stones
The US music industry did not know what hit them, when the British Invasion arrived during the sixties. One after the other, talented bands from the UK came over to promote their music, as well as to play live shows across the country. One of these bands was The Rolling Stones, and little did they know that they would go on to become one of the top fifteen highest selling musical acts of all time.
Over the years, the band has gone through several different changes in the lineup yet their most famous one has featured Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica, guitar), Keith Richards (guitar, backing and lead vocals, bass guitar), Charlie Watts (drums, percussion) and Ronnie Wood (guitar, backing vocals, bass guitar). The group was formed in 1962, primarily due to the great friendship between Jagger and Richards, who had been friends and classmates since childhood. They started by jamming together, along with a few friends, who eventually got together to form The Rolling Stones.
The band released its first, self titled album, in 1964 and it didn’t take too long in travelling up the music charts in several countries around the world, coming in at number one in the UK and Australia, as well as number eleven in the US. It was also certified gold in the US and platinum in Canada, while, at the same time, it laid the base for their future records. Since then they have released a total of twenty nine studio albums, of which twenty one have made it to the top five of the UK music charts, while twenty three accomplished the same feat on the Billboard charts. Eighteen have also been certified platinum or higher in the US, with their 1978 album, “Some Girls” their highest selling record to date.
Bob Dylan
There is a long standing debate about the greatest songwriter the music industry has ever seen. Everybody has their own preferences, yet no debate is complete unless and until the name of Bob Dylan comes up. This eccentric, yet revolutionary artist has been making music for over fifty years, yet he still shows no signs of slowing down. His love for the profession has taken him all across the world, as he loves nothing more than to perform for his multitude of fans everywhere.
Bob Dylan was born as Robert Allen Zimmerman and only decided to change his name later on in life, after becoming interested in the poetry of Dylan Thomas. He grew up listening to all sorts of musical genres, but became primarily interested in folk music, which he later fused with other genres to create his own unique sound. By the age of nineteen he had already started to perform in local bars and clubs, and soon dropped out of college to pursue his passion for music full time.
Dylan released his first, self titled album in 1962 and it proved to be a disappointment in the US markets. However, it did quite well in the UK, making it to number eleven on the music charts, and enjoying silver level sales in the country. His follow-up album did even better and topped the UK music charts, all the while making it to number twenty two on the US music charts, where it also enjoyed platinum level sales later on. All in all he has released thirty seven albums to date, of which eighteen have made it into the top ten of the Billboard charts and eleven have recorded platinum level sales in the US.
October 8th, 2016
Paul McCartney
There might be some people in the world who are not interested in music, yet it is almost impossible that even they don’t know about the Beatles. Considered to be the greatest band of all time, the group ruled the music charts during their decade long reign in the music industry and even managed to become the highest selling musical act of all time. And during all this success, they had the talented Paul McCartney to not only write and sing most of their songs, but also play the bass guitar, guitar, keyboards and the drums.
McCartney is widely considered to be the heartbeat of the Beatles, and as a result he enjoyed great success after leaving the band. He continued his amazing songwriting exploits, and released his debut self-titled effort within a few months of leaving the band. The album topped the Billboard charts and made it to number two on the UK music charts, all the while recording multi-platinum sales in the US. Since then he has released a total of twenty four albums, sixteen of which have made it into the top ten of the Billboard charts and eight have been certified platinum in the US.
McCartney’s amazing success does not stop with just his music. He is a two time inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has won a whopping twenty one Grammy Awards to date. He has also performed in over fifteen World Tours, which have taken him to almost all the different corners of the earth, with Coachella just another stop in his long and storied career.
Neil Young
Rock and Roll music ruled the world at one time, and as a result saw an influx of incredible vocalists that enthralled audiences, and made live shows come to life. There are many today who can lay claim to the title of the best in history, but if somebody truly deserves it, then it has to be the amazing Neil Young. With over fifty years of experience in the field, this is one singer who has shown again and again that he is not afraid to experiment with his sound and has released some of the most diverse records rock and roll has ever seen.
Neil Percival Young was born in 1945 and grew up mostly in Canada. He had a difficult childhood, with his parent breaking up early on in his life and he even went on to contract polio. However his parent’s divorce led him to take an active interest in music and he took it all in. He did not care what was on the radio, as long as it was good music, and thus developed his lifelong tendency to experiment constantly with his sound. It wasn’t long before he gave up his studies and started touring around the country performing as a solo artist, finally getting his big break in 1965.
Young has been a member of several different bands throughout his career, primarily with ‘Buffalo Springfield’ and ‘Cosby, Stills, Nash and Young’. However he released his first solo album in 1969, and was surprised when it failed to do well. So he released its follow-up record “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” only a few months later. This record received much better reception and was even certified platinum in the US. He has since released a total of thirty six albums, with his latest effort, “The Monsanto Years” coming out in 2015.
October 9th, 2016
Roger Waters
There are rock bands, jazz bands, folk bands, and then there is Pink Floyd. What they managed to do in the recording studio could not be categorized, as they transcended genres and created something that was completely their own. And behind their success was the ever present genius of Roger Waters. Considered perhaps the greatest songwriter of all time, he helped turn the band into a world famous musical act, which managed to sell over two hundred and fifty milliom albums to become the seventh highest selling artists in history.
Waters was born in 1943 and was raised by his mother, after his father died in the Second World War. Growing up he never had an interest in his studies, and focused most of his energies on learning to play various musical instruments. By the time he turned twenty two, he had already formed Pink Floyd with a group of friends. Starting from their second album, he began to take a more proactive interest in their musical direction, as well as songwriting. With them he made twelve albums, including two of the highest selling records of all time, “The Dark Side of the Moon” in 1973 and “The Wall” in 1979.
Waters released his first solo album, “The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking” in 1984 and saw it get to number thirteen on the UK music charts. It was also certified gold in the US and led to the release of two more albums. His last album “Amused to Death” is his best selling record to date, as it made it to number eight in the UK and enjoyed gold level sales in Canada and Australia.
The Who
If ever a band divided opinion, it was The Who. Many did not get their appeal, yet they still managed to become the voice of a generation and made some of the most catchy rock n roll songs in history. They also became world renowned due to their crazy antics during live shows and their tendency to break instruments at the end of every concert. They were truly, one of a kind.
The most popular lineup of the band consisted of four main members. These included Roger Daltrey (guitar, vocals, harmonica, percussion), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals, keyboards, synthesizer), John Entwistle (bass guitar, vocals, brass instrument, keyboards, synthesizer) and Keith Moon (drums). Today, the band consists of only the first two artists, who have been playing together since their inception over fifty years ago.
The Who released their debut album “My Generation” in 1965 and saw it make it to number five on the UK music charts. They have since released ten more albums, of which eight have made it into the top ten of the UK and Billboard music charts. Six have also enjoyed platinum or multi-platinum sales in the US, with their 1971 album “Who’s Next” their best selling album to date.
A party in the desert
Combined, these six incredible artists have over three hundred years of experience in the music industry and they are all going to be coming together at the Desert Trip for a performance of mammoth proportions. Two weekends, with back to back shows of some of the greatest musicians of all time, make for one epic party. For true music fans, this presents an opportunity to grab Desert Trip tickets and see their idols on the stage as well as a chance to enjoy the greatest party in the desert ever.
