Giant Step

One of legendary Indonesian progressive rock acts of the 70’s, their music showed influences of the greats of prog rock, but still managed to deliver originality. They started in early 70’s, went through a series of line-up changes with the “keepers of the flame” being Benny Soebardja and Albert Warnerin, and managed to release several albums before finally breaking up in 1986. Their best prog albums (as recommended by Denny Sakrie of M97FM) are Giant On The Move (produced by Nova Record Bandung), Kukuh Nan Teguh (Nova Record Bandung), and Persada Tercinta (Irama Tara Record). Source: LastFM

Latin Rock - Santana

Santana is a flexible number of musicians accompanying Carlos Santana since the late 1960s. Just like Santana himself, the band is known for helping make Latin rock famous in the rest of the world.The band was formed in 1966 in San Francisco. The first members were Carlos Santana (lead guitar), Tom Fraser (rhythm guitar), Mike Carabello (percussion), Rod Harper (drums & percussion), Gus Rodriguez (bass guitar) and Gregg Rolie (lead vocals & keyboards). In the following years the members of the group changed frequently for a number of reasons, and from 1971 to 1972 there was a brief separation between the group and Santana.Santana himself rarely sings in his songs despite being the leader of the band and recent hits have been frequently accompanied by a guest singer, rather than the members of the band. Details

El Chicano

El Chicano is a Latin R&B/brown-eyed soul band from Los Angeles, California, whose influences can be found in rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa.
Original members included Bobby Espinosa, Freddie Sanchez, Mickey Lespron, Andre Baeza, and John De Luna. During the 1970s, new members Ersi Arvizu, Hector "Rudy" Regalado, Max Garduno, Danny Lamonte, Brian Magness, Joe Pereria, and Jerry and Rudy Salas joined.
Their best-known songs include the jazzy "Viva Tirado", the funky "Tell Her She's Lovely" and their cover version of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl".
Their name means 'the Chicano,' a sometimes controversial word which stands for Mexican-American.
El Chicano continues to be active with a combination of original and new members and will appear in the PBS pledge break special "Trini Lopez presents the Legends of Latin Rock," along with Thee Midniters, Tierra and Gregg Rolie (of Santana and Journey fame) in the spring of 2009. Details here.

The Glory Days of Rock 'N Roll - Eddie Cochran

Raymond Edward "Eddie" Cochran (October 2, 1938–April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician and an important influence on popular music during the late 1950s, early 1960s, and beyond.Cochran was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, as Ray Edward Cochran.[1] He took music lessons in school, but quit the band to play drums. Also, rather than taking piano lessons, he began learning guitar, playing the country music he heard on the radio. In 1955, Cochran's family moved to Bell Gardens, California. As his guitar playing improved, he formed a band with two friends from his junior high school. During a show featuring many performers at an American Legion hall, he met Hank Cochran (later a country music songwriter). Although they were not related, they began performing together and recorded as The Cochran Brothers. Eddie Cochran also worked as a session musician, and began writing songs, making a "demo" with Jerry Capehart, his future manager. In 1956, Boris Petroff asked Cochran if he would appear in the musical comedy film The Girl Can't Help It. He agreed and sang a song called "Twenty Flight Rock" in the movie. In 1957, Cochran starred in his second film, "Untamed Youth" and also had his first hit, "Sittin' in the Balcony," one of the few songs he recorded that was written by another songwriter (John D. Loudermilk). ("Twenty Flight Rock" was written by AMI staff writer Ned (Nelda) Fairchild. AMI granted Cochran a co-writer credit, but no royalties, a common arrangement by which publishers move songs from demos to commercial recordings.
However, his most famous hit, "Summertime Blues" (co-written with Jerry Capehart), was an important influence on music in the late 1950s, both lyrically and musically. (The song, released on Liberty recording #55144, charted #8 on August 25, 1958.) Cochran's brief career included only a few more hits, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", "My Way", "Weekend", "Nervous Breakdown", and his posthumous UK number one hit "Three Steps to Heaven."

On Saturday, April 16, 1960, at about 11:50 p.m., while on tour in the United Kingdom, 21-year-old Cochran died in a traffic accident in a taxi (a Ford Consul, [reg. no. RBO 869], not, as widely quoted a London Hackney carriage) traveling through Chippenham, Wiltshire, England on the A4. The taxi crashed into a lamp post on Rowden Hill, where a plaque now commemorates the event (no other car was involved). He was taken to St. Martin's Hospital, Bath, but died at 4:10 p.m. the following day. Songwriter Sharon Sheeley (Cochran's fiancée) and singer Gene Vincent survived the crash.

Gene Vincent

Gene Vincent, real name Vincent Eugene Craddock, (February 11, 1935 - October 12, 1971) was an American rock'n'roll pioneer musician, best known for his hit "Be-Bop-A-Lula".His parents, Ezekiah Jackson and Mary Louise Craddock, were shop owners in Norfolk, Virginia. He grew up in Virginia under the influence of country, rhythm and blues and gospel music. He received his first guitar as a gift from a friend at the age of 12.
In 1952, Gene left school and joined the Navy. In 1955 he was stationed in Korea. In July 1955, whilst in Norfolk, he was involved in a severe motorcycle accident that shattered his left leg. He refused to have it amputated, the leg was saved, but left him with a permanent limp and considerable chronic pain for the rest of his life.

Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin "Buddy" Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959)[1] was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. The change of spelling of "Holley" to "Holly" came about because of an error in a contract he was asked to sign, listing him as Buddy Holly. That spelling was then adopted for his professional career.
Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll." His works and innovations were copied by his contemporaries and later musicians, notably The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and exerted a profound influence on popular music. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Holly #13 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Bobby Vee

Bobby Vee (born Robert Thomas Velline, April 30, 1943, Fargo, North Dakota, United States) is an American pop music singer. According to Billboard magazine Vee has had 34 Hot 100 chart hits, 10 of which hit the Top 20.
Vee's 1961 summer release "Take Good Care of My Baby" went to No.1 on the Billboard U.S. listings and number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] Known primarily as a performer of Brill Building pop material, he went on to record a string of international hits in the 1960s, including "Devil or Angel", "Rubber Ball" (1961), "More Than I Can Say" (1961), "Run To Him" (1961), "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (1963), and "Come Back When You Grow Up". When Vee recorded "Come Back When You Grow Up" in 1967, he was joined by a band called 'The Strangers'.
His first single was "Suzie Baby", an original song penned by Vee which nodded towards Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" for the Minneapolis-based Soma Records in 1959; it drew enough attention and chart action to be purchased by Liberty Records, which signed him to their label in early 1960. His follow-up single, a cover of Adam Faith's UK Number 1 "What Do You Want?" charted in the lower reaches of Billboard in early 1960; however, it was his fourth recording, a revival of The Clovers' doo-wop ballad "Devil or Angel", that brought him into the big time with U.S. buyers. His next single, "Rubber Ball", was the record that made him an international star. Source : Wikipedia