Scorpions biography

The Scorpions biography

The Scorpions are a heavy metal rock band from Germany. They are best known for a single from the 1980s called "Rock You Like A Hurricane". This band has sold over 75 million albums worldwide.

Rudolf launched the band in 1965, but things really began to come together in 1969 when Rudolf's younger brother Michael, and vocalist Klaus Meine joined in. Their debut album Lonesome Crow was a success, and the band was able to open for the British Band UFO. When Michael Schenker left the band broke up. He eventually decided he wanted to work with Uli Roth and resurrected the Scorpions.

In 1974 the new lineup of Scorpions released Fly to the Rainbow and was way more of a success than Lonesome Crow. This is where the band really began to have an established sound.

In 1975 the Scorpion released "Virgin Killer" who's album cover featured a nude prepubescent girl covered with broken glass. The cover art was designed by Stefan Bohle who was a product manager for RCA Records. This cover brought the band lots of criticism and the album was pulled and replaced in several countries. Despite the controversy music critics and fans loved the music.

more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpions_(band)

Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath biography

The band began as Polka Tulk Blues Band, and was also known as Earth before adopting Black Sabbath after bassist Geezer Butler titled one of his songs that way, inspired by a 1963 movie of the same name. The band progressed from blues rock to heavy metal to progressive as it evolved over the years. They are usually mentioned along with Led Zeppelin as pioneers of the heavy metal genre.

At a time when other bands were heavily into peace, love and flower power, Sabbath set itself apart with music about drugs, the occult, and anger at The Establishment. They were also unique in their incorporation of gothic and folk music elements. Their unique sound, coupled with Ozzy Osbourne’s wild onstage theatrics helped set the stage for today’s shock rock artists.

Osbourne left the band in 1979 and established himself as a successful solo artist. Over the next 18 years the band employed no fewer than six lead vocalists, including Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillian, David Donato, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin. Osbourne rejoined the group in 1997.

In 2006, current and former band members Iommi, Butler, Dio, and Appice announced that they would begin touring in 2007 using the name Heaven and Hell, the title of the 1980 album featuring that personnel configuration of Sabbath.