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Haoulou in prison
Cheb Mami (1966) is an Algerian raï singer. Raï is a music style that originated in the 1930’s in Oran (Algeria) from Bedouin shepherds. Singers of raï are called cheb (young) as opposed to sheikh (old), the name given to Chaabi singers.
At the age of 16 Cheb Mami sang in a singing competition organised by Radio Télevision Algérienne. Mami received a standing ovation from the audience, but the jury who even denied the existence of raï, awarded the first prize to another candidate. But in 1985 there was the recognition of the genre by the Algerian authorities at the First Oran Raï Festival.
Here you’ve got Cheb Mami live with “Haoulou”:
He worked often with other musicians, i.e. he sang the backing on Stings’ “Desert Rose”. And vice versa Sting did the backing on Mami’s song “Le Raï C'est Chic”.
Cheb Mami is currently imprisoned in France, where he was found guilty of drugging and attempting to force a former partner to undergo an abortion. A court in Paris found him guilty and sent him to prison for 5 years.
Leningrad Clowns
Billy Joel (1949) is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. His work is strongly influenced by classical music. His lyrics were strongly inspired by his own experiences in life. Fore example his first known song “Piano Man” is based on his own experiences as a pianist in a piano bar in the 70’s. Here he is playing the song live at Tokyo Dome in November 2006.
Another example is his song “Leningrad” which is about a Russian clown with a sad life named Viktor who he met while touring in the Soviet Union in 1987. He came from a large family and lost his father during World War II. Viktor was enlisted into the Red Army, drank Vodka to suppress the pain, and then became a circus clown, bringing joy to the Russian children. Throughout the song, Billy Joel compared items of his and Viktor's lives to show the cultural difference of the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
We also have The Leningrad Cowboys. It is a Finnish rock band famous for its humorous songs, ludicrous hairstyles and concerts featuring the Russian military band Alexandrov ensemble.
The band was an invention of the Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki, contributing music in his short films, i.e. "Rocky VI" and appearing as a fictional band in the short film "L.A. Woman" and in the film “Leningrad Cowboys Go America”. After the film, they became a real band, recording music, making videos and giving concerts.
In 1994, the band appeared together with 70 members of the Alexandrov ensemble at the 11th annual MTV Music Awards, where they played “Sweet Home Alabama” (with a giant balalaika):
Blackhearts & Modern Lovers
Also Jerry Harrison was a member (keyboard player and guitarist) of Talking Heads. He is an American songwriter and musician and he was also an original member of The Modern Lovers, a group led by Jonathan Richman.
Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers are seen as a forerunner of punk rock, i.e. The Sex Pistols and Joan Jett have covered their song “Roadrunner”. But the group is widely known for “Egyptian Reggae”, a version of the reggae song "None Shall Escape the Judgment" by Jamaican musician Earl Zero:
And this is how Joan Jett looked and sounded in 1982, here she is with her version of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”, a 1975 song originally by The Arrows, an English American band named after the logo of The Who:
In 2007 Joan Jett opened shows for Aerosmith and in 2008 for Def Leppard. In 2010 she will release a greatest hits album including a couple of new tracks.
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