Biography of Peter Tosh

In the early Wailers lineup, Winston Hubert McIntosh (Peter Tosh) stood apart from the other members not only because of his six-foot-plus height but because of his boasty-boy attitude. He was known as the "stepping razor" after a song Joe Higgs had written, and his knife-sharp temper could whittle many a bad man down to size. But he had a soft, extremely humorous side as well, as evidenced in his frequent word play: he complained about the "crime ministers who sh*t in the House of Represent-a-Thief" and called America "A-sada-ca, because there is nothing merry about it." Tosh joined up with Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley in 1962, and they rehearsed nearly two years before they made their Studio One debut with "Simmer Down." Tosh played guitar, melodica, piano, and organ on many of their early tracks, and even played behind American pop star Johnny Nash's Columbia Records sessions in the late '60s, when Nash had hired the Wailers as songwriters. By 1973, Tosh felt the need to pursue a solo career because of the mass of material he had written and his dissatisfaction with Island Records boss Chris Blackwell. Legalize It was his debut in 1976, remaking many of his earlier Jamaican recordings and giving the marijuana movement its most potent anthem in the title track, which Tosh would perform not once but twice in his '70s live concerts.A firm opponent of the hypocritical "sh*tstem," Tosh was a favorite target of Babylon's legal forces. Police in Jamaica beat him nearly to death on at least three occasions, and he bore the scars till his death. Equal Rights, 1977's follow-up, provided a key line that echoed 15 years later in the mouths of L.A. rioters: "I don't want no peace, I want equal rights and justice!" The Rolling Stones, impressed by Tosh's ferocious and unflinching posture, signed him to their fledgling label and released Bush Doctor in 1978, another series of hymns and harangues. Mystic Man (1979) and Wanted: Dread & Alive (1981) kept a militant attitude while trying to cross over to the mainstream that Marley had conquered, without achieving anything near Marley's success. Following 1983's Mama Africa and a live album from that tour, Tosh disappeared for four years, seeking advice from traditional medicine men in Africa and trying to extricate himself from various recording agreements when he found his records released in South Africa against provisions in his contracts. In 1987, shortly after the release of No Nuclear War, Tosh was assassinated at his home in Kingston. Only one of the three gunmen responsible was arrested; he was sentenced to hang after a brief trial. Like Marley, Tosh left at least ten children and no will. A brilliant documentary, Peter Tosh: Red X-Stepping Razor, was released in 1992. ~ Roger Steffens

Biography of Peter Tosh

In the early Wailers lineup, Winston Hubert McIntosh (Peter Tosh) stood apart from the other members not only because of his six-foot-plus height but because of his boasty-boy attitude. He was known as the "stepping razor" after a song Joe Higgs had written, and his knife-sharp temper could whittle many a bad man down to size. But he had a soft, extremely humorous side as well, as evidenced in his frequent word play: he complained about the "crime ministers who sh*t in the House of Represent-a-Thief" and called America "A-sada-ca, because there is nothing merry about it." Tosh joined up with Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley in 1962, and they rehearsed nearly two years before they made their Studio One debut with "Simmer Down." Tosh played guitar, melodica, piano, and organ on many of their early tracks, and even played behind American pop star Johnny Nash's Columbia Records sessions in the late '60s, when Nash had hired the Wailers as songwriters. By 1973, Tosh felt the need to pursue a solo career because of the mass of material he had written and his dissatisfaction with Island Records boss Chris Blackwell. Legalize It was his debut in 1976, remaking many of his earlier Jamaican recordings and giving the marijuana movement its most potent anthem in the title track, which Tosh would perform not once but twice in his '70s live concerts.A firm opponent of the hypocritical "sh*tstem," Tosh was a favorite target of Babylon's legal forces. Police in Jamaica beat him nearly to death on at least three occasions, and he bore the scars till his death. Equal Rights, 1977's follow-up, provided a key line that echoed 15 years later in the mouths of L.A. rioters: "I don't want no peace, I want equal rights and justice!" The Rolling Stones, impressed by Tosh's ferocious and unflinching posture, signed him to their fledgling label and released Bush Doctor in 1978, another series of hymns and harangues. Mystic Man (1979) and Wanted: Dread & Alive (1981) kept a militant attitude while trying to cross over to the mainstream that Marley had conquered, without achieving anything near Marley's success. Following 1983's Mama Africa and a live album from that tour, Tosh disappeared for four years, seeking advice from traditional medicine men in Africa and trying to extricate himself from various recording agreements when he found his records released in South Africa against provisions in his contracts. In 1987, shortly after the release of No Nuclear War, Tosh was assassinated at his home in Kingston. Only one of the three gunmen responsible was arrested; he was sentenced to hang after a brief trial. Like Marley, Tosh left at least ten children and no will. A brilliant documentary, Peter Tosh: Red X-Stepping Razor, was released in 1992. ~ Roger Steffens

Biography of Mick Jagger

As the lead singer for the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger was one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of rock & roll. Jagger fronted the Rolling Stones for over 20 years before he began a solo career in 1985. At the time of the release of his debut solo album, She's the Boss, it appeared that the Stones may have been approaching the end of their career, but it soon transpired that Jagger's solo career would run concurrently with that of the band's. Over the next decade, he released a string of solo albums, none of which achieved the commercial success of the Stones' less popular releases. Jagger met his life-long collaborator Keith Richards when they were attending Datford Maypole County Primary School as children. They met again as teenagers in 1960, discovering they shared a love of Amercian blues, rock & roll and R&B. At the time, Jagger was a student at the London School of Economics and was playing with a London band called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Within two year, Jagger and Richards had formed the Rolling Stones. During the course of the '60s, the Rolling Stones as the only rock & roll band to rival the popularity of the Beatles. In the process, they cultivated an image as the most dangerous band in rock & roll, a status that was only confirmed not only by the band's reckless, decadent behavior, but also by Jagger's lyrical obsessions with sex and violence. In the early '70s, Jagger began to break away from the group. He had become the most famous member of the Stones, paritially due to his role as the band's lead singer, but also due to his immersion in the jet-set life-style, where he became a familiar figure in New York art circles and Hollywood. Jagger began acting toward the end of the '60s, first in the Australian film Ned Kelly and then in Performance, which contained his most celebrated performance. After his brief foray into film, Jagger concentrated on singing with the Stones and being a celebrity, appearing in mainstream gossip columns as frequently as music publications.During the early '80s, Jagger and Richards conflicted over the musical direction of the band. Jagger wanted to move the band in a more pop and dance-oriented direction while Richards wanted to stay true to the band's rock & roll and blues roots. By 1984, Jagger had begun recording a solo album where he pursued a more mainstream, dance-inflected pop direction. The resulting album, She's the Boss, was released in 1985. Jagger filmed a number of state-of-the-art videos for the album, which all received heavy airplay from MTV, helping propel the record's first single "Just Another Night" to number 12 and the album to platinum status. "Lucky In Love," the second single from the album, wasn't quite as successful, just scraping the bottom of the Top 40. In the summer of 1985, Jagger and David Bowie recorded a cover of Martha & the Vandella's "Dancing in the Street" for the Live Aid organization. The single peaked at number seven on the US pop charts; all the proceeds from its sale were donated to Live Aid.Around the same time the Rolling Stones' released their 1986 album, Dirty Work, Jagger released the theme song from the movie Ruthless People as a single (it peaked at number 51) and told Richards that the Stones would not tour to support Dirty Work. For the next few years, Jagger and Richards barely spoke to each other and sniped at the other in the press. During this time, Jagger tried to make his solo career as successful as the Rolling Stones, pouring all of his energy into his second solo album, 1987's Primitive Cool. Although the album received stronger reviews than She's the Boss, only one of the singles -- "Let's Work" -- scraped the bottom of the Top 40 and the record didn't go gold. Following the commercial failure of Primitive Cool, Jagger returned to the fold of the Rolling Stones in 1989, recording, releasing, and touring the Steel Wheels album. Steel Wheels was a massively successful venture and after the tour was completed, the Stones entered a slow period, where each of the members pursued solo projects. Jagger recorded his third solo album with Rick Rubin, who had previously worked with the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The resulting solo album, Wandering Spirit, was released in 1993 and received the strongest reviews of any of Jagger's solo efforts. The album entered the US charts at number 11 and went gold the year it was released. A year after the release of Wandering Spirit, the Stones reunited and released Voodoo Lounge, supporting the album with another extensive international tour. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Biography of Mick Jagger

As the lead singer for the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger was one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of rock & roll. Jagger fronted the Rolling Stones for over 20 years before he began a solo career in 1985. At the time of the release of his debut solo album, She's the Boss, it appeared that the Stones may have been approaching the end of their career, but it soon transpired that Jagger's solo career would run concurrently with that of the band's. Over the next decade, he released a string of solo albums, none of which achieved the commercial success of the Stones' less popular releases. Jagger met his life-long collaborator Keith Richards when they were attending Datford Maypole County Primary School as children. They met again as teenagers in 1960, discovering they shared a love of Amercian blues, rock & roll and R&B. At the time, Jagger was a student at the London School of Economics and was playing with a London band called Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys. Within two year, Jagger and Richards had formed the Rolling Stones. During the course of the '60s, the Rolling Stones as the only rock & roll band to rival the popularity of the Beatles. In the process, they cultivated an image as the most dangerous band in rock & roll, a status that was only confirmed not only by the band's reckless, decadent behavior, but also by Jagger's lyrical obsessions with sex and violence. In the early '70s, Jagger began to break away from the group. He had become the most famous member of the Stones, paritially due to his role as the band's lead singer, but also due to his immersion in the jet-set life-style, where he became a familiar figure in New York art circles and Hollywood. Jagger began acting toward the end of the '60s, first in the Australian film Ned Kelly and then in Performance, which contained his most celebrated performance. After his brief foray into film, Jagger concentrated on singing with the Stones and being a celebrity, appearing in mainstream gossip columns as frequently as music publications.During the early '80s, Jagger and Richards conflicted over the musical direction of the band. Jagger wanted to move the band in a more pop and dance-oriented direction while Richards wanted to stay true to the band's rock & roll and blues roots. By 1984, Jagger had begun recording a solo album where he pursued a more mainstream, dance-inflected pop direction. The resulting album, She's the Boss, was released in 1985. Jagger filmed a number of state-of-the-art videos for the album, which all received heavy airplay from MTV, helping propel the record's first single "Just Another Night" to number 12 and the album to platinum status. "Lucky In Love," the second single from the album, wasn't quite as successful, just scraping the bottom of the Top 40. In the summer of 1985, Jagger and David Bowie recorded a cover of Martha & the Vandella's "Dancing in the Street" for the Live Aid organization. The single peaked at number seven on the US pop charts; all the proceeds from its sale were donated to Live Aid.Around the same time the Rolling Stones' released their 1986 album, Dirty Work, Jagger released the theme song from the movie Ruthless People as a single (it peaked at number 51) and told Richards that the Stones would not tour to support Dirty Work. For the next few years, Jagger and Richards barely spoke to each other and sniped at the other in the press. During this time, Jagger tried to make his solo career as successful as the Rolling Stones, pouring all of his energy into his second solo album, 1987's Primitive Cool. Although the album received stronger reviews than She's the Boss, only one of the singles -- "Let's Work" -- scraped the bottom of the Top 40 and the record didn't go gold. Following the commercial failure of Primitive Cool, Jagger returned to the fold of the Rolling Stones in 1989, recording, releasing, and touring the Steel Wheels album. Steel Wheels was a massively successful venture and after the tour was completed, the Stones entered a slow period, where each of the members pursued solo projects. Jagger recorded his third solo album with Rick Rubin, who had previously worked with the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The resulting solo album, Wandering Spirit, was released in 1993 and received the strongest reviews of any of Jagger's solo efforts. The album entered the US charts at number 11 and went gold the year it was released. A year after the release of Wandering Spirit, the Stones reunited and released Voodoo Lounge, supporting the album with another extensive international tour. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine