Music of Florida
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Florida's ethnic diversity has led to myriad musical styles from punk rock to salsa and heavy metal being popular in various parts of the state.
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Early recording industry[edit]
The Miami recording industry began in the 1970s with Criteria Studios, which produced such noteworthy recordings as Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and Hotel California by The Eagles. Long-time local music entrepreneur Henry Stone and his label TK Records created the local indie scene in the 1970s. Also winter albums by Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, and Grand Funk Railroad, who were all Michigan bands down for the winters. T. K. Records produced the R&B group KC and the Sunshine Band along with soul singers Betty Wright, George McCrae and Jimmy "Bo" Horne as well as a number of minor soul and disco hits, many influenced by Caribbean music. In the 1970s and early 1980s Jacksonville saw a very active music recording scene with Southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet, The Allman Brothers Band, 38 Special, The Outlaws, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Bellamy Brothers also recorded their style of country music in the mid to late 1970s. They originated from Darby, Florida, just north of Tampa in Pasco County.
Floridian Rap[edit]
Many underground rappers, like Trick Daddy, come from little-known cities & towns like Liberty City, an African-American and Latino neighborhood in northern Miami. One other is the young Haitian-American rapper/producer Kidd Adamz from Scott Lake. Other mainstream South Florida rappers are Rick Ross, Krysis, Tone Ace Hood, Plies, Trina, Cool & Dre, Flo Rida, Jacki-O, and Stack$. North Florida also has rappers who have achieved success, though not at the rate of South Florida. To date, the only notable rapper from North Florida is T-Pain from Tallahassee. Orlando and Tampa have produced many rappers who are not in the mainstream.
R&B[edit]
Artists such as Sammie, Kirby Maurier & Black Dada are from Florida. Sammie's hit song "I Like It" & Black Dada's "Imma Zoe" have reached Billboard's Top 100 Songs and have been broadcast on network television networks B.E.T., MTV & T.V. One. Another well known artist is Pleasure P
Pop/Teen Pop[edit]
From Northern Florida we have the Backstreet Boys who hailed from Orlando, Florida of the late 1990s and are still growing strong. We also have N'Sync who came from Orlando as well. N'Sync were formed in 1995-2002. We also have the girl group Exposé from the late 1980s.
Latin pop[edit]
There are many Latinos in Florida, and an especially high number of Cubans in cities like Miami. The regional Latin music industry includes a wide variety of traditional and popular Cuban styles, as well as other Latin music genres. The Cuban community has produced traditional performers like Cachao and Israel Kantor, as well as mainstream pop stars like Gloria Estefan. Estefan is the most famous musician to come from the Miami pop industry; others include Willie Chirino and Albita Rodríguez.[1]
Florida breaks[edit]
Florida breaks is a genre of breakbeat music originating in the state of Florida. It is particularly popular in the Orlando and Tampa Bay areas. In the latter, it is referred to as Tampa Breaks.
Miami bass[edit]
Miami bass is a booming, bass-heavy hip hop music that developed in the mid-1980s in Miami. Innovators on the scene included DJ Laz, while the scene eventually gained prominence through the Miami Bass group Luther Campbell's 2 Live Crew. The lyrics to Miami bass were often sexually explicit, and when 2 Live Crew began to achieve national attention, the words to their songs caused a controversy after several stores were prosecuted under obscenity laws for selling the disc, and members of 2 Live Crew were arrested for performing songs from the album Nasty As They Wanna Be.[1] And Premier DJ, DJ Laz with many CDs on the market now.
Rock[edit]
Guitarist Tom Petty was born, and grew up, in Gainesville. Most of the members of three bands he recorded with - The Epics, The Heartbreakers, and Mudcrutch - were also from Florida, mainly from in and around Gainesville and North Florida.
A number of popular rock bands of the mid- to late-1990s got their start in Florida. Two of the most notable of these are Rock/Alternative/Post-Grunge band Matchbox Twenty, who originate from Orlando, and rock band Creed, who hail from Tallahassee along with Mayday Parade.
Usually associated with what has become known as the new wave of popular alternative music is Chris Carrabba and his band, Dashboard Confessional from Boca Raton. Dashboard Confessional quickly became popular with their pop rock music in the early 2000s. His former band, Further Seems Forever, is also a popular indie rock band from Pompano Beach.
Marilyn Manson was created in the city of Fort Lauderdale, where they were discovered by Trent Reznor who went on to produce their debut album, "A Portrait of An American Family".
Platinum-selling pop punk band New Found Glory are from Coral Springs, Florida, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
The band Less than Jake is from Gainesville, Fl.
Shinedown hails from Jacksonville, Florida
Alter Bridge is from Orlando, Florida.
Country[edit]
Florida is the home of several notable country musicians and musical acts.
Country legend Mel Tillis was born in Darby, a small rural community in northeastern Hillsborough County. His daughter Pam Tillis, also a country music star, was born in nearby Plant City, Florida.
The Bellamy Brothers, a duet act that hit number one on the country charts several times before topping the Billboard Pop chart with their cross-over hit "Let Your Love Flow" in 1976, also hail from Darby. Close friend Bobby Braddock, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame with multiple number ones to his credit, was born in Lakeland, in Polk County, and grew up in nearby Auburndale.
Kent Lavoie, better known by his stage name, Lobo, hit Number One on the Billboard Pop chart in 1971 with "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo". He was born in Tallahassee and grew up in Winter Haven. While attending the University of South Florida, Lavoie formed a band called The Rumors with Jim Stafford and Gram Parsons.
The still-influential Parsons was born in Winter Haven and exclusive The Bolles School in Jacksonville. He had an central role in the legendary rock-and-roll scene of the 1960s, being friends or collaborating on projects with notables from Mick Jagger to Linda Ronstadt to Johnny "Guitar" Watson to the Kingston Trio. He famously tried to rescue Michelle Phillips by helicopter from the mayhem at the notorious Altamont Music Festival in 1969. One of his songs is included in Gimme Shelter, a documentary about the events at Altamont. Parsons was a member of the legendary English band The Byrds, and was also part of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Later, with some friends from Harvard University, he formed the folk/country band The International Submarine Band. Still later he toured extensively with Emmylou Harris before his death, at 26.
Jim Stafford, born in Eloise, grew up in Winter Haven, was a prominent country performer in the 1970s. He had his own television show, "The Jim Stafford Show" in 1975, as well as co-hosting Those Amazing Animals with Burgess Meredith and Priscilla Presley, and making regular guest appearances on The Tonight Show and other programs.
Punk[edit]
Florida has experienced periods in which punk rock flourished. Based in Gainesville, Fort Lauderdale/Miami, Tampa and other cities, hardcore punk gained a widespread following. One of the first bands in this style is believed to be Roach Motel of Gainesville, but The Eat, from Hialeah, had formed around 1978-79. Rat Cafeteria (Tampa), Sector 4, Hated Youth, and Paisley Death Camp (all from Tallahassee), No Fraud (Venice), F (Fort Lauderdale), Morbid Opera (Miami) and Crucial Truth (Pompano Beach) also gained an audience and some had songs compiled on the album We Can't Help It If We're From Florida. The band F continues to play and release new material today (www.foff.net) and The Eat occasionally play shows in South Florida. A short-lived project that garnered a bit of national attention in the late 90's was the Infamous Plastic People (featuring Mikee Plastik), that formed out of Brandon, FL. Mosquito Teeth are from St. Petersburg, FL.
Hardcore bands from Orlando 1983-1989 included Dissent, Damage, The Bully Boys, Florida's Unwanted Children, Sewer Side Rouges, Declared Ungovernable, The Damn Maniacs, and The Genitorturers.
Gainesville and Jacksonville had very active punk scenes in the 1990s. Less Than Jake, Against Me! and Hot Water Music are from Gainesville, while Yellowcard, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Evergreen Terrace are from Jacksonville, and Fake Problems are from Naples. Other Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, and Metalcore bands from Florida include: Against All Authority, Anberlin, Underoath, Kids Like Us, Combatwoundedveteran, Poison the Well, Assholeparade, The Holy Mountain, and Shai Hulud.
The bands Sleeping With Sirens, Blood on the Dancefloor, and The Ready Set also formed in Florida.
Tribute bands[edit]
In recent years a wave of tribute acts has emerged from primarily the Tampa Bay area and South Florida.
Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band ( Nuthin' Fancy ) [1] is the top of the heap for Southern Rock bands. Opening for Molly Hatchet and Marshall Tucker in Nov. 2011 they have enhanced their following at Biker festivals and top local bars. The group is based in Clearwater, Fla.
AC/DC tribute band HIGHWAY TO HELL [2] has led the pack playing many notable venues and festivals and sharing the stage with Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams of AC/DC in Sarasota, Florida in 2007. A tribute to Van Halen called 1984 and Mötley Crüe tribute Carnival of Crue[2] has emerged. These acts along with several others can be found here[3]
Florida Journey tribute acts include [[4] Tribute to Journey Odyssey Road] which is currently the most famous Journey tribute act in the U.S.A. with a national CD release, Odyssey Road have gained national attention from the Film and Commercial industry as the goto alternative masters for the Music of Journey. The band was formed in 2009 and currently tours internationally and has performed at some of the most prestigious events such as The Orange Bowl, SunFest, and soon to be announced national tour featuring the best of the best tributes in the U.S. 2014. One of the most respected for their live performance and authentic look is Journey Tribute Never Stop Believin' who has a singer that looks and sounds like Steve Perry. These acts have been playing notable festivals like Gasparilla, Biketoberfest, and more.
Some of the most successful tribute bands in Florida tend to be the contemporary acts like a Billy Joel[5] tribute or a Jimmy Buffett show.[6]
Indie rock[edit]
Indie bands Mortimer Nova, Surfer Blood, Iron & Wine, Copeland, The Drums, and Two Years Till Tomorrow are from Florida, as well as Fake Problems from Naples. In addition to the nationally recognized talent this area has produced, an indie/americana scene is also popular in and around the Central Florida area. Another Indie Florida band was The Generators from Orlando, active from 1985 to 1992. The Generators were included on Breakout USA a Best Unsigned Band C.D. issues by the Westwood Radio Network in 1990. The Generators went on to work with Chris Wardman (producer) and Swell Entertainment of Canada. They recorded and released one album for Capitol/EMI Canada titled "Now Available in Paperback". In the mid-2000s Electric President and Black Kids emerged out of the Jacksonville Beach indie scene. Florida progressive rock/indie rock band Tides of Man have produced two albums and are currently signed to Rise Records from Portland, Oregon. Indie Band Food of the Future is from the Tampa area and was founded in 2010.
Heavy metal[edit]
Tampa has produced extreme metal artists such as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Obituary, Hate Eternal, Monstrosity, Assück, Nocturnus, Atheist, Kamelot, Iced Earth, Acheron and Trivium.
Tampa is also home to the infamous Morrisound Studios. Records such as Deicide's debut album, Deicide; Morbid Angel's debut album Altars of Madness, Scream Bloody Gore from Death, as well as many other death metal albums.
Ft. Lauderdale has produced a few metal bands as well, such as Kult ov Azazel and, Hibernus Mortis.
Progressive death metal act Cynic, come from Miami
Orlando is notable for producing Death, one of the most definitive death metal acts in the scene. Trivium is also from Orlando.
Also the metal band Savatage hails from the city of Tarpon Springs. Having produced many albums back in the early 1980s up to the death of co-founder and guitarist Criss Oliva in 1993, Savatage was one of the most successful underground bands to come out of Florida. Singer Jon Oliva went on to create the highly successful Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Nu metal act Nonpoint is from Fort Lauderdale and Limp Bizkit from Jacksonville. Skrape came from Orlando.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie (1999). Music USA: The Rough Guide. The Rough Guides. ISBN 1-85828-421-X.
- ^ http://www.maximumbands.com/carnivalofcrue.html
- ^ http://www.www.maximumbands.com/tribute.html
- ^ http://www.odysseyroadband.com
- ^ http://www.maximumbands.com/piano_man.html
- ^ http://www.maximumbands.com/caribbean_chillers.html
1308 Productions: www.1308productions.org
External links[edit]
- Henry Stone Music
- The Florida Folklife Collections, which features examples from the various musical genres native to Florida
- Lakeside Jazz Festival - Port Orange, Florida
- Clearwater Jazz Holiday, Clearwater, Florida
- FloridaPunkRock.com - History of Florida Punk rock
- Gig Mag FL, Florida Music Source
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