BANDS FROM PA THAT MADE IT BIG

[moxham123]

The Del Vikings were formed and based out of Pittsburgh by a group of Air Force men who met while stationed at Pittsburgh Air Force Base in the mid 50's and one of them was from Philadelphia.

[Brian of the Clan Plush]

one of my favorite bands from the late 80's/early 90's, the Ocean Blue, were from Hershey...they were popular on MTV's "120 minutes"

...at first I was afraid to post this, for fear of showing my 90's college rock/alternative roots, but after Hall & Oats (who I also love) I figured the wall had come down

[DrumAndDestroy]

wasn't the guy who invented tae-bo from PA? that should count for something at least on the gay-o-meter.

[moxham123]

Two more from Pittsburgh

Jimmy Beaumont and The Skyliners were from Pittsburgh. They had lots of hits including "Since I Don't Have You" and "This I Swear".

Reb Beach (born Richard Earl Beach, Jr. in Pittsburgh, PA on August 31, 1963) has played guitar and recorded with with Winger, Whitesnake, Dokken, Alice Cooper, The Bee Gees, Fiona, Howard Jones, Twisted Sister, Chaka Khan, The Mob, and many others.

[Ron]

Dave Weiner, who plays guitar alongside Steve Vai on Vai's live tours, is from Philly. Very cool guy with a not-so-cool name.

[bassist_25]

Dude, I miss 120 Minutes. You could see a lot of stuff on there that wouldn't get played in more mainstream media. That's where I first heard fIREHOSE and the awesome bassness of Mike Watt.

[VENTGtr]

That's where I first heard fIREHOSE and the awesome bassness of Mike Watt.

YES! fIREHOSE was incredible!

[oobie]

Davey Jones of the Monkees was from Selinsgrove i believe.

[VENTGtr]

Actually, Davey Jones was from Britian, but he has property
out that way, ya.

[moxham123]

Davey Jones of the Monkees was from Selinsgrove i believe.

Davey Jones lives in Pennsylvania now but he is from England.

How many of you remember a band from the Lancaster area called The Sharks in the 80's? The Sharks won MTV's Basement Tapes contest - awarding them a four-song EP contract with Electra Records, $30,000 worth of recording gear, and a high-budget video.

[VENTGtr]

How many of you remember a band from the Lancaster area called The Sharks in the 80's?

Ya, they just did a reunion not so long ago, I believe.

Do Screaming Blue Messiahs count?

[Victor Synn]

Dio was supposedly born in Shamokin, but his family relocated shortly after he was born.

[Brian of the Clan Plush]

Reb Beach (born Richard Earl Beach, Jr. in Pittsburgh, PA on August 31, 1963) has played guitar and recorded with with Winger, Whitesnake, Dokken, Alice Cooper, The Bee Gees, Fiona, Howard Jones, Twisted Sister, Chaka Khan, The Mob, and many others.

Reb played a solo show last year at the Brewery in State College

[moxham123]

Crack The Sky is from PA and is currently based out of Stewartstown, PA.

Christina Aguilera was raised in Rochester, PA outside of Pittsburgh from the time she was 7 years old.

George Benson, jazz guitarist, is from Pittsburgh.

Chris Kirkpatrick from 'n Sync is from Clarion.

Perry Como from Canonsburg.

[EyesOfAnguishbassist]

August Burns Red is from Lancaster

[HurricaneBob]

Vinnie Colaiuta born in Republic, PA. We went through there on our prison tour, freakin ghost town.
Mike Reed from Altoona had some country hits years ago.

[moxham123]

Vinnie Colaiuta born in Republic, PA. We went through there on our prison tour, freakin ghost town.
Mike Reed from Altoona had some country hits years ago.

I recently saw a TV show about Mike Reid from Altoona on CMT and how he has written, co-written, and/or performed on so many hit records, including many #1 country hits as well as winning Grammy and CMA awards. He co-wrote Bonnie Raitt's enormous hit, "I Can't Make You Love Me", which has been recorded by many people.

[daveb]

Crack the Sky is actually from Weirton WV and Steubensville OH. The two towns are only a couple of miles apart and only about 20 miles from PA. CTS were popular in Pittsburgh early on in their career. Their popularity took hold in strange places like Cleveland, Boston, New Orleans and most massively in Baltimore. Rick Witkowski is a dude I know pretty well, he engineered the Ask A Stranger CD. Rick is an awesome person and Crack the Sky is/was a great band. Their first LP was Rolling Stone Album of the Year for 1976. Check it out.

[daveb]

Another forgotten Pittsburgher, David Werner, put out 3 LPs for Epic in the 70s. He cowrote Cradle of Love with Billy Idol.

[xero380]

everyone is forgetting about the newest big hit from Pa...Halestorm.

if you're going country you could also say Pittsburgh's Povertyneck Hillbillies?

Kix is from Maryland but Guitarist/Producer Brad Divens hails from McConnellsburg, Pa (Fulton County)

As someone stated before I find this stuff very interesting to know especially since some of us are playing on the same stages in PA as these big hits used to play on back in the day.

[SpellboundByMetal]

Isnt Halestorm the band with the chick singer? arent they having people write songs for them?????

[moxham123]

Another forgotten Pittsburgher, David Werner, put out 3 LPs for Epic in the 70s. He cowrote Cradle of Love with Billy Idol.

I was thinking about David Werner too and I have his first album and just listened to it. Great mix of hard rock and new wave album. Thom Mooney from Altoona played drums on every song and Ian Hunter sang on one song.

Also, two Johnstown drummers toured with some well known bands but they were not on their records. Chris Klym played with the Jump In The Saddle Band (The Curly Shuffle) and Shawn Colvin (Sunny Came Home and more) and Tom Romanak played with The Buckinghams (Kind Of A Drag, Hey, Baby, They're Playing Our Song, Don't You Care, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, and other hits)

[313]

I was thinking about David Werner too and I have his first album and just listened to it. Great mix of hard rock and new wave album. Thom Mooney from Altoona played drums on every song and Ian Hunter sang on one song.

Though it's his self titled album, the David Werner album you're referencing (with Ian Hunter and Thom Mooney) is his 3rd release. His other two releases were on a different label (RCA) in 1975 and 76. His first was called Whiz Kid, and I can't remember the title of the 2nd.

[daveb]

I was thinking about David Werner too and I have his first album and just listened to it. Great mix of hard rock and new wave album. Thom Mooney from Altoona played drums on every song and Ian Hunter sang on one song.

Though it's his self titled album, the David Werner album you're referencing (with Ian Hunter and Thom Mooney) is his 3rd release. His other two releases were on a different label (RCA) in 1975 and 76. His first was called Whiz Kid, and I can't remember the title of the 2nd.

Good catch! The second LP is called Imagination Quota. You're right about the third being on Epic.

[BDR]

Didn't feel like reading through the entire thread to check but has anyone mentioned Christina Aguilera? ---------- Pittsburgh.

EDIT:

Christina Aguilera was raised in Rochester, PA outside of Pittsburgh from the time she was 7 years old.

Damn, what a voice. Definitely one of my favorites.

r:>)