Bill Popp

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风格: #电力流行
地区: 欧美

艺人介绍

by Alex HendersonAn excellent but obscure singer and composer from New York, Bill Popp is among the unsung heroes of power pop. Popp's primary inspiration is the melodic British Invasion rock of the 1960s, although years of playing gigs on Manhattan's Lower East Side have also brought some punk and new wave influence to his music. In fact, Popp's music is so British-sounding that if you didn't know he was from Queens, you'd assume he was British himself.

Born in Queens on June 5, 1953, Popp grew up in College Point, a working-class section of the borough that had a large German-American population. The singer fell in love with the music of the Beatles (his primary influence) as a preteen, and other British bands like the Zombies, the Yardbirds, and the Kinks would also influence his sound. Popp played in various Queens bands as teenager and as a young adult, one of which included guitarist Keith String (who later enjoyed wider recognition with the Fleshtones). The late '70s found him playing around Manhattan with the cover band Triangle (which included pop singer Mary Ann Christopher), and in 1981, he formed the first edition of his band the Tapes. Popp's first single, "Love and Lust," was released on Popp's own 121st Street label in 1982, followed by the quirky "Too Many Stars" in 1984. Quite a few musicians passed through the Tapes over the years, including singer/bassist Anne Husick (who later joined alternative rock outfit Band of Susans).

Many of the songs that Popp had been playing at his frequent Manhattan club gigs found their way to his 1989 debut album with the Tapes, Popp This. Bill Popp & the Tapes' second album, Insides, came out in 1996. After an extensive tour around the country, they made it back to the studio to start recording again. Their third album, Blind Love Sees Tears, was released in May of 2001. In 2006, Popp was diagnosed with heart disease and forced to undergo quadruple bypass surgery. He recovered to record his fourth album with the Tapes (by now including guitarist Gerry Barnas, bassist Mary Noecker, and drummer Roger Foster), My Lonely Mind. It was released on June 10, 2008.