Led Zeppelin Black

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Text on Button LED ZEPPELIN
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Red spotted blimp above blue spotted text over black background. 

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Led Zeppelin was an English rock band that formed in London in 1968, best known for their hit "Stairway to Heaven." The band consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. Their early albums were rooted in heavy guitar-driven sounds but also influenced by the blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin represented the hippie-love, psychedelic mind-set of the 1960s and 1970s. They are recognized as one of the originators of heavy metal. Led Zeppelin has sold over 300 million albums world wide is widely considered one of the most successful, innovative and influential rock groups in history.

Led Zeppelin have influenced hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Queen, Megadeth, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and many others. 

Catalog ID MU0201

K.D. Lang

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Text on Button k.d. lang and the reclines
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Black and white illustration of a person with a guitar sideways under black text over white background.

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K.D. Lang, born Kathryn Dawn Lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer/song writer. She has won numerous Grammy Awards and Juno Awards (the Canadian counterpart of the Grammy). K.D. Lang has collaborate with numerous prominent musicians such as Elton John, Tony Bennett, Roy Orbison, among many others.

As a teenager in 1983, Lang was fascinated by the life of Patsy Cline and formed a tribute band called the Reclines. She eventually became a solo artist in the early 1990s. Although the image on the button is not associated with the tribute band, it is a caricature of Lang posing with a guitar when she was a solo artist. She was often photographed with a guitar in abstract positions in promotional photos.

Catalog ID MU0203

John Lennon Working Class Hero

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Text on Button a tribute to john lennon WORKING CLASS HERO Hollywood RECORDS
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A white button with black text and a picture of circular sun-glasses - the same style worn by John Lennon.

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This is a promotional button for an album of cover songs entitled "Working Class Hero, a tribute to John Lennon". The album was released in 1995 and features a number of popular artists including George Clinton, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cheap Trick. Designed to be a fundraiser for charity, at least half of all net proceeds went to the Humane Society of the United States. 
John Lennon was a British born rock musician who was a member of the Beatles, a political activist, and a popular solo musician. He is generally associated with causes which promote peace, and subsequent cover albums of his music have been charity based. The name of the album comes from a popular John Lennon ballad of the same name. Lennon was a victim of assassination in 1980. 
 As a whole the album received poor reviews.
Catalog ID MU0178

John Cougar American Fool

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Text on Button JOHN COUGAR AMERICAN FOOL
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Photograph of John Cougar-Mellencamp with an orange, red and yellow sky background with white and blue text.

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This a promotional button for John Cougar's (also known as John Mellencamp or John Cougar-Mellencamp) 1982 album "American Fool". The album reached number one in 1982 and was the highest selling album of the year. Featuring "Hurts So Good" and the classic rock standard "Jack and Diane" it is one of Mellencamp's most successful albums.

Boasting over 40 million album sales, 22 top 40 hits, and a Grammy Award, Mellencamp is a highly successful musician. In 2008 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Billy Joel who Mellencamp inducted in 1999.

Along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, Mellencamp is one of the founders and organizers of Farm Aid - a yearly benefit concert designed to aid American farmers.

Catalog ID MU0183

John and Yoko

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Text on Button John and Yoko
Image Description

Black and white image of John and Yoko kissing, with white text on a black background

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Yoko Ono met John Lennon, member of The Beatles, in 1966 during a preview of Ono's art exhibition at a London gallery. They began an affair a year later and married in 1969. In addition to collaborating on numerous recordings, the couple held "Bed-ins for Peace" to protest the Vietnam War. It is rumored that Yoko Ono's relationship with John Lennon was the cause behind the breakup of The Beatles.

Catalog ID MU0189

Jimi Hendrix Experience

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Text on Button JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE I AM EXPERIENCED
Image Description

Red text encircled by black text and arrows over white background. 

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The button is in reference to the debut album "Are You Experienced" from the band The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The band consisted of Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, and Noel Redding. Jimi Hendrix's electric guitar playing skills is unparalleled, the combination of his guitar and song writing skills gave the psychedelic and hard rock music a new sound. The musical style is a blend of rhythm and blues, rock, and electric blues. "Are You Experienced" reached number five on the Billboard 200 in 1976 and was also widely popular in the United Kingdom.

The four song released from the album "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe," and The Wind Cries Mary" were placed on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Song of All times. The album is ranked number 15 on 500 Greatest Albums of All Times; it is also included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry for social and cultural significance. Jimi Hendrix pioneered the used of the electric guitar with controlled  sounds with smooth transition, he is considered the greatest guitarist of all times.

 

Catalog ID MU0200

Jim Morrison

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Text on Button JIM MORRISON
Image Description

Black and white portrait of Jim Morrison above purple text on blue background. 

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Jim Morrison was the lead singer of the rock band "The Doors." Morrison was a mysterious, charismatic, wild, sultry character that personified the quintessential qualities of a rock star. He was a writer and poet who was inspired by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, and Arthur Rimbaud, all of whom share a dark, sarcastic, tortured, and controversial theme in their works. Morrison was a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduation he immersed himself in the hippie/bohemian lifestyle. During that time, his fellow UCLA classmate Ray Manzarek suggested that they form a band, using Morrison's poetry and Manzarek's keyboard. They formed The Doors in 1965 with drummer John Densmore and guitarist Robby Kreiger. Morrison is the only performer in rock history to be arrested on stage for indecency. After Morrison's death in 1971, the band continued as a trio. The Doors released ten albums from their inception to dismemberment in 1973, and the majority of their albums reached number one on the music charts.

Morrison was found dead at the age of 27 due to a drug overdoes in 1971 while in Paris, France. He was found by his girlfriend Pamela Courson. He is buried in Paris and his grave site is reportedly the number 4 most visited sites after the Eiffel Towel, Notre Dame, and the Louvre.

Catalog ID MU0193

House of Blues French Quarter

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Text on Button HOUSE OF BLUES LIVE MUSIC BLUES IS BETTER GREATEST HITS WE'RE ON A MISSION FROM GOD IN BLUES WE TRUST French Quarter
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Black and white portraits of the Blues Brothers flank a police car encircled by white text over blue background. 

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This is a merchandise button from the House of Blues New Orleans, a concert venue and restaurant celebrating blues music, Southern Culture, and African American artistic contributions. The button features musical group The Blues Brothers, with John Belushi as Joliet Jake and Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues. The duo sang their soul music as a warm-up act before Saturday Night Live episodes, and became legitimate musical artists after the release of their chart-topping album, A Briefcase Full of Blues in the late 1970s. The car and portraits on this button are in reference to The Blues Brothers, the 1981 film featuring the two "brothers."

Sources

About the House of Blues (2015). House of Blues. http://www.houseofblues.com/neworleans/about

John Belushi (JAKE), Dan Aykroyd (Elwood) (2012). Brothers. Blues Brothers Official Site. http://bluesbrothersofficialsite.com/p-9905-the-brothers.html

Catalog ID MU0216

Hawkwind

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Text on Button Hawkwind
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White emblem below white text over black background. 

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Hawkwind is an English heavy metal band that formed in the late 1960s. They are noted for the space and science-fiction motifs in their lyrics combined with bold guitar riffs and synthesizer. The lineup functioned like a revolving door, members changed constantly. The current members consist of Tim Blake, Richard Chadwick, Dead Fred, Dave Brock, Mr Dibbs, and Niall Hone.  

The button is to promote their third studio album "Doremi Fasol Latido" which was released in 1972. The album solidified their science-fiction orientation by presenting an elaborate mythology of the history of the universe. Hawkwind had already established themselves as a live act and they performed extravagant concerts named "Space Ritual" with this album.   

Catalog ID MU0222

Hank Williams Poet of the People

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Text on Button poet of the people Hank Williams 1923-1953
Image Description

An illustration of Hank Williams wearing a blue suit and playing guitar with a yellow circle on a red background behind him. He is surrounded by illustrations of records, a beer bottle, stars, and a microphone with blue text underneath. 

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Hank Williams, Sr (September 17, 1927 - January 1, 1953) was a country singer/song writer. He is regarded as country music's first superstar and one of the most influential and significant country musicians of all times. Born Hiram King Williams in Mount Olive, Alabama to Lon and Lillie Williams, the family struggled economically. As a child, Williams met African American street performer, Rufus Payne, who taught him how to pay the guitar and the blues. Payne was a strong musical influence. Williams made his radio debut at the age of 13, and a year later he entered talent contests and formed his own band "Hank Williams and the Drifting Cowboys." When World War II started, the band mates were drafted therefore Williams continues as a solo artist. His major hits were "Your Cheatin' Heart," "I'm So Lonesome I could Cry," and "Honkey-Tonkey."

Williams suffered from alcoholism and drug related issues later in life. He died in 1953 at the age of 29 from cardiac arrest.

The button was to promote a box set of original recording named "The Complete Hank Williams" which was released in 1998. The record company Mercury Nashville produced the button as a promotion for the box set.      

Catalog ID MU0194