Belle's little corner

Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens; March 23, 1953), frequently known as the "Queen of Funk-Soul", is a 10-time Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter whose career has spanned four decades, beginning with fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career. Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in Chicago, Illinois. Raised in Chicago's rough South Side housing projects, Khan attributed her love of music to her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz music as a child. Khan became a fan of R&B music as a preteen and at eleven formed her first all-female singing group the Crystalettes, which also included her sister Taka. In the late 1960s, Khan and her sister formed the vocal group Shades of Black and joined the Black Panther Party after befriending fellow member, activist and Chicago native Fred Hampton in 1967. While a member, she was given a name change to Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi by an African shaman. In 1969, she left the Panthers, dropped out of high school, and began to perform in small groups around the Chicago area. While performing in local bands in 1972, Khan was spotted by two members of a new group simply called Rufus and soon won her position in the group. The group later signed with ABC Records in 1973. Prior to Khan signing with the label, she married her on-again, off-again boyfriend Hassan Khan, changing her stage name to Chaka Khan. In 1973, Rufus released their self-titled debut album. Despite their fiery rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Maybe Your Baby" from Wonder's acclaimed Talking Book and the modest success of the Khan-led ballad "Whoever's Thrilling You (Is Killing Me)", the album failed to garner attention. That changed when Wonder himself collaborated with the group on a song he had written for Khan. That song, "Tell Me Something Good", became the group's breakthrough hit, reaching number-three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974 later winning the group their first Grammy Award. The single's success and the subsequent follow-up, "You Got the Love", which peaked at number-eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 helped their second parent album, Rags to Rufus, go platinum selling over a million copies. Between 1974 and 1979, Rufus would release six platinum-selling albums including Rufusized, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, Ask Rufus, Street Player and Masterjam. Hits the group would score during this time included "Once You Get Started", "Sweet Thing", "Hollywood", "At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)" and "Do You Love What You Feel". The band gained a reputation as a live performing act with Khan becoming the star attraction, thanks to her powerful vocals and stage attire, which sometimes included Native American garb and showing her midriff. Most of the band's material was written and produced by the band itself with few exceptions. Khan has also been noted for being an instrumentalist playing drums and bass, she also provided percussion during her tenure with Rufus. Relations between Khan and the group, particularly between Khan and group member Andre Fischer, became stormy. Several group members left with nearly every release. While Khan remained a member of the group, she signed a solo contract with Warner Bros in 1978. While Khan was busy at work on solo material, Rufus released three albums without Khan's participation including 1979's Numbers, 1980's Party 'Til You're Broke and 1983's Seal in Red. In 1978, Warner Bros. Records released Khan's solo debut album, which featured the crossover disco hit, "I'm Every Woman", written for her by songwriters Ashford & Simpson. The success of the single helped the album go platinum, selling over a million copies. Khan also was a featured performer on Quincy Jones' hit, "Stuff Like That", also released in 1978.
In 1979, Khan reunited with Rufus to collaborate on the Jones-produced Masterjam, which featured their hit, "Do You Love What You Feel", which Khan sang with Tony Maiden. In 1979 she also duetted with Ry Cooder on his album Bop Till You Drop. In 1980, while Rufus released their second non-Khan release, Party 'Til You're Broke, Khan released her second solo album, Naughty, which featured Khan on the cover with her six-year-old daughter Milini. The album yielded the minor disco hit "Clouds" and went gold. Also in 1980 she had a cameo appearance in the Blues Brothers movie with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as a church choir soloist. Khan released two albums in 1981, the Rufus release, Camouflage and the solo album What Cha' Gonna Do for Me. The same year, Khan appeared on three tracks on Rick Wakeman's concept album 1984. In 1982, Khan issued two more solo albums, the jazz-oriented Echoes of an Era and a more funk/pop-oriented self-titled album. The latter album's track, the jazz-inflected "Bebop Medley", won Khan a Grammy and earned praise from Betty Carter who loved Khan's vocal scatting in the song. In 1983, following the release of Rufus' final studio album, Seal in Red, which did not feature Khan, the singer returned with Rufus on a live album, Stompin' at the Savoy - Live, which featured the studio single, "Ain't Nobody", which became the group's final charting success reaching number twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number-one on the Hot R&B chart, while also reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom. Following this release, Rufus separated for good.
In 1984, Khan released her sixth studio album, I Feel for You. The title track was the first single released. Originally written and recorded by Prince for his eponymous follow-up to his debut album in 1979, it had been previously recorded by The Pointer Sisters and Mary Wells. Khan's version featured a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder and an introductory rap by Grandmaster Melle Mel. Khan returned with her first studio album in four years in 1992 with the release of The Woman I Am. In 1996, following the release of her greatest-hits album, Epiphany: The Best of Chaka Khan, Vol. 1, Khan abruptly left Warner Bros. after stating the label had neglected her and failed to release Dare You to Love Me.
In 1998, Khan signed a contract with Prince's NPG Records label and issued Come 2 My House. Khan later went on a tour with Prince as a co-headlining act. In 2000, Khan departed from NPG and in 2004 released her first jazz covers album in twenty-two years with 2004's ClassiKhan. She also covered "Little Wing" with Kenny Olson on the album Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Three years later, after signing with Burgundy Records, Khan released what many critics called a "comeback album" with Funk This.
In a 2008 interview Khan said that she, unlike other artists, felt very optimistic about the current changes in the recording industry, including music downloading.

I'm glad things are shifting and artists – not labels – are having more control over their art. My previous big record company (Warner Music) has vaults of my recordings that haven't seen the light of day that people need to hear. This includes Robert Palmer's original recording of "Addicted to Love" – which they took my vocals off of! We are working on getting it (and other tracks) all back now."

In 2009, Khan hit the road with singers Anastacia and Lulu for Here Come the Girls. Khan continues to perform to packed audiences both in her native United States and overseas. On May 19, 2011, Khan was given the 2,440th Hollywood Walk of Fame star plaque on a section of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Her family was present when the singer accepted the honor, as was Stevie Wonder, who had written her breakout hit "Tell Me Something Good".

Khan is vegan, saying she adopted the diet to lose weight and combat high blood pressure and Type-2 diabetes. In the past, Khan struggled with drug abuse and alcoholism. Her drug use, which at times included cocaine and heroin, ended sometime in the early 1990s. Khan would have an on-again, off-again struggle with alcoholism until 2005 declaring herself sober.

Collection 1980-2009
Mp3 CBR 320 kbps 3.04 GB / FLAC Lossless 8.08 GB
1980 - Naughty [Reissue 1999]
1981 - What Cha Gonna Do For Me [Reissue 1997]
1981 - Rufus With Chaka Khan - Camouflage [Remastered 2004]
1982 - The Very Best Of
1982 - Chaka Khan [Japan Reissue 1997]
1982 - Echoes Of An Era [Reissue]
1983 - Stompin' At The Savoy
1984 - I Feel For You [Reissue]
1986 - Destiny [Reissue]
1988 - C.K. [Reissue]
1989 - Ain't Nobody
1989 - Life Is a Dance: The Remix Project
1992 - The Woman I Am
1996 - Epiphany: The Best Of Chaka Khan
1996 - Missing You
1998 - Come 2 My House
2004 - Classikhan
2006 - The Platinum Collection
2007 - Funk This
2009 - Original Album Series (Chaka 1978 / Naughty 1980 / What Cha' Gonna Do For Me 1981 / Chaka Khan 1982 / I Feel For You 1984)
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Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, harmonica, and most recently, the autoharp. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist and saxophone player. The band's frontman, John Parish, would become her long-term collaborator. In 1991, she formed an eponymous trio and subsequently began her professional career. The trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993) before disbanding, after which Harvey continued as a solo artist. Since 1995, she has released a further six studio albums with collaborations from various musicians including John Parish, former bandmate Rob Ellis, Mick Harvey, and Eric Drew Feldman and has also worked extensively with record producer Flood. Among the accolades she has received are the 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prize for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) and Let England Shake (2011) respectively—the only artist to have been awarded the prize twice—eight BRIT Award nominations, six Grammy Award nominations and two further Mercury Prize nominations. Rolling Stone awarded her 1992's Best New Artist and Best Singer Songwriter and 1995's Artist of the Year, and listed Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love (1995) and Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. In 2011, she was awarded for Outstanding Contribution To Music at the NME Awards. Outside her better-known music career, Harvey is also an occasional artist and actress. In 1998, she appeared in Hal Hartley's film The Book of Life as Magdalena—a modern-day character based on the Biblical Mary Magdalene— and had a cameo role as a Playboy Bunny in A Bunny Girl's Tale, a short film directed by Sarah Miles, in which she also performs "Nina in Ecstasy," an outtake from Is This Desire? (1998). Harvey also collaborated with Miles on another film, Amaeru Fallout 1972, which includes Harvey performing a cover of "When Will I See You Again." Harvey is also an accomplished sculptor who has had several pieces exhibited at the Lamont Gallery and the Bridport Arts Centre. In 2010, she was invited to be the guest designer for the summer issue of Francis Ford Coppola's literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story. The issue featured Harvey's paintings and drawings alongside short stories by Woody Allen. Speaking of her artistic contributions to the magazine in 2011, Harvey said:

The first opportunity I ever had to show any work was in this magazine. They were drawn while I was writing and recording the record (Let England Shake). It does relate to the record in the way the cycle keeps happening."

Discography 1992-2011
1992 - Dry & Demonstration (Limited Edition)
1993 - Rid of Me
1995 - To Bring You My Love
1996 - Dance Hall at Louse Point
1998 - Is This Desire?
2000 - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
2004 - Uh Huh Her
2007 - White Chalk
2009 - A Woman A Man Walked By
2011 - Let England Shake

Singles
1992 - Sheela-Na-Gig
1993 - 50 Ft Queenie
1993 - Man-Size
1995 - C'mon Billy
1995 - Down by the Water
1995 - Send His Love To Me (2 CD)
1996 - That Was My Veil
1998 - A Perfect Day Elise (2 CD)
1999 - The Wind (2 CD)
2000 - Good Fortune (2 CD)
2000 - You Said Something
2001 - A Place Called Home
2001 - This is Love/You Said Something
2004 - The Letter (2 CD)
2004 - You Come Through (2 CD)
2004 - Shame
2007 - The Piano
2008 - The Devil
2009 - Black Hearted Love
2011 - The Glorious Land
2011 - The Words That Maketh Murder

Promos
2000 - To Date (5-Track)
2000 - This Wicked Tongue (1-Track)
2007 - When Under Ether

Compilations
1993 - 4-Track Demos
1995 - The B Sides
1996 - Maniac B-Sides 1991-1995
2001 - Rarities
2006 - The Peel Sessions 1991-2004

MP3 320 kbps, 2.16 GB: Uploaded.net ¦ Turbobit.net

There are plenty of kick-ass female guitarists to choose from. read Jesse Merkel and watch some great video clips here

Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known by her stage name Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress, who wrote and performed her own compositions. Lincoln was influenced by Billie Holiday. She often visited the Blue Note jazz club in New York City. Her debut album, Abbey Lincoln’s Affair – A Story of a Girl in Love, was followed by a series of albums for Riverside Records. In 1960 she sang on Max Roach's landmark civil rights-themed recording, We Insist!. Lincoln’s lyrics were often connected to the civil rights movement in America.
During the 1980s, Lincoln’s creative output was smaller and she released only a few albums during that decade. During the 1990s and until her death, however, she fulfilled a 10-album contract with Verve Records. These albums are highly regarded and represent a crowning achievement in Lincoln’s career. Devil’s Got Your Tongue (1992) featured Rodney Kendrick, Grady Tate, J. J. Johnson, Stanley Turrentine, Babatunde Olatunji and The Staple Singers, among others. In 2003, Lincoln received a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award.
Lincoln died on August 14, 2010 in Manhattan at the age of 80, after suffering deteriorating health for years following open heart surgery in 2007. Abbey Lincoln Collection (1956-2009)
1956 • Abbey Lincoln – Abbey Lincoln's Affair ... A Story Of A Girl In Love
1957 • Abbey Lincoln – That's Him!
1958 • Abbey Lincoln – It's Magic
1959 • Abbey Lincoln – Abbey Is Blue
1961 • Abbey Lincoln – Straight Ahead
1973 • Abbey Lincoln – People In Me
1980 • Abbey Lincoln – Golden Lady
1983 • Abbey Lincoln – Talking To The Sun
1987 • Abbey Lincoln – Abbey Sings Billie (2 CD)
1990 • Abbey Lincoln – The World Is Falling Down
1991 • Abbey Lincoln featuring Stan Getz – You Gotta Pay The Band
1992 • Abbey Lincoln – Devil's Got Your Tongue
1992 • Abbey Lincoln & Hank Jones – When There Is Love
1994 • Abbey Lincoln – A Turtle's Dream
1996 • Abbey Lincoln – Who Used To Dance
1998 • Abbey Lincoln – Wholly Earth
2000 • Abbey Lincoln – Over The Years
2003 • Abbey Lincoln – It's Me
2006 • Abbey Lincoln – Abbey Sings Abbey
MP3 320 kbps (2,5 GB in 3 parts): Turbobit.net