The Who　

Few rock ＆ roll bands were riddled with as many contradictions as the Who. All four members had wildly different personalities, as their notorious live performances demonstrated： Keith Moon fell ..more

Willie Nelson　

As a songwriter and performer, Willie Nelson played a vital role in post-rock ＆ roll country music. Although he didn’t become a star until the mid-’70s, Nelson spent the ’60s writing songs that ..more

Wes Montgomery　

Wes Montgomery was one of the great jazz guitarists, a natural extension of Charlie Christian, whose appealing use of octaves became influential and his trademark. He achieved great commercia ..more

Whitesnake　

After recording two solo albums, former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale formed Whitesnake around 1977. In the glut of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the late ’70s, their first albums ..more

Whitney Houston　

Whitney Houston was inarguably one of the biggest female pop stars of all time. Her accomplishments as a hitmaker were extraordinary; just to scratch the surface, she became the first artist ever t ..more

Weather Report　

Weather Report started out as a jazz equivalent of what the rock world in 1970 was calling a supergroup. But unlike most of the rock supergroups, this one not only kept going for a good ..more

Weezer　

As one of the most popular groups to emerge in the post-grunge alternative rock aftermath, Weezer received equal amounts of criticism and praise for their hook-heavy guitar pop. Drawing from the he ..more

Wishbone Ash　

During the early and mid-’70s, Wishbone Ash were among England’s most popular hard rock acts. The group’s roots dated to the summer of 1966, when drummer Steve Upton formed a band called Empty ..more

Wayne Shorter　

Though some will argue about whether Wayne Shorter’s primary impact on jazz has been as a composer or as a saxophonist, hardly anyone will dispute his overall importance as one of jazz’s leading fi ..more

Wham　

Wham! sparked something of a pop revival in the mid-’80s and could arguably be held responsible for sparking off the boy band trend of the ’90s. They were unashamedly pop, to the point of ..more

wacci　

Wagakki Band　

Wynton Kelly　

A superb accompanist loved by Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley, Wynton Kelly was also a distinctive soloist who decades later would be a strong influence on Benny Green. He grew up in B ..more

w-inds.　

The White Stripes　

The White Stripes formed on Bastille Day in 1997, aiming to create simple, vigorous rock ＆ roll with little more than Meg White’s percussion and Jack White’s guitar-and-vocal attack. Meg ..more

Wilco　

Debuting as a rough-and-tumble alt-country act and evolving into a mature and eclectic indie rock ensemble, Wilco rose from the ashes of the seminal roots rock band Uncle Tupelo, which disbanded ..more

The Waterboys　

Led by the literate singer/songwriter Mike Scott, the group’s sole constant member, the mercurial Waterboys formed in London in 1981. Born December 14, 1958, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Scott fir ..more

WATWING　

Whitechapel　

Formed in 2006 by Phil Bozeman, Brandon Cagle, and Ben Savage, tech-heavy Knoxville, Tennessee-based death metal outfit Whitechapel (named for the London neighborhood where the notorious J ..more

Within Temptation　

Goth metal stars Within Temptation marry the guitar-driven force of hard rock with the sweep and grandeur of symphonic music, and the results have made them one of the most popular bands ever ..more