Al Stewart – Year of the Cat (1976):  Al Stewart is still another British musician who had a long career in his home country with only occasional, though definitely memorable appearances on the U.S. music charts.  Originally part of the underground folk movement in England, Al Stewart released growingly impressive singles and albums for a decade or so before striking gold with “Year of the Cat”, a lush narrative about a romantic adventure in a foreign land that has long instrumental passages.

Cat Stevens – Greatest Hits (1975):  As the son of a Swedish mother and a Greek father who ran a restaurant in London, Cat Stevens (born Steven Demetre Georgiou) is an exceedingly talented singer-songwriter who has been repeatedly disillusioned by the music business over the years.  Mike Hurst, who was formerly a member of the folk-pop group the Springfields, had become a record producer and made a demo of Cat Stevens’ song “I Love My Dog” that got him signed to the new Deram Records subsidiary of Decca Records.

The Steppes – Atomic Cossack (1992):  Most of the bands that Greg Shaw has worked with over the years have released one or two albums on Bomp! Records or one of his other record labels.  The Steppes is an exception; Bomp! – or specifically, Voxx Records – stuck with them and oversaw the release of six albums by the Steppes, with Atomic Cossack being the band’s seventh album and also their last record to come out on Voxx.  I acquired all of those albums except for Stewdio.

Steppenwolf – Steppenwolf (1968):  Steppenwolf grew out of a Canadian band called the Sparrows, and most of the bandmembers in Steppenwolf are in fact Canadian.  Steppenwolf is best known for their massive #2 hit single “Born to be Wild”, written by Mars Bonfire (spelled “Mars Bondfire” on the record label) a/k/a Dennis Edmonton, a former bandmember in the Sparrows and the brother of Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton – actually, all three of those names are stage names (Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta).

Steely Dan – Can’t Buy a Thrill (1972):  Steely Dan took a different path from nearly every other rock band, being a studio creation from the beginning.  Steely Dan also refrained from touring to support their albums after the first few years – their concerts in support of their debut album Can’t Buy a Thrill were disastrous, and that might have hastened this decision – and about the only other rock band that I know of who took that route was the Beatles.

The Status Quo – Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo (1968):  Although Status Quo (the band dropped “the” from their name in 1969) seems to be a one-hit-wonder on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, they are actually one of the longest-lived and most successful British rock bands:  (The) Status Quo has had an amazing 60 chart hits in the U.K., more than any other band, with 22 of those singles landing in the Top Ten.  The band formed in 1962 while schoolboys as the Scorpions, later renamed the Spectres.

The Standells – Dirty Water (1985):  The Standells might have been remembered today as just another conventional L.A. rock band, if their early albums are any indication of their sound.  But the band had the good fortune of attracting Ed Cobb as their producer and songwriter, and he greatly influenced the musical direction of the Standells.

Bruce Springsteen – Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973):  Bruce Springsteen made a big splash when he arrived on the music scene in the early 1970’s, particularly after the release of his third album, the monster hit Born to Run (1975).  Bruce Springsteen was on the cover of Time and Newsweek, the two biggest magazines in the country, I think at the same time; and he was on television regularly also.  Bruce Springsteen really hit his stride with his seventh album, Born in the U.S.A.

Dusty Springfield – Dusty Springfield’s Golden Hits (1966):  Dusty Springfield is one of the greatest white soul singers of all time and was an unexpected treat for America via the British Invasion; even though a lot of us (including me) didn’t realize immediately that she was English.  While other women were making music in the U.K. in the 1960’s – Cilla Black comes to mind, and there was an early all-female rock band from Liverpool called the Liverbirds – only Dusty Springfield had a significant presence on the U.S. record charts.

Spirit – The Family that Plays Together (1968):  Spirit is a long-lived and respected psychedelic rock/progressive rock band; and The Family that Plays Together, Spirit’s second album was part of Charlie’s record collection.  Spirit was formed in Los Angeles in 1967, growing out of an earlier L.A. band called the Red Roosters.  Bandmembers were Randy California (guitar and vocals), Mark Andes (bass guitar), John Locke (keyboards), and Jay Ferguson (percussion and vocals).