0
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.
American musician
1
Jason Falkner
Jason Falkner
American musician
2
Allman Brothers Band
Allman Brothers Band
American rock/blues band
3
The Cure
The Cure
English rock band
4
The Smiths
The Smiths
English rock band
5
Spacemen 3
Spacemen 3
band
6
Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
American recording artist; singer-songwriter and entrepreneur
7
Jackson C. Frank
Jackson C. Frank
American musician
8
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
English heavy metal band
9
George Martin
George Martin
English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, audio engineer and musician
10
The Escapades
The Escapades
11
The Paragons
The Paragons
12
Syd Barrett
Syd Barrett
English musician, co-founder of Pink Floyd (1946-2006)
13
The Prodigy
The Prodigy
English electronic dance music group
14
Jon Brion
Jon Brion
American musician
15
Tony! Toni! Toné!
Tony! Toni! Toné!
American soul/R&B group
16
The Grifs
The Grifs
17
The Stranglers
The Stranglers
Rock band
18
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
American country music singer
19
Don Randi
Don Randi
American pianist
20
Jack Joseph Puig
Jack Joseph Puig
American music engineer
21
Chris Thomas
Chris Thomas
British record producer
22
Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Jamaican recording artist; singer, actress and model
23
The Jeff Beck Group
The Jeff Beck Group
band
24
James Brown
James Brown
American singer-songwriter, dancer, music mogul
25
Kim Gordon
Kim Gordon
American musician and artist, most known as co-founding member of Sonic Youth
26
XTC
XTC
English pop group
27
Bleu
Bleu
musician
28
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
American rock band
29
Anthony Phillips
Anthony Phillips
British musician
30
Light Crust Doughboys
Light Crust Doughboys
American band
31
Andy Partridge
Andy Partridge
English musician and XTC founder
32
The Jesters
The Jesters
33
The Kitchen Cinq
The Kitchen Cinq
34
Ice-T
Ice-T
American rapper, actor, songwriter, and producer
35
Vince Guaraldi
Vince Guaraldi
American jazz pianist and composer (1928-1976)
36
Los Prisioneros
Los Prisioneros
Chilean rock band
37
Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
American singer-songwriter
38
Puffy AmiYumi
Puffy AmiYumi
Japanese female vocal duo (1995-)
39
The Monks
The Monks
rock band
40
Judas Priest
Judas Priest
British heavy metal band
41
Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
American musician
42
Jimmy Rogers
Jimmy Rogers
Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player
43
Tina Turner
Tina Turner
American-born singer, dancer, actress, and author; naturalized Swiss citizen
Intro
American power pop band
Record Labels
News

Jellyfish was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1989. Led by songwriters Andy Sturmer (drums, vocals) and Roger Manning (keyboards, vocals), the group was known for their blend of 1970s classic rock and XTC-style power pop. They released two albums, Bellybutton (1990) and Spilt Milk (1993), that proved highly influential to artists in a similar vein.

Sturmer and Manning met in high school and shared an admiration for jazz, post-punk, and British pop music. Following a stint as members of Beatnik Beatch, they quit the group to continue songwriting with one another and formed Jellyfish. They were initially supported by Jason Falkner (guitar) and Roger's brother Chris (bass). After the tour for Bellybutton, those musicians were replaced by Tim Smith (bass) and Eric Dover (guitar). The group viewed Spilt Milk as their "masterpiece" and the fulfillment of their original grandiose vision for the band, emphasizing bombasticity, vocal harmonies, orchestration, and studio experimentation.

Jellyfish broke up in 1994 due to poor record sales, Sturmer's discomfort with his role as frontman, and artistic conflicts between the two songwriters. Manning subsequently formed Imperial Drag, with Dover, and pursued careers as a solo artist and session musician. Sturmer worked with the Japanese pop duo Puffy AmiYumi and has kept a low public profile. In 2017, Manning, Dover, and Smith reformed as the Lickerish Quartet.

During their five-year existence, Jellyfish attracted critical acclaim and a devoted cult following, but struggled against prevailing rock trends (hair metal and grunge). Their only charting single on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Baby's Coming Back". Three other songs were top-twenty hits on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart: "The King Is Half-Undressed", "That Is Why", and "The Ghost at Number One". Elsewhere, they had six songs appear on the UK Singles Chart, although none reached higher than the top thirty. A cover version of "Baby's Coming Back", by the band McFly, later topped UK charts in 2007.