William Beckett (singer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| William Beckett | |
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 William Beckett on the 2007 Honda Civic Tour in Milwaukee (Photo by Morgan)
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Eugene Beckett, Jr. |
| Born | February 11, 1985 [citation needed] |
| Origin | Chicago, United States |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, Indie rock, Soft rock, Pop punk |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Label(s) | Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen |
| Associated acts | The Academy Is... |
William Eugene Beckett, Jr. is the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... (TAI), who are currently signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is....[1] In addition to founding the band, Beckett and Carden are credited as the primary songwriters.[2] In 2007, the BBC described Beckett as a mix of Adam Lazzara and Prince, labeling him "utterly captivating".[3]
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[edit] Side projects
Prior to forming TAI, Beckett performed as a single-man acoustic band called Remember Maine,[4], releasing the album The Last Place You Look when he was 17 years old.[5] More recently, on the side from his work with TAI, Beckett has contributed vocals to a number of notable albums by other bands. He sang on 2005's charting From Under the Cork Tree, by Fall Out Boy.[6] He also supplied vocals to the charting 2006 debut albums of Cute Is What We Aim For and Cobra Starship, The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch and While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets,[7][8] also appearing in the video for the latter's single "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)".[9] That same year, he sang on the track "7 Weeks" from Gym Class Heroes' charting album As Cruel as School Children.[10]
According to Us Magazine, he is co-authoring a book with Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz,[11] who had originally recommended the band to label Fueled by Ramen.[12]
Beckett also recorded a cover of Baha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out?" with Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship fame.[citation needed][dubious ]
[edit] Reviews
Personally, Beckett has received much praise for his exceptional vocals as The Academy Is... frontman. On the official iTunes review of The Academy Is...'s debut, Almost Here, the critic stated, "William Beckett carries the latter's melody with his velvety, bording on histrionic, vocals ..." Also on the review of their sophomore album, Santi, the critic stated this while describing the first track (Same Blood), "... owing much of its earnest charm (as with most of the crew's songs) to the winsome vocals of William Beckett."
[edit] References
- ^ Eliscu, Jenny. (April 5, 2007) Rolling Stones 10 artists to watch Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ The Academy Is... at Allmusic
- ^ Davies, Alex. (March 31, 2007) The Academy Is… at Academy 2 BBC. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ Geist, Phil. (March 18, 2005) Rock band delivers unique and daring album The Online Rocket. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ O'Keefe, Steve. Remember Maine-The Last Place You Look decoymusic.com Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ From Under the Cork Tree at Allmusic.
- ^ The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch at Allmusic
- ^ While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets at Allmusic
- ^ William Beckett at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ As Cruel as School Children at Allmusic
- ^ Us Magazine. Pete Wentz. usmagazine.com. Retrieved 21/02/08.
- ^ Warner Music Canada. The Academy Is warnermusic.ca Retrieved 21/02/08.
[edit] Further reading
- Beckett web interview, They Will Rock You
- Beckett web interview, Saint RocknRoll
- Beckett web interview, Spin Magazine
[edit] External links
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