James Harrison

Sir James Steven Harrison  CBE  (born 6 February 1942) is an English singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence during the 1950s with the release of his debut album The Prince of Egypt which is considered by many as the first heavy metal album. Beginning his career in 1955 Harrison used the rock and roll music being developed at the time to develop hard rock and then later heavy metal, this led to the nickname the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" or simply "The Godfather"

Despite his early music being considered controversial due to its heavy sound this did not stop his music becoming successful, his debut album released in 1958 ended up becoming the best selling album of the 1950s and only album released in that decade to top 50 million sales. Harrison's success continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s as he adapted his music to suit the era but kept it consistent to his early music.

Harrison has over his career earned numerous accolades which includes a record 24 UK number one singles and 22 Billboard Hot 100 singles. He was part of the inaugural induction class into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is ranked No. 1 on Rolling Stone's list of its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Discography

 * Main article: James Harrison discography


 * The Prince of Egypt (1958)
 * Rise to Caledonia (1960)
 * The Journey (1962)
 * Run (1965)
 * One More Time (1968)
 * The Final Curtain (1970)
 * Expressive Entity (1973)
 * Let The Music End (1976)
 * Final Thoughts (1978)
 * In the End (1981)
 * Hold Back the Laughter (1983)
 * Once More (1985)
 * Pure Damnation (1988)


 * Watch Me Now (1989)
 * Forever and One (1991)
 * Life Goes Away (1993)
 * Slipped Through the Void (1996)
 * Into the Abyss (1999)
 * XIX (2001)
 * Through the Looking Glass (2003)
 * Platinum (2006)
 * Golden Years (2008)
 * Break Away (2011)
 * Leave a Light On (2014)
 * Destination X (2017)
 * The Cure (2019)