Roots of Island Records

Millicent Dolly May Small CD was a Jamaican singer who is best known for her international hit "My Boy Lollipop" (1964). The song reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million copies worldwide. It was also the first major hit for Island Records and helped to achieve the label its mainstream success. She was the Caribbean's first international recording star and its most successful female performer.

Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater. They started out influenced by American folk rock, with a set list dominated by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs and a sound that earned them the nickname "the British Jefferson Airplane". Vocalists Judy Dyble and Iain Matthews joined them before the recording of their self-titled debut in 1968; afterwards, Dyble was replaced by Sandy Denny, and Matthews later left during the recording of their third album.

Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968 by Paul Rodgers (vocals), Paul Kossoff (guitar), Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke. They are best known for their hit songs "All Right Now" and "Wishing Well". Although renowned for their live performances and non-stop touring, their music did not sell well until their third studio album, Fire and Water (1970), which featured the hit "All Right Now". The song helped secure them a performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, where they played to an audience of 600,000 people. In the early 1970s they became one of the best-selling British blues rock groups; by the time they disbanded, they had sold more than 20 million records worldwide and had played in more than 700 arenas and festival concerts. "All Right Now" remains a staple of R&B and rock, and has entered ASCAP's "One Million" airplay singles club.

Roxy Music were an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry and Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their first album in early 1972, Ferry and Simpson were joined by Andy Mackay (saxophone/oboe), Phil Manzanera (guitar), Paul Thompson (drums) and Brian Eno (synthesizer). Simpson departed in mid-1972, from which point the bassist position in the band would be unstable, while Eno was replaced by Eddie Jobson (synthesizer/keyboards/violin) in mid-1973. By 1980, the band was reduced to a core trio of Ferry, Mackay and Manzanera, augmented by various backing musicians.

Yusuf Islam, commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens or Yusuf/Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion streams. His musical career has explored folk, rock, pop, and, later in his career, Islamic music. Following two decades in which he performed only music which met strict religious standards, he returned to making secular music in 2006. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. He has received two honorary doctorates and awards for promoting peace as well as other humanitarian awards.