Music Makers Encyclopedia: U

Click on a letter to choose an act ("S" for Bruce Springsteen, "B" for Beatles, etc.). Shown with the act are its major awards, short bios for select acts, and links to albums and songs reviewed by the DMDB.

UB40

Song(s):
Red Red Wine (1983)
I Got You Babe (with Chrissie Hynde, 1985)
Here I Am (Come and Take Me) (1990)
Can’t Help Falling in Love (1993)

Album(s):
Best of – Volume One (compilation, 1987)

UGK (Underground Kings)

Song(s):
Big Pimpin’ (with Jay-Z, 2000)

Ugly Kid Joe

Song(s):
Cat’s in the Cradle (1992)

Lars Ulrich

Heavy metal drummer and songwriter born 12/26/1963 in Gentofte Municipality, Denmark.. With Metallica (1981-).

Ultimate Spinach

Album(s):
Behold and See (1968)

Ultravox

Song(s):
Vienna (1980)
Dancing with Tears in My Eyes (1984)

Album(s):
Vienna (1980)

Björn Ulvaeus

Pop singer/songwriter born in Gothenberg, Sweden on 4/25/1945. With Abba.

Album(s):
Mamma Mia! (musical: 2000, soundtrack: 2008) – see Benny Andersson.

Uncle Devil Show

- see Justin Currie

Uncle Kracker

Song(s):
Follow Me (2000)
Drift Away (with Dobie Gray, 2003)
When the Sun Goes Down (2004) – see Kenny Chesney

Uncle Tupelo

Song(s):
Graveyard Shift (1990)

Album(s):
No Depression (1990)

Underground Kings

- see UGK

The Undertones

Song(s):
Teenage Kicks (1978)

Album(s):
The Undertones (1979)

Carrie Underwood

Country singer born 3/10/1983 in Muskogee, OK. Won TV's American Idol singing contest in 2005.

Song(s):
Inside Your Heaven (2005)
Jesus, Take the Wheel (2005)
Before He Cheats (2006)
Wasted (2005)
So Small (2007)
All-American Girl (2007)
Last Name (2007)
Just a Dream (2007)
Cowboy Casanova (2009)
Temporary Home (2009)
Undo It (2009)
Remind Me (2011) – see Brad Paisley
Good Girl (2012)
Blown Away (2012)
Somethin’ Bad (2014) – see Miranda Lambert
Something in the Water (2014)
Heartbeat (2015)
Church Bells (2015)
If I Didn’t Love You (2021) – see Jason Aldean

Album(s):
Some Hearts (2005)
Carnival Ride (2007)
Play On (2009)
Blown Away (2012)
Storyteller (2015)
Cry Pretty (2018)

Underworld

Song(s):
Born Slippy (1995)

Album(s):
Dubnobasswithmyheadman (1993)
Second Toughest in the Infants (1996)

The Undisputed Truth

Song(s):
Smiling Faces Sometimes (1971)

The United States of America

Song(s):
The American Metaphyscal Circus (1968)
Cloud Song (1968)

Album(s):
The United States of America (1968)

University of Idaho Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival

Unkle

Song(s):
Rabbit in Your Headlights (1998)

Phil Upchurch

Keith Urban

Country singer born on 10/26/1967 in Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand.

Song(s):
But for the Grace of God (1999)
Somebody Like You (2002)
Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me (2002)
You’ll Think of Me (2002)
You Look Good in My Shirt (2002)
Days Go By (2004)
Making Memories of Us (2004)
Better Life (2004)
Start a Band (2008) – see Brad Paisley
Sweet Thing (2008)
Only You Can Love Me This Way (2009)
Without You (2010)
Long Hot Summer (2010)
You Gonna Fly (2010)
Lean on Me (2010) – see Sheryl Crow
A Little Bit of Everything (2013)
We Were Us (with Miranda Lambert, 2013)
Somewhere in My Car (2014)
Raise ‘Em Up (with Eric Church, 2015)
Break on Me (2015)
Wasted Time (2016)
Blue Ain’t Your Color (2016)

Album(s):
Be Here (2004)
Ripcord (2016)

Uriah Heep

Song(s):
July Morning (1971)

U.S.A. for Africa

A collection of 46 major artists formed to help the suffering people of Africa and the United States. Song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Quincy Jones produced the song. "USA" stand for United Support of Artists. Vocalists, appearing in order, included: Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, James Ingram, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Al Jarreau, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Carnes, Bob Dylan, and Ray Charles.

Song(s):
We Are the World (1985)

Usher

R&B singer born Usher Raymond IV on 10/14/1978 in Dallas, TX.

Song(s):
U Make Me Wanna… (1997)
U Got It Bad (2001)
Yeah! (with Lil' Jon & Ludacris, 2004)
Burn (2004)
Confessions Part II (2004)
My Boo (with Alicia Keys, 2004)
OMG (with will.i.am, 2010)
DJ Got Us Falling in Love (with Pitbull, 2010)
More (2010)

Album(s):
Confessions (2004)
Raymond v. Raymond (2010)

United States Marine Band

Song(s):
The Washington Post March (1890)
Semper Fidelis (1890)
The Thunderer (1890)
Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay (1892)
The Liberty Bell (1894)
Maple Leaf Rag (1907)

Album(s):
Recordings for the National Cultural Center (1963)

U.S. Naval Academy Band

Song(s):
Anchors Aweigh (1906)

US3

Song(s):
Tukka Yoots Riddim (1993)

U.T.F.O.

Song(s):
Roxanne, Roxanne (1985)

U2

DMDB profile page
DMDB podcast: U2: Songs of Surrender

Rock group formed in Dublin, Ireland. Members met while students at Dublin's Mount Temple High School. Ranked as the #4 modern rock act and #5 album rock act of all time in Joel Whitburn's Rock Tracks 1981-2020. All four members were in the one-time Passengers project with Brian Eno in 1995.

Active: 1976- Members: Bono (v), The Edge (g), Adam Clayton (b), Larry Mullen Jr. (d).

Song(s):
U2: Top 50 Songs
I Will Follow (1980)
New Year’s Day (1983)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)
Pride (In the Name of Love) (1984)
Bad (live, 1985)
With or Without You (1987)
I Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For (1987)
Where the Streets Have No Name (1987)
Sweetest Thing (1987)
Stand by Me (live with Bruce Springsteen, 1987)
Desire (1988)
Angel of Harlem (1988)
God Part II (1988)
Sweet Fire of Love (1988) – see Robbie Robertson
Night and Day (1990)
The Fly (1991)
Mysterious Ways (1991)
One (1991)
Even Better Than the Real Thing (1991)
Zoo Station (1991)
One (live with R.E.M. as Automatic Baby, 1993)
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (1995)
Staring at the Sun (1997)
Beautiful Day (2000)
Walk On (2000)
Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of (2000)
Elevation (2000)
Kite (2000)
Electrical Storm (2002)
The Hands That Built America (2002)
Vertigo (2004)
All Because of You (2004)
Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own (2004)
City of Blinding Lights (2004)
Original of the Species (2004)
The Saints Are Coming (with Green Day, 2006)
Window in the Skies (2006)
Moment of Surrender (2009)
Ordinary Love (2013)
You're the Best Thing About Me (2017)

Album(s):
Boy (1980)
October (1981)
War (1983)
Under a Blood Red Sky (live, 1983)
The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
The Joshua Tree (1987)
Rattle and Hum (soundtrack: 1988)
Best of 1980-1990 (compilation: 1980-89, released 1998)
Achtung Baby (1991)
Zooropa (1993)
Original Soundtracks 1 (Passengers (U2 with Brian Eno), 1995)
Pop (1997)
All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
Best of 1990-2000 (compilation: 1991-2002, released 2002)
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
U218 Singles (compilation: 1980-2006, released 2006)
No Line on the Horizon (2009)
Songs of Innocence (2014)
Songs of Experience (2017)

Click on a letter to choose a recording act ("S" for Bruce Springsteen, "B" for Beatles, etc.). Shown with the act are its major awards, short bios for select acts, and links to albums and songs reviewed by the DMDB.