1970s Mandrell; all scored hits throughout the 70s which reached both country and pop charts. The genre also saw its golden age of vocal duos and groups in this decade; with Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius, the Bellamy Brothers, the Oak Ridge Boys, the Statler Brothers, Dave & Sugar, and The Kendalls. A major event in music in the early 1970s was the deaths of popular rock stars Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison, all at the age of 27. Two of popular music's most successful artists from other
Steve Paul Texas to successfully promote his managerial abilities to Winter, after reading a "Rolling Stone" review of Texas music by Larry Sepulvado, in which Winter was described as "the hottest item outside of Janis Joplin". Based on Paul's negotiating abilities, Winter shortly thereafter in 1968 signed the then-largest recording contract ever offered by Columbia Records: $600,000, payable over five years. Winter performed regularly at Steve Paul's New York club, The Scene, where various artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, would make guest appearances. Many of these performances were of historic significance, such as the performance by Jimi