1.
Cassette single
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A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette. Bow Wow Wows C·30 C·60 C·90 Go was the first cassette single released in the U. K. in 1980, records released the first cassette single in the U. S. with the Go-Gos Vacation in 1982. The ZTT label made good use of the format by 1984, with singles by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Art of Noise, the format was used as a promotion in the 1990s, with Disney giving a cassingle to attendees of Hercules promotional events. Originally, most cassette singles were released in a sleeve that slipped over the outside of the release. This was then usually shrink wrapped in plastic, some singles contained one song on each side, much as 45s had done, but others repeated the songs on both sides. In some markets, cassette singles generally used the packaging as standard cassettes. As the cassette maxi-single was released, more intricate packaging was incorporated that looked similar to the packaging of a cassette release. These were placed in regular plastic cassette cases with a paper/cardstock insert, unlike a full-length cassette album, these were generally only one two-sided inlay instead of a fold-out. Maxi-singles usually contained four versions of a song, i. e. unique mixes & edits. In the U. S. cassette singles were completely phased out by the early 2000s, one reason for their lesser popularity was because they appeared to be an inefficient use of the media to consumers - a cassette single took up the same storage space as a full album
2.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
3.
Sons of Soul
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Sons of Soul is the 1993 third studio album by American R&B group Tony. The band originally recorded for the album at several studios in California, including Westlake Recording Studios, when they became jaded with the various people frequenting those studios, Tony. Toné. moved their sessions to Caribbean Sound Basin in Trinidad, Sons of Soul was produced entirely by the group, who worked with various session musicians and utilized both vintage and contemporary recording equipment. They intended to pay homage to their musical influences—classic soul artists of the 1960s and 1970s—and incorporated live instrumentation, funk, lead singer and bassist Raphael Wiggins handled most of the songwriting, which featured quirky, flirtatious lyrics. Sons of Soul was released by Wing Records and Mercury Records on June 22,1993, toné. became one of the most popular R&B acts during the genres commercial resurgence in the early 1990s. However, after a tour, the band went on hiatus. Inspired by live instrumentation, turntablism, and classic soul music, toné. recorded and produced their second album, The Revival, mostly themselves and released it in 1990 to commercial success. The record broadened the groups exposure to fans beyond their initial R&B audience, however, they became ambivalent about their newfound mainstream success and their music being labeled retro by critics. You wont ever see us on a beach, were just down-to-earth, funky, like-to-play guys. Having fulfilled their creative intentions with The Revival, Tony, wanted to pay homage to their musical influences with Sons of Soul. Theyre the people who inspired us when we were growing up, people like Aretha Franklin and we feel were the sons of everything and all those people who came before us. Paying homage to our past, but creating in a contemporary environment, the group began recording Sons of Soul in 1993. Wiggins, his brother guitarist Dwayne Wiggins, and drummer Timothy Christian Riley each played several instruments for the album, Brown engineered the groups previous albums, and later their subsequent output, including Raphael Wiggins solo albums after Tony. Brown recommended for him to use a microphone when recording his vocals to thicken them with more bass. Wiggins sought after former Temptations vocalist Eddie Kendricks to sing on Leavin and they also worked with two horn sections, The Fat Lip Horns and The SNL Horns, the horn section of the Saturday Night Live Band. Raphael and Dwayne Wiggins sang impromptu musical ideas to the SNL players, jaded with their lifestyles in California and the various people frequenting the studios, the group moved the sessions to Caribbean Sound Basin in Maraval, a suburb of Port of Spain, Trinidad. The group intended to use to the only to polish their previous sessions output. Dwayne Wiggins said of the move in an interview for Musician, the company really wanted to put what we had out
4.
Recording studio
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A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties. The engineers and producers listen to the music and the recorded tracks on monitor speakers and/or headphones. Major recording studios typically have a range of large, heavy, Isolation booths are small sound-insulated rooms with doors, designed for instrumentalists. This equipment may interfere with the recording process, Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with precision and accuracy. This will consist of both room treatment and soundproofing to prevent sound from leaving the property. Even though sound isolation is a key goal, the musicians, singers, audio engineers and record producers still need to be able to see other, to see cue gestures. As such, the room, isolation booths, vocal booths. Some smaller studios do not have instruments, and bands and artists are expected to bring their own instruments, having musical instruments and equipment in the studio creates additional costs for a studio, as pianos have to be tuned and instruments need to be maintained. However, it makes it convenient for recording artists, as they do not have to bring in large. As well, less costly studio time is spent moving in gear, drummers bring their own snare drum, cymbals and sticks/brushes. The types and brands of equipment owned by a studio depends on the styles of music for the bands. A studio that mainly records heavy metal music will be likely to have large, powerful guitar amp heads, in contrast, a studio which mainly records country bands will likely have a selection of small, vintage combo amps. A studio that records a lot of 1970s-style funk may have an electric piano. General purpose computers have rapidly assumed a role in the recording process. A computer thus outfitted is called a Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW, other software applications include Ableton Live, Mixcraft, Cakewalk Sonar, ACID Pro, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, Auto-Tune, Audacity, and Ardour. While Apple Macintosh is used for most studio work, there is a breadth of available for Microsoft Windows. If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, the OTB is used when mixing with other hardware and not just the PC software
5.
Sacramento, California
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Sacramento is the capital city of the U. S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. It is at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the portion of Californias expansive Central Valley. Its estimated 2014 population of 485,199 made it the sixth-largest city in California, Sacramento is the cultural and economic core of the Sacramento metropolitan area, which includes seven counties with a 2010 population of 2,414,783. In 2002, the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University conducted for Time magazine named Sacramento Americas Most Diverse City, Sacramento became a city through the efforts of the Swiss immigrant John Sutter, Sr. his son John Augustus Sutter, Jr. and James W. Marshall. Sacramento grew quickly thanks to the protection of Sutters Fort, which was established by Sutter in 1839, the city was named after the Sacramento River, which forms its western border. The river was named by Spanish cavalry officer Gabriel Moraga for the Santísimo Sacramento, California State University, Sacramento, is the largest university in the city and one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. University of the Pacific is a university with one of its three campuses in Sacramento. In addition, the University of California, Davis, located in nearby Davis, operates its UC Davis Medical Center, nisenan and Plains Miwok Native Americans had lived in the area for perhaps thousands of years. Unlike the settlers who would eventually make Sacramento their home, these Native Americans left little evidence of their existence. Traditionally, their diet was dominated by acorns taken from the oak trees in the region, and by fruits, bulbs, seeds. In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga discovered and named the Sacramento Valley, a Spanish writer with the Moraga expedition wrote, Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths, the air was like champagne, and drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. The valley and the river were then christened after the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, John Sutter first arrived on August 13,1839 at the divergence of the American and Sacramento Rivers with a Mexican land grant of 50,000 acres. The next year, he and his party established Sutters Fort, representing Mexico, Sutter called his colony New Helvetia, a Swiss inspired name, and was the political authority and dispenser of justice in the new settlement. Soon, the colony began to grow as more and more pioneers headed west, within just a few short years, John Sutter had become a grand success, owning a ten-acre orchard and a herd of thirteen thousand cattle. Fort Sutter became a stop for the increasing number of immigrants coming through the valley. In 1847, Sutter hired James Marshall to build a sawmill so that he could continue to expand his empire, Sutter received 2,000 fruit trees in 1847, which started the agriculture industry in the Sacramento Valley. In 1848, when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutters Mill in Coloma and he hired topographical engineer William H
6.
Contemporary R&B
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Contemporary R&B, also known as simply R&B, is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance. The genre features a record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel. Electronic influences are becoming a trend and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness. Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularized by such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Craig David, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston. That same year, Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included hip hop influences and this combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed new jack swing and was applied to artists such as Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Al B. Guy, Jodeci and Bell Biv DeVoe, the style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence. In 1990 Mariah Carey released Vision of Love as her debut single and it was immensely popular peaking at number 1 in many worldwide charts including the Billboard Hot 100, and it propelled Mariahs carrier. The song is said to have popularized the use of melisma. During the mid-1990s, Whitney Houstons The Bodyguard, Original Soundtrack Album sold over 40 million copies becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Janet Jacksons self-titled fifth studio album janet. which came after her historic multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records, sold over twenty million copies worldwide. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits, including One Sweet Day, Carey also released a remix of her 1995 single Fantasy, with Ol Dirty Bastard as a feature, a collaboration format that was unheard of at this point. Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995—Daydream, II and CrazySexyCool. In the late 1990s, neo soul, which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by such as DAngelo, Erykah Badu. Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles, beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient. The award was received by TLC for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich for Words in 1997, Erykah Badu for Baduizm in 1998. At the end of 1999, Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first, simultaneously, in the second half of the 1990s, The Neptunes and Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporary R&B and hip hop music. R&B acts such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher, in 2001, Alicia Keys released Fallin as her debut single. It peaking at one on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Top 40
7.
Mercury Records
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Mercury Records is an American-based record label owned by Universal Music Group. In the United States, it operates through Island Records, in the UK, Mercury Record Corporation was formed in the American city of Chicago in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams, Ray Greenberg and Arthur Talmadge. They were a force in jazz and blues, classical music, rock and roll. Early in the history, Mercury opened two pressing plants, one in Chicago and the other in St. Louis, Missouri. With the use of presses and providing 24-hour turnaround, they went into direct competition with major recording labels such as Columbia, Decca, Capitol. By hiring two promoters, Tiny Hill and Jimmy Hilliard, they penetrated the pop market with such as Frankie Laine, Vic Damone, Tony Fontane. Rather than rely on radio airplay, Mercury initially relied on jukeboxes to promote their music, some early Mercury recordings featured a caricature of him as its logo. In 1947 Jack Rael, a musician and publicist/manager, persuaded Mercury to let Patti Page record a song that had planned to be done by Vic Damone. The budget was too small for them to hire a second singer to provide the parts to Page. The company released a number of recordings under the Mercury label as well as its subsidiaries. In addition, they leased and purchased material by independent labels, under their own label, Mercury released a variety of recording styles from classical music to psychedelic rock. However, its subsidiaries focused on their own specialized categories of music, Mercurys jazz division had two distinct and important fathers. John Hammond brought his expertise and connections when Mercury bought Keynote Records in the late 1940s, and Mercury was the issuing company and distributor for Norman Granzs pre-Norgran/Verve recordings. Although both Hammond and Granz had departed Mercury by the mid-1950s, they established the company in the jazz world, by the early 1960s, Mercury was releasing jazz under the flagship label and was an early leader in the new stereo sound releases. Highlights of the early and mid-1960s included albums by Quincy Jones, Buddy Rich, Cannonball Adderley, Charles Mingus, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, Max Roach, in the early 1950s, Norman Granz started his own record company, Norgran, which later became Verve. In an ironic twist, both Mercury and Verve are now owned by Universal Music Group and Mercurys jazz library falls under the Verve division. Since the early 1990s, Verve has reissued many Mercury jazz titles on CD, often taking care to use original master tapes, in 1962, Mercury began marketing a line of phonographs made by Philips bearing the Mercury brand name. In July 1967, Mercury Records became the first U. S. record company to release cassette music tapes, in 1969, Mercury changed its corporate name to Mercury Record Productions Inc. while its parent Conelco became North American Philips Corp after Philips brought control of the company
