United States Navy Band
The United States Navy Band, based at the historic Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D. C. has served the United States of America as the official musical organization of the United States Navy since 1925. The United States Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government, performing at presidential inaugurations, state arrival ceremonies, state funerals, state dinners, other significant events; the band performs all styles of music – from ceremonial pieces such as "ruffles and flourishes" to classical, rock and country hits. Since its official designation in 1925, the United States Navy Band has grown into a diverse organization of multiple performing units; the organization features six performing ensembles: the Concert Band, the Ceremonial Band, the Commodores jazz ensemble, Country Current country-bluegrass ensemble, the Cruisers contemporary entertainment ensemble, the Sea Chanters chorus. There are several chamber music groups; the multiple ensembles help to meet the public demand for different types of music as well as the needs of Navy recruiting.
The United States Navy Band is composed of 172 enlisted musicians and four officers, under the direction of Capt. Kenneth Collins; the Concert Band is the Navy's premier wind ensemble. This band, along with the Ceremonial Band, was part of the original Navy Band in 1925; the group plays concerts in the Washington, D. C. area, performs a month-long national tour each year. The Ceremonial Band performs ceremonies in and around the Washington, D. C. area. Their main mission is performing for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Additionally, the Ceremonial Band performs change of commands, patriotic openers, wreath-layings and arrivals. In 1956, Lt. Harold Fultz the band's assistant leader, organized a group from the Navy School of Music to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. An immediate success, ADM Arleigh Burke chief of naval operations, transferred them to the Navy Band, named them the Sea Chanters and tasked this all-male chorus with perpetuating the songs of the sea.
In 1980, the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include everything from Brahms to Broadway. Since their founding in 1969, the Commodores have become one of the most acclaimed jazz ensembles in the country. Many jazz legends have appeared with the group, such as Ray Charles, Stanley Turrentine, Louie Bellson, Terry Gibbs, Chris Potter, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer, Dave Leibman, James Moody, Clark Terry; the seven-member group was formed in 1973 and established itself in all aspects of country and bluegrass music. The group is under the direction of banjoist Senior Chief Musician Keith M. Arneson; as the Navy's premier contemporary entertainment ensemble, the Cruisers, feature eight of the Navy's most dynamic performers. The group was formed in 1999; the earliest music of the United States Navy was the Shantyman's Song. These melodies of the sea helped soften the rigors of shipboard life. Next came trumpeters and fifers who were carried on the early frigates to sound calls, give general orders, perform at funerals and other ceremonies.
Military bands became a separate section of the crew on many Navy vessels. The development of shore-based bands in the 19th century led to the creation of the Naval Academy Band, which grew in size and importance during the American Civil War. Other band units afloat and ashore played a major role in promoting the morale of sailors and civilians alike. At the start of World War I many outstanding musicians left their famous orchestras and joined the United States Navy, using their talents to further the war effort. In 1916, a 16-piece band from the battleship USS Kansas was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard to augment a 17-piece band aboard the Presidential Yacht Mayflower; the new unit became known as the "Washington Navy Yard Band" and was given rehearsal space near the power plant's coal pile. The increasing tempo of the band's duties led the bandmaster to seek more suitable quarters in the yard's "Sail Loft", sailmakers were soon cutting and stitching their canvas to the rhythms of the music.
The United States Navy Band still occupies the Sail Loft as its rehearsal hall. In 1923, a 35-man contingent from the Navy Yard Band accompanied President Warren G. Harding on his trip to the Alaska Territory. After the president's unexpected death in San Francisco, the band performed the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee" as his body was placed aboard a train destined for Washington, D. C. With the band growing in importance and prestige, President Calvin Coolidge signed into law a 1925 bill stating "hereafter the band now stationed at the Navy Yard, known as the Navy Yard Band, shall be designated as the United States Navy Band." The legislation allowed the band to take its first national tour in 1925. Among those praising the early United States Navy Band was the Boston Post newspaper, which printed on 13 March 1929: "…Some folks have an idea that Navy music is made up of a few chantey choruses, a jig, The Star Spangled Banner. To the average American Citizen the performance last night must have been a startling eye-opener.
They performed like a company of first-rank virtuosi…" Under the baton of Lt. Charles Benter, the band's first leader, the United States Navy Band was featured at many historic occasions, including the 1927 return of Charles Lindbergh following his trans-Atlantic flight. Two years the band performed for the return of Adm. Richard E. Byrd from his famous South Pole flight; the need for qualified musicians led Lt. Benter to found the Navy School of Music under his charge in 1935. Many of the faculty were bandsmen. Throughout much of the 1960s the band's leader was Anthon
Billy Dean
William Harold Dean Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition Star Search. Active as a recording artist since 1990, he has recorded a total of eight studio albums and a greatest hits package, certified gold, his studio albums have accounted for more than 20 hit singles on the Billboard country charts, including 11 Top Ten hits. In 2000, he had a Billboard Number one as a guest artist along with Allison Kraus on Kenny Rogers' "Buy Me a Rose", had two Number Ones on the RPM country charts in Canada. Dean was born in Quincy, Florida, on April 2, 1962, his father known as Billy Dean, maintained a band called The Country Rocks in his spare time. By the age of eight, Dean began playing in his father's band. Throughout high school, at Robert F. Munroe Day School, he continued to play music, both in his father's band and with other local musicians, he soon began touring in local clubs, sang Frank Sinatra's "My Way" at his high school graduation.
Dean was a basketball player in high school, was offered a scholarship to East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. He attended college for one year before dropping out. By the time he was 20, Dean made the finals on the Wrangler Country Star Search, followed by a Male Vocalist win on the television competition Star Search six years later, he worked as a demo singer and took acting lessons, appearing in television commercials for McDonald's, Chevrolet and Valvoline. By the end of the decade, he had signed to a publishing contract with EMI Music, as well as a recording contract with SBK Records, a subsidiary of Liberty Records. Dean's first single was "Lowdown Lonely", it was followed by "Only Here for a Little While", the second release from his debut album Young Man. This song and its follow-up, "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" were both No. 3 hits on the Billboard country charts. The latter was a minor hit on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. Young Man was certified gold by the RIAA.
Dean's self-titled second album followed in 1991, soon earned a gold certification as well. Four singles were released from it: "You Don't Count the Cost", "Only the Wind" and "Billy the Kid" each peaked at No. 4 on the country charts, while "If There Hadn't Been You" was a No. 3 on Billboard, a No. 1 on both the former Radio & Records country charts in the U. S. and the RPM Country Tracks charts in Canada. Dean toured with The Judds on their farewell tour in 1991, he toured with Wynonna Judd and Clint Black, he wrote and recorded the theme song to the ABC animated television series Wild West C. O. W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, hosted a Top 21 countdown on VH1. In 1992, he earned the Top New Male Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music. Fire in the Dark was the title of Dean's third album. Issued in 1993, it was his third straight gold-certified album, earning that certification from both the RIAA and CRIA, his lead-off single "Tryin' to Hide a Fire in the Dark" peaked at No. 6 in the United States and became his second No. 1 in Canada.
Following it were "I Wanna Take Care of You", "I'm Not Built That Way", a cover of Dave Mason's 1977 pop hit "We Just Disagree". In 1993, Dean had an opening slot on Alan Jackson's tour. Following his first three studio albums was a greatest hits album in 1994; this album reprised his first nine singles, as well as a new song, "Once in a While", which Dean wrote and recorded for the soundtrack to the 1994 film 8 Seconds. This song peaked at No. 53 based on unsolicited airplay. Men'll Be Boys, his final release for SBK/Liberty, came in 1994; this album was not as successful in sales or chart performance, producing the No. 24 "Cowboy Band" and No. 60 title track. After this album, Dean placed his career on hiatus to raise his children. Dean returned to the recording studio in 1996 for his fifth album, It's What I Do, on Capitol Records Nashville; this album returned him to the Top Ten with its title track and "That Girl's Been Spyin' on Me", which reached numbers 5 and 4, respectively. The final single, a cover of Don Williams' 1988 single "I Wouldn't Be a Man", fell short of Top 40.
He worked with actress and singer Crystal Bernard on her 1996 debut album Girl Next Door, in addition to co-writing its debut single "Have We Forgotten What Love Is." That year, Dean released a non-charting single, "In the Name of Love", which never appeared on an album. In 1998, Victoria Shaw and several other artists, including Dean, collaborated on the charity single "One Heart at a Time". Real Man, his sixth album, was issued in mid-1998; this album produced only one Top 40 hit in its title track, followed by "Innocent Bystander" which reached number 68. After this album, Dean exited Capitol's roster, he took up acting once more, appearing in the minor TV specials A Face to Kill For and Blue Valley Songbird. In 2000, he and Alison Krauss made guest appearances on Kenny Rogers' single "Buy Me a Rose", which reached the top of the Billboard country charts in May of that year; this song was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, Rogers' first number 1 single in thirteen years. A year Dean joined Suzy Bogguss and twelve-year-old singer Jillian Arciero on "Please Keep Mom and Dad in Love,", issued on Rogers's Dreamcatcher Records, never included on an album.
Although he continued touring, he did not chart again until 2003 with "I'm in Love With You", released on the independent View 2 label. His next release for View 2 was a cover of John Denver's "Thank Go
Charlie Rich
Charles Allan Rich was an American country music singer and musician. His eclectic style of music was difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, blues, country and gospel genres. In the part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname the Silver Fox, he is best remembered for a pair of 1973 hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl". "The Most Beautiful Girl" topped the U. S. country singles charts, as well as the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles charts and earned him two Grammy Awards. Rich was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015. Rich was born in Arkansas, to rural cotton farmers, he graduated from Consolidated High School in Forrest City. He was influenced by his parents, members of the Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Forrest City, as his mother, Helen Rich, played piano and his father sang in gospel quartets. A black sharecropper on the family land named, he enrolled at Arkansas State College on a football scholarship and transferred to the University of Arkansas as a music major after a football injury.
He left after one semester to join the United States Air Force in 1953. While stationed in Enid, Oklahoma, he formed "the Velvetones," playing jazz and blues and featuring his wife, Margaret Ann, on vocals, he and Margaret Ann Greene had married in 1952. Upon leaving the military in 1956, they returned to the West Memphis area to farm 500 acres, he began performing in clubs around the Memphis area, playing both jazz and R&B. During these times, he began writing his own material. After recording some demonstration songs for Sam Phillips at Sun Records that Phillips considered not commercial enough and "too jazzy", he was given a stack of Jerry Lee Lewis records and told: "Come back when you get that bad." In a September 6, 2010, NPR airing of a 1992 interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross, Charlie Rich tells the story, himself, of Bill Justis telling Rich's wife those words. In 1958, Rich became a regular session musician for Sun Records, playing on a variety of records by Lewis, Johnny Cash, Bill Justis, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley, Carl Mann, Ray Smith.
He wrote several songs for Lewis and others. His third single for the Sun subsidiary, Phillips International Records, was the 1960 Top 30 hit, "Lonely Weekends", notable for its Presley-like vocals, it sold more than one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America. None of his seven follow-up singles was a success, though several of the songs became staples in his live set, including "Who Will the Next Fool Be", "Sittin' and Thinkin'", "No Headstone on My Grave"; these songs were recorded by others to varying degrees of success, such as the Bobby Bland version of "Who Will the Next Fool Be". Rich's career stalled and he left the struggling Sun label in 1963, signing with a subsidiary of RCA Victor, Groove, his first single for Groove, "Big Boss Man", was a minor hit, but again, his Chet Atkins-produced follow-ups all stiffed. Rich moved to Smash Records early in 1965. Rich's new producer, Jerry Kennedy, encouraged the pianist to emphasize his country and rock n' roll leanings, although Rich considered himself a jazz pianist and had not paid much attention to country music since his childhood.
The first single for Smash was "Mohair Sam", an R&B-inflected novelty-rock number written by Dallas Frazier, it became a top 30 pop hit. Again for Rich, none of his follow-up singles was successful. Rich was forced to change labels, moving to Hi Records, where he recorded blue-eyed soul music and straight country, but none of his singles made a dent on the country or pop charts. One Hi Records track, "Love Is After Me", from 1966, belatedly became a white soul favorite in the early-1970s. Despite his lack of consistent commercial success, Epic Records signed Rich in 1967 on the recommendation of producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill helped Rich refashion himself as a Nashville Sound balladeer during an era when old rock'n' roll artists like Jerry Lee Lewis and Conway Twitty were finding a new musical home in the country and western format; this new "countrypolitan" Rich sound paid off in the summer of 1972, when "I Take It on Home" went to number six on the country charts. The title track from his 1973 album Behind Closed Doors became a number-one country hit early in that year crossing over into the top 20 on the pop charts.
This time, his follow-up single did not disappoint, as "The Most Beautiful Girl" spent three weeks at the top of the country charts and two weeks at the top of the pop charts. Now that he was established as a country music star, Behind Closed Doors won three awards from the Country Music Association that year: Best Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, Single of the Year; the album was certified gold. Rich won a Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance, he took home four Academy of Country Music awards. One of RCA's several resident songwriters, Marvin Walters, co-wrote for three years with Charlie, producing four recordings including a popular "Set Me Free". After "The Most Beautiful Girl," number-one hits came as five songs topped the country charts in 1974 and crossed over to the pop charts; the songs were "There Won't Be Anymore", "A Very Special Love Song", "I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore", "I Love My Friend", "She Called Me Baby". Both RCA and Mercury re-released his recorded material from the mid-1960s, as well.
All of this success led the CMA to name him
Sherrié Austin
Sherrie Veronica Krenn, known professionally as Sherrié Austin, is an Australian actress and singer. Active as a singer since her teenage years, Austin recorded as one half of the duo Colourhaus, which featured Phil Radford. After leaving Colourhaus, she recorded one album in her native Australia, before moving to the United States in pursuit of a singing career. There, she recorded four studio albums, charted several singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, her highest charting single was the No. 18 "Streets of Heaven" in 2003. Her fifth album was released on 15 November 2011. Austin got her start in music opening for Johnny Cash in Australia at the age of 14, she moved to the United States where she took up acting. She is most known in the United States for playing the role of Pippa McKenna on The Facts of Life in 1987–88. In 1991, she appeared as "Lady Penelope" on episode No. 20 of the first season of the television comedy series Fresh Prince of Bel Air starring Will Smith. In the 1990s, she started a singing career, teaming up with Phil Radford in 1992, to form a duo called Colourhaus, which released one album, Water to the Soul.
The Colorhaus song "Color Me You" was on the soundtrack of the "Rookie of the Year" episode of the television series Baywatch on October 5, 1992. Afterwards, Austin moved to Tennessee, to pursue a career in country music, her first solo contract was with Arista Nashville, with the album Words being released in 1997. It produced singles in "Lucky in Love", "One Solitary Tear", "Put Your Heart into It", "Innocent Man". "Lucky in Love" and "Put Your Heart into It" both reached Top 40 on the country charts with a peak of No. 34 each. Her second and final album for Arista was 1999's Love in the Real World, led off by the No. 29 "Never Been Kissed", followed by "Little Bird". After RCA acquired Arista Records, Austin's publishing company, Reynsong Publishing, formed Wrensong Entertainment and signed to Madacy Entertainment for her next album, Followin' a Feelin', which produced another single in its lead-off single, a cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", she switched to the independent Broken Bow Records label.
Her fourth album of country music, titled Streets of Heaven, produced her biggest country hit in its title track. Following this single was "Son of a Preacher Man", a cover of the Dusty Springfield song, never included on an album. Austin moved to New York City in 2005 and appeared in the New York Musical Theater Festival's production of Bonnie & Clyde; the New York Times commented that she was "a sultry young country music singer who plays the notorious criminal Bonnie Parker and does for this musical what Reba McEntire did for the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. That twang in her voice provides some much-needed authenticity in excellent pop-country numbers like "Ain't Goin' Back." And it's easy to tell by her hip-swiveling poses that this is a woman who knows how to hold a stage."The following year, Austin performed in Ring Of Fire – The Johnny Cash Musical Show at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. She performed in the production of Warrior, a musical about the American-Indian athlete Jim Thorpe, where CurtainUp.com described her as "outstanding".
She returned to Nashville in 2006. Austin co-wrote Danielle Peck's 2007 single "Bad for Me", the title track to Blake Shelton's 2008 album Startin' Fires, George Strait's "Where Have I Been All My Life" off his 2009 album Twang, Tim McGraw's duet, with wife Faith Hill, "Shotgun Rider" off his Let It Go album in 2007. Austin left Broken Bow in 2008, she was named one of 2011's "25 Most Beautiful People" by Nashville Lifestyles Magazine. In summer 2011, The Sundance Channel announced that Austin and her friend Shane Stevens would be on the second season of Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys, filmed in Nashville and features women and their gay best friends; the season started 18 November 2011. Austin's most recent album, Circus Girl, her first in eight years, is described as a series of stories interpreted by a strong woman, about women, for women, Austin feels it’s something her female fans have been clamouring for, for quite some time."The last few years I had been complaining about that fact that there weren’t any females speaking to women above the age of 30, so I started thinking about how I was writing my songs and came up with the idea for “Friday Night Girls"...
I wanted to write a three minute song with every Sex and the City episode that had existed, so I did. I noticed that the women in my audiences loved it and so I switched my songwriting focus for a while to concentrate on that audience, who are my peers, to speak to them”, says Austin. Circus Girl was released independently on 15 November 2011. Notes The Facts of Life Call From Space Open House Exile Shadows of the Heart An American Summer The Fresh Prince of Bel Air Official website
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject to the monarch of Britain and were now united and independent states; the Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. Independence Day is associated with fireworks, barbecues, fairs, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States. During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain in 1776 occurred on July 2, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence, proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain's rule.
After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration approving it two days on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail: The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival, it ought to be commemorated by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, sports, bells and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more. Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.
Historians have long disputed whether members of Congress signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4 though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin all wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, not on July 4 as is believed. Coincidentally, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, another Founding Father, elected as President died on July 4, 1831, he was the third President. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on July 4, 1872. S. President to have been born on Independence Day. In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. An article in July 18, 1777 issue of The Virginia Gazette noted a celebration in Philadelphia in a manner a modern American would find familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, prayers, parades, troop reviews, fireworks.
Ships in port were decked with red and blue bunting. In 1778, from his headquarters at Ross Hall, near New Brunswick, New Jersey, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute. Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France. In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday; the holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5. In 1781, the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration. In 1783, North Carolina held a celebration with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter entitled The Psalm of Joy; the town claims to be the first public July 4 event, as it was documented by the Moravian Church, there are no government records of any earlier celebrations. In 1870, the U. S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.
Independence Day is a national holiday marked by patriotic displays. Similar to other summer-themed events, Independence Day celebrations take place outdoors. According to 5 U. S. C. § 6103, Independence Day is a federal holiday, so all non-essential federal institutions are closed on that day. Many politicians make it a point on this day to appear at a public event to praise the nation's heritage, history and people. Families celebrate Independence Day by hosting or attending a picnic or barbecue. Decorations are colored red and blue, the colors of the American flag. Parades are held in the morning, before family get-togethers, while fireworks displays occur in the evening after dark at such places as parks, fairgrounds, or town squares; the night before the Fourth was once the focal point of celebrations, marked by raucous gatherings incorporating bonfires as their centerpiece. In New E
Country music
Country music known as country and western, hillbilly music, is a genre of popular music that originated in the southern United States in the early 1920s. It takes its roots from genres such as folk blues. Country music consists of ballads and dance tunes with simple forms, folk lyrics, harmonies accompanied by string instruments such as banjos and acoustic guitars, steel guitars, fiddles as well as harmonicas. Blues modes have been used extensively throughout its recorded history. According to Lindsey Starnes, the term country music gained popularity in the 1940s in preference to the earlier term hillbilly music. In 2009 in the United States, country music was the most listened to rush hour radio genre during the evening commute, second most popular in the morning commute; the term country music is used today to describe many subgenres. The origins of country music are found in the folk music of working class Americans, who blended popular songs and Celtic fiddle tunes, traditional English ballads, cowboy songs, the musical traditions of various groups of European immigrants.
Immigrants to the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America brought the music and instruments of Europe along with them for nearly 300 years. Country music was "introduced to the world as a Southern phenomenon." The U. S. Congress has formally recognized Bristol, Tennessee as the "Birthplace of Country Music", based on the historic Bristol recording sessions of 1927. Since 2014, the city has been home to the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Historians have noted the influence of the less-known Johnson City sessions of 1928 and 1929, the Knoxville sessions of 1929 and 1930. In addition, the Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, held in 1925, helped to inspire modern country music. Before these, pioneer settlers, in the Great Smoky Mountains region, had developed a rich musical heritage; the first generation emerged in the early 1920s, with Atlanta's music scene playing a major role in launching country's earliest recording artists. New York City record label Okeh Records began issuing hillbilly music records by Fiddlin' John Carson as early as 1923, followed by Columbia Records in 1924, RCA Victor Records in 1927 with the first famous pioneers of the genre Jimmie Rodgers and the first family of country music The Carter Family.
Many "hillbilly" musicians, such as Cliff Carlisle, recorded blues songs throughout the 1920s. During the second generation, radio became a popular source of entertainment, "barn dance" shows featuring country music were started all over the South, as far north as Chicago, as far west as California; the most important was the Grand Ole Opry, aired starting in 1925 by WSM in Nashville and continuing to the present day. During the 1930s and 1940s, cowboy songs, or Western music, recorded since the 1920s, were popularized by films made in Hollywood. Bob Wills was another country musician from the Lower Great Plains who had become popular as the leader of a "hot string band," and who appeared in Hollywood westerns, his mix of country and jazz, which started out as dance hall music, would become known as Western swing. Wills was one of the first country musicians known to have added an electric guitar to his band, in 1938. Country musicians began recording boogie in 1939, shortly after it had been played at Carnegie Hall, when Johnny Barfield recorded "Boogie Woogie".
The third generation started at the end of World War II with "mountaineer" string band music known as bluegrass, which emerged when Bill Monroe, along with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were introduced by Roy Acuff at the Grand Ole Opry. Gospel music remained a popular component of country music. Another type of stripped-down and raw music with a variety of moods and a basic ensemble of guitar, dobro or steel guitar became popular among poor whites in Texas and Oklahoma, it became known as honky tonk, had its roots in Western swing and the ranchera music of Mexico and the border states. By the early 1950s a blend of Western swing, country boogie, honky tonk was played by most country bands. Rockabilly was most popular with country fans in the 1950s, 1956 could be called the year of rockabilly in country music, with Johnny Cash emerging as one of the most popular and enduring representatives of the rockabilly genre. Beginning in the mid-1950s, reaching its peak during the early 1960s, the Nashville sound turned country music into a multimillion-dollar industry centered in Nashville, Tennessee.
The late 1960s in American music produced a unique blend as a result of traditionalist backlash within separate genres. In the aftermath of the British Invasion, many desired a return to the "old values" of rock n' roll. At the same time there was a lack of enthusiasm in the country sector for Nashville-produced music. What resulted was a crossbred genre known as country rock. Fourth generation music included outlaw country with roots in the Bakersfield sound, country pop with roots in the countrypolitan, folk music and soft rock. Between 1972 and 1975 singer/guitarist John Denver released a se
Jamie O'Neal
Jamie O'Neal is an Australian country singer and songwriter. In 2000, O'Neal released Shiver; the album included the back-to-back number one singles "There Is No Arizona" and "When I Think About Angels". Two other singles were released: the title track, which reached No. 21 on the country charts, "Frantic", which reached No. 41 in 2002. Since she has released her second studio album, Brave, in 2005, her third studio album, was released on 27 May 2014. She was born Jamie Murphy in Sydney, Australia, to parents Jimmy and Julie Murphy, who were professional musicians. She, her parents, her younger sister, sang in The Murphy Family band in the 1970s until her parents divorced. In the early part of her adult career she was a backing singer in Australia, appearing on Kylie Minogue's Enjoy Yourself Tour of Australia, UK, Europe and Far East Asia in 1990, she rejoined Minogue in 1991 for the Let's Get To It Tour of the Ireland. O'Neal was signed to Mercury Nashville in 2000, soon after she began to work on her first album.
Her first single, "There Is No Arizona", debuted at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, reaching number one in February 2001. On 31 October 2000, was released; the album charted to No. 14 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, No. 125 on the Billboard 200. A second single, "When I Think About Angels", debuted at No. 45 on the country charts for the week of 31 March 2001. It spent several weeks on the charts, reaching number one in August 2001. Following the success of the album's first two singles, Shiver was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Two additional singles followed: "Shiver" and "Frantic", which reached No. 21 and No. 41 on the charts, respectively. In 2001, the motion picture Bridget Jones's Diary featured a cover version of All by Myself performed by Jamie O'Neal showing actress Renée Zellweger singing to it in the famous pajamas scene. In 2002, she and the country singer Mark Wills recorded a duet together, titled "I'm Not Gonna Do Anything Without You".
It was released as the second single from Wills' album Loving Every Minute. The song only reached No. 31 on the Hot Country Tracks chart. O'Neal's fifth single, "Every Little Thing", was the first single from what was to be her second studio album, On My Way to You. However, the song only managed to reach No. 34 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, the album was never released. Shortly thereafter, O'Neal and Mercury parted ways. After leaving Mercury, O'Neal signed to Capitol Nashville, her first single for the label, "Trying to Find Atlantis", was released on 27 September 2004. It reached No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song was the lead-off to Brave, released on 1 March 2005, it proved to be a bigger success on the albums chart, reaching No. 6 on the Top Country Albums chart. "Somebody's Hero" was released in 2005 as the second single and reached No. 3 on the Hot Country Songs chart, giving O'Neal her first Top 10 single since 2001. The final single, "I Love My Life", failed to make the Top 20, reaching only to No. 26.
In early 2007, a new single, "God Don't Make Mistakes", was released. The single failed to make an impact at country radio. 47, her lowest chart single at the time. After the song was never included on an album, O'Neal and Capitol parted ways. In early 2008, O'Neal signed with the Atlanta-Nashville based record label 1720 Entertainment. A new single, "Like a Woman", was released in November 2008; the song was intended to be the lead-off single to O'Neal's third studio album, Like a Woman. The single only managed to peak at No. 43 on the country charts. A second single, "A Soldier Comin' Home", was failed to chart. No further singles were promoted to radio and Like a Woman was not released. O'Neal announced in early 2012 that she had established Momentum Label Group; the label's flagship artist is Rachele Lynae, who released her first single, "Party'Til the Cows Come Home", in March 2012. O'Neal signed to Shanachie Records in 2014 and released Eternal on 27 May 2014. Except for the original song "Wide Awake", the album is composed of cover songs.
Jamie toured North American in 2017 while recording a new album. Since 2000, Jamie O'Neal has been married to Rodney Good, a songwriter, record producer and guitarist in O'Neal's road band, they have one daughter, born in 2003. Jamie O'Neal official web page
United States
