1.
Album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves
2.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
3.
Abbey Road Studios
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Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St Johns Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, Abbey Road Studios is most notable as being the 1960s venue for innovative recording techniques adopted by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Hollies, Badfinger and others. One of its earliest world-famous-artist clients was Paul Robeson, who recorded December 1931, towards the end of 2009, the studio came under threat of sale to property developers. However, the British Government protected the site, granting it English Heritage Grade II listed status in 2010, originally a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse built in 1831 on the footpath leading to Kilburn Abbey, the building was later converted to flats where the most flamboyant resident was Maundy Gregory. In 1931, the Gramophone Company acquired the premises and converted it into studios, pathé filmed the opening of the studios when Sir Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in recording sessions of his music. In 1934, inventor of stereo sound, Alan Blumlein, recorded Mozarts Jupiter Symphony which was conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham at the studios, the neighbouring house is also owned by the studio and used to house musicians. During the mid-20th century, the studio was used by leading British conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent. The Gramophone Company amalgamated with Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI and it was under this name that in 1936 cellist Pablo Casals became the first to record Johann Sebastian Bachs Cello Suites No.1 &2 at the command of EMI head Fred Gaisberg. The recordings went on to spur a revolution among Bach aficionados, in 1958, Studio Two at Abbey Road became a centre for rock and roll music when Cliff Richard and the Drifters recorded Move It there, and later pop music material. The Beatles named their 1969 album Abbey Road, after the street where the studio is located, the studio was renamed Abbey Road Studios in 1970 after the Beatles album had made it famous. Iain Macmillan took the cover photograph outside the studios, with the result that the nearby zebra crossing has become a place of pilgrimage for Beatles fans. It has been a tradition for visitors to pay homage to the band by writing on the wall in front of the even though it is painted over every three months. December 2010, the crossing at Abbey Road was given a Grade II listed status. Pink Floyd recorded most of their late 1960s to mid-1970s albums here, the Shadows named their Live at Abbey Road album after the studio, with the cover spoofing the Beatles album. The chief mastering engineer at Abbey Road was Chris Vinyl Blair, in 1979, EMI commissioned the British jazz fusion band Morrissey-Mullen to record Britains first digitally recorded single record at Abbey Road Studios. From July 18 to September 11,1983, the public had an opportunity to see inside the legendary Studio Two where The Beatles made most of their records. While a new mixing console was being installed in the control room, the soundtrack to the video had a number of recordings that were not made commercially available until the release of The Beatles Anthology project over a decade later. The Red Hot Chili Peppers used a photograph of the walking across the zebra crossing naked on the front of The Abbey Road E. P. which was released in 1988
4.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
5.
Sunset Sound Recorders
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Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disneys Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, soon, the audio for many of Disneys early films was being recorded at the studio, including Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mary Poppins, and 101 Dalmatians. Over 200 Gold records have recorded at Sunset Sound, including albums by Prince with Purple Rain. The Doors recorded their first two albums, The Doors and Strange Days, at the studio, Recording sessions for Janis Joplins posthumously-released album Pearl also took place here. Prior to the opening of 5150 Studios, Van Halen used Sunset Sound to record its first five albums, in 1981, Sunset Sound Recorders owner Camarata purchased The Sound Factory, another Los Angeles recording studio founded by Moonglow Records and later purchased and developed by David Hassinger. The two studios now operate as Sunset Sound and The Sound Factory, respectively, Sunset Sound and Sound Factory website
6.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
7.
Santa Monica, California
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Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. The Census Bureau population for Santa Monica in 2010 was 89,736, due in part to an agreeable climate, Santa Monica became a famed resort town by the early 20th century. The city has experienced a boom since the late 1980s through the revitalization of its core, significant job growth. The Santa Monica Pier remains a popular and iconic destination, Santa Monica was long inhabited by the Tongva people. Santa Monica was called Kecheek in the Tongva language, the first non-indigenous group to set foot in the area was the party of explorer Gaspar de Portolà, who camped near the present-day intersection of Barrington and Ohio Avenues on August 3,1769. Named after the Christian saint Monica, there are two different accounts of how the name came to be. One says it was named in honor of the feast day of Saint Monica, another version says it was named by Juan Crespí on account of a pair of springs, the Kuruvungna Springs, that were reminiscent of the tears Saint Monica shed over her sons early impiety. In Los Angeles, several battles were fought by the Californios, following the Mexican–American War, Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave Mexicans and Californios living in state certain unalienable rights. US government sovereignty in California began on February 2,1848, in the 1870s the Los Angeles and Independence Railroad, connected Santa Monica with Los Angeles, and a wharf out into the bay. The first town hall was a modest 1873 brick building, later a beer hall and it is Santa Monicas oldest extant structure. By 1885, the towns first hotel was the Santa Monica Hotel, around the start of the 20th century, a growing population of Asian Americans lived in and around Santa Monica and Venice. A Japanese fishing village was near the Long Wharf while small numbers of Chinese lived or worked in Santa Monica, the two ethnic minorities were often viewed differently by White Americans who were often well-disposed towards the Japanese but condescending towards the Chinese. The Japanese village fishermen were an economic part of the Santa Monica Bay community. Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. built a plant in 1922 at Clover Field for the Douglas Aircraft Company, in 1924, four Douglas-built planes took off from Clover Field to attempt the first aerial circumnavigation of the world. Two planes returned after covering 27,553 miles in 175 days, the Douglas Company kept facilities in the city until the 1960s. The Great Depression hit Santa Monica deeply, one report gives citywide employment in 1933 of just 1,000. Hotels and office building owners went bankrupt, in the 1930s, corruption infected Santa Monica. The federal Works Project Administration helped build several buildings, most notably City Hall, the main Post Office and Barnum Hall were also among other WPA projects
8.
Marquee Club
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The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was always a small and relatively cheap club, located in the heart of the industry in Londons West End. It was a key venue for performances by bands who were to achieve worldwide fame in the 1960s. It was the location of the live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962. The club was established by Harold Pendleton, an accountant whose love of jazz had led him to become secretary of the National Jazz Federation. Originally it was located in the Marquee Ballroom in the basement of the Academy Cinema in Oxford Street and its decor was designed by Angus McBean with a striped canopy to imitate a marquee. Pendleton took over management of the ballroom, and the first Jazz at the Marquee night was held on 19 April 1958, johnny Dankworth, Chris Barber, Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies were early resident performers, and Tubby Hayes and Joe Harriott were also regular performers. In 1962 the club began a regular R&B night that occasionally featured visiting American musicians such as Muddy Waters, Pendleton also launched the National Jazz Festival in 1961 in Richmond, this was the precursor to the Reading and Leeds Festivals. In March 1964 the club moved a distance to what became its most famous venue at 90 Wardour Street. Here, almost every major rock band of note played over the next 25 years on the tiny stage, to find out who was playing on any given night, you could just call in at the Ship pub a few doors away. The development of Marquee Studios was largely financed by profits from this record, the studio was later used by Elton John, The Groundhogs, The Clash and others. The Rolling Stones, who first appeared at the club in January 1963, another TV special also filmed at the club, two years later in September 1973, was David Bowies The 1980 Floor Show, screened as part of NBCs The Midnight Special. The Faces performed there on 7 December 1970, although never a seminal punk venue, the club nevertheless embraced the burgeoning punk rock movement of the late 1970s and regularly promoted punk and new wave nights into the 1980s. Mainstream rock acts like Dire Straits, Alexis Korner, Steve Hillage, Rory Gallagher, Racing Cars, The Enid, Hanoi Rocks, The Tyla Gang, during the early to mid-1980s the Marquee became an important venue to the new wave of British heavy metal. Def Leppard played their first show on the Pyromania World Tour here, there was a glam revival spearheaded by Hanoi Rocks, The Babysitters, The Quireboys and others. NWOBHM bands such as Angel Witch, Diamond Head, Witchfynde and Praying Mantis were regulars, metallica performed their first UK show at the venue on March 27th 1984. In April 1985 Robin Trower recorded the majority of his live album Beyond the Mist at the Marquee Club and this album also includes two new studio tracks and an extended 10-minute version of Bridge of Sighs. The Marquee was the venue of the progressive rock revival of the early 1980s
9.
Rock music
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It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
10.
Progressive rock
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Progressive rock is a broad subgenre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States throughout the mid to late 1960s. Prog is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, Prog saw a high level of popularity in the early-to-mid 1970s, but faded soon after. Conventional wisdom holds that the rise of rock caused this. Music critics, who labelled the concepts as pretentious and the sounds as pompous and overblown. Early groups who exhibited progressive features are described as proto-prog. In 1967, progressive rock constituted a diversity of loosely associated style codes, the Canterbury scene, originating in the late 1960s, denoted a subset of prog bands who emphasised the use of wind instruments, complex chord changes and long improvisations. Rock in Opposition, from the late 1970s, was more avant-garde, in the 1980s, a new subgenre, neo-progressive rock, enjoyed some commercial success, although it was also accused of being derivative and lacking in innovation. Post-progressive draws upon newer developments in music and the avant-garde since the mid 1970s. The term progressive rock is synonymous with art rock, classical rock, historically, art rock has been used to describe at least two related, but distinct, types of rock music. Similarities between the two terms are that they describe a mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility. However, art rock is likely to have experimental or avant-garde influences. Prog was devised in the 1990s as a term, but later became a transferable adjective. Although a unidirectional English progressive style emerged in the late 1960s, by 1967, critics of the genre often limit its scope to a stereotype of long solos, overlong albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. Author Kevin Holm-Hudson believes that rock is a style far more diverse than what is heard from its mainstream groups. They each do so largely unconsciously, academic John S. Cotner contests Macans view that progressive rock cannot exist without the continuous and overt assimilation of classical music into rock. Debate about the criteria and scope of the genre continues in the 2010s. In early references to the music, progressive was partly related to progressive politics, Cotner also says that progressive rock incorporates both formal and eclectic elements, It consists of a combination of factors – some of them intramusical, others extramusical or social. One way of conceptualising rock and roll in relation to music is that progressive music pushed the genre into greater complexity while retracing the roots of romantic
11.
MCA Records
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MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc. which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group, of which MCA Records was still part. MCAs country division, MCA Nashville, is an active imprint of Universal Music Group Nashville. MCA was forced to exit the talent agency business in order to complete the merger, as American Decca owned Universal Pictures, MCA assumed full ownership of Universal and made it into the top film studio in town, producing hit after hit. In 1966, MCA formed Uni Records and in 1967 purchased Kapp Records which was placed under Uni Records management. In 1937, the owner of Decca, E. R. Lewis, chose to split off the U. K. Decca company from the U. S. company, companies if the emerging hostilities of Nazi Germany should lead to war – correctly foreseeing World War II. Lewis sold the remainder of his U. S. Decca holdings when war did break out, MCAs U. S. -based Decca Records kept the rights to the Decca name in North and South America and parts of Asia including Japan. U. K. Decca owned the rights to the Decca name in the rest of the world, after the war, British Decca formed a new U. S. subsidiary, London Records. During this time U. S. Decca issued records outside North America on the Brunswick, in 1967, Brunswick and Coral were replaced by the MCA label to release U. S. Decca and Kapp label material outside North America. Initial activity as MCA Records was based in London and MCA Records UK was formally launched on February 16,1968. Among the early artists on the MCA label, around 1971, were groups Wishbone Ash, Osibisa, Stackridge and Budgie, early MCA releases were distributed by U. K. Decca but it moved to EMI in 1974. In 1979, distribution moved to CBS, while the last releases in the 1980s were self-distributed, as the U. S. division of MCA Records was not established until 1972, the earliest U. K. MCA Records material was released in the U. S. on either Kapp or Decca, Uni label material was issued on the Uni label worldwide. In 1970, MCA reorganized its Canadian record company Compo Company Ltd. into MCA Records, in April 1970, former Warner Bros. Records president Mike Maitland joined MCA and initially served as Deccas general manager. Maitland was unsuccessful in his attempt to consolidate Warner Bros. Records with co-owned Atlantic Records which led to his departure from Warner, the three labels maintained their identities for a short time but were retired in favor of the MCA label in 1973. Drift Away by Dobie Gray became the final Decca pop label release in the U. S in 1973. Beginning the same year the catalogs of Decca, Uni and Kapp were reissued in the U. S. on the MCA label under the supervision of veteran Decca producer Milt Gabler. The first MCA Records release in the U. S. was former Uni artist Elton Johns Crocodile Rock single in 1972, MCA label used a black with curved rainbow design until the late 1970s. This design was inspired by the U. S. Decca label of the 1960s
12.
The Rocket Record Company
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The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song Rocket Man, the label was originally distributed in the UK by Island and in the US by MCA Records, both of which Elton John was also signed to. The first artist who signed to the label was Stackridge, who completed two albums for The Rocket Record Company after moving from MCA, John offered to sign Iggy Pop & The Stooges to the label, but they declined. After John left his British label, DJM, in 1976, the label also attempted to attract talent from all over the UK and submitted an advertisement to Melody Maker for Bands to record their sound of today and get it out tomorrow. With an album called 4992139 they turned to the talents of Pete Waterman, in the US and Canada, Johns residency on his own label was short-lived. After only one album, Blue Moves, and a couple of singles, at this time, The Rocket Record Company switched its distribution to RCA after being dropped from MCA. The label was discontinued in the US in the early 1980s, then relaunching in 1995 with Johns Made in England album, 1997s The Big Picture and Candle In The Wind 1997 were distributed in the US by stepsister A&M Records. In the UK, Johns records were released by The Rocket Record Company from 1976 onwards. In 1978 the distribution moved to Phonogram Inc. then to Mercury Records in 1995, by this time, John was the only artist on the label. Worldwide distribution rights to Elton Johns music was consolidated when MCA Records then-parent Seagram acquired PolyGram, the owner of Island, Mercury, universal Music Group, which oversaw Seagrams recording operations, now co-owns the Elton John catalogue with the singer himself, continuing to distribute it worldwide. In 1999, The Rocket Record Company was absorbed by The Island Def Jam Music Group, however, the logo was still used on all new Elton John releases until 2007. The name was resurrected in 2006 for the eponymous Platinum Weird album. In 2011, John formed a company named Rocket Music Entertainment Group, otherwise, Rocket are primarily a management company handing established artists such as Ed Sheeran and Squeezes Chris Difford along with upcoming artists like Anne-Marie and Jake Issac
13.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
14.
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
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Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
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Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the Blue Moves album and it was Johns second single released by The Rocket Record Company. The song is a ballad about a romantic relationship which is falling apart. The song is in the key of G melodic minor and G harmonic minor, the song also appeared the following year on Greatest Hits Volume II, though for copyright reasons it no longer appears on the current version of that album. It now appears on Greatest Hits 1976–1986, The Very Best of Elton John and in Greatest Hits 1970–2002, the song is also featured prominently in the 1977 movie Slap Shot. In December 2015, the song was used in a US holiday-themed commercial for Temptation cat treats, in addition, the song went to No.1 on the Easy Listening chart. In the US, it was certified Gold on 25 January 1977 by the RIAA, the song was covered in 2002 by English boy band Blue for their second studio album, One Love. The song was recorded as a collaboration with Elton John, and was the single from the album. It peaked at one on the UK Singles Chart on 15 December 2002. It has been recorded as a duet, in Spanish, and has even featured Elton John himself on a couple of versions, in 1991, Joe Cocker covered this song. In 1992, Argentine singer Pedro Aznar used the music to Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word, in 1994, country singers Suzy Bogguss and Chet Atkins covered the song on their 1994 Simpatico. It was released as a single but failed to chart, in 2002, the boy band Blue recorded the song with Elton John. This version was produced by multi-platinum producer Ray Ruffin and was a hit throughout Europe and went to No.1 in the UK, in 2004, Elton John and Ray Charles performed the song on Genius Loves Company. In 2012, the Australian electron pop duo Pnau, signed by Elton John to his own management company, Rocket Music, the lead single of this album was Sad, which sampled Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word. The single was the single for the eight-track remix compilation Good Morning to the Night in collaboration with Australian remixer Pnau. The so sad lyric, alongside elements of previous hits was merged into Elton Johns new single Sad. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
16.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is the seventh studio album by Elton John, released in 1973. The album proved to be popular, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. It was recorded at the Château dHérouville in France after problems recording at the location of Jamaica. In 2003, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the album was ranked number 91 on Rolling Stone magazines list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and number 59 in Channel 4s 2009 list of 100 Greatest Albums. He had wanted to go to Jamaica he has said, in part, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was recorded in two weeks at the Château dHérouville in France, where John had previously recorded Honky Château and Dont Shoot Me Im Only the Piano Player. While a version of Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting was recorded in Jamaica, that recording was discarded, according to the albums producer, Gus Dudgeon, the album was not planned as a two-record collection. In total, John and Taupin composed 22 tracks for the album, of which 18 were used, enough that it was released as a double album, through the medium of cinematic metaphor, the album builds on nostalgia for a childhood and culture left in the past. Tracks include Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the 11-minute Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting was inspired by memories of a Market Rasen pub Taupin frequented when younger. Grey Seal, previously the B-side of the 1970 single Rock n Roll Madonna, was re-recorded for the album, harmony was released as a single in Britain in 1980 and failed to chart. The original 1973 LP, when released on CD, was released on two discs, while the 1992 and 1995 CD remasters put the album on one disc as it was less than 80 minutes. The 30th anniversary edition followed the format, splitting the album across two discs to allow the inclusion of the bonus tracks, while a DVD on the making of the album was also included. The album has also released by Mobile Fidelity as a single disc 24 karat gold CD. The album was released on SACD, DVD-Audio, and Blu-ray Audio and these high resolution releases included the original stereo mixes, as well as 5.1 remixes produced and engineered by Greg Penny. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has come to be regarded as Johns best and most popular album, three singles were released in the US, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Bennie and the Jets and Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting. In the US it was certified gold in October 1973, 5× platinum in March 1993, the album was ranked No.91 on Rolling Stone magazines 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was also placed at No.59 in Channel 4s 2009 list of 100 Greatest Albums, all songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin except Funeral for a Friend written by Elton John. Note, The DVD version of this film edits about 10 minutes from the original 1973 documentary which ran for 56 minutes, according to the albums liner notes
17.
Wembley Arena
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Wembley Arena /ˈwɛmbli/ is an indoor arena located in Arena Square, Engineers Way, Wembley Park, Wembley, London. It was built for the 1934 British Empire Games at Wembley, by Arthur Elvin, the pool itself was last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics. The building is used for music, comedy, family entertainment, the venue was renovated, along with Wembley Stadium, as part of the early-21st-century regeneration of the Wembley Park area. The arena refurbishment cost £35m and the new arena opened to the public on 2 April 2006, with 12,500 seats, it is Londons second-largest indoor arena after The O2. In September 2013, it was announced that AEG Facilities had signed a 15-year contract to operate the arena, the building was renamed The SSE Arena on 1 June 2014 after SSE plc bought the naming rights to the venue for 10 years. When the venue was known as the Empire Pool, it hosted the annual New Musical Express Poll Winners concert during the mid-1960s, the Grateful Dead, Status Quo, The Who, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, were among many others. The individual performances were then finished by a famous personality joining the respective performer on stage, the Beatles were presented with one of their awards by actor Roger Moore and Cliff Richard was joined on stage by Roy Orbison, to present him with his own award. These ceremonies were filmed and recorded and later broadcast on television, the Grateful Dead have released recordings of complete shows from 7–8 April 1972 as part of Europe 72, The Complete Recordings. The Grateful Dead also performed at Wembley Arena on 31 October 1990 as part of their fall 1990 European concert tour, bruce Hornsby accompanied the band for this concert. A notable attendance record was set in the early 1970s by David Cassidy, in his first tour of Great Britain in 1973, ABBA played six sold-out concerts, from 5 to 10 November 1979. The shows were filmed by Swedish television for a documentary which was released in 2004 on DVD as ABBA in Concert, in September 2014 Universal Music released Live at Wembley Arena, featuring most of the 10 November concert on CD, vinyl LP and digital format. After the tour, the members of the band talked about the warmth of the Wembley audience and it was like coming home after a couple of nights, said guitarist Björn Ulvaeus. A finale from these concerts, The Way Old Friends Do, is the track on ABBAs seventh studio album. Vocalist Agnetha Fältskog said it was the vibe from the audience made the track work so much better as a live performance than as a studio track. Irish band Westlife are the pop band with most shows with 28, american singer Prince played 35 concerts at the venue between 1986–1998. Pearl Jam hold the record for one show, with 12,470 fans at their 2007 gig. Bob Dylan has performed at the arena 12 times over his career, alter Bridge performed on 29 November 2011 and released a DVD later. John Mayer performed a date of his 2013 world tour at Wembley Arena on 26 October 2013
18.
Kenny Passarelli
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Kenny Passarelli is an American bass guitarist. Passarelli was a member of Barnstorm, co-writing the hit Rocky Mountain Way. Passarelli has played with a variety of musicians, including Joe Walsh, Elton John, Dan Fogelberg, Stephen Stills and Hall. He served as a replacement for Dee Murray in the Elton John Band from 1975–76, playing on the albums Rock of the Westies and Blue Moves. After leaving Johns band he joined the Hall and Oates band in June 1977 and appeared on their albums Livetime and Along the Red Ledge. com
19.
James Newton-Howard
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James Newton Howard is an American composer, conductor, music producer and musician. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, Emmy Award, and eight Academy Award nominations. He has collaborated with directors M. Night Shyamalan, having scored nine of his films since The Sixth Sense, James Newton Howard was born in Los Angeles. He came from a family, his grandmother was the Pittsburgh Symphonys concertmaster. Howard began studying music as a child, taking piano lessons at the age of four. He went on to attend the Thacher School in Ojai, California, after Howard left college, he joined a short-lived rock band, then worked for a couple of years as a session musician with artists including Diana Ross, Ringo Starr, and Harry Nilsson. In the early 70s, he described himself as being dirt poor and he joined Eltons band and toured with them as keyboardist during the late 70s and early 80s. He was part of the band that played Central Park, New York, in 1982, Howard was featured on Toto IV as the strings conductor and orchestrator for I Wont Hold You Back, Afraid of Love, and Lovers in the Night. A year later, he released the live album James Newton Howard and Friends, which featured Totos David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro, in 1983, Howard was co-producer, musician, and orchestrator of Riccardo Cocciantes album Sincerità. After briefly touring with Crosby, Stills and Nash, he took an opportunity brought to him by his manager to write a score for a small-time movie. This career move would lead to his becoming a film music composer. He conducted both his own and Paul Buckmasters arrangements during the half of the set, which focused on orchestrated performances of selected songs from the Elton John catalog. When delving into his history, twenty-five years after the death of his father. He later became a practicing Reconstructionist Jew, Howard scored the surprise blockbuster romantic comedy Pretty Woman and received his first Academy Award nomination for his score for Barbra Streisands drama The Prince of Tides. Night Shyamalans The Village, and Michael Clayton, in addition, Howard scored the Western epic Wyatt Earp, Kevin Costners Waterworld, and Primal Fear. His collaborations on songs for One Fine Day and Junior garnered Oscar nominations for Best Song and he has also scored three Disney animated feature films, Dinosaur, Atlantis, The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet. On October 14,2005 Howard replaced Howard Shore as composer for King Kong, the resultant score earned Howard his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. His work on Michael Clayton earned him an Oscar nomination and he followed in 2008 with his eighth Oscar nomination for Edward Zwicks Defiance
20.
Davey Johnstone
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David William Logan Davey Johnstone is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with Elton John. Johnstones first work was with Noel Murphy in 1968, where he received his first album credit on the album Another Round. By 1969, Johnstone had secured work as a session musician, where he began to branch out and explore differing genres of music. In 1970, when Lyell Tranter, one of the two guitarists in the acoustic British folk group Magna Carta left the band, Johnstone took his place as a member. He recorded several albums with them beginning in 1970 on Seasons, and continued to contribute to Songs from Wasties Orchard, during his stint with Magna Carta, Johnstone played a wide variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, sitar, and dulcimer. Previously, the Elton John Band consisted of John himself, bassist Dee Murray, Johnstone released a solo album, Smiling Face, in 1973 through The Rocket Record Company and created a short-lived band called China that released an eponymous album in 1977. In 1990, Johnstone collaborated for the first time with lyricist Steve Trudell, in 1991, Warpipes released their only album, Holes in the Heavens, on the label Artful Balance Records. When Artful Balance Records folded, this album was re-released on Bridge Recordings, the album title was changed to simply Warpipes and the song line-up was altered slightly. In 1991, Johnstone produced Addison Steels Stormy Blue in which he played guitar, mandolin, sitar, banjo, co-producer Guy Babylon joined with keyboard arrangements alongside drummer Nigel Olsson and Billy Trudell adding percussion and vocals. On 10 June 2009, Johnstone played a landmark 2, 000th show as a member of the Elton John Band at the SECC in Glasgow, Scotland. He is currently serving as Johns musical director, in addition to his work, playing along with Nigel Olsson and John Mahon. In 2014, he played on Belle Fleur and If You Were My Love from Stevie Nicks album 24 Karat Gold and he knew Nicks from when he played guitar on several songs from her 1981 album Bella Donna. Johnstone lives in Los Angeles with his wife and he has seven children, and has played gigs with them. Smiling Face Magna Carta official website Davey Johnstones 2, 000th Show
21.
Ray Cooper
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Raymond Thomas Ray Cooper is an English virtuoso percussionist. Cooper absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice, incorporation of unusual instruments such as cowbells, glockenspiel, and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. For two decades Cooper honed his technique, In the 1990s, he reinvented his style, Cooper was born in Watford, Hertfordshire. Most notable is his work with Elton John, with whom he has played on many albums, Cooper had a short stint with The Rolling Stones playing percussion for their 1974 Its Only Rockn Roll album. Later in that decade he recorded with George Harrison, the Kinks, Wings, in the late 1970s Cooper toured with Elton John as a duo in which Elton would play a solo set and then be joined by Cooper on percussion for the second half of the concerts. The tour included concerts in Russia, and in the course of the tour Cooper became a favourite with Elton John fans for his expressive energy, fans show up with signs for Cooper at every concert. The success of the Solo tour with Elton John was repeated in 1993–1994 when he, during that time, Cooper was also featured as part of a Disney Channel concert telecast, A Special Evening With Elton John, recorded September 1994 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Most recently, Cooper reunited with Elton John in the autumn of 2009, with a series of shows in France, Coopers relationship with the Rolling Stones continued into the 1980s. In 1981, he contributed to Bill Wymans third solo album, in 1983, he participated in a short tour for the Ronnie Lane ARMS Charity Concert along with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and other artists, including Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Cooper showed up on Christine McVies self-titled solo album in 1984, in 1985, Cooper appeared on both Mick Jaggers Shes the Boss album and Bill Wymans Willie & The Poor Boys. Also in 1985, Cooper would perform as percussionist for a number of artists during the charity event Live Aid, in 1997, he guested this time, with Bill Wymans Rhythm Kings for Struttin Our Stuff. In 1997 he performed at the Music for Montserrat concert and can be seen in the DVD of the event and he contributed to the tribute concert for Jim Capaldi in January 2007. He also worked on Katie Meluas album Pictures, Cooper would perform a 7-minute percussion/drum solo, at the end of which he would complete a 360 on the drums. He would break three sets by repetitive, extremely fast movements, lead the audience in a chant. The band then rejoined the song, which completed the show and he has also worked in films, playing small roles such as the preacher in Robert Altmans feature film Popeye starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall. He also appeared in the Concert for Cascara in the 1985 film Water, the role was however given to Christopher Fairbank, who opted to play him as a scouser, due to Cooper being unable to make it to the audition. The character of Moxey was given only limited lines and screentime in the first series of Pet due to Coopers acting inexperience, in early 2012, Elton John and Ray Cooper performed a small exclusive series of shows outside of the US. This is the first time since 1995 that Cooper and John toured together without a band, Ray Cooper at the Internet Movie Database
22.
A Single Man (album)
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A Single Man, released in 1978, is the twelfth official album release for Elton John. It is the first album where Gary Osborne replaced Bernie Taupin as lyricist, a Single Man is the first of Johns albums to not include long-time collaborators Bernie Taupin and Gus Dudgeon. The returning members of his band are percussionist Ray Cooper and guitarist Davey Johnstone, paul Buckmaster would not appear on another Elton John album until Made in England. Unlike previous compositions in which came first, John began writing melodies at a piano. This was Johns first in which he started singing in a lower register, Song for Guy was written as a tribute to Guy Burchett, a young Rocket messenger who was killed in a motorcycle accident. The photo for the front cover was taken in the Long Walk, the inside cover shows John in a Jaguar XK140 FHC. The album was released on 16 October 1978 by MCA in America, singles from the album were Part-Time Love, October 1978, Song for Guy, November 1978, and Return to Paradise,1979. A Single Man was Johns first album ever to be released in the former USSR. It was released following the success of his A Single Man in Concert shows in Moscow and Leningrad, firstly, the album was re-titled Poyot Elton John. Secondly, on prints, both Big Dipper and Part-Time Love were removed, due to the subject matter of the songs. Curiously, John had performed Part-Time Love at the USSR shows without objection from Soviet officials, in the US, A Single Man was certified gold in October 1978 and platinum in November of the same year by the RIAA. The 1998 reissue has five tracks, the first two being the 1978 flop-single Ego, and its B-side Flinstone Boy. The next two tracks are the B-sides of Part-Time Love and Song for Guy, and the last track, Strangers, originally B-side of his 1979 disco-album title track, some releases of his 1980 album,21 at 33, also have Strangers as a bonus track. He performed two sets, one for MCA personnel at the Century Plaza Hotel on 14 October 1978. Johns tour in 1979 included songs from the album, since that period, songs other than Song for Guy have not been performed. All songs by Elton John and Gary Osborne, except where noted. J
23.
Recording Industry Association of America
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The Recording Industry Association of America is a continental North and South American trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, the RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D. C. The RIAA was formed in 1952 and its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3 rpm,45 rpm. Since 2001, the RIAA has spent $2 to $6 million each year on lobbying in the United States, the RIAA also participates in the collective rights management of sound recordings, and it is responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the United States. Cary Sherman has been the RIAAs chairman and CEO since 2011, Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO. Mitch Glazier has been the RIAAs senior executive vice president since 2011 and he served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011. The past RIAA chairman and CEO is Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011 and he left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, the RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies. The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles, the criterion was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales, the awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members. Since 2000, the RIAA also operates a program for Latin music sales. Currently, a Disco De Oro is awarded for 30,000 units, the RIAA defines Latin music as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to branch of certification. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish and this release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is different from other styles. Gold,50,000 Platinum,100,000 Multi-Platinum,200,000 copies The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music, studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible to moderate. The association has commenced high-profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers and it has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children
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Kiki Dee
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Pauline Matthews, better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer born in Little Horton, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motowns Tamla Records. In 1993 she performed another duet with Elton John for his Duets album, a version of Cole Porters True Love. During her career, she has released 40 singles, three EPs and 12 albums, Kiki Dee began singing with a local band in Bradford in the early 1960s. Her recording career began as a session singer and she sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, among others, and was well regarded by other singers but did not achieve solo success in the UK for many years. In 1963 Dee released her first single Early Night, and recorded her debut album I’m Kiki Dee, which included a series of Phil Spector style tracks and covers for Fontana Records. Her 1966 release Why Dont I Run Away From You was a big hit on Radio London and Radio Caroline and her 1968 release On a Magic Carpet Ride, which was originally a B-side, has remained popular with the Northern Soul circuit. Much of her recorded work for Fontana Records was released on 24 January 2011. Songwriter Mitch Murray created her name and penned her first single. In the United States she became the first white British artist to be signed by Motown, releasing her first Motown single in 1970. In the days before BBC Radio 1, Dee was a performer of cover versions on BBC Radio. She also appeared in an episode of The Benny Hill Show in January 1971, performing the Blood, Sweat and Tears hit. Nevertheless, it was only after she signed with Elton Johns label named The Rocket Record Company that she became a name in the UK. Her first major hits were Amoureuse and Ive Got the Music in Me. Her biggest hit came in 1976 when she replaced an ailing Dusty Springfield for the recording of a duet with John, the single reached No.1 in both the UK and US, remaining at the top for six weeks in the UK. After a quiet period in the late 1970s, Dee launched a comeback in 1981, releasing one of her biggest hits, Star and this later became the theme music to the BBC1 programme Opportunity Knocks between 1987 and 1990. Also in 1981, Dee joined forces again with Elton John, recording a cover of the Four Tops song Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever which was written by Ivy Jo Hunter and Stevie Wonder. Both of these were included on her album Perfect Timing, which became a modest hit on the album chart, in 1983, she supplied backing vocals to Elton Johns album Too Low for Zero
25.
Rock of the Westies
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Rock of the Westies, released in October 1975, is the tenth official album release for Elton John. As with Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Rock of the Westies debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at No,1, the only two albums at that time to have done so. It was less successful in the home territory of the UK. Robert Christgau ranked it as No.7 on his list of the best albums of 1975, the title is a play on the phrase West of the Rockies. Rock of the Westies contained the US No.1 single, Island Girl, John noted at the time in a radio interview that he had wanted to release Dan Dare as the albums first single instead of Island Girl, because he thought it had more commercial appeal. He was however, over-ruled, and Dan Dare was never released as a single, the make-up of Johns band was different on Rock of the Westies, being without his long-time drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, both of whom John fired during April 1975. Pope had also played in Kiki Dees touring band, grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award nominated James Newton-Howard, at the time a virtual unknown, was also brought in as keyboardist, giving him his first major publicity. Also included was Caleb Quaye, another old friend of Johns from his early DJM session days, like Pope, Quaye had also played on Empty Sky & Tumbleweed Connection & also Johns intervening eponymous release. Retained from the previous line-up were Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper, a slower, less up-tempo version of Hard Luck Story had already been recorded by Kiki Dee, and released as a single one year prior to its recording for Rock of the Westies. Along with Dont Go Breaking My Heart, it is credited to Ann Orson/Carte Blanche a moniker John devised when composing a song on his own, the name Ann Orson is also used as the name of a backing vocalist. Labelle performed backing vocals on the track, Medley, Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly. In the US, it was certified gold in October 1975, outside the US and Canada, this was the last original studio release from John on DJM Records, before forming his own label, The Rocket Record Company. The song Street Kids was featured in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, all songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted. “Ann Orson/Carte Blanche” is a used by John and Taupin
26.
The Beach Boys
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The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The groups original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, distinguished by their vocal harmonies and early surf songs, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The Beach Boys began as a band managed by the Wilsons father Murry. Emerging at the vanguard of the California Sound, they performed material that reflected a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars. After 1964, they abandoned the surfing aesthetic for more personal lyrics, in 1966, the Pet Sounds album and Good Vibrations single vaulted the group to the top level of rock innovators and established the band as symbols of the nascent counterculture era. Following Smiles dissolution, Brian gradually ceded production and songwriting duties to the rest of the band, reducing his input because of mental health and substance abuse issues. The continued success of their greatest hits albums during the mid 1970s precipitated the transition into an oldies act. Since the 1980s, much-publicized legal wrangling over royalties, songwriting credits, Dennis drowned in 1983 and Carl died of lung cancer in 1998. After Carls death, many live configurations of the band fronted by Mike Love, Even though Wilson and Jardine have not performed with Love and Johnstons band since their one-off 2012 reunion tour, they remain a part of the Beach Boys corporation, Brother Records Inc. The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, the group had over eighty songs chart worldwide, thirty-six of them US Top 40 hits, four reaching number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. They received their only Grammy Award for The Smile Sessions, the core quintet of the three Wilsons, Love and Jardine were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. At the time of his birthday on June 20,1958, Brian Wilson shared a bedroom with his brothers, Dennis and Carl – aged thirteen and eleven. He had watched his father, Murry Wilson, play piano, after dissecting songs such as Ivory Tower and Good News, Brian would teach family members how to sing the background harmonies. For his birthday that year, Brian received a tape recorder. He learned how to overdub, using his vocals and those of Carl, Brian played piano with Carl and David Marks, an eleven-year-old longtime neighbor, playing guitars they had each received as Christmas presents. Soon Brian and Carl were avidly listening to Johnny Otis KFOX radio show, inspired by the simple structure and vocals of the rhythm and blues songs he heard, Brian changed his piano-playing style and started writing songs. His enthusiasm interfered with his studies at school. Family gatherings brought the Wilsons in contact with cousin Mike Love, Brian taught Loves sister Maureen and a friend harmonies
27.
Bruce Johnston
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Bruce Arthur Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as a member of The Beach Boys. In 1965, Johnston joined the band for performances, filling in for the groups co-founder Brian Wilson. Johnston then became a member on subsequent albums. He is also known for his early 1960s collaborations with Terry Melcher as Bruce & Terry and with the band the Rip Chords. As a child Johnston was adopted by William and Irene Johnston of Chicago and grew up on the West side of Los Angeles in Brentwood and his adoptive father was president of the Owl Rexall Drug Company in Los Angeles after moving from Walgreens in Chicago. Johnston attended the private Bel Air Town and Country School in Los Angeles, in high school, Johnston switched to contemporary music. He performed in a few beginning bands during this time and then moved on to working with musicians such as Sandy Nelson, Kim Fowley. Soon Johnston began backing people such as Ritchie Valens, the Everly Brothers, in 1959, while still in high school, Johnston arranged and played on his first hit record, Teen Beat by Sandy Nelson. The single reached the Billboard Top Ten, the same year, Johnston made his first single under his own name, Take This Pearl on Arwin Records as part of the Bruce & Jerry duo. In 1960, Johnston started his production career at Del-Fi Records, producing five singles. In 1963 came the first collaboration with his friend Terry Melcher, the first artist the pair produced was a group called the Rip Chords. The two of them made a few recordings as Bruce & Terry and the Rogues, but Melcher began to more on his production career. On April 9,1965, Johnston joined the Beach Boys, replacing Glen Campbell, Johnston did not start playing bass until his first tenure with the Beach Boys, and the very first vocal recording Johnston made as one of the Beach Boys was California Girls. Johnston is frequently credited as one of the original greatest supporters of the Beach Boys 1966 signature album Pet Sounds and he flew to London in May 1966 and played the album for John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Keith Moon, who was a Beach Boys fan. Johnston also sang lead on three songs from the 1970 Beach Boys album Sunflower, Tears in the Morning, Deirdre, and At My Window. Johnston left the Beach Boys in 1972 to embark on a solo career, I Write the Songs has been recorded by over two hundred artists, and it currently has a cumulative singles/albums worldwide sales figure of twenty-five million copies. Johnston returned to the fold in 1978 at Brian Wilsons request to appear on the album L. A, the following year he was credited as sole producer on the follow-up LP, Keepin the Summer Alive. Johnston has remained with the Beach Boys ever since and was the member to continue touring with Mike Love as The Beach Boys after the death of Carl Wilson
28.
Toni Tennille
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Tennille has also done musical work independently of her husband, including solo albums and session work. Tennille has a vocal range, spanning over 2 and a half octaves. Tennille was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, and has three younger sisters and her father Frank owned a furniture store and also served in the Alabama Legislature from 1951 to 1954. He had been a singer with Bob Crosbys Bob-Cats and her mother Cathryn hosted a local television show. In 1959, Tennilles family moved from Montgomery to Balboa, California, while living in Corona del Mar in Newport Beach, California, during the late 1960s, Tennille was a member of the South Coast Repertory. Ron Thronsen, one of the directors of the repertory, asked Tennille in 1969 to write the music for a new musical he was working on called Mother Earth. The musical was a locally, went on the road to San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1971. Although Tennille was no longer associated with the musical by the time it reached Broadway, in 1971 Tennille met her future husband Dragon during auditions in San Francisco for band members for the musical. Dragon had previously toured with The Beach Boys and had appeared on a couple of their albums as a back up musician, after Mother Earth ended, Dragon returned to The Beach Boys and introduced Tennille to the band. Tennille played electric piano with the band during their 1972 tour, in 1973, Tennille and Dragon left to form Captain & Tennille and began performing at local clubs. The two released their debut single The Way I Want to Touch You in September 1973. The duo recorded a version of the Neil Sedaka song Love Will Keep Us Together in 1975 that became a huge success. In 1974, Tennile sang background vocals on Elton Johns Caribou album and she also sang background vocals on Pink Floyds The Wall in 1979. On July 8,1980, Tennille sang the anthem at the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. From September 1980 to January 1981, Tennille hosted her own syndicated talk show. From September 1998 to June 1999, Tennille performed as Victoria Grant/Count Victor Grazinski in the tour of the play Victor Victoria. In April 2016, Tennille released her memoir and went on a tour to promote it later that summer. An audiobook of the memoir was released on the audiobook service Audible
29.
Wembley Stadium
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Wembley Stadium is a football stadium in Wembley, London, England, which opened in 2007, on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002–2003. The stadium hosts football matches including home matches of the England national football team. The stadium will be the home of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur while White Hart Lane is being demolished. Wembley Stadium is owned by the body of English football. The FA headquarters are based in the stadium, with 90,000 seats, it is the largest football stadium in England, the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe. Designed by Populous and Foster and Partners, it includes a retractable roof. The stadium was built by Australian firm Multiplex at a cost of £798 million, a UEFA category four stadium, Wembley hosted the 2011 and 2013 UEFA Champions League Finals, and will host both the semi-finals and final of UEFA Euro 2020. The stadium hosted the Gold medal matches at the 2012 Olympic Games football tournament, the stadium also hosts rugby leagues Challenge Cup final, the NFL International Series and music concerts. The design of the services was carried out by Mott MacDonald. It is one of the most expensive ever built at a cost of £798 million. The all-seater stadium is a design with a capacity of 90,000. It can also be adapted as a stadium by erecting a temporary platform over the lowest tier of seating. The stadiums signature feature is a circular section lattice arch of 7 m internal diameter with a 315 m span, erected some 22° off true and it supports all the weight of the north roof and 60% of the weight of the retractable roof on the southern side. The archway is the worlds longest unsupported roof structure, a platform system has been designed to convert the stadium for athletics use, but its use would decrease the stadiums capacity to approximately 60,000. No athletics events have taken place at the stadium, and none are scheduled, the conversion for athletics use was a condition of part of the lottery funding the stadium received, but to convert it would take weeks of work and cost millions of pounds. Demolition officially began on 30 September 2002, with the Twin Towers being dismantled in December 2002, delays to the construction project started as far back as 2003. In December 2003, the constructors of the arch, subcontractors Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company of Darlington, Cleveland Bridge withdrew from the project and replaced by Dutch firm Hollandia with all the attendant problems of starting over. In October 2005, Sports Minister Richard Caborn announced, They say the Cup Final will be there, by November 2005, WNSL were still hopeful of a handover date of 31 March, in time for the cup final on 13 May
30.
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
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Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, the ninth formal studio album release for Elton John, is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was released in May 1975 by MCA in America and DJM in the UK and it debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, the first album to do so, and stayed top for seven weeks. It was certified gold in May 1975 and was certified platinum, on the UK Albums Chart, it peaked at number 2. In 2003, the album was ranked number 158 on Rolling Stone magazines list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and this was the last album until Too Low for Zero that Elton John and his classic band would play on together. The lyrics and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a sense of place. John composed the music on a voyage from the UK to New York. Someone Saved My Life Tonight, the single released from the album, is a semi-autobiographical story about Johns disastrous engagement to Linda Woodrow. The Someone refers to Long John Baldry, who convinced him to break off the engagement rather than ruin his career for an unhappy marriage. In a 2006 interview with Cameron Crowe, John said, Ive always thought that Captain Fantastic was probably my finest album because it wasnt commercial in any way. Captain Fantastic was written from start to finish in running order, John, Taupin and the band laboured harder and longer on the album than perhaps any previous record theyd ever done to that point. Producer Gus Dudgeon was apparently also very satisfied with the results, theres not one song on it thats less than incredible, Dudgeon said. The 2006 album The Captain & the Kid is the sequel, the cover art was designed by the pop art exponent Alan Aldridge. It also contained a poster of the albums cover and these were reproduced, in smaller versions, for the 2005 Deluxe Edition CD. Limited edition copies were pressed on brown vinyl, in 1976, Bally released a Capt. Fantastic pinball machine with artwork by Dave Christensen of Elton John in his pinball wizard character from the movie Tommy, in 1977, Bally released a home model version with artwork by Alan Aldridge. Also included is a disc containing the complete album performed live at Wembley Stadium on 21 June 1975. In September 2005, Elton John and his band performed the entire album in a series of sold-out concerts in Boston, New York City. These Captain Fantastic Concerts were a part of the Peachtree Road Tour and were the longest concerts in Eltons career, the songs from Captain Fantastic were aired by Capital Gold Radio in a broadcast taken from 16 September 2005 performance in Boston
31.
Top Gear (1977 TV series)
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Top Gear began life in April 1977, as a half hour motoring programme on the BBC in the United Kingdom. The original format ran for twenty four years up to December 2001, a revamped format of the show began nearly one year later, in October 2002. The original Top Gear started as a television series produced by BBC Midlands, based at the Pebble Mill Studios, Birmingham. The thirty minute programmes had a format, and were transmitted at first to viewers in the Midlands region only. Top Gear and its title were conceived by executive producer Derek Smith, the programme covered motoring related issues, such as new car road tests, fuel economy, safety, the police, speeding, insurance, second hand cars and holiday touring. The first programme was broadcast on 22 April 1977, on BBC1 Midlands at 10 and it was presented by Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne, who was front man of the local evening news programme, Midlands Today. In the first edition, Angela Rippon drove from Shepherds Bush in London, to the Pebble Mill studios in Birmingham, other items covered in the first programme were speed traps, fuel economy, strange new road signs and an interview with the transport minister. There were nine programmes in that initial series, the BBC network took Top Gear and it became a weekly thirty minute BBC Two programme on 13 July 1978. Derek Smith remained as producer, as did Angela Rippon as presenter along with co presenter Barrie Gill. Other items in that series covered drink driving, traffic jams, rust and corrosion, tachographs in lorries, the Le Mans 24 Hour race, for the second network series, again of ten programmes, Angela Rippon continued as main presenter. Reporters included Mike Dornan, Judith Jackson and Barrie Gill, subjects covered included child car safety, tyres, CB radio, weighing lorries and junior grass track racing. Each week Noel Edmonds tested new cars, while Alec Jones, in one of the programmes, Noel Edmonds drove his Ford GT40 car round Silverstone. In 1980, Noel Edmonds took over from Angela Rippon as presenter for two series, from 1980 on, a variety of reporters were regularly used in addition to the three main co presenters Sue Baker, Frank Page, and Chris Goffey. Other reporters included Gill Pyrah and Julia Bradbury, in 1981, William Woollard, formerly of BBC1s science series Tomorrows World became the programmes main presenter. Phil Franklin and Brian Strachan joined the team at this time. The Top Gear team was responsible for a number of other special programmes including coverage of the bi-annual British Motor Show, London Motorfair. Its coverage of rallying was the sport not controlled by BBC Sport in London for many years. There continued to be two series a year through the 1980s of between seven and nine programmes each, in 1986, after Phil Franklin and executive producer Dennis Adams left the programme Tom Ross took over
32.
The Big Picture (Elton John album)
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The Big Picture is the twenty-sixth studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released in 1997. It includes four singles, Live Like Horses, Something About the Way You Look Tonight, Recover Your Soul. The album has a strong orchestral emphasis with string arrangements written by Anne Dudley, taupin dislikes this album because of the overall quality of his lyrical contribution and because the production is abysmally cold and technical. The album was dedicated to Johns friend, popular fashion designer Gianni Versace and this was the last album to date to be produced by Chris Thomas, who had worked with John almost nonstop since 1981s The Fox. This is the album in which neither Davey Johnstone nor bassist Bob Birch provide backing vocals. Drummer Charlie Morgan was let go from the band shortly after the release and soon replaced by Curt Bisquera and Johns old drummer Nigel Olsson. Live Like Horses was originally recorded in 1994 and intended for Eltons previous studio album, Made In England, the original single version of the song was a duet with Luciano Pavarotti released in 1996, but was performed solo for this album. Past Imperfect and a version of Recover Your Soul were completed by John for inclusion on The Big Picture. Both songs have yet to see official release
33.
AllMusic
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AllMusic is an online music guide service website. It was launched in 1991 by All Media Guide which later became All Media Network, AllMusic was launched in 1991 by Michael Erlewine of All Media Guide. The aim was to discographic information on every artist whos made a record since Enrico Caruso gave the industry its first big boost and its first reference book was published the following year. When first released onto the Internet, AMG predated the World Wide Web and was first available as a Gopher site, the AMG consumer web properties AllMusic. com, AllMovie. com and AllGame. com were sold by Rovi in July 2013 to All Media Network, LLC. All Media Network, LLC. was formed by the founders of SideReel. com. The following are contributors to AllMusic, as of this date, All Media Network also produced the AllMusic guide series that includes the AllMusic Guide to Rock, the All Music Guide to Jazz and the All Music Guide to the Blues. Vladimir Bogdanov is the president of the series, in August 2007, PC Magazine included AllMusic in its Top 100 Classic Websites list. All Media Network AllGame AllMovie SideReel All Music Guide to the Blues All Music Guide to Jazz Stephen Thomas Erlewine Official website
34.
Robert Christgau
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Robert Thomas Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed Dean of American Rock Critics. One of the earliest professional rock critics, he spent 37 years as the music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music, and is a visiting arts teacher at New York University. Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, first published in his Consumer Guide columns during his tenure at The Village Voice from 1969 to 2006 and he has written three books based on those columns, along with two collections of essays. He continued writing capsule reviews in MSN Music, Cuepoint, Christgau was born in Greenwich Village and grew up in Queens, the son of a fireman. He has said he became a rock and roll fan when disc jockey Alan Freed moved to the city in 1954. After attending a school in New York City, he left New York for four years to attend Dartmouth College. While at college his musical interests turned to jazz, but he returned to rock after moving back to New York. Christgau has said that Miles Davis 1960 album Sketches of Spain initiated in him one phase of the disillusionment with jazz that resulted in my return to rock and he was deeply influenced by New Journalism writers such as Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe. My ambitions when I went into journalism were always, to an extent, literary, Christgau initially wrote short stories, before giving up fiction in 1964 to become a sportswriter, and later, a police reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger. He became a writer after a story he wrote about the death of a woman in New Jersey was published by New York magazine. He was asked to take over the dormant music column at Esquire, after Esquire discontinued the column, Christgau moved to The Village Voice in 1969, and he also worked as a college professor. In early 1972, he accepted a job as music critic for Newsday. Christgau returned to the Village Voice in 1974 as music editor and he remained there until August 2006, when he was fired shortly after the papers acquisition by New Times Media. Two months later, Christgau became an editor at Rolling Stone. Late in 2007, Christgau was fired by Rolling Stone, although he continued to work for the magazine for three months. Starting with the March 2008 issue, he joined Blender, where he was listed as senior critic for three issues and then contributing editor, Christgau had been a regular contributor to Blender before he joined Rolling Stone. He continued to write for Blender until the magazine ceased publication in March 2009, in 1987, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of Folklore and Popular Culture to study the history of popular music
