1.
Minneapolis
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Minneapolis is the county seat of Hennepin County, and the larger of the Twin Cities, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. As of 2015, Minneapolis is the largest city in the state of Minnesota, Minneapolis and Saint Paul anchor the second-largest economic center in the Midwest, after Chicago. Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul. It was once the worlds flour milling capital and a hub for timber, the city and surrounding region is the primary business center between Chicago and Seattle, with Minneapolis proper containing Americas fifth-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies. As an integral link to the economy, Minneapolis is categorized as a global city. Noted for its music and performing arts scenes, Minneapolis is home to both the award-winning Guthrie Theater and the historic First Avenue nightclub. The name Minneapolis is attributed to Charles Hoag, the citys first schoolteacher, who combined mni, a Dakota Sioux word for water, and polis, Dakota Sioux had long been the regions sole residents when French explorers arrived around 1680. For a time relations were based on fur trading, gradually more European-American settlers arrived, competing for game and other resources with the Dakota. In the early 19th century, the United States acquired this territory from France, fort Snelling was built in 1819 by the United States Army, and it attracted traders, settlers and merchants, spurring growth in the area. The United States government pressed the Mdewakanton band of the Dakota to sell their land, the Minnesota Territorial Legislature authorized present-day Minneapolis as a town in 1856 on the Mississippis west bank. Minneapolis incorporated as a city in 1867, the rail service began between Minneapolis and Chicago. It later joined with the city of St. Anthony in 1872. Minneapolis developed around Saint Anthony Falls, the highest waterfall on the Mississippi River, forests in northern Minnesota were a valuable resource for the lumber industry, which operated seventeen sawmills on power from the waterfall. By 1871, the west river bank had twenty-three businesses, including mills, woolen mills, iron works, a railroad machine shop, and mills for cotton, paper, sashes. Due to the hazards of milling, six local sources of artificial limbs were competing in the prosthetics business by the 1890s. The farmers of the Great Plains grew grain that was shipped by rail to the citys thirty-four flour mills, a father of modern milling in America and founder of what became General Mills, Cadwallader C. Some ideas were developed by William Dixon Gray and some acquired through industrial espionage from the Hungarians by William de la Barre, pillsbury Company across the river were barely a step behind, hiring Washburn employees to immediately use the new methods. The hard red spring wheat that grows in Minnesota became valuable, not until later did consumers discover the value in the bran that Minneapolis
2.
Omaha, Nebraska
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Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, Omaha is the anchor of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, which includes Council Bluffs, Iowa, across the Missouri River from Omaha. According to the 2010 census, Omahas population was 408,958, according to the 2014 Population Estimates, Omahas population was 446,599. Including its suburbs, Omaha formed the 60th-largest metropolitan area in the United States in 2013, the Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, Nebraska-IA Combined Statistical Area is 931,667, according to the U. S. Census Bureaus 2013 estimate. There are nearly 1.3 million residents within the Greater Omaha area, comprising a 50-mile radius of Downtown Omaha, Omahas pioneer period began in 1854, when the city was founded by speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa. The city was founded along the Missouri River, and a crossing called Lone Tree Ferry earned the city its nickname, Omaha introduced this new West to the world in 1898, when it played host to the Worlds Fair, dubbed the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. During the 19th century, Omahas central location in the United States spurred the city to become an important national transportation hub, throughout the rest of the 19th century, the transportation and jobbing sectors were important in the city, along with its railroads and breweries. In the 20th century, the Omaha Stockyards, once the worlds largest, Omaha is also the home to five Fortune 1000 headquarters, Green Plains Renewable Energy, TD Ameritrade, Valmont Industries, Werner Enterprises, and West Corporation. And Leo A Daly, the Gallup Organization, of Gallup Poll fame, Enron began in Omaha as Northern Natural Gas in 1930, before taking over a smaller Houston company in 1985 to form InterNorth, which Kenneth Lay moved permanently to Houston, in 1987. The modern economy of Omaha is diverse and built on skilled knowledge jobs, in 2009, Forbes identified Omaha as the nations number one Best Bang-For-The Buck City and ranked it number one on Americas Fastest-Recovering Cities list. Also, Omaha hosted the U. S. Olympic swim trials in 2008,2012 and 2016, the word Omaha means Dwellers on the bluff. In 1804 the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed by the riverbanks where the city of Omaha would be built, there was fierce competition among fur traders until John Jacob Astor created the monopoly of the American Fur Company. The Mormons built a town called Cutlers Park in the area in 1846, while it was temporary, the settlement provided the basis for further development in the future. Through 26 separate treaties with the United States federal government, Native American tribes in Nebraska gradually ceded the lands comprising the state. The treaty and cession involving the Omaha area occurred in 1854 when the Omaha Tribe ceded most of east-central Nebraska, Logan Fontenelle, an interpreter for the Omaha and signatory to the 1854 treaty, played an essential role in those proceedings. Before it was legal to claim land in Indian Country, William D. Brown was operating the Lone Tree Ferry to bring settlers from Council Bluffs, Brown is generally credited as having the first vision for a city where Omaha now sits. The passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854 was presaged by the out of claims around the area to become Omaha by residents from neighboring Council Bluffs. On July 4,1854, the city was established at a picnic on Capital Hill
3.
Contemporary R&B
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Contemporary R&B, also known as simply R&B, is a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance. The genre features a record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel. Electronic influences are becoming a trend and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness. Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularized by such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Craig David, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston. That same year, Teddy Riley began producing R&B recordings that included hip hop influences and this combination of R&B style and hip hop rhythms was termed new jack swing and was applied to artists such as Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Al B. Guy, Jodeci and Bell Biv DeVoe, the style became less popular by the end of the 1990s, but later experienced a resurgence. In 1990 Mariah Carey released Vision of Love as her debut single and it was immensely popular peaking at number 1 in many worldwide charts including the Billboard Hot 100, and it propelled Mariahs carrier. The song is said to have popularized the use of melisma. During the mid-1990s, Whitney Houstons The Bodyguard, Original Soundtrack Album sold over 40 million copies becoming the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Janet Jacksons self-titled fifth studio album janet. which came after her historic multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records, sold over twenty million copies worldwide. Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey recorded several Billboard Hot 100 No.1 hits, including One Sweet Day, Carey also released a remix of her 1995 single Fantasy, with Ol Dirty Bastard as a feature, a collaboration format that was unheard of at this point. Carey, Boyz II Men and TLC released albums in 1994 and 1995—Daydream, II and CrazySexyCool. In the late 1990s, neo soul, which added 1970s soul influences to the hip hop soul blend, arose, led by such as DAngelo, Erykah Badu. Hill and Missy Elliott further blurred the line between R&B and hip hop by recording both styles, beginning in 1995, the Grammy Awards enacted the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, with II by Boyz II Men becoming the first recipient. The award was received by TLC for CrazySexyCool in 1996, Tony Rich for Words in 1997, Erykah Badu for Baduizm in 1998. At the end of 1999, Billboard magazine ranked Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson as the first, simultaneously, in the second half of the 1990s, The Neptunes and Timbaland set influential precedence on contemporary R&B and hip hop music. R&B acts such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Usher, in 2001, Alicia Keys released Fallin as her debut single. It peaking at one on the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Top 40
4.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
5.
Hip hop music
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It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements, MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records, while often used to refer solely to rapping, hip hop more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. Hip hops early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican toasting, rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The Sugarhill Gangs 1979 song Rappers Delight is widely regarded to be the first hip hop record to gain popularity in the mainstream. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles, prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began to spread to scenes in dozens of countries. New school hip hop was the wave of hip hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D. M. C. The Golden age hip hop period was a period between the mid-1980s and the early 1990s. Notable artists from this era include the Juice Crew, Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One, EPMD, Slick Rick, Beastie Boys, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Ultramagnetic MCs, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that often focuses on the violent lifestyles, in the West Coast hip hop style, G-funk dominated mainstream hip hop for several years during the 1990s. I. G. In the 1990s, hip hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap, at the same time, hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music, examples being Neo soul and nu metal. Hip hop became a pop music genre in the mid-1990s. The popularity of hip hop music continued through the 2000s, with hip hop influences also increasingly finding their way into mainstream pop, the United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics. Starting in 2005, sales of hip hop music in the United States began to severely wane, during the mid-2000s, alternative hip hop secured a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. Creation of the hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was known as disco rap. Cowboy later worked the hip hop cadence into a part of his stage performance, the first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop
6.
Gospel music
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Gospel music is a music genre in Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music varies according to culture. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were repeated in a call and response fashion, most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella, the first published use of the term Gospel Song probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate. Gospel blues is a form of gospel music. Southern gospel used all male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet make-up, progressive Southern gospel is an American music genre that has grown out of Southern gospel over the past couple of decades. Christian country music, sometimes referred to as gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. It peaked in popularity in the mid-1990s, bluegrass gospel music is rooted in American mountain music. Celtic gospel music infuses gospel music with a Celtic flair, and is popular in countries such as Ireland. British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora, some proponents of standard hymns generally dislike gospel music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, with distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals referencing lyrics of a Christian nature, subgenres include contemporary gospel, urban contemporary gospel, Southern gospel, and modern gospel music. Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and, increasingly, electric guitar. In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, several attempts have been made to describe the style of late 19th and early 20th century gospel songs in general
7.
Keyboard instrument
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A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various keyboards, including synthesizers. Other keyboard instruments include celestas, which are struck idiophones operated by a keyboard, and carillons, today, the term keyboard often refers to keyboard-style synthesizers. Another important use of the keyboard is in historical musicology. Particularly in the 18th century, the harpsichord, the clavichord, and the piano were in competition. Hence in a phrase like Mozart excelled as a player the word keyboard is usefully noncommittal. The earliest known keyboard instrument was the Ancient Greek hydraulis, a type of pipe organ, the keys were likely balanced and could be played with a light touch, as is clear from the reference in a Latin poem by Claudian, who says magna levi detrudens murmura tactu. Intent, that is “let him thunder forth as he presses out mighty roarings with a light touch”, from its invention until the fourteenth century, the organ remained the only keyboard instrument. Often, the organ did not feature a keyboard at all, almost every keyboard until the fifteenth century had seven naturals to each octave. The clavichord and the harpsichord appeared during the 14th century—the clavichord probably being earlier, the harpsichord and clavichord were both common until widespread adoption of the piano in the 18th century, after which their popularity decreased. The piano was revolutionary, because a pianist could vary the volume of the sound by varying the vigor with which each key was struck. The pianos full name is gravicèmbalo con piano e forte meaning harpsichord with soft and loud but can be shortened to piano-forte, which means soft-loud in Italian. In its current form, the piano is a product of the late 19th century, in fact, the modern piano is significantly different from even the 19th-century pianos used by Liszt, Chopin, and Brahms. See Piano history and musical performance, keyboard instruments were further developed in the early twentieth century. Early electromechanical instruments, such as the Ondes Martenot, appeared early in the century and this was a very important contribution to the keyboards history. Much effort has gone into creating an instrument that sounds like the piano but lacks its size, the electric piano and electronic piano were early efforts that, while useful instruments in their own right, did not convincingly reproduce the timbre of the piano. Electric and electronic organs were developed during the same period, more recent electronic keyboard designs strive to emulate the sound of specific make and model pianos using digital samples and computer models. Concerns celebrated keyboard players and the various instruments used over the centuries
8.
Piano
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The piano is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument invented around the year 1700, in which the strings are struck by hammers. It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. The word piano is a form of pianoforte, the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument. The first fortepianos in the 1700s had a sound and smaller dynamic range. An acoustic piano usually has a wooden case surrounding the soundboard and metal strings. Pressing one or more keys on the keyboard causes a padded hammer to strike the strings. The hammer rebounds from the strings, and the continue to vibrate at their resonant frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies by more efficiently coupling the acoustic energy to the air, when the key is released, a damper stops the strings vibration, ending the sound. Notes can be sustained, even when the keys are released by the fingers and thumbs and this means that the piano can play 88 different pitches, going from the deepest bass range to the highest treble. The black keys are for the accidentals, which are needed to play in all twelve keys, more rarely, some pianos have additional keys. Most notes have three strings, except for the bass that graduates from one to two, the strings are sounded when keys are pressed or struck, and silenced by dampers when the hands are lifted from the keyboard. There are two types of piano, the grand piano and the upright piano. The grand piano is used for Classical solos, chamber music and art song and it is used in jazz. The upright piano, which is compact, is the most popular type, as they are a better size for use in private homes for domestic music-making. During the nineteenth century, music publishers produced many works in arrangements for piano, so that music lovers could play. The piano is widely employed in classical, jazz, traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances, accompaniment, with technological advances, amplified electric pianos, electronic pianos, and digital pianos have also been developed. The electric piano became an instrument in the 1960s and 1970s genres of jazz fusion, funk music. The piano was founded on earlier technological innovations in keyboard instruments, pipe organs have been used since Antiquity, and as such, the development of pipe organs enabled instrument builders to learn about creating keyboard mechanisms for sounding pitches
9.
Synthesizer
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A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates electric signals that are converted to sound through instrument amplifiers and loudspeakers or headphones. Synthesizers may either imitate instruments like piano, Hammond organ, flute, vocals, natural sounds like ocean waves, etc. or generate new electronic timbres. Synthesizers without built-in controllers are called sound modules, and are controlled via USB, MIDI or CV/gate using a controller device. Synthesizers use various methods to generate electronic signals, synthesizers were first used in pop music in the 1960s. In the 1970s, synths were used in disco, especially in the late 1970s, in the 1980s, the invention of the relatively inexpensive, mass market Yamaha DX7 synth made synthesizers widely available. 1980s pop and dance music often made use of synthesizers. In the 2010s, synthesizers are used in genres of pop, rock. Contemporary classical music composers from the 20th and 21st century write compositions for synthesizer, the beginnings of the synthesizer are difficult to trace, as it is difficult to draw a distinction between synthesizers and some early electric or electronic musical instruments. One of the earliest electric musical instruments, the telegraph, was invented in 1876 by American electrical engineer Elisha Gray. He accidentally discovered the sound generation from a self-vibrating electromechanical circuit and this musical telegraph used steel reeds with oscillations created by electromagnets transmitted over a telegraph line. Gray also built a simple loudspeaker device into later models, consisting of a diaphragm in a magnetic field. This instrument was a remote electromechanical musical instrument that used telegraphy, though it lacked an arbitrary sound-synthesis function, some have erroneously called it the first synthesizer. In 1897, Thaddeus Cahill invented the Teleharmonium, which used dynamos, and was capable of additive synthesis like the Hammond organ, however, Cahills business was unsuccessful for various reasons, and similar but more compact instruments were subsequently developed, such as electronic and tonewheel organs. In 1906, American engineer, Lee De Forest ushered in the electronics age and he invented the first amplifying vacuum tube, called the Audion tube. This led to new entertainment technologies, including radio and sound films, ondes Martenot and Trautonium were continuously developed for several decades, finally developing qualities similar to later synthesizers. In the 1920s, Arseny Avraamov developed various systems of graphic sonic art, in 1938, USSR engineer Yevgeny Murzin designed a compositional tool called ANS, one of the earliest real-time additive synthesizers using optoelectronics. The earliest polyphonic synthesizers were developed in Germany and the United States, during the three years that Hammond manufactured this model,1,069 units were shipped, but production was discontinued at the start of World War II. Both instruments were the forerunners of the electronic organs and polyphonic synthesizers
10.
Drum machine
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A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums, cymbals, other percussion instruments, and often basslines. Drum machines are most commonly associated with electronic music such as house music. They are usually used when session drummers are not available or if the production cannot afford the cost of a drummer. Also, many modern drum machines can also produce sounds, as well as allowing the user to compose unique drum beats. In the 2010s, most modern machines are sequencers with a sample playback or synthesizer component that specializes in the reproduction of drum timbres. The invention could produce sixteen different rhythms, each associated with a pitch, either individually or in any combination, including en masse. Received with considerable interest when it was introduced in 1932. The next generation of rhythm machines played only pre-programmed rhythms such as mambo, tango, Chamberlin Rhythmate In 1957 Californian Harry Chamberlin constructed a tape loop-based drum machine called the Chamberlin Rhythmate. It had 14 tape loops with a head that allowed playback of different tracks on each piece of tape. It contained a volume and a control and also had a separate amplifier with bass, treble, and volume controls. The tape loops were of real acoustic jazz drum kits playing different style beats, with additions to tracks such as bongos, clave, castanets. First commercial product – Wurlitzer Side Man In 1959 Wurlitzer released a drum machine called the Side Man. The Side Man was intended as an accompaniment for the Wurlitzer organ range. The Side Man offered a choice of 12 electronically generated, predefined rhythm patterns with variable tempos, the sound source was a series of vacuum tubes which created 10 preset electronic drum sounds. Combinations of these different sets of rhythms and drum sounds created popular rhythmic patterns of the day, e. g. waltzes and these combinations were selected by a rotary knob on the top of the Side Man box. The tempo of the patterns was controlled by a slider that increased the speed of rotation of the wiper arm, the Side Man had a panel of 10 buttons for manually triggering drum sounds, and a remote player to control the machine while playing from an organ keyboard. The Side Man was housed in a cabinet that contained the sound-generating circuitry. Raymond Scott In 1960, Raymond Scott constructed the Rhythm Synthesizer and, in 1963, scotts machines were used for recording his album Soothing Sounds for Baby series
11.
Bass guitar
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The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb, by plucking, slapping, popping, strumming, tapping, thumping, or picking with a plectrum, often known as a pick. The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to a guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length. The four-string bass, by far the most common, is tuned the same as the double bass. The bass guitar is an instrument, as it is notated in bass clef an octave higher than it sounds to avoid excessive ledger lines. Like the electric guitar, the guitar has pickups and it is plugged into an amplifier and speaker on stage, or into a larger PA system using a DI unit. Since the 1960s, the guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music as the bass instrument in the rhythm section. While types of basslines vary widely from one style of music to another, many styles of music utilise the bass guitar, including rock, heavy metal, pop, punk rock, country, reggae, gospel, blues, symphonic rock, and jazz. It is often a solo instrument in jazz, jazz fusion, Latin, funk, progressive rock and other rock, the adoption of a guitar form made the instrument easier to hold and transport than any of the existing stringed bass instruments. The addition of frets enabled bassists to play in more easily than on acoustic or electric upright basses. Around 100 of these instruments were made during this period, around 1947, Tutmarcs son, Bud, began marketing a similar bass under the Serenader brand name, prominently advertised in the nationally distributed L. D. Heater Music Company wholesale jobber catalogue of 1948, however, the Tutmarc family inventions did not achieve market success. In the 1950s, Leo Fender, with the help of his employee George Fullerton and his Fender Precision Bass, which began production in October 1951, became a widely copied industry standard. This split pickup, introduced in 1957, appears to have been two mandolin pickups, the pole pieces and leads of the coils were reversed with respect to each other, producing a humbucking effect. Humbucking is a design that electrically cancels the effect of any AC hum, the Fender Bass was a revolutionary new instrument, which could be easily transported, and which was less prone to feedback when amplified than acoustic bass instruments. Monk Montgomery was the first bass player to tour with the Fender bass guitar, roy Johnson, and Shifty Henry with Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, were other early Fender bass pioneers. Bill Black, playing with Elvis Presley, switched from bass to the Fender Precision Bass around 1957. The bass guitar was intended to appeal to guitarists as well as upright bass players, following Fenders lead, in 1953, Gibson released the first short scale violin-shaped electric bass with extendable end pin, allowing it to be played upright or horizontally. In 1959 these were followed by the more conventional-looking EB-0 Bass, the EB-0 was very similar to a Gibson SG in appearance
12.
Percussion
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A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater, struck, scraped or rubbed by hand, or struck against another similar instrument. The percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments, the percussion section of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle and tambourine. However, the section can also contain non-percussive instruments, such as whistles and sirens, percussive techniques can also be applied to the human body, as in body percussion. On the other hand, keyboard instruments, such as the celesta, are not normally part of the percussion section, Percussion instruments may play not only rhythm, but also melody and harmony. Percussion is commonly referred to as the backbone or the heartbeat of an ensemble, often working in close collaboration with bass instruments. In jazz and other popular ensembles, the pianist, bassist, drummer. Most classical pieces written for full orchestra since the time of Haydn and Mozart are orchestrated to place emphasis on the strings, woodwinds, however, often at least one pair of timpani is included, though they rarely play continuously. Rather, they serve to provide additional accents when needed, in the 18th and 19th centuries, other percussion instruments have been used, again generally sparingly. The use of percussion instruments became more frequent in the 20th century classical music, in almost every style of music, percussion plays a pivotal role. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word swing is spoken. Because of the diversity of instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles, music for pitched percussion instruments can be notated on a staff with the same treble and bass clefs used by many non-percussive instruments. Music for percussive instruments without a pitch can be notated with a specialist rhythm or percussion-clef. The word percussion has evolved from Latin terms, percussio, as a noun in contemporary English it is described in Wiktionary as the collision of two bodies to produce a sound. Hornbostel–Sachs has no high-level section for percussion, Most percussion instruments are classified as idiophones and membranophones.1 Concussion idiophones or clappers, played in pairs and beaten against each other, such as zills and clapsticks. 111.2 Percussion idiophones, includes many percussion instruments played with the hand or by a mallet, such as the hang, gongs and the xylophone. 21 Struck drums, includes most types of drum, such as the timpani, snare drum, (Included in most drum sets or 412. Stringed instruments played with such as the hammered dulcimer
13.
Perspective Records
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Acts on Perspectives roster included Bobby Ross Avila, Smooth, Mint Condition, Lo-Key, Solo, Sounds of Blackness, Young Zee, and Ann Nesby. From 1993 to 1996, A&M Records released most of its own urban acts through Perspective, in 1997, Jam and Lewis resigned as the labels CEOs, but remained consultants. Over the next year, Perspective continued to release recordings by the current artists for the sake of fulfilling contractual obligations with them, the company was dismantled, and absorbed into A&M Records, in early 1999—per the merger of A&Ms PolyGram parent and Universal Music Group. The Evolution of Gospel Africa to America, The Journey of the Drum Time for Healing Where Dey At
14.
The Time (band)
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The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American musical group that was formed in Minneapolis in 1981. Their work has been a part of the formation of the Minneapolis sound, featuring a mix of music and dance music with funk, rock n roll. Band members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are also long-time collaborators with Janet Jackson, the Time was assembled under a clause in Princes contract with Warner Bros. that allowed him to recruit and produce other artists for the label. Prince had used an Enterprise song, Partyup, on his Dirty Mind album, the band went on to release four albums, consisting of jammy, rock-infused 1980s funk, generally light and humorous in tone, strongly influenced by Parliament, James Brown and Sly. With the exception of singer Morris Day, who was required to follow Princes guide vocals note-for-note, Prince instead played all the instruments himself, crediting the production to his alter-ego, Jamie Starr, and Morris Day. A rivalry developed between The Time and Princes band during their 1982 Controversy Tour, frustrated with their lack of input on the albums bearing their name and at being underpaid, The Time would take to the stage with the intent of showing up Prince. On the final night of the tour in Cincinnati, during the Times set, Prince, after The Times performance, guitarist Jesse Johnson was handcuffed to a wall-mounted coat rack. Prince demanded no interruptions during his performance, but as soon as he left the stage, when the battle continued at the hotel, Prince held Morris Day responsible and made him pay for all damages. During the 1982–83 1999/Triple Threat tour, The Time served as Vanity 6s backing band from behind a curtain and they liked the arrangement because the band saw it as free money. Terry Lewis said, Ill play behind Vanity 6 for thirty minutes for $250, I was going to have to do the sound check, anyway. Subsequently, the duo were fined and then fired, although Prince would state in a 1990 Rolling Stone interview, I didnt fire Jimmy, Morris asked me what I would do in his situation. You got to remember, it was his band, whether their firing was due to the incident or to their increasing independence has never been clear. Monte Moir took the opportunity to leave as well, and would work with Jam. The three were replaced with Mark Cardenas and Paul Peterson on keyboards and Rocky Harris on bass and this new line up, with Jerry Hubbard replacing Rocky Harris, was featured in Princes Purple Rain film. The Time rode the wave of popularity created by the movie and hit singles Jungle Love, Day left after arguments with Prince, choosing to pursue a solo career in 1985 after a successful acting turn in Purple Rain. With Jesse Johnson also opting to go solo, the band disintegrated, the remaining members were reformed into a new short-lived project called The Family. Meanwhile, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis went on to one of the most successful songwriting. In 1990, the seven members of the band reunited for the Graffiti Bridge movie and soundtrack
15.
Prince (musician)
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Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer-songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, philanthropist, dancer and record producer. He was an innovator who was known for his eclectic work, flamboyant stage presence, extravagant dress and makeup. His music integrates a variety of styles, including funk, rock, R&B, new wave, soul, psychedelia. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the artists of all time. He won seven Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, a Golden Globe Award, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked Prince at number 27 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists, Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and developed an interest in music as a young child. He signed a contract with Warner Bros. at the age of 18. In 1984, he began referring to his band as the Revolution and released Purple Rain. It quickly became his most critically and commercially successful release, spending 24 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, after releasing the albums Around the World in a Day and Parade, The Revolution disbanded, and Prince released the double album Sign o the Times as a solo artist. He released three solo albums before debuting the New Power Generation band in 1991. He released five records between 1994 and 1996 before signing with Arista Records in 1998, in 2000, he began referring to himself as Prince again. He released 16 albums after that, including the platinum-selling Musicology and his final album, Hit n Run Phase Two, was first released on the Tidal streaming service on December 12,2015. Prince died from an overdose at his Paisley Park recording studio and home in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on April 21,2016. Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, to Mattie Della and his parents were both African-American and his family ancestry is centered in Louisiana, all four of his grandparents came from that state. Princes father was a pianist and songwriter, and his mother was a jazz singer, Prince was given his fathers stage name, Prince Rogers, which his father used while performing with a jazz group called the Prince Rogers Trio. In 1991, Princes father told A Current Affair that I named my son Prince because I wanted him to do everything I wanted to do, Prince has said he was born epileptic and used to have seizures when he was young. He also said, My mother told me one day I walked in to her and said, Mom, Im not going to be sick anymore, Princes sister Tika Evene was born in 1960. Both siblings developed a keen interest in music, and this was encouraged by their father, Prince wrote his first tune, Funk Machine, on his fathers piano when he was seven
16.
Janet Jackson
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Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. After signing a contract with A&M Records in 1982, she became a pop icon following the release of her third studio album Control. Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover success in popular music. In 1991 Jackson signed the first of two record-breaking multimillion-dollar contracts with Virgin Records, establishing her as one of the highest paid artists in the industry. Her debut album under the label, Janet, saw her develop an image as a sex symbol as she began to explore sexuality in her work. That same year, she appeared in her first starring role in Poetic Justice. By the end of the 1990s, she was the second most successful recording artist of the decade, the release of her seventh studio album All for You coincided with a celebration of her impact on popular music as the inaugural MTV Icon. After parting ways with Virgin she released her studio album, Discipline, her first. In 2015 she partnered with BMG Rights Management to launch her own label, Rhythm Nation. Having sold over 100 million records, Jackson is one of the artists in the history of contemporary music. In 2016, Billboard placed her number seven on its list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, in December 2016, the magazine named her the second most successful dance artist of all-time. One of the worlds most awarded artists, her longevity, records and she has been cited as an inspiration among numerous performers. Janet Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the youngest of ten children, to Katherine Esther, the Jacksons were lower-middle class and devout Jehovahs Witnesses, although Jackson would later refrain from organized religion. At a young age, her brothers began performing as The Jackson 5 in the Chicago-Gary area, in March 1969, the group signed a record deal with Motown, and soon had their first number-one hit. The family then moved to the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jackson had initially desired to become a horse racing jockey or entertainment lawyer, with plans to support herself through acting. Despite this, she was anticipated to pursue a career in entertainment, at age seven, Jackson performed at the Las Vegas Strip at the MGM Casino. A biography revealed her father, Joseph Jackson, was emotionally withdrawn and she began acting in the variety show The Jacksons in 1976. In 1977, she was selected to have a role as Penny Gordon Woods in the sitcom Good Times
17.
Michael Jackson
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Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor, and philanthropist. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music, dance, the eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music, the popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jacksons 1987 album Bad spawned the U. S and he continued to innovate with videos such as Black or White and Scream throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and his distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres. Thriller is the album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jacksons other albums, including Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and he is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. Jackson won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when Love Never Felt So Good reached number nine on May 21,2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, aspects of Jacksons personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations. While preparing for his concert series, This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25,2009. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Jacksons death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson as the dead celebrity with earnings of $825 million in 2016. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 and his mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovahs Witness. She played clarinet and piano and once aspired to be a country-and-western performer, michaels father, Joseph Walter Joe Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at U. S. Steel
18.
Shaggy (musician)
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Orville Richard Burrell CD, known mostly by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae fusion singer and deejay. He is best known for his hit singles Oh Carolina, Boombastic, It Wasnt Me and he was nicknamed after Shaggy Rogers, the cartoon character from the popular television series Scooby Doo. Burrell was born on October 22,1968 in Kingston, Jamaica, at the age of 7, he and his family moved to the New Edinburgh area of Ottawa, Canada. In 1987, he took singing courses and was discovered a year later and his son is rapper Robb Banks from Florida. Shaggy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and obtained the MOS of 0811 and he served with a firing battery from the 10th Marine Regiment in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War. The highest rank he achieved was lance corporal, although he was reduced in rank twice, Shaggy perfected his signature singing voice in the Marine Corps. Shaggy decided to pursue his career and his first hit in 1993, Oh Carolina, was a dancehall re-make of a ska hit by the Folkes Brothers. The same year, Shaggy appeared on Kenny Dopes hip hop album The Unreleased Project and he worked together with producers such as Sting International, Don One, Lloyd Spiderman Campbell, Robert Livingston and Frankie Cutlass on a remix from his Maxi-Single title Nice and Lovely. He had further big hits, including Boombastic in 1995, the tune of a popular Levis commercial. In 2000, Shaggy released the album Hot Shot, which was certified 6x Platinum in the U. S, in 2001 Shaggy performed with Rayvon and Rikrok at Michael Jacksons 30th anniversary the songs Angel and It Wasnt Me from Hot Shot. The album hit number one on the Billboard 200 and U. K. albums chart, however, his 2002 release Lucky Day, and the 2005 album Clothes Drop, failed to match Hot Shots success, although Lucky Day still went gold. The albums, however, found success in Europe, especially with heavy airplay for the single Hey Sexy Lady, Shaggy re-made the Scooby-Doo theme song on the soundtrack titled Shaggy, Where Are You. Shaggy also recorded the theme for the 2002 movie Showtime, shaggys last top 40 single in the United States was Angel from the album Hot Shot. On March 11,2002 Shaggy and Ali G released Me Julie from the soundtrack to the film Ali G Indahouse, the song sold 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom, as stated by the Official Charts Company. It spent 14 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number two, following the release of Clothes Drop, Shaggy began to increase his number of live performances. Later that year, he left Universal Music and released his latest album, Intoxication under his own label, Big Yard Records, with distribution rights by VP Records. In August 2007, he joined Cyndi Lauper live on stage in Singapore for the Sonnet Music Festival, in October 2007, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction with the rank of Commander. In January 2008, he completed an arena tour with Belgian singer Natalia
19.
Usher (musician)
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Usher Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Dallas, Texas but raised and lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee until moving to Atlanta, at the age of 12, his mother put him in local singing competitions, before catching the attention of a music A&R from LaFace Records. In 1994 he released his debut album, Usher. 8701 produced the number-one singles U Remind Me and U Got It Bad and it sold 8 million copies worldwide and won his first two Grammy Awards as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002 and 2003. Confessions established him as one of the musical artists of the 2000s decade. Bolstered by its four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one singles, Burn, Confessions Part II, and My Boo, it has been certified Diamond by the RIAA. Here I Stand and Raymond v. Raymond, debuted atop of the Billboard 200, the EP, Versus, also produced the Hot 100 top-five single DJ Got Us Fallin in Love. Looking 4 Myself, also debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart, Raymond v. Raymond and Looking 4 Myself received Grammy Awards for R&B singles There Goes My Baby and Climax. Hard II Love peaked at five of the Billboard 200 albums chart. Usher has sold 23.8 million albums and 38.2 million digital songs in the United States, to date, his worldwide sales stand at 43 million albums and 75 million records overall, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Usher has won awards and accolades including 18 Billboard Music Awards and 8 Grammy Awards. Billboard also placed him at number 6 on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years, Usher has attained 9 US Hot 100 number-one singles. Considered an icon and sex symbol, he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, in 2008, he started his own record label Raymond-Braun Media Group, a joint venture with talent manager Scooter Braun that includes Canadian singer Justin Bieber. Usher was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Jonetta Patton, from Tennessee, Usher spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga, his father left the family when Usher was a year old. Usher grew up with his mother, then-stepfather, and half-brother, while in Atlanta, Usher attended North Springs High School. At age 10, Usher joined an R&B local quintet called the NuBeginnings, Usher recorded 10 songs with the group in 1991, and the ensuing album, Nubeginning Featuring Usher Raymond IV, was only made available regionally and by mail order. However, Patton took him out because, according to her, the album was re-released nationally in April 2002 by Hip-O Records. At age 13, Usher would meet A. J, alexander at local talent show in Atlanta
20.
Boyz II Men
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Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formerly a quartet including bass Michael McCary, they are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris alongside tenors Wanya Morris, during the 1990s, Boyz II Men found fame on Motown Records as a quartet. McCary left the group in 2003 due to issues and contractual agreements. During the 1990s, Boyz II Men gained international success and this began with the release of the number one single End of the Road in 1992, which reached the top of charts worldwide. End of the Road would set a new record for longevity, staying at one on the Billboard Hot 100 for thirteen weeks. Ill Make Love to You also topped the charts in Australia, as of 2016, One Sweet Day still holds the all-time record with sixteen weeks at the top of the Hot 100. Consequently, Boyz II Men are top ranking members with regard to time spent at one in Billboard history. Furthermore, when On Bended Knee took the one spot away from Ill Make Love to You. These achievements were enough to earn Boyz II Men recognition as Billboard magazines fourth most successful group of the 1990s. Boyz II Men continue to perform worldwide, as a trio and their most recent studio album, Collide, was released in 2014. In 1987, Wanya Morris, who sang in the choir along with the members of Unique Attraction, joined the group. In 1988 Baldi, Shoats, and Walker all left the group due to graduation and they then recruited Shawn Stockman after seeing him perform a solo in the schools choir. Now with a permanent lineup of members the group would rehearse in the schools bathrooms, due to the excellent acoustics. They found inspiration in New Editions harmonies and routines, and eventually renamed the group Boyz II Men, after one of New Editions songs, Boys to Men, from their 1988 album Heart Break. After they sang New Editions Can You Stand The Rain for him, Bivins and he gave the group his number and told them to give him a call. Nate eventually called Bivins, and he agreed to manage and helped produce the group and this song, released as a single on June 30,1992, would become Boyz II Mens biggest hit. It reached the one position on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 22, remaining there for a record-setting 13 weeks. The success of End of the Road instantly transformed Boyz II Men from up-and-coming R&B stars into mainstream music celebrities
21.
Rod Stewart
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Sir Roderick David Rod Stewart, CBE is a British rock singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry, Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. He has had six number one albums in the UK and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the top ten. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and he was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity. In October 1963, he joined the Dimensions as a harmonica player, in 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars, and in August, Stewart signed a solo contract, releasing his first single, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, in October. He maintained a career alongside a group career, releasing his debut solo album. Stewarts early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, in 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists. A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at #33 in Q Magazines list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time, and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time. Roderick David Stewart was born at 507 Archway Road, Highgate, North London on 10 January 1945 and his father was Scottish and had been a master builder in Leith, Edinburgh, while Elsie was English and had grown up in Upper Holloway in North London. Married in 1928, the couple had two sons and two daughters living in Scotland, and then they moved to Highgate. Stewart came after a gap following his youngest sibling, he was born at home during World War II. The family was neither affluent nor poor, Stewart was spoiled as the youngest and he had an undistinguished record at Highgate Primary School and failed the eleven plus exam. He then attended the William Grimshaw Secondary Modern School, Muswell Hill and his father retired from the building trade at age 65, buying a newsagents shop on the Archway Road when Stewart was in his early teens, the family lived over the shop. Stewarts main hobby was railway modelling, Stewart was the most talented footballer in the family and was a strong supporter of Arsenal F. C. at the time. Combining natural athleticism with near-reckless aggression, he became captain of the football team. The family were great fans of the singer Al Jolson and would sing. Stewart collected his records and saw his films, read books about him and his introduction to rock and roll was hearing Little Richards 1956 hit The Girl Cant Help It, and seeing Bill Haley & His Comets in concert. In 1960, he joined a group with schoolfriends called the Kool Kats, playing Lonnie Donegan
22.
Jordan Knight
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Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight is an American singer-songwriter and actor, best known as the lead singer of the boy band New Kids on the Block, who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s. He is best known for his falsetto style of singing. After New Kids on the Block split in 1994, he launched a solo career, jordans first solo album, released in 1999, and his latest solo album, released in 2011, reached the Top 50 on the US Billboard 200. As of 2011, he released four Top 40 singles, the most well known being Give It to You in 1999, Knight has released three solo albums, one remix album and one EP. On May 31,2011, Knight released the studio album, Knight has sold over 1.5 million records worldwide as a solo artist. In 2015, Boston City Council declared February 7 Jordan Knight Day, Jordan Nathaniel Marcel Knight was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, but holds American & Canadian citizenship. He is the youngest of 6 children, Allison, Sharon, David, Christopher, both his parents are Episcopal priests. He was close to 14 in 1984 when he joined New Kids on the Block and his fellow members included his brother, Jonathan Knight, as well as Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. Over the next few years he began teaching piano and keyboard instruments. Starr, who wrote much of the New Kids material, was reluctant to add his work to the bands repertoire. New Kids on the Block have sold over 80 million records worldwide, generated hundreds of million of dollars in concert revenues, New Kids on the Block disbanded in 1994, but reunited in 2008. Knight made a comeback in 1999 by releasing his first solo single, the single reached #10 on Billboard Hot 100, went gold, and was nominated for the 1999 MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video, though it lost to Ricky Martins Livin La Vida Loca. He was also nominated for Favorite Male Singer at the 2000 Kids Choice Awards, the single also peaked at #35 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The album Jordan Knight won an Aspire Music Award for Best Male Album, jordans self-titled debut album was then certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies in the US on July 7,1999. The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on the Top Internet Albums chart, in 2008 the New Kids on the Block reunited and released 2 top 40 hits and went on a successful tour. As of fall 2010, they have teamed up with the Backstreet Boys, creating the biggest boy band in history, NKOTBSB, Knight released a remix album, Jordan Knight Performs New Kids on the Block, in 2004. In 2005, Knight released an EP entitled The Fix supported by the lead single Where is Your Heart Tonight and he continued to tour extensively in 2005–2006 promoting the EP. In September 2006, Knights next album, Love Songs, was released by Transcontinental Records, the first single was Say Goodbye, a duet with Deborah Gibson, that peaked at #24 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart
23.
Yolanda Adams
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Yolanda Yvette Adams is an American gospel singer, record producer, actress, and former radio host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. As of September 2009, she had sold 4.5 million albums since 1991 in the United States, on December 11,2009, Billboard Magazine named her the No.1 Gospel Artist of the last decade. In the same chart, her album Mountain High. Valley Low was acknowledged as the best gospel album, the eldest of six siblings, Adams was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Sterling High School in Houston in 1979, after graduating from Texas Southern University, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model in Houston. Eventually she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer, the choir released the single in 1982 For My Liberty with Adams as the featured vocalist. In 1986, Adams was featured on the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar Choir released Give Us Peace, later, she signed a recording contract with Sound of Gospel which yielded her first album Just As I Am in 1987. In 1990, she was discovered by producer/keyboardist Ben Tankard, and signed to his independent label Tribute Records, tankards goal with Tribute Records during this time was to develop an audience for a smoother gospel/jazz sound. He featured Yolandas jazzy vocals on his album and concept video single You Bring Out The Best In Me on his 1994 release Play Me In Your Key, the collaboration received positive response from gospel, jazz and quiet storm formats. One year later, Adams followed with Save the World, which included her first signature song The Battle Is The Lords and her next release was 1995s More Than a Melody, which featured more production work from Tankard with contributions from OLanda Draper, and BeBe Winans. The single Gotta Have Love, from that album featuring Tony Terry on background vocals, gained notoriety and was her first single. Live In Washington, released the year, featured versions of material from her first three albums. The footage from this recording was released as a collection of two videos on VHS initially, and later as a set on DVD and CD. During this time Tribute Records parent company Diadem Music Group merged with Benson Music Group, Songs from the Heart was her final release for Verity Records, including Only Believe, which was popular songs on contemporary radio. The album also included Still I Rise, a dedication to Rosa Parks, Adams first significant attention outside the urban contemporary gospel arena came with the release of Mountain High. Valley Low in 1999 on Elektra Records, several mainstream artists and producers helped in the production of this album including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, James Big Jim Wright, Warryn Campbell, and Keith Thomas. The album went 2x Platinum in 2000 and won Adams a Grammy Award, notable singles from the album include Yeah, Fragile Heart, and Open My Heart. Fragile Heart was dedicated to the memory of Adams long-time road manager, in 2000, Adams released a Christmas album, and in 2001 she released a live album. The Experience netted Adams a second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, Believe, which included the hit Never Give Up was released in 2001 and reached gold status according to the RIAA
24.
George Michael
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Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, known professionally as George Michael, was an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo Wham. He was best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit singles such as Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Last Christmas, and albums such as Faith and Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1. Up to the time of his death, Michael sold more than 115 million records worldwide and his breakthrough duo Wham. sold 28 million records between 1982 and 1986, and his debut solo album Faith sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Michael achieved seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, including Careless Whisper and Praying for Time. He ranks among the best-selling British acts of all time, Michael, who came out as gay in 1998, was an active LGBT rights campaigner and HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser. In 2004, the Radio Academy named Michael the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984–2004, the documentary A Different Story covered his career and personal life. Michaels first tour in 15 years, the worldwide 25 Live tour, in the early hours of 25 December 2016, Michael, aged 53, was found dead in bed at his Oxfordshire home. A coroners report attributed his death to natural causes, Michael was born in East Finchley on 25 June 1963. His father, Kyriacos Jack Panayiotou, a Greek Cypriot restaurateur, had emigrated to Britain in the 1950s, Michaels mother, Lesley Angold, was an English dancer, and his maternal grandmother was Jewish. Michael spent most of his childhood in Kingsbury, London, in the home his parents soon after his birth. His older sisters are Yioda and Melanie, while he was in his early teens, the family moved to Radlett. There, Michael attended Bushey Meads School in Bushey, where he befriended his future Wham. partner Andrew Ridgeley, the two had the same career ambition of being musicians. Michael busked on the London Underground, performing such as 39 by Queen. His involvement in the business began with his working as a DJ, playing at clubs and local schools around Bushey, Stanmore. This was followed by the formation of a ska band called The Executive, with Ridgeley, Ridgeleys brother Paul, Andrew Leaver. Michael formed the duo Wham. with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981, the bands first album Fantastic reached No.1 in the UK in 1983 and produced a series of top 10 singles including Young Guns, Wham Rap. and Club Tropicana. Their second album, Make It Big, reached No.1 on the charts in the US, Michael sang on the original Band Aid recording of Do They Know Its Christmas. And donated the profits from Last Christmas/Everything She Wants to charity and he also contributed background vocals to David Cassidys 1985 hit The Last Kiss, as well as Elton Johns 1985 successes Nikita and Wrap Her Up
25.
Alexander O'Neal
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Alexander ONeal is an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. In a music career spanning more than 30 years, ONeal is a soul and rhythm. ONeal came to prominence in the middle of the 1980s as a solo artist and he is also known for duets with fellow R&B singer and Tabu labelmate Cherrelle such as Saturday Love and Never Knew Love Like This. AllMusic has described ONeal as having a voice has the same grain. Alexander ONeal was born November 15,1953 in Natchez, Mississippi, after graduating from high school in Natchez, he attended Alcorn State University. At age 20, he relocated to Minneapolis, where he performed with bands including the Mystics. He became a member of Enterprise for a period before joining Flyte Tyme. ONeal released his album, the eponymous Alexander ONeal in 1985. Since then, he has released eight albums, six compilation albums. In 1981 ONeal was signed by Prince to the Warner Bros. label, following a disagreement with Prince, ONeal left the band and was replaced as lead singer by Morris Day. In 1984 ONeal signed a deal with Clarence Avants Tabu Records and he did some backing vocals for other artists on the same label, including The S. O. S. In 1985 ONeal released his debut album under the production of Jimmy Jam. It included three singles reached the Top 20 of the R&B Singles Chart. The same year, he scored his first R&B Top 10 single with Saturday Love. The song Saturday Love peaked at No.2 and also reached the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, in 1987 ONeal released the album titled Hearsay, which yielded the No.25 pop and the number-one R&B single Fake. The song also peaked at No.7 on the Billboard dance chart, the follow-up single, Criticize, peaked at No.4 on the R&B chart and No.70 on the pop chart. The third single, Never Knew Love Like This, another duet with Cherrelle, peaked at No.2 on the R&B chart, by this time, ONeal was enjoying greater success in the UK than he was in his native US. Hearsay peaked at No.4 on the UK Albums Chart, eventually certifying as triple platinum, the highest of these, Criticize, peaked at No.4 on the UK Singles Chart
26.
Johnny Gill
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Johnny Gill Jr. also known as J. G. or J. Skillz, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Gill is the sixth and final member of the R&B/pop group New Edition and he is currently in the new group Heads of State with New Edition members Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant. Gill was born on May 22,1966 in Washington, D. C, his father Johnny Gill Sr. was a baptist minister, and with wife Annie Mae Gill had four boys. He started singing at the age of five singing along in church in a gospel group called Little Johnny and Wings of Faith which included his brothers Bobby, Jeff. Gill attended Kimball Elementary, Sousa Junior High, and Duke Ellington School of the Arts and his career dictated that he complete his high-school education through the services of a tutor. Gill planned to attend college to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, gills recording career began in 1982, at the age of 16, when his childhood friend Stacy Lattisaw convinced him to record a demo. This demo fell into the hands of the president of Atlantic Records, Gill then teamed up with Stacy for the duet album Perfect Combination. A second solo album on Cotillion Records, Chemistry, was released in 1985, Gill began a new chapter in his career in 1987, when he was recruited by Michael Bivins to join New Edition. Bobby Brown had been voted out the group and Gill was brought in to lead singer Ralph Tresvant. Gill became the member of New Edition who was not from Boston. With Gill, the oldest member, as one of the singers on the album Heart Break. Heartbreak, If It Isnt Love, and the Gill-led Boys To Men. In 1993, Gill released another project, Provocative, which included the songs Quiet Time to Play, A Cute, Sweet, Love Addiction. In 1996, Gill released Lets Get the Mood Right, which included the song, Love In an Elevator. In 1996, Johnny reunited with New Edition and recorded the album Home Again. In 1997, he collaborated with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat to form the supergroup LSG, in 2004 he reunited with New Edition, they signed with Bad Boy Records and released the album One Love which included the single Hot 2Nite in 2004. 16 years after recording his last solo album, Gill returned with Still Winning, which included In The Mood, Just The Way You Are, It Would Be You, and 2nd Place. In 2014 Gill left Fontana Records and started his own label, J Skillz Records, the album produced several adult R&B radio hits, including the singles Behind Closed Doors and the title track, Game Changer
27.
Mariah Carey
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Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1990, Carey rose to fame with the release of Vision of Love from her eponymous debut album, the album produced four chart-topping singles in the US and began what would become a string of commercially successful albums which solidified the singer as Columbias highest selling act. Carey and Boyz II Men spent a record sixteen weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995–1996 with One Sweet Day, following a contentious divorce from Sony Music head Tommy Mottola, Carey adopted a new image and traversed towards hip hop with the release of Butterfly. In 1998, she was honored as the worlds best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the World Music Awards, Carey parted with Columbia in 2000, and signed a record-breaking $100 million recording contract with Virgin Records America. In the weeks prior to the release of her film Glitter and its soundtrack in 2001. The project was received and led to a general decline in the singers career. Careys recording contract was out for $50 million by Virgin. After a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of music charts with The Emancipation of Mimi, Carey once again ventured into film with a well-received supporting role in Precious, and was awarded the Breakthrough Performance Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Throughout her career, Carey has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, according to the RIAA, she is the third-best-selling female artist in the United States, with 63.5 million certified albums. With the release of Touch My Body, Carey gained her 18th number-one single in the United States, in 2012, the singer was ranked second on VH1s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Mariah Carey was born in Huntington, New York, to Patricia and her mother is of Irish descent, while her father had African-American and Afro-Venezuelan ancestry. The surname Carey was adopted by her Venezuelan grandfather, Francisco Núñez, Patricia was an occasional opera singer and vocal coach before she met Alfred in 1960. As he began earning a living as an engineer, the couple married later that year. After their elopement, Patricias family disowned her for marrying a black man, Carey later explained that she felt neglected by her maternal family while growing up, which affected her greatly. In the years between the births of Careys older sister Alison and herself, the Carey family struggled within the community due to their ethnicity, Careys name was derived from the song They Call the Wind Maria, originally from the 1951 Broadway musical Paint Your Wagon. When Carey was three, her parents divorced, after their separation, Alison moved in with her father, while the other two children, Mariah and brother Morgan, remained with their mother. Carey grew apart from her father and would stop seeing him altogether. By age four, she recalled that she had begun to sneak the radio under her covers at night, during elementary school, she excelled in subjects that she enjoyed, such as music, art, and literature, but did not find interest in others
28.
Utada Hikaru
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Utada Hikaru, who also goes by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese American singer and songwriter. She formerly held the record for the highest first-week sales of an album in a single territory, as her Distance album sold over 3 million copies in Japan during the week of March 28,2001. She has also had three of her Japanese studio albums in the list of Top 10 best-selling albums ever in Japan and it is estimated that Utada has sold more than 52 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in Japan. In 2009, she was considered the most influential artist of the decade in the Japanese landscape by The Japan Times. Utada was born in Manhattan as the child of Teruzane, a Japanese record producer, and his wife Junko. At the age of 10, Utada began to write music and she did her recordings with her mother, releasing songs under a band named U3 until 1996 when she started her first solo project, Ill be Stronger. The Cookin With Moses Vocal from this project was called the Cookin With Gas Vocal on the promotional release, Ill Be Stronger was the first song Utada wrote. It was released under the artist name Cubic U, a reference to her being the third Utada power. The song was not released in the United States, and in 1997, she started her next project, Cubic U released her debut single Close to You, which was a cover of The Carpenters song. She then released her debut album Precious and she released Precious in Japan on January 28,1998 and re-released it on March 31,1999. Utada moved to Tokyo in late 1997 and attended Seisen International School and her movement originally came from Japanese FM radio. She opted for becoming a singer-songwriter instead of attempting to become an idol, leading up to the release of her Japanese debut album First Love at the age of 16 years old, Utada released two successful million-selling singles, Automatic/Time Will Tell and Movin On Without You. Automatic/Time Will Tell sold over two million copies, backed by her singles, her debut album First Love went on to sell over 7 million units in Japan alone, becoming the highest selling album in Japans recent history. The album yielded the single First Love, which peaked at the number-two spot, by the end of the year, Utada was rank number 5 on a Japanese radio station Tokio Hot 100 Airplays Top 100 Artists of the 20th Century by the station and its listeners. After a two-year break, Utada released her follow-up album Distance, backed by her singles — Addicted to You, Wait & See, For You / Time Limit and Can You Keep a Secret. — Distance became the album of the year, with 4.469 million copies sold in Japan alone. Wait & See, Risk and Can You Keep A Secret also were ranked at number 6. Utada also went on to release a single which was dedicated to the victim of a murder case in Ikeda, Osaka
29.
Mary J. Blige
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Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, model, record producer and actress. My Life, in particular, is considered among the greatest albums ever recorded according to Rolling Stone, Time, for her part in combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s and its subsequent commercial success, Blige received the Legends Award at the World Music Awards. Blige made Time magazines Time 100 list of individuals around the world in 2007. As of 2013, Blige has sold more than 50 million albums and 25 million singles worldwide, Billboard ranked Blige as the most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years. The magazine also lists her 2006 song Be Without You as the top R&B song of the 2000s, in 2011, VH1 ranked Blige as the 80th greatest artist of all time. Moreover, she is ranked number 100 on the list of 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, in 2012, VH1 ranked Blige at number 9 in The 100 Greatest Women in Music. Blige also earned high remarks for her work in film and she starred in the 2009 Tyler Perry box-office hit I Can Do Bad All By Myself and played a role in the film Rock of Ages. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her contribution to the film The Help. In partnership with the Home Shopping Network and Carols Daughter, Blige released her My Life perfume, the perfume broke HSN records by selling 65,000 bottles during its premiere. The scent went on to win two FiFi Awards, including the Fragrance Sales Breakthrough award, in 2017, she stars in the period drama film Mudbound directed by Dee Rees. Blige spent her years in Richmond Hill, Georgia, where she sang in a Pentecostal church. Blige later moved to Schlobohm Houses in Yonkers, New York, immediately north of New York City, Blige dropped out of high school in her junior year. Pursuing a musical career, Blige spent a period of time in a Yonkers band named Pride with band drummer Eddie DAprile. In early 1988, she recorded a cover of Anita Bakers Caught Up in the Rapture at a recording booth in the Galleria Mall in White Plains. Her mothers boyfriend at the later played the cassette for Jeff Redd. Redd sent it to the president and CEO of the label, Harrell met with Blige and in 1989 she was signed to the label, becoming the companys youngest and first female artist. After being signed to Uptown Records, Blige began working with record producer Puff Daddy and he became the executive producer and produced a majority of the album. Derived from Bliges past occupation as a 4-1-1 operator, it was also an indication by Blige of being the real deal, the music was described as revelatory on a frequent basis
30.
Chaka Khan
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Chaka Khan is an American recording artist whose career has spanned five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. Widely known as the Queen of Funk, Khan has won ten Grammys and has sold an estimated 70 million records worldwide, Khan was ranked at number 17 in VH1s original list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. In 2015, she was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the second time, Khan was the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with I Feel for You in 1984. In the course of her career, Khan has achieved three gold singles, three gold albums and one platinum album with I Feel for You. With Rufus, she achieved four gold singles, four gold albums, in December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 65th most successful dance artist of all-time. Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23,1953 into an artistic, bohemian household in Chicago, Illinois. She is the eldest of five born to Charles Stevens and Sandra Coleman. She was raised in the Hyde Park area, an island in the middle of the madness of Chicagos rough South Side housing projects and her sister Yvonne later became a successful musician in her own right under the name Taka Boom. Her only brother, Mark, who formed the funk group Aurra and she has two other sisters, Zaheva Stevens and Tammy McCrary. Chaka Khan was raised as a Catholic and she attributed her love of music to her grandmother, who introduced her to jazz as a child. Khan became a fan of rhythm and blues music as a pre-teen and at eleven formed a group, the Crystalettes. Though many think that she was given the name Chaka while in the Panthers she has made it clear that her name Chaka Adunne Aduffe Hodarhi Karifi was given to her at age 13 by a Yoruba Baba. In 1969, she left the Panthers and dropped out of school, having attended Calumet High School. She began to perform in groups around the Chicago area, first performing with Cash McCalls group Lyfe, which included her then boyfriend Hassan Khan. She was asked to replace Baby Huey of Baby Huey & the Babysitters after Hueys death in 1970, the group disbanded a year later. While performing in bands in 1972, she was spotted by two members of a new group called Rufus and soon won her position in the group. They later signed with ABC Records in 1973, prior to signing with the label, she married on-and-off boyfriend Hassan Khan, changing her stage name to Chaka Khan. In 1973, Rufus released their eponymous debut album and that changed when Wonder himself collaborated with the group on a song he had written for Khan
31.
Karyn White
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Karyn Layvonne White is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is best known for her R&B singles, Superwoman, Secret Rendezvous, The Way You Love Me, White was born in Los Angeles to Vivian and Clarence White. She is the youngest of five children and she sang in a church choir and worked as a backing singer, then sang on Jeff Lorbers 1986 Private Passion single Facts of Love, True Confessions and Back in Love before signing to Warner Bros. Whites self-titled debut album Karyn White was released in 1988 and it was produced by L. A. Reid and Babyface and achieved platinum status. Karyn White contained the hit singles The Way You Love Me, Secret Rendezvous, Superwoman, White was nominated in the Best R&B/Urban Contemporary New Artist category for the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. She was also nominated for two Grammy Awards and she became the first female artist to have their first three solo releases hit #1 on the R&B charts. Her follow-up album was Ritual of Love in 1991 and it had songs produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and featured the hit single Romantic, which hit number one on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100. Other singles from the album include The Way I Feel About You, Walkin the Dog, the photographer and director Matthew Rolston directed the video for the hit single Romantic. Michael Walls, who was credited as stylist on Ritual of Love, worked with White on the look for the Ritual of Love album sleeve and her next album was Make Him Do Right in 1994. The album did not sell well, although she did chart with the singles Hungah and the Babyface-penned Can I Stay With You, id Rather Be Alone, her last chart single to date, peaked at #50 on the same chart later that year. White left Warner Bros. Records in 1999, and dropped out of the public eye for many years to start a family. In 2006 she recorded a new album, titled Sista Sista, which was slated for release in 2006, two tracks, All I Do and Disconnected, were later released on the best of compilation album, Superwoman, The Best of Karyn White. She was also slated to appear on the Soul Train Music Awards in 2009 as a tribute to Babyface Edmonds, however, this performance was canceled when Edmonds and Reid withdrew from the Soul Train ceremony, declining the honor. White released her first album after a break, Carpe Diem. White married Terry Lewis in 1992 and together they had a daughter, Ashley Nicole, Lewis brought to the marriage children Trey and Chloe. List of number-one hits List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 List of number-one dance hits List of artists who reached number one on the U. S, dance chart Official website Karyn White at AllMusic Karyn White at VH1
32.
IU (singer)
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Lee Ji-eun, better known by her stage name IU, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actress. While still in school, IU auditioned for various talent agencies with ambitions of becoming a singer. She signed with LOEN Entertainment in 2007 as a trainee and began her career at the age of 15 with her debut album, Lost. Her follow-up albums, Growing Up and IU. IM, brought her success, but it was through Good Day, the lead single from her 2010 album Real. Good Day spent five weeks at the top position of South Koreas Gaon Digital Chart. 2011 also saw her first foray into song-writing with Hold My Hand, while her subsequent releases, including albums A Flower Bookmark and Chat-Shire, continued to deviate from the mainstream K-pop style, IU retained her dominance on music charts. Chat-Shire marked the first time she is credited as the sole lyricist, IU has released three studio albums and nine extended plays, scoring two number-one albums and fourteen number-one singles on the Gaon Music Charts. Billboard recognized IU as the leader of its Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart with the most number-one songs. Aside from her career, IU has also ventured into hosting radio and television shows. IU was born Lee Ji-eun on May 16,1993 in South Korea, at an early age, IU became interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry and began attending acting classes. Soon after her school years, her familys financial situation deteriorated. She and her brother lived apart from their parents in a studio room with her grandmother. IU had little contact with her parents over this period of time, during her middle school years, IU found her passion for singing and decided to become a singer after feeling delight in performing at her schools sports competition and for the audiences applause. She attended 20 auditions but failed all and was also scammed by fake entertainment companies, before joining LOEN Entertainment in 2007, IU trained at Good Entertainment with Uee, Yubin, Heo Ga-yoon, and Jun Hyoseong. After signing with LOEN, IU moved to Bangbae, Seoul, despite thinking that she might eventually be put into a girl group after three to four years of training, she received ten months of training before her solo debut in 2008. Due to her living conditions at the time, IU stated that she loved being at the studio, prior to her debut, LOEN coined her stage name IU, deriving from the phrase I and You to symbolize the unifying force of music between people. Her burgeoning career led to her attendance at school and declining grades. After graduating from Dongduk Girls High School in 2011, IU decided not to pursue education in tandem with her singing career
33.
The Human League
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The Human League are an English synthpop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. After signing to Virgin Records in 1979, the band released two albums and a string of singles before attaining commercial success with their third album Dare in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including Love Action, Open Your Heart, the band received the Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act in 1982. Further hits followed throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, including Being Boiled, Mirror Man, Fascination, The Lebanon, Human, the band began as an avant-garde all-male synthesizer-based group. The only constant band member since 1977 has been lead singer and songwriter Philip Oakey, keyboard players Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh both left the band in 1980 to form Heaven 17. Under Oakeys leadership, The Human League then evolved into a commercially successful band with a new line-up including female vocalists Joanne Catherall. Since the mid-1990s, the band has essentially been a trio of Oakey, Catherall, since 1978, the Human League have released nine studio albums, four EPs,30 singles and several compilation albums. They have had five albums and eight singles in the UK Top 10 and have more than 20 million records worldwide. Before adopting the name The Human League, the band briefly had two previous incarnations, in early 1977, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who had met at youth arts project Meatwhistle, were both working as computer operators. Their musical collaboration combined pop music with electronic music. Their musical reputation spread and they were invited to play at a friends 21st birthday party, for the party, Ware and Marsh formed themselves into an informal band called The Dead Daughters. Their live highlight was a rendition of the theme of the British TV series Doctor Who, after a few more low-key, private performances, Ware and Marsh decided to officially form a band. Joined by their friend Adi Newton and another synthesizer, they formed The Future, the association with Adi Newton was short, Newton left The Future and went on to form Clock DVA. Ware at this point decided that he needed a singer rather than another keyboard player. Ware and Marsh searched for a vocalist, but their first choice, Ware then decided to invite an old school friend, Philip Oakey, to join the band. Oakey was working as a porter at the time and was known on the Sheffield social scene for his eclectic style of dress. Although he had no experience, Ware thought he would be ideal as lead singer for The Future as he already looked like a pop star. When Ware called on Oakey he found he was out, so asked him to join the Future by leaving a note stuck to his front door and he accepted the invitation, but early sessions were awkward. Oakey had never sung in front of an audience before, could not play keyboards, listening to one of Ware and Marshs demos, Oakey was inspired to write some lyrics which later became the single Being Boiled
34.
Patti LaBelle
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Patricia Louise Holt-Edwards better known under the stage name Patti LaBelle, is an American singer, author, actress, and entrepreneur. LaBelle began her career in the early 1960s as lead singer and front woman of the group, Patti LaBelle. After the group split in 1976, LaBelle began a solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album. Less than two years later, in 1986, LaBelle scored with the album, Winner in You. LaBelle eventually won a 1992 Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her 1991 album, Burnin, followed by a second Grammy win for the live album and her 1990s albums, Burnin, Gems and Flame, continued her popularity with young R&B audiences throughout the decade. LaBelles success has extended as an actress with a role in the film, A Soldiers Story. In 1992, LaBelle starred in her own TV sitcom, Out All Night, a decade later, LaBelle hosted her own lifestyle TV show, Living It Up with Patti LaBelle on TV One. In 2015, LaBelle took part in the competition, Dancing with the Stars. In a career that has spanned fifty years, she has more than 50 million records worldwide. LaBelle has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Apollo Theater Hall of Fame, in 2005, the World Music Awards recognized her years in the music business by awarding her the Legend Award. Possessing the voice of a soprano, LaBelle was included in Rolling Stone on their list of 100 Greatest Singers, LaBelle is commonly identified as the Godmother of Soul. LaBelle was born Patricia Louise Holte on May 24,1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and her father was a railroad worker and her mother was a domestic. Despite enjoying her childhood, LaBelle would later write in her memoirs, Dont Block the Blessings, when Patti was seven, she was sexually molested by a family friend. At twelve, her parents came to an end though Patti remained close to her father. When she was fifteen, she won a talent competition at her high school and this success led to Patti forming her first singing group, the Ordettes, in 1960, with schoolmates Jean Brown, Yvonne Hogen and Johnnie Dawson. The group, with Patti as front woman, became an attraction until two of its members left to marry. In 1962, the Ordettes included three new members, Cindy Birdsong, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx, the two girls having sung for another defunct vocal group. That year, they auditioned for record label owner Harold Robinson
35.
Cornbread Harris
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James Samuel Cornbread Harris, Sr. is an American musician. He is a singer and pianist who performs in Minneapolis, Minnesota and he was a performer on Minnesotas first rock n roll record, and is the father of record producer Jimmy Jam Harris. When his father was shot while gambling and his mother died of grieving and he lived with foster families until he was 11 or 12 when he and his sister went to live with his grandparents in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He has been married four times and he is the father of Jimmy Jam who produced records for Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Usher. Country music was an influence, and Hank Williams and Gene Autry are among his early favorites. Harris helped invent Augie Garcias Hi Yo Silver, a 1955 song that was Minnesotas first rock n roll recording and he performed on the record, which he called a one-hit wonder. Harris was in the U. S. military and later worked for about 25 years for American Hoist & Derrick, Harris is a mentor to Cadillac Kolstad and City Pages calls them the must-see dueling-piano act in town. The Blues Legend Award The Sally Awards Awesome mentor & awesome blues man honor to perform with him. Oz Yanez
36.
Upward Bound
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Upward Bound is a federally funded educational program within the United States. The program is one of a cluster of programs now referred to as TRIO, all of which owe their existence to the federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, Upward Bound programs are implemented and monitored by the United States Department of Education. The goal of Upward Bound is to certain categories of high school students better opportunities for attending college. The categories of greatest concern are those with low income, those with parents who did not attend college, the program works through individual grants, each of which covers a restricted geographic area and provides services to approximately 50 to 100 students annually. The program was launched in the summer of 1965 after the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 during President Lyndon B, johnsons administration, and was transferred to the Department of Education after the enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The idea of Upward Bound came from Stan Salett, a civil rights organizer, national education policy advisor, Upward Bound has an annual budget around $250,000,000. Grants are usually made to institutes of education, but some awards have been made to other non-profit organizations such as tribal organizations. Each award made averages $4,691 per participant, with the most common award providing $220,000 per grantee in 2004, awards are for four or five years and are competitive. The law providing for Upward Bound is 34 CFR Ch. VI Pt.645, as federal education grants, Upward Bound awards fall under EDGAR and OMB Circular A-21 financial guidelines. Upward Bound grants are results-based, with the level of success determined largely from highly structured annual reports compared to grant objectives, the program is available to students after their eighth grade of school. Two-thirds of selected applicants must be low-income and potential first-generation college students, most Upward Bound programs combine two approaches to student contact, A summer program where high school students take college prep classes and earn work experience at a college campus for six weeks. Weekly follow ups and possibly tutoring with students during the school year, several studies have shown that TRIO Upward Bound is tremendously successful. A study released by the U. S. Department of Education in 2004, a Space to Grow, a 1968 documentary film about the program The Upward Bound home page Upward Bound Math and Science Program federalgrants. com
37.
Flyte Tyme (band)
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Flyte Tyme was a funk/R&B band from Minneapolis which launched the careers of vocalists Cynthia Johnson, Alexander ONeal and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Flyte Tyme began as a Minneapolis funk/R&B unit, taking its name from Flight Time, the group was first known as Wars of Armageddon, then Soul Vaccination before becoming Flyt Tyme. The spelling of the name was changed to Flyte Tyme. The bands horn section was expanded by David Eiland on saxophone. Many of the musicians would later work with Prince. After Cynthia Johnsons departure, Alexander ONeal was her replacement, Johnson later gained fame as the voice of Lipps Incs worldwide No.1 song, morris Day also became the groups frontman, replacing ONeal. Jam & Lewis left The Time in 1983 to pursue an independent writing and producing career, resurrecting the Flyte Tyme name for their company and later. Two unreleased songs, I Got You On My Mind and Its The Things That You Do, were released in 2013 on the Purple Snow - Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound compilation. net
38.
Morris Day
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Morris E. Day is an American musician, composer, and actor. He is best known as the singer of The Time. In high school, Day was in a band with Prince and André Cymone, later, Prince embarked on a solo career but retained Cymone for his backing band. Day and Cymone began to plan a group that would focus more on R&B. The Time was composed of 4 members from a funk group called Flyte Tyme. Charles Alexander Cobb, of Saint Paul, was considered but he turned it down, sue Ann Carwell was auditioned, and Alexander ONeal nearly became The Times lead singer, but dropped out due to payment negotiations. Day, who was now in a band called Enterprise, allowed Prince to have a song called Partyup for his Dirty Mind album, Day would suggest guitarist Jesse Johnson, who completed the bands ensemble. Typically escorted by his valet, Jerome, Day won fans with his exaggerated vanity and strutting bravado, acting as a foil to Princes romantic. This persona was further exploited for comic effect on The Times records, on such as Chili Sauce. That album, the groups most popular, is best remembered for the infectious singles Jungle Love, with their palpable pop energy and catchy choruses, both songs were hits on both urban and pop radio. With the breakup of The Time in 1984, Day began his solo career, in 1985, Day released his solo debut Color of Success. The album featured the singles The Oak Tree as well as the title track, the low sales of his follow-up albums — 1987s Daydreaming and his most commercially viable solo album, Guaranteed — were a blow to his career. In 1986 Morris Day married Judith Day and they were married for 22 years, until 2008. In 1988 he starred as Curtis on the short-lived and poorly received series, Heart & Soul and it wasnt until 1990 that The Time scored a #1 R&B hit with Jerk Out, a Dance-funk cut from their reunited fourth album, Pandemonium. This album also featured the members of the band. The same year, Day formed his own band called The Day Zs. The groups first and only release was produced by Day. From that high point, Days success began to wane, the general decline of Princes popularity soon after did not help, and Days public visibility and creative output waned considerably
