1.
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
2.
End of the Road
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End of the Road is a single recorded by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Boomerang soundtrack. It was released in 1992 and written and produced by Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, L. A. Reid, the song achieved overwhelming domestic and international success. In the United States, End of the Road spent a record breaking 13 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Whitney Houston would later break this record in the year, with I Will Always Love You. Boyz II Men would later match, and break Houstons record, internationally, End of the Road reached #1 in Australia, United Kingdom and the Hot 100 Eurochart, among others. Due to the success of the single, Boyz II Mens debut album Cooleyhighharmony was re issued in 1992 and 1993 to include the song. At the 1993 Grammy Awards, End of the Road was nominated for two Grammys, winning both, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Best R&B Song, End of the Road is considered one of the most successful songs of all time. It was the #1 single of 1992 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1992 and it is ranked by Billboard as the sixth most successful song of the decade 1990–1999. End of the Road was released on June 30,1992 and it was released as a single from the Boomerang soundtrack and did not originally appear on Boyz II Mens debut album, CooleyHighHarmony. It was released after all singles from their debut had been released, End of the Road debuted at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 18,1992. Within 4 weeks, it reached #1, holding the position for 13 consecutive weeks from August 15,1992 - November 7,1992 and it also spent four weeks atop of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was also performed by guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. on his 1993 album A River In The Desert, bassist Michael Manson covered the song from his 2008 album Up Front. Marcela Morelo recorded a Spanish version of the song in her 2009 album Otro plan, south Korean boy group U-KISS did an a cappella version of the hit song. Westlife covered this on a cappella, in addition, Boyz II Men included a Spanish-language version on their Spanish-language compilation Evolución. During the series finale of the sitcom A Different World, Whitley led everyone in singing End of the Road at hers, American Idol season ten contestant Stefano Langone performed the song during Idol Goes to the Movies week. An a cappella version was re-recorded for Boyz II Mens 2007 album, Motown, another re-recorded version appears on Boyz II Mens 2011 album, Twenty. A reggae cover was recorded by Frankie Paul in 1996 for his Jet Star album, keyshia Cole sampled the song on her single Trust and Believe, from her 2012 album, Woman to Woman. JLS sang this on their last tour, Goodbye – The Greatest Hits, in Muppets Most Wanted, the song is covered by the Gulag prisoners
3.
Billboard (magazine)
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Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events and it is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular singles and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows, Billboard was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegens interest in 1900 for $500, in the 1900s, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows. It also created a service for travelling entertainers. Billboard began focusing more on the industry as the jukebox, phonograph. Many topics it covered were spun-off into different magazines, including Amusement Business in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment so that it could focus on music. After Donaldson died in 1925, Billboard was passed down to his children and Hennegans children, until it was sold to investors in 1985. The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 1,1894 by William Donaldson, initially, it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called Billboard Advertising. At the time, billboards, posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the means of advertising. Donaldson handled editorial and advertising, while Hennegan, who owned Hennegan Printing Co. managed magazine production, the first issues were just eight pages long. The paper had columns like The Bill Room Gossip and The Indefatigable, a department for agricultural fairs was established in 1896. The title was changed to The Billboard in 1897, after a brief departure over editorial differences, Donaldson purchased Hennegans interest in the business in 1900 for $500, to save it from bankruptcy. That May, Donaldson changed it from a monthly to a paper with a greater emphasis on breaking news. He improved editorial quality and opened new offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London and he also re-focused the magazine on outdoor entertainment like fairs, carnivals, circuses, vaudeville and burlesque shows. A section devoted to circuses was introduced in 1900, followed by more prominent coverage of events in 1901. Billboard also covered topics including regulation, a lack of professionalism, economics and it had a stage gossip column covering the private lives of entertainers, a tent show section covering traveling shows and a sub-section called Freaks to order. According to The Seattle Times, Donaldson also published articles attacking censorship, praising productions exhibiting good taste
4.
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play and online streaming, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday, when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming data, is available on a real-time basis. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesdays, as of the issue for the week ending on April 15,2017, the Hot 100 has had 1,061 different number one hits. The current number one song is Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, prior to 1955, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart, instead measuring songs by individual metrics. At the start of the era in 1955, three such charts existed, Best Sellers in Stores was the first Billboard chart, established in 1936. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country, Most Played by Jockeys was Billboards original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. On the week ending November 12,1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time, the Top 100 combined all aspects of a singles performance, based on a point system that typically gave sales more weight than radio airplay. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. The week ending July 28,1958 was the publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts. On August 4,1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13,1958. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a songs popularity is measured in the United States, the Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to the calculation of the Hot 100. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data. Hot Singles Sales, the top selling singles compiled from a sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled. The chart is released weekly and measures sales of commercial singles. With the decline in sales of singles in the US
5.
I Will Always Love You
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The song, I Will Always Love You was originally written and recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter, Dolly Parton. Partons version of I Will Always Love You was a commercial success and it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart twice. It first reached number one in June 1974, and then in October 1982, Whitney Houston recorded her version of the song for the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Her single spent 14 weeks at one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. It also holds the record for being the single by a woman in music history. Houstons version of I Will Always Love You re-entered the charts in 2012 after her death, the song has been recorded by many other significant artists including Linda Ronstadt and John Doe. Country music singer-songwriter Dolly Parton wrote the song in 1973 for her partner and mentor Porter Wagoner. She recorded it in RCAs Studio B in Nashville on June 13,1973, I Will Always Love You was issued on June 6,1974, as the second single from Partons thirteenth solo studio album, Jolene. In 1982, Parton re-recorded the song, when it was included on the soundtrack to the film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the song also won Parton Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1975 CMA Awards. According to sheet music published at musicnotes. com by Hal Leonard Corporation, after recording a duet with Vince Gill in 1995, I Will Always Love You re-entered the Billboard chart and peaked at number 15. When the 1974 recording of the song was reaching number one on the country charts, Parton was interested until Presleys manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her that it was standard procedure for the songwriter to sign over half of the publishing rights to any song Elvis recorded. She recalls, I said, I’m really sorry, and I cried all night, I mean, it was like the worst thing. You know, it’s like, Oh, my God … Elvis Presley, and other people were saying, You’re nuts. It’s Elvis Presley. I said, I cant do that, something in my heart says, Don’t do that. Then when Whitney came out, I made enough money to buy Graceland. In Curtis W. Ken Knight, author of The Midnight Show, Late Night Cable-TV Guy-Flicks of the 80s, commented that Parton is the singer who can sing I Will Always Love You. Writer Paul Simpson criticized the singer, stating that the track was written to soften the blow of Parton. However, both Parton and Houston dispelled any rumors speaking glowingly of one another in interviews, Houston praised Parton for writing a beautiful song
6.
Whitney Houston
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Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time, Houston is one of pop musics best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 million records sold worldwide. She released seven albums and two soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No.1 Billboard Hot 100 hits and she is the second artist behind Elton John and the only woman to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houstons debut album, Whitney Houston, became the debut album by a woman in history. Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1986, and ranked it at number 254 on the magazines list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album, Whitney, became the first album by a woman to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Houstons first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard. The films original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and its lead single, I Will Always Love You, won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became the best-selling single by a woman in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act to sell more than a million copies of an album within a week period under Nielsen SoundScan system. The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the albums of all time. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale, the Preachers Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history. On February 11,2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, the official coroners report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards and featured prominently in American, Whitney Houston was born on August 9,1963 in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. and her elder brother Michael is a singer, and her elder half-brother is former basketball player Gary Garland. Her parents were both African American, through her mother, Houston was a first cousin of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was Darlene Love and her aunt was Aretha Franklin. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the moved to a middle-class area in East Orange, New Jersey
7.
Elvis Presley
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Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is referred to as the King of Rock and Roll. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis and his music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was a popularizer of rockabilly. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, Presleys first RCA single, Heartbreak Hotel, was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. He was regarded as the figure of rock and roll after a series of successful network television appearances. In November 1956, Presley made his debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service, in 1973, Presley featured in the first globally broadcast concert via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. Several years of drug abuse severely damaged his health. Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century and he won three Grammys, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Presley was born on January 8,1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Love and Vernon Elvis Presley, Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered stillborn 35 minutes before his own birth. Thus, as a child, Presley became close to both parents and formed an especially close bond with his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God, where he found his musical inspiration. Although he was in conflict with the Pentecostal church in his later years, rev. Rex Humbard officiated at his funeral, as Presley had been an admirer of Humbards ministry. Presleys ancestry was primarily a Western European mix, including Scots-Irish, Scottish, German, gladyss great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was possibly a Cherokee Native American. Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family, Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, evincing little ambition. The family often relied on help from neighbors and government food assistance, the Presleys survived the F5 tornado in the 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of kiting a check written by the landowner, Orville S. Bean and he was jailed for eight months, and Gladys and Elvis moved in with relatives
8.
Hound Dog (song)
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Hound Dog is a twelve-bar blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Thorntons recording of Hound Dog is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, Hound Dog has been recorded more than 250 times. Presleys version, which sold about 10 million copies globally, was his best-selling song and an emblem of the rock n roll revolution. It was simultaneously No.1 on the US pop, country, and R&B charts in 1956, and it topped the pop chart for 11 weeks — a record that stood for 36 years. Presleys 1956 RCA recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988, on August 12,1952, R&B bandleader Johnny Otis asked 19-year-old songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller to his home to meet blues singer Willie Mae Big Mama Thornton. Thornton had been signed by Diamond Don Robeys Houston-based Peacock Records the year before, after hearing Thornton rehearse several songs, Leiber and Stoller forged a tune to suit her personality—brusque and badass. In an interview in Rolling Stone in April 1990, Stoller said, She was a blues singer. But it was as much her appearance as her blues style influenced the writing of Hound Dog. Leiber recalled, We saw Big Mama and she knocked me cold and she looked like the biggest, baddest, saltiest chick you would ever see. And she was mean, a bear, as they used to call em. She must have been 350 pounds, and she had all these all over her face conveying words which could not be sung. But how to do it without saying it. And how to do it telling a story, I couldnt just have a song full of expletives. In 1999, Leiber said, I was trying to get something like the Furry Lewis phrase Dirty Mother Furya. I was looking for something closer to that but I couldnt find it, because everything I went for was too coarse, R&B expert George A. Moonoogian concurs, calling it a biting and scathing satire in the double-entendre genre of 1950s rhythm and blues. Said Leiber, Hound Dog took like twelve minutes, thats not a complicated piece of work. But the rhyme scheme was difficult, also the metric structure of the music was not easy. According to Leiber, as soon as they reached the parking lot and Stollers 1937 Plymouth and we got to Johnny Otiss house and Mike went right to the piano…didnt even bother to sit down
9.
Don't Be Cruel
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Dont Be Cruel is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley in 1956. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002, in 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling Stones list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is ranked as the 173rd greatest song of all time, as well as the sixth best song of 1956. Dont Be Cruel was the first song that Presleys song publishers, Hill and Range, Blackwell was more than happy to give up 50% of the royalties and a co-writing credit to Presley to ensure that the hottest new singer around covered it. Freddy Bienstock, Elvis Music Publisher, gave the explanation for why Elvis received co-writing credit for songs like Dont Be Cruel. In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations and his name did not appear after the first year. But if Elvis liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records, Presley recorded the song on July 2,1956 during an exhaustive recording session at RCA studios in New York City. During this session he also recorded Hound Dog, and Any Way You Want Me, the song featured Presleys regular band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar, Bill Black on bass, D. J. Fontana on drums, and backing vocals from the Jordanaires. The producing credit was given to RCAs Stephen H and he also ran through 31 takes of Hound Dog. The single was released on July 13,1956 backed with Hound Dog, within a few weeks Hound Dog had risen to #2 on the Pop charts with sales of over one million. Soon after it was overtaken by Dont Be Cruel which took #1 on all three charts, Pop, Country, and R n B. By the end of 1956 it had sold in excess of four million copies, Billboard ranked it as the No.2 song for 1956. Presley performed Dont Be Cruel during all three of his appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in September 1956 and January 1957, Dont Be Cruel went on to become Presleys biggest selling single recorded in 1956, with sales over six million by 1961. It became a feature of his live sets until his death in 1977. According to author Mark Lewisohn in The Complete Beatles Chronicles The Beatles performed it live from at least 1959 till 1961 if not later, No recording from then is known to survive. They finally recorded a version during the massive 1969 Get Back sessions which has never been released. However ex-Beatles John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Pete Best, Presley was said to be so impressed with Wilsons version that he would later incorporate many of Wilsons mannerisms into future performances. Debbie Harry recorded the song for the Otis Blackwell tribute album Brace Yourself, a cover by American country music duo The Judds peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1987
10.
One Sweet Day
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One Sweet Day is a song by American singer Mariah Carey and R&B group Boyz II Men. The song was written by Carey, Walter Afanasieff and Boyz II Men, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, and Michael McCary. One Sweet Day was produced by Carey and Afanasieff for her studio album, Daydream. The song speaks about the death of a one, how the protagonist took their presence for granted and misses them. Both Carey and Boyz II Men wrote the song about people in their lives, being inspired by sufferers of the AIDS epidemic. One Sweet Day received widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom praised its content and vocals. It was ranked first in Rolling Stones readers poll for the Best Collaboration of All Time, the song spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming the longest running number one song on the chart. Subsequently, One Sweet Day became the Billboards most successful song of the 1990s, internationally, the song topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand, and reached the top-ten in Australia, Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Carey performed One Sweet Day live alongside Boyz II Men at the 38th Grammy Awards ceremony, additionally, the song was performed at Princess Dianas memorial service in September 1997. One Sweet Day was part of the set list on several of Careys succeeding tours, making its debut during the albums accompanying set of concerts and it is featured on her compilation albums, #1s, Greatest Hits, The Ballads, and #1 to Infinity. The music video for One Sweet Day was filmed in February 1995, and features snippets of Carey and Boyz II Men in and around the studio, the busy schedule of both Carey and Boyz II Men did not allow time to record a proper video. The singer later said that she was content a real music video was never filmed, critics felt the video choice was wise, and agreed that the simple concept paid homage to the songs selfless message. One Sweet Day was a song that Carey wrote with the R&B group Boyz II Men, Carey had the idea and chorus composed, and after meeting with Boyz II Men, they realized they too had a similar idea in development. Together, using Careys chorus and idea, as well as the melody they had produced, they wrote, the song was produced by Afanasieff, who built on the songs melody and added various grooves and beats. Whole idea of when you lose people that are close to you, it changes your life and it had basically the same lyrics and fitted over the same chord changes. It was really, really weird, we finished the right then. We were all kinda flipped about it ourselves, fate had a lot to do with that. I know some people wont believe it, but we wouldnt make up such a crazy story
11.
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
12.
Black or White
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Black or White is a single by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. The song was released by Epic Records on November 11,1991 as the first single from Jacksons eighth studio album and it was written, composed and produced by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell. Black or White was written, composed and produced by Michael Jackson and Bill Bottrell, an alternate version was first heard by Sony executives on a plane trip to Neverland, as the third track of the promotional CD acetate. It began to be promoted on radio stations the first week of November 1991 in New York, Black or White was officially released one week later, on November 5,1991. The song has elements of dance, rap and hard rock such as Bill Bottrells guitars. This song is played in the key of E major, with Jacksons vocal spanning from E3 to B4, the songs main riff is often incorrectly attributed to Guns N Roses guitarist Slash. His guitar playing is heard in the skit that precedes the album version of the song. Slash also played the riff in live performances of this song. To prepare the audience for the occasion of the televised premiere of the Black or White video. Black or White entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 35, in the UK, the single became the first single by an American to go into the singles chart at number one since 1960, when Its Now or Never by Elvis Presley did in the same manner. The single was certified platinum in the US, selling one million copies. Reviews of the song were generally favorable, stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic highlighted the song. The prestigious Pazz & Jop critics poll ranked Black or White at number 19, the Clivillés & Cole remixes for Black or White, released as a promotional single in 1992, also charted on many European countries. In the UK, it reached number 14, and in Ireland, the promotional single also surprisingly peaked at number 18 in Australia. The music video for Black or White was first broadcast on MTV, BET, VH1, along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Tess Harper, and George Wendt. The video was directed by John Landis, who previously directed Thriller and it was choreographed by Vincent Paterson. It premiered simultaneously in 27 countries, with an audience of 500 million viewers, the first few minutes of the video feature an extended version of the songs intro. During this interlude an 11-year-old kid is dancing to music in his bedroom at night
13.
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
14.
Color Me Badd
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Color Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The original members of the group were lead singer Bryan Abrams, second tenor Mark Calderon, second tenor Sam Watters and they formed in 1985 and broke up in 1998 before reuniting in 2010, with various lineups since. As of 2016, they operate as a trio with Abrams, Calderon and they were nominated for two Grammy Awards, won two Soul Train Music Awards and one American Music Award, and were nominated for five others. Their songs have featured in movies and on television programs including New Jack City, Mo Money, No Strings Attached. They made an appearance as themselves on a 1992 episode of Beverly Hills,90210. Thornton and Abrams became friends in high school, and Watters. The four met in the mid-1980s while attending Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City and they were all members of the school choir. The group originally formed in 1985 as Take One, but changed their name to Color Me Badd to avoid confusion with an a cappella band named Take 6, Watters selected the name, after a horse at the racetrack named Color Me Bad. They aimed to be a group in the vein of New Edition. They first performed together in a talent show, influenced by doo-wop a cappella groups of the past, like Sam Cooke, The Temptations. The group came up with a plan to audition for any big name acts playing in Oklahoma City. They met Robert Bell of Kool & the Gang on May 27,1987, when they were in Oklahoma City for a performance. They auditioned for him and he introduced them to his manager, Adil Bayyan. They also sang for Huey Lewis and the News, Sheila E. and Ronnie Milsap, toné. in Oklahoma City in 1988. One afternoon in 1989, Thornton saw Jon Bon Jovi in a movie theater and they waited for him to leave the theater and then sung the 1961 doo-wop hit Daddys Home a cappella for him. Bon Jovi invited them to be his bands opening act the following night and they moved to New York City on September 23,1989. In 1990, they bumped into Tony, toné. who got them into the ASCAP Music Awards. There, Color Me Badd approached producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the producers advised that, being a multicultural group, they write a half-English, half-Spanish song
15.
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
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Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me is a song written by English singer Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. The song found success in 1991 in a live cover version recorded as a duet between John and George Michael, which reached number one in the UK and US. Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me was co-written by Elton John, the song was released as the first single from the album in May 1974 in the United Kingdom, and on 10 June 1974 in the United States. The chorus of the song is supported with an arrangement by Del Newman, and features backing vocals by Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, Bruce Johnston. Also on the song are percussion accents provided by Ray Cooper, id just allow a fragment of your life to wander free but losing everything is like the sun going down on me. Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me charted on 1 June 1974 in the UK, the song reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after four weeks, peaking at number two for two weeks from 27 July behind John Denvers Annies Song. In the US, the single was certified Gold on 6 September 1974 by the RIAA, in Canada, it reached number one, becoming his fifth chart topper in that country. An edited version of this recording was released as a single in 1987, in 1991, Dont Let the Sun Go Down on Me was covered in a live version as a duet by George Michael and Elton John. This version of the song had its greatest success, the pair first performed the song at the Live Aid concert in 1985. The live recording of song, released as a single later that year. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in December 1991 and for one week on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1992, the duet also spent two weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. This version of the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It appears on Johns Love Songs and Greatest Hits 1970–2002 compilations, the proceeds from the single were divided among 10 different charities for children, AIDS and education. The footage used for the music video was taken from a live concert in Chicago with 70,000 fans. The video was shot over several days, confirms Michael Pagnotta. It was shot in a hangar in Burbank, California where George had been rehearsing, Elton came in for a night. Then the song was filmed in its entirety live in Chicago in the middle of October as part of that Cover to Cover tour, and when Elton came out from the wings and this live version stems from around 1975, it was never recorded onto an album. Roger Daltrey sang it for the 1987 soundtrack The Lost Boys, african-American gospel group The Winans released a version of the song on their album Decisions in 1987
16.
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
17.
Right Said Fred
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Right Said Fred is a British band based in London and formed by brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass in 1989. Guitarist Rob Manzoli joined the duo in 1990, with over 20 million records sold worldwide, the group has achieved multi-platinum status and has also won two Ivor Novello Awards – for Im Too Sexy and Deeply Dippy. In 1993, Right Said Fred was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group, the Fairbrass brothers formed the group in 1989, with Richard on lead vocals and bass and Fred on guitar. Fred had appeared as a guitarist in the Bob Dylan vehicle Hearts of Fire, the group was named after the novelty song Right Said Fred, which was a hit single for singer and actor Bernard Cribbins in 1962. The Fairbrass brothers were accompanied by drummer Ray Weston and guitarist Dan Kruse. Weston left in 1990 to join the rock group Wishbone Ash. Guitarist Rob Manzoli joined in 1990 and remained with the group until 1997, in July 1991, the group released its début single, Im Too Sexy, on the independent London-based record label Tug Records. The track is a dance song which takes a gentle swipe at the fashion industry. It was a hit in the United Kingdom, spending six weeks at number two in the charts behind Bryan Adams I Do It for You, and three months in the Top 10. The song also went to one in 32 countries including the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song earned the band its first Ivor Novello award, the single also went to number four on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Im Too Sexy has been used in over 40 television shows and movies, including My Wife and Kids, The Simpsons, The West Wing and their second single, Dont Talk Just Kiss, with background vocals by soul singer Jocelyn Brown, was released in October 1991. It made number 3 in the United Kingdom Christmas charts, entered the top five in many countries, in February 1992, the band released its third single, Deeply Dippy. This was number one in the United Kingdom for three weeks, and peaked at nine in the United States dance chart. The success of the resulted in the bands multi-platinum debut album, Up. The album remained in the Top 40 for almost a year, in 1992, Heavenly Records released an EP that featured the labels acts covering Right Said Fred songs for charity. The Fred EP contains Saint Etienne, The Rockingbirds and Flowered Up, early in 1993 Fred, Richard and Rob wrote and recorded the Comic Relief single Stick It Out, which was a top-five hit in the United Kingdom and in many European countries. In September 1993, Right Said Fred released its album, Sex and Travel
18.
To Be with You
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To Be with You is a soft rock song by American hard rock band Mr. Big. It was released in late 1991 as the single from their second album. The song first charted on December 21,1991, appearing in the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 and it rose in the charts in over 20 countries, reaching number one in the U. S. It also reached a peak of three in the UK. The song was written and composed by Eric Martin during his teen years, writing credit is also given to David Grahame, a songwriter working for the label at the time. While in Gilberts apartment at Yucca Street in L. A. he, Martin had a ballad called To Be With You. Gilbert had his rock song called Green Tinted Sixties Mind. To Be With You is about a man who has his eye on a woman who has experienced a broken heart from a previous relationship. When Martin was a sophomore in school, he was friends with his older sisters friend. She would give him rides to school and tell him all the boy problems she had. Martin had a crush on her, but didnt tell her since he knew a senior would never go out with a sophomore. Martin wrote this song about her, the music video was directed by Nancy Bennett and features the band performing in a railroad car. The video changes from black & white to color around the halfway mark
19.
Mr. Big (American band)
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Mr. Big is an American hard rock supergroup, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1988. The band is a composed of Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan, and Pat Torpey, The band is noted especially for their musicianship. Their songs were marked by strong vocals and vocal harmonies. Their hits include To Be with You and Just Take My Heart, Mr. Big have remained active and popular for over two decades, despite internal conflicts and changing music trends. They broke up in 2002, but after requests from fans, they reunited in 2009, their first tour was in Japan, to date, Mr. Big has released eight studio albums, the latest being. The Stories We Could Tell. The band takes its name from the song by Free, which was covered by the band on their 1993 album. He recruited Eric Martin, of the rock-oriented Eric Martin Band and also soul-leaning solo artist, Gilbert was already a well-respected guitarist who had released two albums with his Los Angeles-based band Racer X. The newly formed band hired Herbie Herbert, the manager of Journey, Europe. By 1989, they signed with Atlantic Records and released their debut the same year. The record did not gain the band a mainstream rock audience stateside, in June 1990, the group toured in America opening for Rush. In August 1990, two songs, Strike Like Lightning and Shadows, performed by Mr. Big were exclusively released on the album of the action film Navy SEALs. Mr. Bigs second album, 1991s Lean Into It, was a commercial breakthrough. The cover features a picture of the train in the Montparnasse derailment and they toured the UK in April and May 1991 and again in 1992, releasing a live album, Mr. Big Live, in 1992. For three nights, they opened for Aerosmith at Londons Wembley Arena, in 1993, another ballad, a cover of Cat Stevens Wild World, peaked at No.27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although it is said that the band contributed the soundtrack to the Sega Mega-CD release of The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, the songs actually featured Eric Martin with musicians hired by Sega and they released Hey Man in 1996. The song Take Cover was included on the soundtrack to the cartoon series Mega Man, although the band never replicated its earlier success in the US market, their popularity continued to soar in Japan and in much of Asia. They continued to sell out tours in the Asian market, resulting in a number of releases for the Japanese market
20.
Save the Best for Last
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Save the Best for Last is a 1992 single written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman and Jon Lind in March 1989. It is considered Vanessa Williams signature song, the lyrics redemptive themes resonated with Williams story, as she had put together a successful recording career following her earlier Miss America resignation scandal. Save the Best for Last was not written specifically for Vanessa Williams, there were a number of other singers who were offered the song, they all turned it down. While recording her album The Comfort Zone, at the last minute, Williams was played Save the Best for Last, and she said, I cant believe nobody wants this song. I have to have this song, the single was Williams third number one on the Soul singles chart and topped the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in 1992. Save the Best for Last was ranked fourth in the Billboard Top 100 hits of 1992, the song also went to #1 on the U. S. Adult Contemporary and R&B charts, it remained atop these charts for three weeks apiece. Internationally, the shot to number one in Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada. There are two versions of the video for this single. Along with the version, the song was reworked and re-released as a Christmas single in 1993. It recharted for several years as a favorite, with a new snowy videoclip version played on MTV. Also in 1994, Filipino singer Kuh Ledesma recorded a version with jazz violinist Noel Pointer on her album The Voice, in 1995, then new-age/new adult contemporary pianist Brian Culbertson covered the song for his album Modern Life. In 2003, the song was covered by Lester Bowie Brass Fantasy on the album When the Spirit Returns, the song was also covered by the band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. This song was covered by the Punk rock band Me First, australian musician Edward Guglielmino covers Save the Best for Last in live performances and is rumored to be recording a version. Richard Smith performs a cover on his album Natural Soul, the tune is the basis of Märchenland Gefühl and Iets Heeft je Zachtjes Aangeraakt, both by Belgian artiste Dana Winner. Hong Kong cantopop singer Shirley Kwan also has a Cantonese cover version entitled Why Us
21.
Vanessa Williams
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Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first African-American recipient of the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. However, a few prior to the end of her reign. Williams thus resigned as Miss America on July 22,1984, a few years later, she rebounded as an entertainer with the song The Right Stuff. She then had a string of albums and singles and also found success as an actress. You have lived life in grace and dignity, and never was it more evident than during the events of 1984. Though none of us currently in the organization were involved then, on behalf of todays organization, I want to apologize to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams. I want to apologize for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less the Miss America you are, Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in the The Bronx, New York, with a birth announcement that read, Here she is, Miss America. Her maternal great-great grandfather was William A. Feilds, an African-American legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives and her mother, Helen Tinch, met her father, Milton Augustine Williams Jr. while both were music education students at Fredonia State Teachers College in the late 1950s. They both became elementary school music teachers after marriage, though their positions were in separate districts. Milton also served as the Assistant Principal of his school for a period of time. Williams was raised Roman Catholic, the religion of her father and her mother, who had been raised Baptist, converted to Catholicism when she got married. Williams was baptized at Our Lady of Grace Church in the Bronx, Williams mother played the organ at St. Theresas Church in Briarcliff Manor for weddings and at mass and Williams used to assist her mother by turning the pages of sheet music. Williams and her younger brother Chris grew up in a predominantly white suburb of New York City. Williams believes that she may have been the first African-American student to go from the first grade to the 12th grade in the Chappaqua Central School District. As the child of teachers, Williams grew up in a musical household, studying classical and jazz dance, French horn, piano. Thus, in 1981, Williams joined Syracuses College of Visual and Performing Arts and she stayed at Syracuse through her sophomore year, until she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. Twenty-five years later in May 2008, Syracuse granted Williams a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, according to Syracuse News, Williams earned the remaining credits for her degree through industry experience and her substantial performances on stage and screen
22.
Jump (Kris Kross song)
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Jump is the hit debut single by American hip hop duo Kris Kross. It was released on February 6,1992, as a single from their studio album Totally Krossed Out. It achieved international success, topping charts in Switzerland, Australia, additionally, it was the third best-selling song in the US in 1992 with sales of 2,079,000 physical copies that year. Kris Krosss members were only 12 and 13 years old when recorded their hit song. Jump was written and produced by Jermaine Dupri, Jump was the fastest selling single in fifteen years and stayed on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. The song has been used on television in commercials and programs such as Law & Order and it is also used as part of a birthday card from American Greetings as of 2013. In 1992 Kids Incorporated covered Jump in the Season 8 episode The Boy From La Mancha, in 2015, it was used in a television commercial for Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
23.
Kris Kross
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Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo formed in the early 1990s and consisting of Chris Mac Daddy Kelly and Chris Daddy Mac Smith. The duo hit worldwide status with their 1992 smash hit, Jump, the duo released three albums, with their debut album Totally Krossed Out topping the US Billboard 200, and their following albums, Da Bomb and Young, Rich & Dangerous making it into the Top 20. The duo were also noted for their style as they would wear their clothes backwards. The friendship of Atlanta natives James Christopher Kelly and Christopher Smith began in first grade, the duo were discovered at an Atlanta shopping mall in 1991 by then 19-year-old Jermaine Dupri. Along with Dupri, the two signed a deal with Ruffhouse Records and recorded their debut album Totally Krossed Out, entirely produced by Dupri, Totally Krossed Out was released March 31 that year and sold four million copies in the U. S. It included the hit single Jump, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, No other rap song had led the chart for that length of time. The music videos from the album also experienced major success, the video for Jump, directed by filmmaker Rich Murray, went to No.1 on MTV and sold over 100,000 copies as a VHS video single. The video for their single, Warm It Up, also directed by Murray, won a Billboard video award for Best New Artist. Writes The New York Daily News Jim Farber, Together, that was enough to propel the duo’s debut, Totally Krossed Out, to multi-platinum status. The duo landed a spot on Michael Jacksons 1992 European Dangerous World Tour as well as an appearance on Jacksons music video for his 1991 single Jam. A video game starring the pair, titled Kris Kross, Make My Video, was released in 1992 on the Sega CD system. It consisted of the editing together the groups music videos for a few of their hit songs—using portions of the original music videos, stock footage. Players were prompted before each editing session to make sure to have certain footage compiled into the video, the game was released only in the United States to poor sales figures and dismal reviews. It was ranked 18th on Electronic Gaming Monthlys list of the 20 Worst Games of All Time, Kris Kross made a cameo appearance in Ted Demmes film Whos the Man. Which starred rapper Ed Lover and radio personality Doctor Dré of Yo, the duos second album, Da Bomb, was certified platinum and spawned the hits Alright featuring Super Cat, Im Real, and Da Bomb featuring Da Brat, whom Smith has discovered. Most of their songs had been directed at rivals Da Youngstas, Illegal, a third album, Young, Rich & Dangerous, was released in early 1996 and was certified gold. It spawned the two hits Tonites tha Night and Live and Die for Hip Hop, judgement Records is a record label, started by Joe Nicolo in 1999 after Ruffhouse Records was dissolved. Kris Kross followed Nicolo to his new label and recorded their 25 tracked fourth album in 2000-2001, Kelly studied engineering, and founded C Connection Records
24.
I'll Be There (The Jackson 5 song)
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Ill Be There is a soul song written by Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West, and Willie Hutch. The song was recorded by The Jackson 5 and released by Motown Records on August 28,1970 as the first single from their Third Album on the same date. Produced by the songwriters, Ill Be There was The Jackson 5s fourth number one hit in a row, Ill Be There is also notable as the most successful single released by Motown during its Detroit era. The Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz cover was recorded during Careys appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1992, co-produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, Ill Be There became Careys sixth number one single in the U. S. and her biggest hit elsewhere at the time. After three upbeat bubblegum soul number one singles from the Jackson 5, Motown head Berry Gordy decided to take a risk and craft a ballad for the group. For this song, he brought in songwriters Hal Davis, Willie Hutch, and Bob West, as opposed to working with the rest of The Corporation, who had crafted the first three hits. He promises that hell always be there to comfort you, Jackson 5 lead singers Michael Jackson and his older brother Jermaine share the lead vocals on this song. Michaels ad-libbed just look over your shoulders, honey is an allusion to Reach Out Ill Be There and he was instructed by Gordy to say just look over your shoulder, but the slightly flubbed line was allowed to remain in the final mix. In his autobiography Moon Walk, Michael Jackson noted that Ill Be There was the song that solidified The Jackson 5s careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyond bubblegum pop. Said Allmusic about the song, Rarely, if ever, had one so young sung with so much authority and grace, investing this achingly tender ballad with wisdom and understanding far beyond his years. The most successful single released by the Jackson 5, Ill Be There sold 4.2 million copies in the United States. I Heard It Through the Grapevine remained Motowns biggest-selling record with sales of over seven million copies. Ill Be There was also a one hit on the Billboard Black Singles Chart for six weeks. The singles B-side was One More Chance, a song from their second album, Ill Be There was the Jackson 5s final number one Hot 100 hit as a group. For the rest of their career as an act, Jackson 5 singles would climb no higher than number 2. Michael Jackson scored numerous number one hits as a solo artist, Ill Be There was one of the songs used in the showcase for Grease, Youre the One that I Want. Andy Williams released a version in 1971 on his album, Youve Got a Friend, kings Stand by Me, then back into Shout. The song was performed in the Jackson 5 medley during all of Michaels tours, The Bad, Dangerous, the song was performed by Michael Jackson in the 2009 film Michael Jacksons This Is It
25.
Trey Lorenz
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Trey Lorenz is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School, Lorenz is best known for his duet with recording artist Mariah Carey on Ill Be There, a cover of the 1970 number-one Jackson 5 recording of the same name. They would later perform the song again at the funeral of Michael Jackson on July 7,2009, Lorenz began his career supporting singer Mariah Carey on her first promotional tour in 1990, and the following year he provided background vocals on her album Emotions. Their Unplugged performance was released as a single that went to one in the United States. Lorenz also recorded a duet She Deserves It with Polish vocalist Basia on her gold U. S. album The Sweetest Illusion, in 1991, he co-wrote If You Go Away for New Kids on the Block, which was included their last studio album, Face the Music. Lorenz was subsequently offered a deal and recorded a critically successful self-titled debut album. The single Someone to Hold peaked at nineteen on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The album itself, however, performed poorly and only peaked at #111 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, Lorenz returned to a career in background vocals, working for artists such as TLC, Selena, and Usher and also performed a duet with Basia titled She Deserves It. He also appeared on Redhead Kingpin and the F. B. I. s 1991 second album The Album With No Name on the songs Its A Love Thang, Nice And Slow and Get It Together. He was signed to Careys short-lived imprint label, MonarC, and to Jermaine Dupris Atlanta-based So So Def Records label, lorenzs second album, Mr. Mista, was released on September 16,2006. Among the songs on the new album is See You Sometime, Trey Lorenz appeared on Jessica Simpsons 2010 PBS Christmas Special, singing a duet version O Holy Night with her. In 2014, he accompanied Carey on her The Elusive Chanteuse Show concert tour starting from October 4 to November 16, Mista The Voice of Trey Lorenz Trey Lorenz at MySpace
26.
Baby Got Back
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Baby Got Back is a hit song written and recorded by American rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, from his album Mack Daddy. The song samples the 1986 Detroit techno single Technicolor by Channel One, the video was briefly banned by MTV. Baby Got Back has remained popular and even anthemic since it was featured on the album Mack Daddy in 1992. It was the second best-selling song in the US in 1992, behind Whitney Houstons I Will Always Love You, in 2008, it was ranked number 17 on VH1s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The song debuted at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated April 11,1992, the first verse begins with I like big butts and I cannot lie and most of the song is about the rappers attraction to large buttocks. The second and third verse challenge mainstream norms of beauty, I aint talkin bout Playboy/Cause silicone parts are made for toys, the song came from a meeting of the minds between Sir Mix-A-Lot and Amylia Dorsey who saw little representation of full figured women in media. The idea came from the 1980s Budweiser commercial featuring very thin and they decided to dedicate a song to the very opposite, featuring curvy women of color. Mix and Dorsey sought to, broaden. the definition of beauty, Sir Mix-a-Lot commented in a 1992 interview, The song doesnt just say I like large butts, you know. The song is talking about women who damn near kill themselves to try to look like these beanpole models that you see in Vogue magazine and he explains that most women respond positively to the songs message, especially black women, They all say, About time. In the songs there is a conversation between two thin, white valley girls. One girl named Linda remarks to her friend, Oh, my God, Becky and it is so big Shes just so. At which point Sir Mix-a-Lot begins rapping of his love for big-bottomed girls, the dialogue of British actress Papillon Soo Soo saying Me so horny is sampled from the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket to complete Sir Mix-a-Lots lyric, that butt you got makes. It is one of two popular rap songs of the era in which her dialogue from the film is featured. In the years following the release on the album Mack Daddy, it has continued to appear in many movies, television shows. It was number 6 on VH1s Greatest Songs of the 90s, jonathan Coulton released a cover of Baby Got Back during his Thing a Week project in October 2005, with the song being released as part of the first Thing A Week compilation album the next year. In late January 2013, a preview of the television show Glee included a cover of Baby Got Back that would be part of an upcoming episode, Coulton had tried to contact Fox for additional details prior to the episodes airing. Coulton has since released his cover of Baby Got Back to iTunes, what he calls a cover of Glees cover of my cover of Sir Mix-a-Lots song, with proceeds going to charity. Coultons experience has led other artists who believe that Glee used their cover arrangements as backing within the show to step forward with similar claims, in a 2000 interview, Sir Mix-a-Lot reflected, Theres always butt songs
27.
Sir Mix-a-Lot
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Anthony Ray, better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an American rapper and producer based in Seattle, Washington. Anthony Ray was born on August 12,1963 in Seattle and he was a fan of hip hop and started rapping in the early 1980s. In 1983, Sir Mix-a-Lot and his partner, Nasty Nes, Mix-a-Lots first hit, released in 1987, was the single Posse on Broadway, whose title referred to Broadway in Seattles Capitol Hill district. The song made the Top 100 but quickly disappeared, although it remains popular in the Seattle area for its references to local landmarks. Swass, Mix-a-Lots debut album, was released in 1988 with two singles, Square-Dance Rap and a hip hop cover of the Black Sabbath song Iron Man backed by the band Metal Church. In 1990, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Swass platinum, seminar, released in 1989 featured My Hooptie, Beepers, Gortex and I Got Game. In 1991, Sir Mix-A-Lot signed to the Def American label, the single Baby Got Back was a number-one hit that went double platinum and won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Although the song was popular across all age levels, MTV aired the music video for the song only during evening hours because of what they termed its sexual nature. In 1993, Sir Mix-a-Lot collaborated with Seattle-based grunge group Mudhoney for the song Freak Momma on the Judgment Night soundtrack, in 1994 he released Chief Boot Knocka and the album reached #69 on the Billboard 200 and #28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Charts. The album featured the hit single Put Em On The Glass, just Da Pimpin in Me was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance but lost to Let Me Ride by Dr. Dre. He eventually went on to appear as the regular host of the short-lived UPN anthology drama series The Watcher, when his 1996 album Return of the Bumpasaurus was only given a low label promotion, leading to lackluster sales, Sir Mix-a-Lot left the American label. Sir Mix-a-Lot signed with the independent label Artist Direct for his 2003 album Daddys Home with Big Johnson as its lead single, in 2008 Sir Mix-a-lot appeared on Adult Swims ROBOT CHICKEN singing a song entitled, Table Be Round. It was sung in the style of his famous song Baby Got Back, more than one version of the song was recorded including Clean & Dirty. In 2010, Sir Mix-a-Lot announced his album, Dun 4got About Mix. The lead single Carz was released to YouTube on 23 Nov 2010, by June 2011, the video had acquired over a million views, although no release date for the album has been set. In the same year, his F. U. B. A. R, remix for the song Conditions Of My Parole appeared on Puscifers remix album All Re-Mixed Up. In 2013, Sir Mix-a-Lot produced the album Dream for the rock band Ayron Jones. Mix-a-Lot opened for Ayron Jones and the Way for their release party at Neumos on November 2
28.
This Used to Be My Playground
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This Used to Be My Playground is a song recorded by American singer Madonna. It is the theme for the film A League of Their Own, which starred Madonna, Madonna was asked to record a song for the films soundtrack. At that time she was recording her fifth studio album, Erotica. They worked on ideas and came up with This Used to Be My Playground in two days. Once presented to director Penny Marshalls team, the song was released as a single on June 16,1992. However, it was not available on the soundtrack due to contractual obligations and was later added to the Olympics-inspired Barcelona Gold compilation album. The song was included on Madonnas 1995 ballads compilation Something to Remember, written and produced by Madonna and Pettibone, This Used to Be My Playground was the first time that Pettibone worked with live string arrangement. Madonna recorded the song on a Shure SM57 microphone, with instrumentation from piano, organ, strings, during the final recording, the duo had to redo the whole orchestra section to tailor it for the song. This Used to Be My Playground starts with an introduction and strings, with Madonna singing in expressive. Its verse and chorus merge into each other for having a continuity in the song, lyrically it discusses visiting ones childhood places and not letting go of the past. The song received positive reviews critics, who noted it as an essential addition in Madonnas repertoire. The song earned the singer a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song, even though the song was commercially successful, Madonna has never performed it in any of her concert tours, nor included it on her greatest hits albums, GHV2 and Celebration. In 1992, Madonna starred in the Penny Marshall directed film A League of Their Own, Columbia Records representatives presented music supervisor Jay Landers with the films script. Together with Michael Dilbeck, head of music for Columbia Pictures, according to Landers, Marshall being well connected to the music community also helped them choose the artists they wanted to work with. The director wanted the music and songs to be performed by artists, but catering to the period of 1943–44. Carole King had already written the song for A League of Their Own. After the shooting was over, Madonna was busy in the sessions for her fifth studio album. Throughout January–March 1992, Madonna and Pettibone worked on demos for the album, when Lars called Madonna and asked her to record a song for the film, the singer and Pettibone had just completed working on the ballad Rain
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How Do You Talk to an Angel
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How Do You Talk to an Angel is a song written by Steve Tyrell, Barry Coffing, and Stephanie Tyrell. It was the theme for the TV series The Heights, vocalists on the single included Cheryl Pollak, Charlotte Ross of NYPD Blue and Glee fame, as well as Zachary Throne from the Las Vegas rock band, Sin City Sinners. In 1993, the song was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music, the Emmy went to the song Sorry I Asked by Liza Minnelli. No follow-up singles under The Heights name were ever released, walters, the lead singer on the single and the lead actor on the show, later had a #16 Hot 100 hit with his single Hold On in 1994. It was his only subsequent chart appearance
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1992 in music
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This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992. January 11 Nirvanas Nevermind album goes to No.1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the United Nations cultural boycott. January 16 – Mick Jagger attends the Hollywood première of his new movie, Freejack, February 5 - New Kids on the Block interrupt their tour to perform on the The Arsenio Hall Show in response to rumors that the group lip-synchs its concerts. February 16 – Slavic music is featured at the Oulu Music Festival, with concerts and opera productions in Oulu, Finland, until February 26. February 18 – Vince Neil leaves Mötley Crüe after 11 years as the lead singer. February 24 Nirvanas Kurt Cobain marries Holes Courtney Love, the U. S. Postal Service unveils two potential designs for its proposed Elvis Presley postage stamp for fans to vote on. One design is of a young, 1950s Elvis, and the other is of a much older, the young Elvis wins the vote, and the stamp is issued the following January. February 25 - Six major record companies reach an agreement to phase out the form of compact disc packaging by April 1993. March 10 – At the 1992 Soul Train Music Awards, Prince wins the Heritage award for lifetime achievement, March 14 – Farm Aid Five takes place in Irving, Texas, USA, hosted by Willie Nelson. Artists performing at the event include John Mellencamp, Neil Young, approximately 40,000 people attend the event. March 16 – Mariah Carey performs at MTV Unplugged, shows critics her 5-octave range, April 1 – Billy Idol, on trial for punching a woman in the face, pleads no contest. Idol is fined and ordered to make public service announcements against alcohol, April 20 – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert takes place at Wembley Stadium in London, England. All proceeds go to AIDS research, April 24 – David Bowie marries fashion model Iman. April 30 – In Los Angeles, California, USA, Madonnas bustier is stolen from a display in Fredericks of Hollywood, a US$1,000 reward is offered for its return. May 6 The first Europäisches Jugendchorfestival, is held in Basel and it is decided to make it a triennial event. Rob Halford announces he is leaving Judas Priest, selena releases her album Entre A Mi Mundo which contains her first No.1 hit, Como La Flor. May 7 – John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers leaves the band prior to the publication of a Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring them, Frusciante returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1998. May 11 – A. R. Rahmans debut film Roja is released, the soundtrack is regarded as a milestone that changed the face of Tamil film music and subsequently contemporary Indian music