1.
MCA Inc.
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MCA, Inc. was an American media company. Initially starting in the business, the company next became a dominant force in the film business. MCA, Inc. is the predecessor of NBCUniversal, which since March 2013 is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. MCA was formed in 1924 by Jules Stein and William R. Goodheart, Jr. as Music Corporation of America, MCA helped pioneer modern practices of touring bands and name acts. Early on, MCA booked such prominent artists as King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton for clubs and speakeasies run by legendary notorious Chicago mobsters such as Al Capone and others. Lew Wasserman joined MCA in 1936 at the age of 23 and rose through the ranks of MCA for more than four decades, Wasserman helped create MCAs radio show, Kay Kyser and His Kollege of Musical Knowledge, which debuted on NBC Radio that same year. Following that success, Stein installed Wasserman in New York City in 1937, the company was guided by a codification of Steins pet policies known as The Rules of The Road. The Rules were passed down from the Prohibition era, Chicago–area MCA to the 1940s Los Angeles–area firm, which focused on representing movie actors. The Rules were next passed to the 1950s generation of MCA talent agents, including Jerry Perenchio, Perenchio is well known for his version of the Rules, which vary from year to year and have some internal contradictions. Its aggressive acquisition of its clientele in all entertainment sectors earned MCA the nickname of The Octopus and this behavior led U. S. Department of Justice agents to investigate not only whether MCA was a monopoly breaking anti-trust laws, but also its suspected connections to underworld criminal activities. This investigation continued for the few decades. In 1948, Jules Stein moved up as MCAs first chairman and that year, Stein and Wasserman decided to get into a new medium that would, decades later, change the entertainment landscape forever, television. Although many motion picture studios would not touch this new medium, thinking it was just a fad and would fade away, MCA decided to embrace it. First, however, the company needed to get a waiver from the Screen Actors Guild, thanks to the newly elected SAG president, Ronald Reagan, MCA was granted a waiver to start producing TV shows. After the waiver was granted, the company formed MCA Television Limited for syndication, prior to 1958, all Revues shows were filmed at the old Republic Pictures studio lot in Studio City, California. In February 1958, MCA acquired Paramount Pictures pre-1950 sound feature film library through a newly created MCA subsidiary, EMKA, Ltd. Also in 1958, MCA bought the 423-acre Universal Studios lot from Universal Pictures for $11 million and renamed it, as well as the television unit. Stein, who by this time was the owner of MCA, decided to take the company public by giving 51% of his ownership of MCA to his employees
2.
Universal Music Group
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Universal Music Group is an American-French global music corporation that is a subsidiary of the Paris-based French media conglomerate Vivendi. UMGs global corporate headquarters are in Santa Monica, California and it is considered one of the Big Three record labels, along with Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Universal Music was once the music attached to film studio Universal Pictures and its origins go back to the formation of the American branch of Decca Records in September 1934. The Decca Record Co. Ltd. of England spun American Decca off in 1939, MCA Inc. merged with American Decca in 1962. The present organization was formed when its parent company Seagram purchased PolyGram in May 1998, however, the name had first appeared in 1996 when MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group. The PolyGram acquisition included Deutsche Grammophon which traces its ancestry to Berliner Gramophone making Deutsche Grammophon UMGs oldest unit, UMGs Canadian unit traces its ancestry to a Berliner Gramophone breakaway firm the Compo Company. With the 2004 acquisition of Universal Studios by General Electric and merging with GEs NBC and this is the second time a music company has done so, the first being the separation of Time Warner and Warner Music Group. On June 25,2007, Vivendi completed its €1.63 billion purchase of BMG Music Publishing, after receiving European Union regulatory approval, doug Morris stepped down from his position as CEO on January 1,2011. Former chairman/CEO of Universal Music International Lucian Grainge was promoted to CEO of the company, Grainge later replaced him as chairman on March 9,2011. Morris became the chairman of Sony Music Entertainment on July 1,2011. With Grainges appointment as CEO at UMG, Max Hole was promoted to COO of UMGI, starting in 2011 UMGs Interscope Geffen A&M Records will be signing contestants from American Idol/Idol series. On January 2011, UMG announced it was donating 200,000 master recordings from the 1920s to 1940s to the Library of Congress for preservation, in March 2011, Barry Weiss became chairman & CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group & Universal Republic Records. Both companies are restructuring under Weiss, in December 2011, David Foster was named Chairman of Verve Music Group. Among the other companies that had competed for the music business was Warner Music Group which was reported to have made a $2 billion bid. However, IMPALA has said it would fight the merger, coincidentally, UMG sister company StudioCanal has owned the EMI Films library for several years. On September 21,2012, the sale of EMI to UMG was approved in Europe, UMG divested Mute Records, Parlophone, Roxy Recordings, MPS Records, Cooperative Music, Now Thats What I Call Music. Jazzland, Universal Greece, Sanctuary Records, Chrysalis Records, EMI Classics, Virgin Classics, the Beatles recorded music library was allowed to remain with UMG despite being considered part of Parlophone and is now managed by UMGs reorganized Capitol Music Group worldwide. Robbie Williams, who had recorded for Chrysalis, had his transferred to Universals Island Records
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Universal Music Group Nashville
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Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Groups country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville, in 1947, Cohen hired Owen Bradley as his assistant working in Nashville. The country music moved to Nashville in 1955 as much of the country music recording business was locating there. Bradley succeeded Cohen as head of Deccas Nashville division in 1958, Decca Nashville was renamed MCA Nashville in 1973. In 1979, MCA Nashville absorbed the country music roster and back catalogue of ABC Records including the Dot Records catalogue. In the early 1980s, MCA Nashville signed Reba McEntire and George Strait, while Decca resumed issuing country music in February 2008, the current Decca country music department has no connection with UMG Nashville. However, MCA Nashville continues to reissue past country releases from Decca, with the absorption of MCA Records into Geffen Records in 2003, MCA Nashville, apart from UMGs operations in the Philippines, is now the only unit of Universal Music to still use the MCA name. The still active Mercury Records was formed in Chicago in 1945 issuing recordings in a variety of genres including country music, the Nashville office of Mercury began as a joint venture between Mercury and Pappy Dailys established country music record label Starday Records in January 1957. In July 1958, the Mercury/Starday joint venture was dissolved and Starday record producer Shelby Singleton stayed on with Mercury in Nashville, Singleton left Mercury in 1966 to form his own company which bought Sun Records in 1969. In 1997, PolyGram, which owned Mercury, consolidated all its Nashville operations under the Mercury name, the consolidations in Nashville which created UMG Nashville kept the Mercury Nashville imprint active. Reissues of country music recordings first issued on the MGM, Polydor, Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States-based record label located in Nashville Tennessee operating as part of the Capitol Music Group. Capitol Nashville was formerly known as Liberty Records from 1991 until 1995 when it was changed back to Capitol, in 1993 Liberty opened a sister label, Patriot Records, but it was closed in 1995. In 1999 EMI launched Virgin Records Nashville but by 2001 Capitol absorbed the short-lived label, Capitol Nashville remained a stand- alone label until 2010 when it launched EMI Nashville. Capitol Nashville is also home to several successful artists who remain on their roster today. On March 23,2011, Alan Jackson signed with Capitols EMI Nashville division in conjunction with his own ACR Records label, in late 2012 Capitol Records Nashville became part of the Universal Music Group after a merger between EMI and UMG. EMI Records Nashville was formed in 2010 and served as a label to Capitol Records Nashville. Its flagship artist was Troy Olsen, other artists signed to EMI include Eric Church and Alan Jackson. Universal Music Group acquired EMI in 2012, EMI is currently a part of UMG along with sister label Capitol Records Nashville
5.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
6.
Decca Records
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Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U. S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis along with American Deccas first president Jack Kapp and later American Decca president Milton Rackmil. In 1937, as a result of anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca, the British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group, which is owned by Vivendi, the US Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG. The name Decca was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the word Mecca with the initial D of their logo Dulcet or their trademark Dulcephone, Samuel, a linguist, chose Decca as a brand name as it was easy to pronounce in most languages. The name dates back to a gramophone called the Decca Dulcephone patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel. That company was renamed the Decca Gramophone Co. Ltd. Within years, Decca Records Ltd. was the second largest record label in the world, Decca bought the UK branch of Brunswick Records and continued to run it under that name. In the 1950s the American Decca studios were located in the Pythian Temple in New York City, in classical music, Decca had a long way to go from its modest beginnings to catch up with the established HMV and Columbia labels. The pre-war classical repertoire on Decca was not extensive, but was select, heinrich Schlusnus made important pre-war lieder recordings for Decca. John Culshaw, who joined Decca in 1946 in a junior post and he revolutionised recording – of opera, in particular. Hitherto, the practice had been to put microphones in front of the performers, Culshaw was determined to make recordings that would be a theatre of the mind, making the listeners experience at home not second best to being in the opera house, but a wholly different experience. To that end he got the singers to move about in the studio as they would onstage, used sound effects and different acoustics. His skill, coupled with Decca engineering, took Decca into the first flight of recording companies and his pioneering recording of Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by Georg Solti was a huge artistic and commercial success. In the wake of Deccas lead, artists such as Herbert von Karajan, Joan Sutherland, however, Culshaw was, strictly speaking, not the first to do this. Far from being a mere rendering of the score, the 3-LP album set used sound effects to recreate the production as if the listener were watching a stage performance of the work. Until 1947, American Decca issued British Decca classical music recordings, afterwards, British Decca took over distribution through its new American subsidiary London Records. American Decca actively re-entered the classical music field in 1950 with distribution deals from Deutsche Grammophon, American Decca began issuing its own classical music recordings in 1956 when Israel Horowitz joined Decca to head its classical music operations
7.
Coral Records
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Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, in addition to Buddy Holly, jazz and swing music was issued on Coral in the 1940s. After Bob Thiele became the head of the label in 1954, it produced pop and rock musicians such as Buddy Holly, Jackie Wilson, Lawrence Welk and he also produced hit songs by his wife, Teresa Brewer. In the 1950s, the label recorded Debby Reynoldss hit song Tammy, in 1954 Coral became known as Vogue Coral in the UK. Coral stopped issuing new material in 1971 and this version of Coral lasted into the 1980s
8.
Brunswick Records
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Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. The company first began producing phonographs in 1916, then began marketing their own line of records as an after-thought and these first Brunswick records used the vertical cut system like Edison Disc Records, and were not sold in large numbers. They were recorded in the US but sold only in Canada, in January 1920, a new line of Brunswick Records was introduced in the US and Canada that employed the lateral cut system which was becoming the default cut for 78 discs. Brunswick started its standard popular series at 2000 and ended up in 1940 at 8517, however, when the series reached 4999, they skipped over the previous allocated 5000s and continued at 6000. Also, when they reached 6999, they continued at 7301, the parent company marketed them extensively, and within a few years Brunswick became one of the USAs Big Three record companies, along with Victor and Columbia Records. The Brunswick line of home phonographs were commercially successful, Brunswick had a hit with their Ultona phonograph capable of playing Edison Disc Records, Pathé disc records, and standard lateral 78s. In late 1924, Brunswick acquired the Vocalion Records label, audio fidelity of early-1920s, acoustically-recorded Brunswick discs is above average for the era. They were pressed into good quality shellac, although not as durable as that used by Victor, in the spring of 1925 Brunswick introduced its own version of electrical recording using photoelectric cells, which Brunswick called the light-ray process. Then based in Chicago, many of the citys best orchestras, the labels jazz roster included Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, King Oliver, Johnny Dodds, Andy Kirk, and Red Nichols. Brunswick initiated a 7000 race series as well as the Vocalion 1000 race series and these race records series recorded hot jazz, urban and rural blues, and gospel. Brunswick also had a successful business supplying radio with sponsored transcriptions of popular music, comedy. Few orchestra records were approved for issue and those that did appear on the often combined excellent performances with execrable sound. Brunswick found it expedient and ultimately cheaper to contract with European companies to fill their electrical classical catalogue, some of these recordings have been reissued on CD. Brunswick itself switched to a conventional microphone recording process in 1927. Prior to this, however, they had introduced the Brunswick Panatrope and this phonograph met with critical acclaim, and composer Ottorino Respighi selected the Brunswick Panatrope to play a recording of bird songs in his composition The Pines of Rome. Jack Kapp became the company executive of Brunswick in 1930. In April 1930, Brunswick-Balke-Collender sold Brunswick Records to Warner Bros. Warner Bros. hoped to make their own soundtrack recordings for their sound-on-disc Vitaphone system. A number of interesting recordings were made by actors during this period, actors who made recordings included Noah Beery, Charles King, and J. Harold Murray
9.
Universal Pictures
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Universal Pictures is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. The company was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley and its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America and is one of Hollywoods Big Six studios. Universal Studios was founded by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, one story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the days takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons, for Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures, in June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe Stern and Julius Stern. Laemmle broke with Edisons custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers, by naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence, formerly known as The Biograph Girl, the Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York on April 30,1912. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley. Eventually all would be out by Laemmle. Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its efforts in the Hollywood area. On March 15,1915, Laemmle opened the worlds largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, studio management became the third facet of Universals operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists, Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in towns, producing mostly inexpensive melodramas, westerns. In its early years Universal released three brands of feature films — Red Feather, low-budget programmers, Bluebird, more ambitious productions, and Jewel, their prestige motion pictures. Directors included Jack Conway, John Ford, Rex Ingram, Robert Z. Leonard, George Marshall and Lois Weber, despite Laemmles role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew and he also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. Character actor Lon Chaney became a card for Universal in the 1920s
10.
Uni Records
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Uni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen. In 1967, Uni took over management of MCAs newly acquired Kapp Records, Uni also operated Revue Records, a soul music subsidiary, from about 1966 to 1970. In 1971 Uni was merged with Kapp and the co-owned American Decca Records and that year, Regan left MCA to revive 20th Century Records for 20th Century Fox. In 1988, Uni was briefly revived by MCA Records as a niche hipster label, à la Sire Records, with a roster that included Transvision Vamp, & Rakim, Swans, Steve Earle, and a distribution deal with the Bronx-based hip hop label Strong City Records. By the end of 1989, however, Swans was dropped, the deal with Strong City was terminated, in 1991, MCA revamped the Uni moniker once more when it changed the name of its music distribution network from MCA Music Distribution Corp to Uni Distribution Corp. In 1996, in the wake of Seagrams purchase of MCA, in June 2001, it was renamed Universal Music & Video Distribution Corp. and it was changed again in 2006, after the sale of Universal Pictures to NBC, to Universal Music Distribution. 1967–1973, Mustard yellow label with green, blue and magenta swirls, followed by lime green colored Uni logo in yellow swirl. Many albums during this run were also pressed with custom labels, 1988–1989, Blue label with Uni logo in black at top. MCA Records List of record labels Hall, Claude, MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni, Billboard, February 10,1973 Uni Records official site The Uni Records Story
11.
Kapp Records
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Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp. David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records, Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK. Catalogue albums that continued to sell were renumbered and reissued on the MCA label, Kapps subsidiaries included Medallion Records, Congress Records, Leader Records, and Four Corners Records with its 4 Corners of the World log. Four Corners was formed to promote European artists, such as Françoise Hardy, Raymond Lefèvre,1954, Kapp Records was created by David Kapp. 1960, Kapp Records released one of the first cover versions of songs from The Sound of Music, the Pete King Chorale was featured on the album. 1964, Kapp Records released Hello Dolly sung by Louis Armstrong that became the one song in America on Billboard Top 100. 1966, The record label released the original cast album of Man of La Mancha,1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc. and became a division of Uni Records. 1973, MCA released the last Kapp record, the catalog and artist roster was absorbed by MCA Records. 2003, MCA Records is absorbed into Geffen Records, which currently manages Kapps pop/rock/R&B catalogs, the country, jazz, and musical theatre catalogs are now managed by MCA Nashville Records, GRP Records, and Decca Broadway, respectively. Decca Broadway released a version of the Man of La Mancha original cast album in 2001. Throughout Kapps history, its logo was a stylized K incorporating a phonograph record design, three versions of this logo appeared during the companys history. Until 1970, this also appeared on a drum majors cap in a wordplay of the labels name. 1950s, Stylized K/record logo and KAPP at top of either red/white, early 1960s, Black label with white K/record logo and KAPP in red at top, a similar design had a red drum major cap and KAPP in yellow at top. Mid to late 1960s, Black label with red drum major cap and KAPP in black letters in white box at left for singles, at top for albums. 1970-1972, Purple, red, orange and yellow label with new K logo, either in black or in white inside black box, at left. Hall, Claude, MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni, Billboard, February 10,1973 Kapp Records story from BSN Pubs A collection of Kapp record labels Kapp Records 45 rpm discography
12.
Edward Lewis (Decca)
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Sir Edward Roberts Lewis was a British businessman, best known for leading the Decca recording and technology group for five decades from 1929. He built the company up from nothing to one of the record labels of the world. A financier by profession, Lewis was professionally engaged by the fledgling Decca company, having failed to persuade its directors to diversify from making record-players to making records, he raised the capital to take the company over, and ran it until his death. Among the ground-breaking achievements of Decca under Lewis were the Decca Navigation System, the Decca ffrr recording technology, Lewis was born in Derby, the only boy of four children of Sir Alfred Edward Lewis and his wife, May née Roberts. Alfred Lewis was an official, and later head, of the National Provincial Bank. Lewis was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge, after leaving Cambridge, Lewis worked in the financial sector, joining the London Stock Exchange. In 1923 he married Margaret Mary Hutton, there were two sons of the marriage, one of whom died, while still a boy, in a drowning accident. The other son later became the partner in Lewiss stockbroking firm. The firm, E. R. Lewis & Co, was founded when Lewis was 28, Lewiss firm acted as brokers for a company that had recently changed its name to The Decca Gramophone Company. It manufactured recording and play-back equipment and had developed the worlds first portable gramophone, with Lewiss help, Decca was successfully floated as a public company. The share issue was oversubscribed by twenty times, despite the success of the public offering, Lewis had reservations about Deccas future. He remarked that a company manufacturing gramophones but not records is rather like one making razors, the Duophone Record Company, with its record factory in the London suburb of New Malden, was in difficulties, and Lewis tried to persuade the directors of Decca to buy it. They did not wish to do so, and so Lewis formed a syndicate and proceeded with the purchase, not only of Duophone, the new Decca Record Company came under the management of Lewiss reconstituted Decca Gramophone Company in 1929. That year, however, was the year of the Wall Street crash, the record industry suffered along with most others. He cut the price of Decca records to less than half that of EMIs and secured the resignation of Deccas managing director. Newton, whose role Lewis effectively took over, though he was never more than a member of the board of directors until 1957. At this point Decca was primarily a music label. By the mid-1930s, Decca was enlarging its domestic classical catalogue with artists such as Sir Henry Wood, Clifford Curzon, Sir Hamilton Harty and Boyd Neel
13.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
14.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
15.
London Records
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London Records is a record label in the U. K. that marketed records in the U. S, Canada, and Latin America from 1947 to 1979 before becoming semi-independent. London arose from the split in ownership between the British and American branches of Decca Records, the American branch released British Decca records in the U. S. since it could not use the Decca name there. The label was noted for classical albums made in then state-of-the-art stereophonic sound, by the 1960s more licensing deals had been made with Big Top, Monument, Parrot, Philles, and Hi, and subsidiary labels were London Atlantic, London Dot and London Monument. An unusual feature was the code in the numbering system. From the late 1950s until 1973, the label bore the logo London American Recordings, in America, the label was best known as the American imprint of the pre–1971 recordings of the Rolling Stones. The label also issued some early LPs and singles by Texas-based band ZZ Top. In the late 1970s, London signed deals with Bomp, Records and with Big Sound in Connecticut, U. S. This changed the label in the eyes of many from a backwater into something a little more edgy compared to the pedestrian contemporary releases from parent company Decca, the president of London Records in the 1970s was D. H. Tollerbond. After British Decca was acquired by PolyGram in 1979, London followed an independent course with subsidiary labels such as Slash, Pete Tongs Essential Records. The name is used, mainly for UK-based artists. Notable artists released by that incarnation of London, called London Records 90, include New Order, Happy Mondays, A, after PolyGram took over British Decca, classical-music albums recorded by British Decca continued to be released on the London label in the U. S. S. The London pop music catalogue owned by Universal Music is now managed by Polydor Records, Decca Records had a recording studio in Blomfield Road, West London, there may have been another in Londons West End. In 2010, Universal Music reclaimed ownership of the London Records trademark, both had started their careers at London Records in the Ames era in the 1990s. When Nick Raphael became president of Capitol Recordss UK division in 2013, London Records moved there, Arlissa All Saints Arlissa Dear Prudence The Gypsy Queens List of record labels The London Records Story from BSN Pubs Discographies London Records A&R team contact list
16.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
17.
Wishbone Ash
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Wishbone Ash are a British rock band who achieved success in the early and mid-1970s. Their popular albums included Wishbone Ash, Pilgrimage, Argus, Theres the Rub and their contributions helped Andy Powell and Ted Turner to be voted Two of the Ten Most Important Guitarists in Rock History, and to appear in the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time. Melody Maker described Powell and Turner as the most interesting two guitar team since the days when Beck and Page graced The Yardbirds and they have been cited as an influence by Iron Maiden founder and bassist Steve Harris, as well as Thin Lizzy and other dual guitar bands. Formed in Torquay, Devon, in 1969, out of the ashes of trio The Empty Vessels, the original Wishbone Ash line-up was completed by guitarists/vocalists Andy Powell and Ted Turner. In 1974, Ted Turner left the band, and was replaced by Laurie Wisefield, the band continued on with strong critical and commercial success until 1980. After revolving line-ups featuring former bass players from King Crimson, Uriah Heep, in 1987, however, the original line-up reunited for several albums – Nouveau Calls, Here to Hear and Strange Affair – until 1990, when Upton quit the band. After Martin Turner was replaced in 1991, the band recorded The Ash Live in Chicago, Wishbone Ash were formed in October 1969 by bass guitarist Martin Turner and drummer Steve Upton. After an extensive search for a guitarist, the band could not decide between the two candidates, Andy Powell and Ted Turner. It was suggested that they try both guitar players just to see what it sounds like, differing from the twin lead sound of The Allman Brothers Band, Wishbone Ash included strong elements of progressive rock, and also of folk and classical music. After the band members wrote several suggested band names on two sheets of paper, Martin Turner picked one word from each list – Wishbone and Ash, in early 1970, the band scored an opening spot for Deep Purple. That bands guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, later recommended Wishbone Ash to producer Derek Lawrence, the bands eponymous debut album, Wishbone Ash, was released in December 1970. One year later, the group released Pilgrimage, the band peaked commercially in 1972 with Argus, their highest placed entry in the UK Albums Chart. The album was voted by the readers of Sounds as the best rock album of the year, the band were getting international acclaim for their live performances as they gained popularity around the world. The band had now begun to play major arenas as headliners, Wishbone Four was the bands first record without producer Derek Lawrence, as the band decided to produce the album themselves. In December 1973, the released a double live album. There was an album released called Wishbone Ash Live in Memphis, not long after, guitarist Ted Turner left the band. After replacing Turner with guitarist Laurie Wisefield, the relocated to the United States. Locked In, produced by Tom Dowd, saw the band moving towards US soft-rock territory, 1976s New England returned to the traditional Wishbone Ash style
18.
Osibisa
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Osibisa are a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Their music is a fusion of African, Caribbean, jazz, funk, rock, Latin, Osibisa were one of the first African-heritage bands to become widely popular and linked with the establishment of world music as a marketable genre. In Ghana in the 1950s, Teddy Osei, Sol Amarfio, Mamon Shareef and they left to form The Comets, with Oseis brother Mac Tontoh on trumpet, and scored a hit in West Africa with their 1958 song Pete Pete. In 1962 Osei moved to London to study music on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government, in 1964 he formed Cats Paw, an early world music band that combined highlife, rock, and soul. In 1969 he persuaded Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, joining them in the first incarnation were Grenadian Spartacus R, Trinidadian Robert Bailey, Antiguan Wendell Richardson, and Nigerians Mike Odumosu and Fred Coker and Lasisi Amao. The band spent much of the 1970s touring the world, playing to audiences in Japan, Australia, India. During this time Paul Golly and Ghanaians Daku Adams Potato and Kiki Gyan were also members of the band, in 1980 Osibisa performed at a special Zimbabwean independence celebration, and in 1983 were filmed onstage at the Marquee Club in London. Changes in the industry however meant declining sales for the band. The band returned to Ghana to set up a recording studio, in the 1990s their music was widely anthologized in many CD collections, most of them unauthorized and paying no royalties whatsoever to the band. In 1996 Osei reformed the band, and many of their past releases began coming out legally on CD, the revitalized band remains active, although Osei has cut back his touring schedule due to the effects of a stroke. Osibisa had a performance in India, at the November Fest 2010 on 28 November 2010 at the Corporation Kalaiarangam in Coimbatore. The name Osibisa was described in lyrics, album notes and interviews as meaning criss-cross rhythms that explode with happiness and he also had the chance to work with Kiki Gyan a few days before his death. Their first two albums featured artwork by famed progressive-rock artist Roger Dean, depicting flying elephants which became the symbol for the band, the third album, Heads, features a cover by Mati Klarwein, famed for his covers for Santana and Miles Davis. Osibirock features Negro Attacked by a Jaguar by Henri Rousseau, playing on the original flying elephants theme, the Ultimate Collection set features elephants with tank turrets for heads. In 2009, their Osee Yee album featured the flying elephants once more, Roger Deans logo for the band continues to be used on every release. The first to exit officially was Spartacus R, who was replaced numerous times, once by the bassist of the group called Assagai, Amao left and was replaced by Kofi Ayivor, who was replaced by Potato but returned to the group later. Richardson left in 1972 and returned in 1975 and henceforth Welcome Home, Bailey was replaced by Kiki Gyan before Sunshine Day′s release. Richardson was replaced a few times by the likes of guitar wizard Kari Bannerman, black Welsh guitarist Tony Etoria, who had a hit in 1977 with I Can Prove It, joined on guitar in the early 80s. N. T
19.
Stackridge
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Stackridge were a British rock group who were at the height of their success during the early 1970s. Stackridge Lemon was formed from the remains of Grytpype Thynne by Andy Davis, after initial experimentation, the word Lemon was dropped from the bands name. The band played its first London gig at The Temple in Wardour Street on 6 February 1970, Stackridge were the opening and closing act at the first Glastonbury Festival between 19 September and 20 September 1970. During 1971 Stackridge began serious gigging, although Crun left to take up bricklaying, the group embarked on a UK tour supporting Wishbone Ash. Later in the year they signed to MCA Records and recorded their first album Stackridge, at De Lane Lea Studios and they toured the UK as headliners with Renaissance supporting and played their first John Peel session for the BBC, which included a version of The Beatles Norwegian Wood. The group continued on a year of touring, again with Wishbone Ash, the second album Friendliness was quickly recorded in August 1972 and released in November with some songs that had started life in pre-Stackridge days. By this time Crun had rejoined the band consisted of Davis, Warren, Slater, Evans, Walter. In February 1973 the band made their first television appearance on BBC2s The Old Grey Whistle Test and they then toured during February and March with Camel in support. The third album The Man in the Bowler Hat was recorded during 1973 at AIR Studios, the album was released in February 1974 to excellent reviews, but failed to sell in large quantities. This was their highest charting album in the UK, reaching no.23, a different version of the album was released in the U. S. under the title Pinafore Days and became their only U. S. chart entry, peaking at no. 191, although a US tour never materialised, the group that went on tour to support the album sounded quite different from the one on the record. The fourth album Extravaganza on Elton Johns record label The Rocket Record Company was recorded at AIR Studios with Tony Ashton producing, the band now consisted of Davis, Bowkett, Gemmell, Karas and Morgan, along with the returning Slater, Evans, and Walter. Non-Stackridge written songs and cover versions became more prevalent, with more touring and an appearance at Wembley Stadium concert with Elton John and The Beach Boys,1975 saw the recording of the bands fifth outing in the studio, the concept album Mr. Mick. The Rocket Record Company, the record label, performed considerable editing on Mr. Mick. The album received good press, but some shows were abandoned on the grounds that the stages were too small. They performed a show in April 1976, and shortly afterwards the band disintegrated. MCA Records released the compilation Do the Stanley late in 1976 and it contained songs from the first three albums along with singles and a previously unreleased song Let There Be Lids, taken from their live performances. Stackridge officially announced in 1977 that they had disbanded, James Warren and Andy Cresswell-Davis formed The Korgis a few years later, BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert, released by Windsong in July 1992, raised renewed interest in the band
20.
Budgie (band)
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Budgie are a Welsh hard rock band from Cardiff. They are described by author Garry Sharpe-Young as one of the earliest heavy metal bands, the band has been noted as among the heaviest metal of its day. Budgie formed in 1967 in Cardiff, Wales under the name Hills Contemporary Grass and their original line-up consisted of Burke Shelley on vocals and bass, Tony Bourge on guitar and vocals, and Ray Phillips on drums. After performing several gigs in 1968, the changed their name to Budgie the following year. The band originally formed under such names as Hills Contemporary Grass, Burke Shelley has said that the bands name came from the fact that he, loved the idea of playing noisy, heavy rock, but calling ourselves after something diametrically opposed to that. Their debut album in strong blues-oriented hard rock lines was recorded at Rockfield Studios with Black Sabbath producer Rodger Bain and released in 1971, Ray Philips left the band before the fourth album In for the Kill. was recorded and was replaced by Pete Boot. Music from the 1978 LP Impeckable was featured in the 1979 film J-Men Forever which is now a cult classic. In late 1978, having dropped by A&M and with no new recording contract, this line up floundered. This line up recorded two albums for Kingsley Wards Active label, Power Supply and Nightflight,1982 saw them signed to RCA for Deliver Us From Evil their final recording for a major label. The band continued to have success during the new wave of British heavy metal period, playing the Reading Festival in 1980 and they built a particular following in Poland, where they played as the first heavy metal band behind the Iron Curtain, in 1982. Also notable was their support of Ozzy Osbournes Blizzard of Ozz Tour. They toured in 2002-6, mostly in the United Kingdom, the NYC/NJ area, Dallas, and with a few shows in Europe including the Sweden Rock Festival, in 1999 the band reunited in Letchworth and officially reformed. In 2006 Budgie undertook a thirty five date United Kingdom tour, in 2007 they played dates in Sweden and Poland. On 4 July 2007 Lees announced his departure from the band to concentrate on his teaching, following the departure of Lees, Dio lead guitarist and songwriter Craig Goldy offered his services while Ronnie James Dio was completing commitments with Heaven & Hell on their World Tour. In February 2008 Craig Goldy accompanied Budgie on their first tour of Australia and has continued playing with Budgie as guest guitarist for all of their shows. Budgies November 2010 tour of Eastern Europe had to be cancelled as Shelley was hospitalised on 9 November in Wejherowo, after surgery, he returned to Britain for recovery. The band has since been on hiatus, as Shelley can not sing, on January 222016 Megadeth released their 15th studio album Dystopia which contains a cover of Melt The Ice Away, from the album Impeckable. The former Budgie guitarist, John Thomas, died at the age of 63 on 3 March 2016, budgies music is often described as a cross between the progressive textures of Rush and the heaviness of Black Sabbath
21.
EMI
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EMI was a British multinational conglomerate founded in March 1931 and was based in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, it was the fourth-largest business group and its EMI Records Ltd. group of record labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records and Capitol Records. EMI also had a publishing arm, EMI Music Publishing—also based in London with offices globally. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE100 Index, other members of the Sony consortium include the Estate of Michael Jackson, The Blackstone Group, and Abu Dhabi–owned investment fund Mubadala Development Company. The new vertically integrated company produced sound recordings as well as recording, the companys gramophone manufacturing led to forty years of success with larger-scale electronics and electrical engineering. He was killed in 1942 whilst conducting flight trials on an experimental H2S radar set, post-war, the company resumed its involvement in making broadcasting equipment, notably providing the BBCs second television transmitter at Sutton Coldfield. It also manufactured broadcast television cameras for British television production companies as well as for the BBC, the commercial television ITV companies also used them alongside cameras made by Pye and Marconi. Exports of this piece of equipment were low, however, the company was also for many years an internationally respected manufacturer of photomultipliers. This part of the business was transferred to Thorn as part of Thorn-EMI, in 1958 the EMIDEC1100, the UKs first commercially available all-transistor computer, was developed at Hayes under the leadership of Godfrey Hounsfield, an electrical engineer at EMI. In 1973 EMI was awarded a prestigious Queens Award for Technological Innovation for what was called the EMI scanner. After brief, but brilliant, success in the imaging field, EMIs manufacturing activities were sold off to other companies. Subsequently, development and manufacturing activities were sold off to companies and work moved to other towns such as Crawley. Emihus Electronics, based in Glenrothes, Scotland, was owned 51% by Hughes Aircraft, of California, US and it manufactured integrated circuits electrolytic capacitors and, for a short period in the mid-1970s, hand-held calculators under the Gemini name. Early in its life, the Gramophone Company established subsidiary operations in a number of countries in the British Commonwealth, including India, Australia. Over 150,000 78-rpm recordings from around the world are held in EMIs temperature-controlled archive in Hayes, in 1931, the year the company was formed, it opened the legendary recording studios at Abbey Road, London. During the 1930s and 1940s, its roster of artists included Arturo Toscanini, Sir Edward Elgar, during this time EMI appointed its first A&R managers. These included George Martin, who brought the Beatles into the EMI fold. When the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company in 1931, at this point RCA had a majority shareholding in the new company, giving RCA chair David Sarnoff a seat on the EMI board
22.
Sony Music
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Sony Music Entertainment is an American music company owned by Sony. It is incorporated as a partnership of Sony Music Holdings Inc. through Sony Entertainment. The company was first founded in 1929 as American Record Corporation and renamed Columbia Recording Corporation in 1938, in 1966, the company was reorganized to become CBS Records. Sony Corporation bought the company in 1987 and renamed it Sony Music Entertainment in 1991, the buyout led to the dissolution of BMG, which relaunched as BMG Rights Management. Sony Music Entertainment is one of the Big Three record companies, being the second largest after Universal Music Group, in 1929, ARC was founded through a merger of several record companies. In 1934, in the midst of Great Depression, the Columbia Phonograph Company, ARC was acquired in 1938 by the Columbia Broadcasting System, which, in turn, had been formed by the Columbia Phonograph Company, but then sold off. ARC was renamed Columbia Recording Corporation, RCA Victor Records executive Ted Wallerstein convinced CBS head William S. Paley to buy ARC and Paley made Wallerstein head of the newly acquired record company. The renamed company made Columbia its flagship label and Okeh its subsidiary label and this allowed ARCs leased labels Brunswick Records and Vocalion Records to revert to their former owner Warner Bros. which sold them to Decca Records. Columbia kept the Brunswick catalogue recorded from December 1931 onward on the Columbia label and he was succeeded by James Conkling as head of Columbia Records. In 1951, Columbia severed its ties with the EMI-owned record label of the same name, Okeh Records continued to be distributed by EMI on the Columbia label. Columbia founded Epic Records in 1953 and in 1956, Conkling left Columbia and he would help establish the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences before eventually becoming the first president of the newly launched Warner Bros. His successor, Goddard Lieberson began the first of two stints as head of the record company, and in 1958, Columbia founded another label, Date Records, which initially issued rockabilly music. In 1960, Columbia/CBS began negotiations with its international distributor Philips Records with the goal of starting its own global record company. Philips acquisition of US-based Mercury Records in 1961 paved the way for this, elsewhere, CBSs Mexican record company, Discos Columbia, was renamed Discos CBS by 1963. In 1964, Columbia set out acquiring record companies in countries for its CBS Records International Unit. EMI continued to distribute Epic and Okeh label material on the Columbia label in the UK until the deal with EMI expired in 1968 when CBS took over distribution. In late 1965, the Date subsidiary label was revived and this label released the first string of hits for Peaches & Herb and scored a few minor hits from various other artists. Dates biggest success was Time of the Season by the Zombies, the label was discontinued in 1970
23.
Warner Music Group
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Warner Music Group is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. With a multibillion-dollar annual turnover, WMG employs in excess of 3,500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world, the company owns and operates some of the largest and most successful record labels in the world, including its flagship labels Warner Bros. WMG also owns Warner/Chappell Music, one of the worlds largest music publishers, the film company had no record label division at the time and one of its contracted actors, Tab Hunter, scored a hit song for Dot Records, which was a division of rival Paramount Pictures. In order to prevent any repetition of its actors recording for rival companies, in 1963, Warner purchased Reprise Records, which had been founded by Frank Sinatra three years earlier so that he could have more creative control over his recordings. With the Reprise acquisition, Warner gained the services of Mo Ostin, the Canadian unit was opened in 1967 as Warner Reprise Canada Ltd, now called Warner Music Canada Co. After Warner Bros. was sold to Seven Arts Productions in 1967, it purchased Atlantic Records, founded in 1947 and WMGs oldest label and this acquisition brought Neil Young into the company fold, initially as a member of Buffalo Springfield. The Geffen catalogue, now owned by Universal Music Group, represents Youngs only major recordings not under WMG ownership, in 1969, two years after being purchased by Seven Arts, the Warner Bros. -Seven Arts company was sold to the Kinney National Company. Kinney combined the operations of all of its labels. An earlier attempt by Warner Bros. Records to create a distribution arm in 1958 didnt materialize. So in 1969, Elektra Records boss Jac Holzman approached Atlantics Jerry Wexler with the idea of setting up a joint distribution network for Warner, Elektra, an experimental branch was established in Southern California as a possible prototype for an expanded operation. Atlantic, its subsidiary Atco Records, and its affiliate Stax Records paved the way for Warners rise to industry prominence, the purchase brought in Atlantics lucrative back-catalogue, which included classic recordings by Ray Charles, the Drifters, the Coasters, and many more. But the sale led to Stax leaving the Atlantic fold because the new Warner owners insisted on keeping the rights to Stax recordings and it was soon apparent in 1969 that Atlantic/Atco president Ahmet Ertegün viewed Warner/Reprise president Mike Maitland as godlike. Maitland believed that, as vice-president in charge of the Warner Bros, in retrospect Ertegün clearly feared that Maitland would ultimately have more power than him and so he moved rapidly to secure his own position and remove Maitland. Following the takeover, Warners music group briefly adopted the umbrella name Kinney Music, erteguns campaign against Maitland began in earnest that summer. Atlantic had agreed to help Warner Bros. in its efforts to establish its labels overseas, Mike Maitland complained bitterly to Kinney executive Ted Ashley, but to no avail – by this time Ertegun was poised to make his move against Maitland. As he had with Hyman, Ertegun urged Steve Ross to extend Mo Ostin and Joe Smiths contracts, in response, Ertegun broadly hinted that Maitlands days were numbered and that he, Ertegun, was about to take over the recording division. Unlike the Warner/Reprise executives, Atlantics execs the Ertegun brothers and Wexler owned stock in Kinney, on Sunday January 25, Ted Ashley went to Maitlands house to tell him he had been dismissed, and Maitland declined the offer of a job at the movie studio. One week later, Mo Ostin was named as the new President of Warner Bros, Records, with Joe Smith as his Executive Vice-President
24.
Bertelsmann Music Group
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Bertelsmann Music Group was a division of German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japans Sony Corporation of America on October 1,2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music activities of Bertelsmann. The joint venture with Sony Music was set up in August 2004 and it reduced the Big Five record companies to the Big Four record companies. At that time, the company had a 21. 5% share in the music market. Sony Music and BMG remained separate in Japan, although BMG Music Japan was wholly owned by Sony BMG. Bertelsmann sold its 50% share of Sony BMG to Sony Corporation of America for a total of $1.5 billion, and it is focused mainly in BMGs European stronghold markets. The basis of the company was formed through BMGs decision to withhold selected European music catalogues from the former Sony BMG joint venture, also kept separate from the acquisition by Sony Corporation of America was Sony BMGs wholly owned and operated BMG Japan. Sony Music Japan remained independent from the Sony BMG joint venture, therefore BMG, during Sony BMGs buyout, BMG Japan was instead picked up by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It briefly continued to operate as an entity until a reorganization in early 2009 folded the company into Sony Music Japan. Barry Weiss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Zomba Label Group CEO Now part of Sony Music Entertainment after the buyout of Bertelsmann AGs 50% stake in Sony BMG. BMG Music Publishing, which was not part of the Sony BMG merger, was a business of the Bertelsmann Music Group until it was sold to Universal Music Group for €1.63 billion in 2007. Universal then folded the company into Universal Music Publishing Group, the company was headquartered at 245 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10016 and had operations in 36 offices in 25 countries. BMG Music publishing controlled over one million copyrights, BMG Music Publishing was the global leader in Classical music and was number one in Contemporary Christian music. Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing is BMG Music Publishings Christian publisher and owns over 60,000 copyrights, BMG Music Publishing and its assets have now been completely absorbed and folded into Universal Music Publishing Group. After Sony bought out Bertelsmanns share in Sony BMG, Bertelsmann was allowed to keep the rights to recordings from the former joint venture. These songs served as the foundation to BMG Rights Management, BMG Rights Management now serves as a division within Bertelsmann and as a replacement to the defunct Bertelsmann Music Group. A settlement in 2002 included the publishers and distributors, Sony Music, Warner Music, Bertelsmann Music Group, EMI Music. In restitution for price fixing they agreed to pay a $67.4 million fine and distribute $75.7 million in CDs to public and non-profit groups and it is estimated customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album
25.
Warner Bros. Records
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Warner Bros. Records was established on March 19,1958, as the recorded-music division of the American film studio Warner Bros. For most of its existence it was one of a group of labels owned and operated by larger parent corporations. The sequence of companies that controlled Warner Bros. and its allied labels evolved through a series of corporate mergers. Over this period, Warner Bros. Records grew from a minor player in the music industry to become one of the top recording labels in the world. In 2003, these assets were divested by their then owner Time Warner. This independent company traded as the Warner Music Group before being bought by Access Industries in 2011, WMG is the smallest of the three major international music conglomerates and the worlds last publicly traded major music company. Cameron Strang serves as CEO of the company, artists currently signed to Warner Bros. At the end of the silent movie period, Warner Bros, pictures decided to expand into publishing and recording so that it could access low-cost music content for its films. This new group controlled valuable copyrights on standards by George and Ira Gershwin and Jerome Kern, the label signed rising radio and recording stars Bing Crosby, Mills Brothers, and Boswell Sisters. In December 1931, Warner Bros. offloaded Brunswick to the American Record Corporation for a fraction of its former value, in a lease arrangement which did not include Brunswicks pressing plants. Warner Bros. sold Brunswick a second time, this time along with the old Brunswick pressing plants Warner owned, to Decca Records in exchange for a financial interest in Decca. The studio stayed out of the business for more than 25 years. Warner Bros. reëntered the record business in 1958 with the establishment of its own recording division, by this time, the established Hollywood studios were reeling from multiple challenges to their former dominance - the most notable being the introduction of television in the late 1940s. Legal changes also had a impact on their business—lawsuits brought by major stars had effectively overthrown the old studio contract system by the late 1940s. Pictures sold off much of its library in 1948 and, beginning in 1949. Semenenko in particular had a professional interest in the entertainment business. With the record business booming - sales had topped US$500 million by 1958 - Semnenko argued that it was foolish for Warner Bros, another impetus for the labels creation was the brief music career of Warner Bros. actor Tab Hunter. In 1958, the studio signed Hunter as its first artist to its newly formed record division, to establish the label, the company hired former Columbia Records president James B
26.
Atlantic Records
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Atlantic Recording Corporation is an American major record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson. In 2004, Atlantic Records and its sister label Elektra Records merged into Atlantic Records Group, craig Kallman is currently the chairman of Atlantic Records. Ahmet Ertegün served as founding chairman until his death on December 14,2006, the brothers had become ardent fans of jazz and rhythm & blues music, amassing a collection of over 15,00078 RPM records. He convinced the family dentist, Dr Vahdi Sabit, to invest $10,000 and recruited Herb Abramson, Abramson had worked as a part-time A&R manager/producer for the jazz label National Records, signing Big Joe Turner and Billy Eckstine. He founded Jubilee Records in 1946, but had no interest in its most successful artists, so, in September 1947, he sold his share in Jubilee to his partner, Jerry Blaine, and invested $2500 in the new Atlantic label. When interviewed in 2009 she attributed her reputation to the companys chronic cash-flow shortage, most of the problems we had with artists were that they wanted advances, and that was very difficult for us. We were undercapitalized for a long time, the labels original office in the Ritz Hotel, Manhattan proved too expensive so they relocated to an $85 per month room in the Hotel Jefferson. In its early years Atlantic focused principally on modern jazz although it released some country and western and spoken word recordings. The union action forced Atlantic to use almost all its capital to cut and stockpile enough recordings to last through the ban, Ertegun and Abramson spent much of the late 1940s and early 1950s scouring nightclubs in search of talent. Ertegun composed many songs under the alias A, in early 1949 a New Orleans distributor phoned Ertegun trying to obtain Stick McGhees Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, which was unavailable due to the closure of McGhees previous label. Ertegun knew Sticks younger brother Brownie McGhee, with whom Stick happened to be staying, so he contacted the McGhee brothers, Ertegun asked about artists royalties, which he paid, which surprised Columbia executives, who did not, which scuttled the deal. On the recommendation of broadcaster Willis Conover, Ertegun and Abramson went to see Ruth Brown at the Crystal Caverns club in Washington and she was badly injured in a car accident en route to New York but Atlantic supported her for nine months and then signed her. Her first release for the label So Long, cut at her second Atlantic session on May 25,1949 with the Eddie Condon band, was a major hit, reaching #6 on the R&B chart. Brown went on to more than eighty songs for the label, becoming the most prolific. So significant was Browns success to Atlantics fortunes that the label became known colloquially as The House That Ruth Built. The Clovers Dont You Know I Love You became the labels first R&B #1 in September 1951 and she hit #1 again in March–April 1952 with 5-10-15 Hours. After she left the label in 1961 Browns fortunes declined rapidly - within a few years was reduced to working as a cleaner and bus-driver to support her children. Brown eventually received a payment of $20,000 and founded a charity
27.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
28.
Universal City, California
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Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. This 70 percent portion of the property remains unincorporated to avoid the City of Los Angeles business taxes, located within the area of Universal City is the Universal Studios Hollywood film studio and theme park and the Universal CityWalk shopping and entertainment center. Within the Los Angeles city limits are 10 Universal City Plaza, a 36-floor office building for Universal and NBC, the Sheraton Universal, the Metro Red Line underground station of the same name is located opposite the 10 Universal Plaza. A Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department station is located at Universal CityWalk, the Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51 is of special significance to Universal, as Station 51 was the fictional setting of the Universal and Jack Webb television series Emergency. Universal Citys ZIP code is 91608, and the community is inside area code 818, Carl Laemmle officially opened the Second Universal City on March 15,1915, on the 230-acre Taylor Ranch property. See how slapstick comedies are made, see your favorite screen stars do their work. See how we make the people laugh or cry or sit on the edge of their chairs the world over, stated a poster touting Universals opening. Universal Pictures founder was a German immigrant who opened his first nickelodeon in Chicago in 1906 and he moved to New York City, where he soon joined with half a dozen small motion picture companies to create the movie company he called Universal Pictures. In 1912, Laemmle briefly operated three small studios - Bison, Nestor, and Oak Crest Ranch, after a court battle with New York Motion Picture Company, control of the Bison lot was returned to the New York Motion Picture Company. The court allowed Carl Laemmle to retain use of the name Bison as Bison 101 for his westerns, the Oak Crest Ranch is where Laemmle filmed the western At Old Fort Dearborn. The Providencia Land and Water company, called Oak Crest Ranch in the trade papers, in 1913, Laemmle decided to consolidate the Nestor studio and Oak Crest ranch property. His first Universal City was too small, so he ordered a search for a new and larger property in the valley, Laemmle leased Providencia ranchland in the San Fernando Valley in 1912. Other studio chiefs laughed, calling the place Laemmles Folly and jeering that it was so far out of town that Laemmle could film scenery for free anywhere he wanted, Laemmle himself had second thoughts and worried that maybe he had made a huge mistake. But he was to live his greatest dreams. Success was found all around with his city containing streets, bungalows, sets, in the meantime, Laemmle added a zoo to the Oak Crest Ranch – which was open to visitors to generate free advertising by word of mouth. The Rotarians of Los Angeles were one of the groups permitted to visit the Oak Crest - Universal City. The Oak Crest ranch being too small for his larger Universal City, Laemmle bought the Lankershim Land and Water property, in 1914, operations at The Oak Ranch were moved to the Taylor ranch. The Universal ranch zoo was moved to the Back Ranch of the Lankershim property, the new Universal City was opened for Universal staff in 1914
29.
Drift Away
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Drift Away is a song written by Mentor Williams and originally recorded by John Henry Kurtz on his 1972 album Reunion. In 1973 the song became Dobie Grays biggest hit, peaking at five on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the pop hit for Decca Records in the United States. A new version by Uncle Kracker, with Gray, became a hit in 2003. Drift Away has been covered by bands and vocalists around the world. Folk singer Tom Rush recorded the song on his album What I Know, there is an unreleased 1974 recording of this song by The Rolling Stones. This version features all of the members of the then-current lineup of the Stones with the addition of keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, the Heptones recorded a reggae version which is included on many compilation CDs. Street Corner Symphony also sang a version of song as their swan song on the season 2 finale of the NBC series, The Sing-Off. Bon Jovi usually played the live in 1987, a version was recorded as part of a Westwood One radio live series concert. Dolly Parton and Anne Murray performed the song together in 1976 on Partons variety show Dolly, though they sang the lyrics of the Felts version. Garth Brooks for the 2013 Blue-Eyed Soul album in the Blame It All on My Roots, temuera Morrison recorded and included Drift Away in his 2014 debut album Tem. Country music star, Lynn Anderson, recorded a version that was rewritten by Williams for her 2015 gospel album, Drift Away. A country version was recorded by Narvel Felts in 1973 and his was a mid-tempo country ballad version, compared to Grays bluesy rendition. This song marked Narvels first success in the scene, as he was known from the late 1950s as a rockabilly singer. A cover version was released by Uncle Kracker in 2003 and this version, which featured Dobie Gray singing the final verse, reached number nine on the Hot 100, one week to the day after Grays 63rd birthday. It spent a record-setting 28 weeks atop the adult contemporary chart in the U. S and it also peaked at number 25 on the New Zealand Singles chart. The music video was directed by Bronston Jones, lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
30.
Dobie Gray
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Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter, whose musical career spanned soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit records included The In Crowd in 1965 and Drift Away, which was one of the biggest hits of 1973, sold one million copies. He was born near Houston, Texas and his birth name was most likely Lawrence Darrow Brown, listed in Fort Bend County birth records as being born in 1940 to Jane and Jethro C. Brown. Other sources suggest he may have been born Leonard Victor Ainsworth and he discovered gospel music through his grandfather, a Baptist minister. In the early 1960s he moved to Los Angeles, intending to pursue a career while also singing to make money. He recorded for local labels under the names Leonard Ainsworth, Larry Curtis. They suggested that he record under the name Dobie Gray, an allusion to the then-popular sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. His first taste of success came in 1963 when his seventh single Look At Me, on the Cor-Dak label and recorded with bassist Carol Kaye, however, his first album, Look. failed to sell. Greater success came in early 1965 when his recording of The In Crowd reached #13. Written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother, Gene and produced by Fred Darian, Grays record reached #11 on the US R&B chart, and #25 in the UK. Gray continued to record, though with little success, for labels such as Charger and White Whale. He also spent several years working as an actor, including 2½ years in the Los Angeles production of Hair, in 1970, while working there, he joined a band, Pollution, as singer and percussionist. They were managed by actor Max Baer Jr. and released two albums of soul-inspired psychedelic rock, Pollution I and Pollution II, the band included singer Tata Vega and guitarist/singer James Quill Smith. He also worked at A&M Records on demo recordings with songwriter Paul Williams, in 1972, he won a recording contract with Decca Records to make an album with producer Mentor Williams -- Pauls brother -- in Nashville. Among the songs recorded at the Quadrafonic Sound Studios, co-owned by session musicians Norbert Putnam and David Briggs, was Mentor Williams Drift Away. Released as a single, the rose to #5 on the US pop chart. It placed at #17 in the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1973, sold one million copies. The follow-up, a version of Tom Jans much-covered song Loving Arms, in the mid-1970s, he moved permanently to Nashville and signed for Capricorn Records, writing songs in collaboration with Troy Seals
31.
Milt Gabler
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Milton Milt Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century. Milt Gabler was born in Harlem, New York, the son of Susie and his father was an Austrian Jewish immigrant, and his mothers family were Jewish immigrants from Russia. At 15, he working in his fathers business, the Commodore Radio Corporation. By the mid-1930s, Gabler renamed the business the Commodore Music Shop, Gabler started up a specialty label UHCA in about 1935 to reissue selected 78 r. p. m. Sides previously released by other companies and these reissues were from the original 78 stampers and were instrumental in spreading the concept of collecting classic performances from the past. A number of Paramount and Gennett sides were dubbed from clean copies and issued on UHCA, in 1937 he opened a new store on 52nd Street, and set up a series of jam sessions in a neighbouring club, Jimmy Ryans. Some of these he began recording, setting up his own record label and his role as a music producer soon superseded his other activities and he recorded many of the leading jazz artists of the day. One regular customer, Billie Holiday, found her record company, Columbia, resisting her appeals to release the song Strange Fruit, so she offered the song to Gabler. After getting the permission, he released her recording on Commodore in 1939, boosting her career and issuing what,60 years on. The success of Commodore Records inevitably led to an offer to join a major record label, Gabler was recruited to work for Decca Records in 1941, and left his brother-in-law Jack Crystal to run Commodore. In 1946 he produced and co-wrote Louis Jordan’s breakthrough single, Choo Choo ChBoogie, Gabler contributed a further slice of history when he signed Bill Haley and His Comets to Decca Records. He produced their initial recording session in April 1954, much of which was spent cutting a song which the thought the more likely hit of the two due to be recorded that day. Their efforts on 13 Women left only ten minutes for the second song, Rock Around The Clock was cut in two takes and changed the face of popular music. Gabler later commented, All the tricks I used with Louis Jordan, the only difference was the way we did the rhythm. On Jordan, we used a perfectly balanced rhythm section from the swing era, but Bill had the heavy backbeat. Commodore Records was wound up in 1954, Bob Shads Mainstream Records issued a series of albums of Commodore material in the early 1960s, keeping most of these recordings available. Gabler also continued to all of the Comets recordings for Decca until they left the label in 1959. Milt Gabler also produced all studio-albums in Hamburg for Bert Kaempfert and he wrote many lyrics for Kaempfert songs, like L-O-V-E, a very big hit for Nat King Cole, Danke schoen, etc
32.
Crocodile Rock
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In the U. S. it was certified Gold on 5 February 1973 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA. In Canada, it topped the chart as well, remaining at No.1 on the RPM100 national singles chart for four weeks from 17 February –10 March. It was the first song released as a single on the MCA label after MCA dissolved its Uni, Decca, Kapp, crocodile Rock is dominated by a Farfisa organ, played by John. The lyrics take a look at early rock n roll, dating. Elton John band members, including Davey Johnstone on guitars, Dee Murray on bass, elton John, however, did all the vocals, including the falsetto backing vocals. John heard the song and the group on his 1972 Australian tour and was impressed by it. A photo included in the packaging features Johns lyricist, Bernie Taupin. The opening riff heavily resembles Lets Dance by Chris Montez, the parties reached an amicable settlement between them and the case was then dismissed. Of course it’s a rip-off, it’s derivative in every sense of the word. ”John has played the song numerous times in concert, including a ballad version he performed at the Greek Theater with Ray Cooper in 1994
33.
Neil Diamond
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Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actor. One of the worlds best-selling artists of all time, he has sold over 120 million records worldwide since the start of his career in the 1960s. With 38 songs in the Top 10, he is the second most successful artist in the history of the Billboard Adult Contemporary Top 10 charts and his songs have been covered internationally by many performers from a variety of musical genres. Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock, additionally, he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 and in 2011 was an honoree at Kennedy Center. On the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts, he has had eleven No, Sweet Caroline is played frequently at sporting events, and has become an anthem for the Boston Red Sox. Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family descended from Russian and his parents were Rose and Akeeba Kieve Diamond, a dry-goods merchant. He grew up in homes in Brooklyn, having also spent four years in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Brooklyn he attended Erasmus Hall High School and was a member of the Freshman Chorus and they were not close friends at the time, Diamond recalls, We were two poor kids in Brooklyn. We hung out in the front of Erasmus High and smoked cigarettes, after his family moved he then attended Abraham Lincoln High School, and was a member of the fencing team. For his 16th birthday, he received his first guitar, and the next thing, I got a guitar when we got back to Brooklyn, started to take lessons and almost immediately began to write songs, he said. He adds that his attraction to songwriting was the first real interest he had growing up, Diamond also used his newly-developing skill at writing lyrics to write poetry. By writing poems for girls he was attracted to in school and his male classmates took note and began asking him to write poems for them which they would sing and use with equal success. He spent the following his graduation as a waiter in the Catskills resort area. There he first met Jaye Posner, who would, years later, Diamond next attended New York University as a pre-med major on a fencing scholarship. His skill at fencing made him a member of the 1960 NCAA mens championship team, however, he was often bored in classes, and found writing song lyrics more to his liking. He began cutting classes and taking the train up to Tin Pan Alley where he tried to get some of his songs heard by music publishers. By his senior year, and just 10 units short of graduation, Sunbeam Music Publishing offered him a 16-week job writing songs for $50 a week, and he dropped out of college to accept it. After his 16 weeks at Sunbeam Music were up, he was not rehired, I never really chose songwriting, he says
34.
Hot August Night
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Hot August Night is a 1972 live double album by Neil Diamond. The album is a recording of a Diamond concert on August 24,1972 and this also marks the first album released by the newly formed MCA Records. Diamond later released two sequel albums, Hot August Night II and Hot August Night/NYC. Hot August Night is one of the biggest selling albums in Australia and this makes it equal 4th for the most weeks at number 1, tying with Delta Goodrems 2003 album Innocent Eyes. Hot August Night was the number one charting album in Australia for the 1970s, entering the Australian album charts in late 1972 and it was the number 1 album of 1973 and the number 3 album of 1974. It re-entered the Australian top 10 in 1982, then had another run in 1991-92 peaking at number 21. During the 1991-92 chart-run it was listed on the chart as 14 x Platinum, based on album accreditation levels used until 1983, it equates to a 700,000 sales milestone. When the album entered the albums chart in 2010, it was listed as 10 x Platinum. Based on accreditation levels since 1983, it equates to a 700,000 sales milestone. In 1996, MCA Managing Director Paul Krige estimated that sales of Hot August Night in Australia have exceeded one million units. In his review for Creem, Robert Christgau panned the album as an attempt at bad art. In a retrospective review, Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Hot August Night the ultimate Neil Diamond record, shows Diamond the icon in full glory. Rob Sheffield, writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide, dubbed the album the triumph of Neilness and said that its music is more lax than his studio recordings
35.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is the seventh studio album by Elton John, released in 1973. The album proved to be popular, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. It was recorded at the Château dHérouville in France after problems recording at the location of Jamaica. In 2003, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the album was ranked number 91 on Rolling Stone magazines list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and number 59 in Channel 4s 2009 list of 100 Greatest Albums. He had wanted to go to Jamaica he has said, in part, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was recorded in two weeks at the Château dHérouville in France, where John had previously recorded Honky Château and Dont Shoot Me Im Only the Piano Player. While a version of Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting was recorded in Jamaica, that recording was discarded, according to the albums producer, Gus Dudgeon, the album was not planned as a two-record collection. In total, John and Taupin composed 22 tracks for the album, of which 18 were used, enough that it was released as a double album, through the medium of cinematic metaphor, the album builds on nostalgia for a childhood and culture left in the past. Tracks include Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the 11-minute Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting was inspired by memories of a Market Rasen pub Taupin frequented when younger. Grey Seal, previously the B-side of the 1970 single Rock n Roll Madonna, was re-recorded for the album, harmony was released as a single in Britain in 1980 and failed to chart. The original 1973 LP, when released on CD, was released on two discs, while the 1992 and 1995 CD remasters put the album on one disc as it was less than 80 minutes. The 30th anniversary edition followed the format, splitting the album across two discs to allow the inclusion of the bonus tracks, while a DVD on the making of the album was also included. The album has also released by Mobile Fidelity as a single disc 24 karat gold CD. The album was released on SACD, DVD-Audio, and Blu-ray Audio and these high resolution releases included the original stereo mixes, as well as 5.1 remixes produced and engineered by Greg Penny. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has come to be regarded as Johns best and most popular album, three singles were released in the US, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Bennie and the Jets and Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting. In the US it was certified gold in October 1973, 5× platinum in March 1993, the album was ranked No.91 on Rolling Stone magazines 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was also placed at No.59 in Channel 4s 2009 list of 100 Greatest Albums, all songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin except Funeral for a Friend written by Elton John. Note, The DVD version of this film edits about 10 minutes from the original 1973 documentary which ran for 56 minutes, according to the albums liner notes
36.
Billboard 200
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The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists, often, a recording act will be remembered by its number ones, those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart is based mostly on sales of albums in the United States, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday with an issue post-dated to the Saturday of the following week, the charts streaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday. Example, Friday January 1 – sales tracking week begins Thursday January 7 – sales tracking week ends Tuesday January 12 – new chart published, New product is released to the American market on Fridays. Digital downloads of albums are included in Billboard 200 tabulation. Albums that are not licensed for sale in the United States are not eligible to chart. As of the issue dated April 15,2017, the album on the Billboard 200 is More Life by Drake. Billboard began an album chart in 1945, initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, sometimes three to seven weeks passing before it was updated. A biweekly, 15-position Best-Selling Popular Albums chart appeared in 1955, the position count varied anywhere from 10 to 30 albums. The first number-one album on the new weekly list was Belafonte by Harry Belafonte, the chart was renamed to Best-Selling Pop Albums later in 1956, and then to Best-Selling Pop LPs in 1957. Beginning on May 25,1959, Billboard split the ranking into two charts Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs for stereo albums and Best-Selling Monophonic LPs for mono albums and these were renamed to Stereo Action Charts and Mono Action Charts in 1960. In January 1961, they became Action Albums—Stereophonic and Action Albums—Monophonic, three months later, they became Top LPs—Stereo and Top LPs—Monaural. On August 17,1963 the stereo and mono charts were combined into a 150-position chart called Top LPs, on April 1,1967, the chart was expanded to 175 positions, then finally to 200 positions on May 13,1967. In 1960, Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts which ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles and these Essential Inventory charts were divided by stereo and mono albums, and featured titles that had already appeared on the main stereo and mono album charts. In January 1961, the Action Charts became Action Albums—Monophonic, Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, then were moved to an Essential Inventory list of approximately 200 titles, with no numerical ranking. This list continued to be published until the consolidated Top LPs chart debuted in 1963, in 1982, Billboard began publishing a Midline Albums chart which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a bi-weekly basis, on May 25,1991, Billboard premiered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart
37.
The Who
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The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. Their classic line-up consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide and holding a reputation for their live shows. The Who developed from a group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars. Their first single as the Who, I Cant Explain, reached the UK top ten, followed by a string of singles including My Generation, Substitute and Happy Jack. In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released the US top ten single I Can See for Miles, the groups fourth album, 1969s rock opera Tommy, included the single Pinball Wizard and was a critical and commercial success. Live appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight Festival, along with the live album Live at Leeds, with their success came increased pressure on lead songwriter and visionary Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up 1971s Whos Next, which included the hit Wont Get Fooled Again, the group released the album Quadrophenia in 1973 as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy in 1975. They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976, the release of Who Are You in 1978 was overshadowed by the death of Moon shortly after. Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed activity, releasing a film adaptation of Quadrophenia, after Townshend became weary of touring, the group split in 1982. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th anniversary tour in 1989 and they resumed regular touring in 1999, with drummer Zak Starkey. After Entwistles death in 2002, plans for a new album were delayed, Townshend and Daltrey continued as the Who, releasing Endless Wire in 2006, and continued to play live regularly. They are cited as an influence by rock, punk rock and mod bands. The founding members of the Who, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, grew up in Acton, London and went to Acton County Grammar School. Townshend and Entwistle became friends in their year of Acton County. Both were interested in rock, and Townshend particularly admired Cliff Richards début single, Entwistle moved to guitar, but struggled with it due to his large fingers, and moved to bass on hearing the guitar work of Duane Eddy. He was unable to afford a bass and built one at home, after Acton County, Townshend attended Ealing Art College, a move he later described as profoundly influential on the course of the Who. Daltrey, who was in the year above, had moved to Acton from Shepherds Bush and he had trouble fitting in at the school, and discovered gangs and rock and roll
38.
Quadrophenia
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Quadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Who, released on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is a album and the groups second rock opera. The story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance and it is the only Who album to be entirely composed by Pete Townshend. The group started work on the album in 1972, trying to follow up Tommy and Whos Next, Recording was delayed while bassist John Entwistle and singer Roger Daltrey recorded solo albums and drummer Keith Moon worked on films. Because a new studio was not finished in time, the group had to use Ronnie Lanes Mobile Studio, as well as the groups typical playing styles, especially from Moon, the album makes significant use of Townshends multi-tracked synthesizers and sound effects, and Entwistles layered horn parts. Relationships between the group and manager Kit Lambert broke down irretrievably during recording and he had left the services by the time the album was released. It was revived in 1996 with an ensemble, and a further tour occurred in 2012. The album made an impact on the mod revival movement of the late 1970s. The album has been reissued on compact disc several times, the original release of Quadrophenia came with a set of recording notes for reviewers and journalists that explained the basic plotline. The narrative centres around a young mod named Jimmy. He clashes with his parents over his usage of amphetamines and he has difficulty finding regular work and doubts his own self-worth, and quits a job as a dustman after only two days. Though he is happy to be one of the mods, he struggles to keep up with his peers, after destroying his scooter and contemplating suicide, he decides to take a train to Brighton, where he had enjoyed earlier experiences with fellow mods. However, he discovers the Ace Face who led the now has a menial job as a bellboy in a hotel. He feels everything in his life has rejected him, steals a boat, on the rock and stuck in the rain, he contemplates his life. The ending is ambiguous as to what happens to Jimmy on the rock. 1972 was the least active year for the Who since they had formed, the group had achieved great commercial and critical success with the albums Tommy and Whos Next, but were struggling to come up with a suitable follow up. In an interview for Melody Maker, guitarist and bandleader Pete Townshend said Ive got to get a new act together… People dont really want to sit and listen to all our past. Unlike Tommy, the new work would be grounded in reality and tell a story of youth and adolescence that the audience could relate to
39.
Cher
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Cher is an American singer and actress. Commonly referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she is described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. Cher gained popularity in 1965 as one-half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher after their song I Got You Babe reached number one on the American and she began her solo career simultaneously, releasing in 1966 her first million-seller song, Bang Bang. She became a personality in the 1970s with her shows The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, watched by over 30 million viewers weekly during its three-year run. She emerged as a trendsetter by wearing elaborate outfits on her television shows. While working on television, she established herself as a solo artist with the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves, Half-Breed, and Dark Lady. After her divorce from Sonny Bono in 1975, Cher launched a comeback in 1979 with the disco-oriented album Take Me Home and earned $300,000 a week for her 1980–82 residency show in Las Vegas. In 1982, Cher made her Broadway debut in the play Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and starred in the film adaptation of the same title. She subsequently earned critical acclaim for her performances in such as Silkwood, Mask. She then revived her career by recording the rock-inflected albums Cher, Heart of Stone. She reached a new peak in 1998 with the album Believe. It also features the use of Auto-Tune, also known as the Cher effect. Her 2002–2005 Living Proof, The Farewell Tour became one of the concert tours of all time. In 2008, she signed a $180 million deal to headline the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for three years, after seven years of absence, she returned to film in the 2010 musical Burlesque. Chers first studio album in 12 years, Closer to the Truth, Cher has won a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and a special CFDA Fashion Award, among several other honors. Throughout her career, she has sold 100 million records worldwide and she is the only artist to date to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in each decade from the 1960s to the 2010s. Outside of her music and acting, she is noted for her views, philanthropic endeavors and social activism, including LGBT rights. Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in El Centro, California, on May 20,1946, Chers father was rarely home when she was an infant, and her parents divorced when Cher was ten months old
40.
Olivia Newton-John
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Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE is a British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five number-one and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, eleven of her singles and fourteen of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA. She has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the worlds best-selling artists of all time and she starred in Grease, which featured one of the most successful soundtracks in Hollywood history. Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues, since surviving breast cancer in 1992, she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and she is the mother of one daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, with her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi. Her second husband is John Easterling, Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, to Irene Helene, the eldest child of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born and Welsh father, Brinley Bryn Newton-John. Her mothers family had left Germany before World War II to avoid the Nazi regime and she is a third cousin of comedian Ben Elton. Her maternal great-grandfather was jurist Victor Ehrenberg and her matrilineal great-grandmothers father was jurist Rudolf von Jhering. Newton-John is the youngest of three children, following brother Hugh, a doctor, and sister Rona, an actress who was married to Grease co-star Jeff Conaway from 1980 until their divorce in 1985. Newton-Johns father was an MI5 officer on the Enigma project at Bletchley Park who took Rudolf Hess into custody during the Second World War. In 1954, when she was six, Newton-Johns family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia and she attended Christ Church Grammar School, and then University High School, adjacent to Ormond College. At fourteen, Newton-John formed a short-lived all-girl group, Sol Four and she became a regular on local Australian radio and television shows including HSV-7s The Happy Show where she performed as Lovely Livvy. She also appeared on the Go Show where she met future partner, Pat Carroll. Newton-John was initially reluctant to use the prize she had won, a trip to Britain, Newton-John recorded her first single, Till You Say Youll Be Mine Forever, in Britain for Decca Records in 1966. While in Britain, Newton-John missed her then-boyfriend, Ian Turpie, with whom she had co-starred in the Australian telefilm, Newton-John repeatedly booked trips back to Australia that her mother subsequently cancelled. Newton-Johns outlook changed when Pat Carroll also moved to the UK, the two formed a duo called Pat and Olivia and toured nightclubs in Europe. After Carrolls visa expired forcing her to return to Australia, Newton-John remained in Britain to pursue solo work until 1975 and she became engaged to The Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch, but they never married. Newton-John was recruited for the group Toomorrow formed by American producer Don Kirshner, in 1970, the group starred in a science fiction musical film and recorded an accompanying soundtrack album both named after the group
41.
The Sting
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The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss. The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who had directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy, the title phrase refers to the moment when a con artist finishes the play and takes the marks money. If a con is successful, the mark does not realize he has been taken, the film is played out in distinct sections with old-fashioned title cards, the lettering and illustrations rendered in a style reminiscent of the Saturday Evening Post. The film is noted for its use of ragtime, particularly the melody The Entertainer by Scott Joplin. The films success created a resurgence of interest in Joplins work, the Sting was hugely successful at the 46th Academy Awards, being nominated for 10 Oscars and winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. The film takes place in 1936, at the height of the Great Depression, johnny Hooker, a grifter in Joliet, Illinois, cons $11,000 in cash in a pigeon drop from an unsuspecting victim with the aid of his partners Luther Coleman and Joe Erie. Buoyed by the windfall, Luther announces his retirement and advises Hooker to seek out an old friend, Henry Gondorff, unfortunately, their victim was a numbers racket courier for vicious crime boss Doyle Lonnegan. Corrupt Joliet police Lieutenant William Snyder confronts Hooker, revealing Lonnegans involvement, having already spent his share, Hooker pays Snyder in counterfeit bills. Lonnegans men murder both the courier and Luther, and Hooker flees for his life to Chicago, Hooker finds Henry Gondorff, a once-great con-man now hiding from the FBI, and asks for his help in taking on the dangerous Lonnegan. Gondorff is initially reluctant, but he relents and recruits a team of experienced con men to con Lonnegan. They decide to resurrect an elaborate obsolete scam known as the wire, aboard the opulent 20th Century Limited, Gondorff, posing as boorish Chicago bookie Shaw, buys into Lonnegans private, high-stakes poker game. Shaw infuriates Lonnegan with his obnoxious behavior, then out-cheats him to win $15,000, Hooker, posing as Shaws disgruntled employee, Kelly, is sent to collect the winnings and instead convinces Lonnegan that he wants to take over Shaws operation. Kelly reveals that he has a partner named Les Harmon in the Chicago Western Union office, at the same time, Lonnegan has grown frustrated with the inability of his men to find and kill Hooker. Unaware that Kelly is Hooker, he demands that Salino, his best assassin, a mysterious figure with black leather gloves is then seen following and observing Hooker. Kellys connection appears effective, as Harmon provides Lonnegan with the winner of one horse race, Lonnegan agrees to finance a $500,000 bet at Shaws parlor to break Shaw and gain revenge. Shortly thereafter, Snyder captures Hooker and brings him before FBI Agent Polk, Polk forces Hooker to betray Gondorff by threatening to incarcerate Luther Colemans widow. The night before the sting, Hooker sleeps with Loretta, a waitress from a local restaurant, as Hooker leaves the building the next morning, he sees Loretta walking toward him. The black-gloved man appears behind Hooker and shoots her dead – she was Lonnegans hired killer, Loretta Salino, armed with Harmon’s tip to place it on Lucky Dan, Lonnegan makes the $500,000 bet at Shaw’s parlor on Lucky Dan to win
42.
Marvin Hamlisch
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Marvin Frederick Hamlisch was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of twelve people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar. This collection of all four is referred to as an EGOT and he is one of only two people to have won those four prizes and a Pulitzer Prize. Hamlisch was born in Manhattan, to Viennese-born Jewish parents Lilly and his father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a prodigy, and, by age five. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division and his first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Shortly afterward, he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegels parties and this connection led to his first film score, The Swimmer. His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady, Gypsy, West Side Story, Hamlisch attended Queens College, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. Although Liza Minnellis debut album included The Travelin Life, a song he wrote in his teens and this song, Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows, co-written with Howard Liebling, was recorded by Lesley Gore and reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1965. His first film score was for The Swimmer, after the films producer Sam Spiegel hired Hamlisch based on a piano performance Hamlisch did at a party, later he wrote music for several early Woody Allen films such as Take the Money and Run and Bananas. In addition, Hamlisch co-wrote the song California Nights, which was recorded by Lesley Gore for her 1967 hit album of the same name. Among his better-known works during the 1970s were adaptations of Scott Joplins ragtime music for the motion picture The Sting, including its theme song, The Entertainer. It hit #1 on Billboard′s Adult Contemporary chart and #3 on the Hot 100, selling nearly 2 million copies in the U. S. alone. He had great success in 1973, winning two Academy Awards for the song and the score for the motion picture The Way We Were. He won four Grammy Awards in 1974, two for The Way We Were, in 1975, he wrote what, for its first 12 years, would be the original theme music for Good Morning America---it was built around four notes. He co-wrote Nobody Does It Better for The Spy Who Loved Me with his then-girlfriend Carole Bayer Sager, in the 1980s, he had success with the scores for Ordinary People and Sophies Choice. He also received an Academy-Award nomination in 1986 for the version of A Chorus Line. His last projects included The Informant, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh
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