1.
Farm Aid
–
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert held September 22,1985, in Champaign, Illinois, to raise money for family farmers in the United States. The first concert was at University of Illinois Memorial Stadium in Champaign on September 22 before a crowd of 80,000 people. Performers included Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, B. B. King, Roy Orbison, among others, Nelson and Mellencamp then brought family farmers before Congress to testify about the state of family farming in America. Congress subsequently passed the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 to help save family farms from foreclosure. Today, Farm Aid is an organization works to increase awareness of the importance of family farms. The board of directors includes Nelson, Mellencamp, Young, youngs speeches about the environment are a highlight of the annual shows. After the initial concert, the organization established emergency hotlines for farmers, Farm Aid holds a farm disaster fund for farmers who lost their belongings and crops through natural disasters, such as the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 tornadoes. The funds raised are used to pay the expenses and provide food, legal and financial help. The 2005 concert, marking the 20th anniversary of Farm Aid, took place at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park, Illinois, through 2016, Farm Aid concerts have been held in the following locations, Official Website Official MySpace Farm Aid 2006 - Behind The Scenes
2.
New York City
–
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
3.
New York (state)
–
New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
4.
Grapevine, Texas
–
Grapevine is a city located predominantly in Tarrant County and has areas that extend into Dallas and Denton counties. Highways SH26, SH121, SH360, SH114, Spur 97, with its central location in the Metroplex, being approximately 22 to 24 miles from the downtowns of both Dallas and Fort Worth, Grapevine is a suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. In recent years several wineries have opened in Grapevine, and the city has very active in maintaining its historic downtown corridor. The city is adjacent to Grapevine Lake, a reservoir impounded by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1952. Part of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located within Grapevine city limits, in 2007 CNNMoney. com rated Grapevine as one of Americas Best Places to Live. In October 1843, General Sam Houston and fellow Republic of Texas Commissioners camped at Tah-Wah-Karro Creek, also known as Grape Vine Springs and this meeting culminated in the signing of a treaty of peace, friendship, and commerce, which opened the area for homesteaders. The first recorded settlement in what would become the modern city occurred in the late 1840s. The settlement made continued gains early in the 20th century, and on January 12,1914, the post office altered the towns name to one word, Grapevine. On Easter Sunday, April 1,1934, Henry Methvin, murphy, during an altercation near Grapevine. A historical marker remains at the intersection of Dove Road and State Highway 114, the population of Grapevine fell during the interwar period as the economy stagnated, though the city was officially incorporated in 1936. Cotton was the crop for Grapevine until the early 20th century when it was overtaken by cantaloupe farms which accounted for as many as 25,000 acres. For several decades until the early 1970s, the Rotary Club sign outside of town boasted Grapevine as Cantaloupe Capital of the World, the economic benefits of the airports construction continue to encourage new levels of development in Grapevine to this day. Grapevine is located at 32°56′6″N 97°5′9″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.9 square miles, of which 32.3 sq mi is land and 3.6 sq mi is water. Here is the list of surrounding cities, they can also be seen from here, as of the census of 2010, there were 46,334 people,18,223 households, and 12,332 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,451 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 81. 1% White,3. 3% African American,0. 7% Native American,4. 5% Asian,0. 2% Pacific Islander,8. 0% from other races, and 2. 2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18. 0% of the population,27. 1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14. 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the family size was 3.06
5.
Pop music
–
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
6.
Jazz
–
Jazz is a music genre that originated amongst African Americans in New Orleans, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in Blues and Ragtime. Since the 1920s jazz age, jazz has become recognized as a form of musical expression. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms, Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Although the foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the Black experience of the United States, different cultures have contributed their own experience, intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as one of Americas original art forms. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on different national, regional, and local musical cultures, New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass-band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. In the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz, bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging musicians music which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. Cool jazz developed in the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, modal jazz developed in the late 1950s, using the mode, or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation. Jazz-rock fusion appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with rock rhythms, electric instruments. In the early 1980s, a form of jazz fusion called smooth jazz became successful. Other styles and genres abound in the 2000s, such as Latin, the question of the origin of the word jazz has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well documented. It is believed to be related to jasm, a term dating back to 1860 meaning pep. The use of the word in a context was documented as early as 1915 in the Chicago Daily Tribune. Its first documented use in a context in New Orleans was in a November 14,1916 Times-Picayune article about jas bands. In an interview with NPR, musician Eubie Blake offered his recollections of the slang connotations of the term, saying, When Broadway picked it up. That was dirty, and if you knew what it was, the American Dialect Society named it the Word of the Twentieth Century. Jazz has proved to be difficult to define, since it encompasses such a wide range of music spanning a period of over 100 years. Attempts have been made to define jazz from the perspective of other musical traditions, in the opinion of Robert Christgau, most of us would say that inventing meaning while letting loose is the essence and promise of jazz. As Duke Ellington, one of jazzs most famous figures, said, although jazz is considered highly difficult to define, at least in part because it contains so many varied subgenres, improvisation is consistently regarded as being one of its key elements
7.
Folk music
–
Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century, but is applied to music older than that. Some types of music are also called world music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways, as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers and it has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. Starting in the century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. This form of music is called contemporary folk music or folk revival music to distinguish it from earlier folk forms. Smaller, similar revivals have occurred elsewhere in the world at other times and this type of folk music also includes fusion genres such as folk rock, folk metal, electric folk, and others. Even individual songs may be a blend of the two, a consistent definition of traditional folk music is elusive. The terms folk music, folk song, and folk dance are comparatively recent expressions and they are extensions of the term folklore, which was coined in 1846 by the English antiquarian William Thoms to describe the traditions, customs, and superstitions of the uncultured classes. Traditional folk music also includes most indigenous music, however, despite the assembly of an enormous body of work over some two centuries, there is still no certain definition of what folk music is. Some do not even agree that the term Folk Music should be used, Folk music may tend to have certain characteristics but it cannot clearly be differentiated in purely musical terms. One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers, the fashioning and re-fashioning of the music by the community that give it its folk character. Such definitions depend upon processes rather than abstract musical types, one widely used definition is simply Folk music is what the people sing. For Scholes, as well as for Cecil Sharp and Béla Bartók, Folk music was already. seen as the authentic expression of a way of life now past or about to disappear, particularly in a community uninfluenced by art music and by commercial and printed song. In these terms folk music may be seen as part of a schema comprising four types, primitive or tribal, elite or art, folk. Music in this genre is often called traditional music. Although the term is only descriptive, in some cases people use it as the name of a genre
8.
Blue Note Records
–
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards and it derives its name from the characteristic blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, from 1947 the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz, while the original company did not itself record many of the pioneers of bebop, significant exceptions are Thelonious Monk, Fats Navarro and Bud Powell. Historically, Blue Note has principally been associated with the hard bop style of jazz, but also recorded essential albums in the avant-garde and free styles of jazz. Horace Silver, Jimmy Smith, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey, Grant Green, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, the label is currently owned by the Universal Music Group. Lion first heard jazz as a boy in Berlin. The Blue Note label initially consisted of Lion and Max Margulis, musicians were supplied with alcoholic refreshments, and recorded in the early hours of the morning after their evenings work in clubs and bars had finished. Francis Wolff, a photographer, emigrated to the USA at the end of 1939 and soon joined forces with Lion. In 1941, Lion was drafted into the army for two years, Milt Gabler at the Commodore Music Store offered storage facilities and helped keep the catalog in print, with Wolff working for him. By late 1943, the label was back in recording musicians. Johnson, who was returning to a degree of musical activity after having largely recovered from a stroke suffered in 1940. Towards the end of the war, saxophonist Ike Quebec was among those who recorded for the label, Quebec would act as a talent scout for the label until his death in 1963. Although stylistically belonging to a generation, he could appreciate the new bebop style of jazz. Lion recorded several Monk sessions before he began to release the resulting sides, monks recordings for Blue Note between 1947 and 1952 did not sell well for some years, but have since come to be regarded as the most important of his career. The sessions by Powell are commonly ranked among his best, J. J. Johnson and trumpeter Miles Davis both recorded several sessions for Blue Note between 1952 and 1954, but by then the musicians who had created bebop were starting to explore other styles. The recording of musicians performing in a jazz idiom, such as Sidney Bechet and clarinettist George Lewis. In 1951, Blue Note issued their first vinyl 10 releases, the label was soon recording emerging talent such as Horace Silver and Clifford Brown. Meanwhile, Milt Jackson and the Jazz Messengers recorded for Blue Note, the Milt Jackson Quartet session was a one-off, but Blakeys various groups recorded for the label extensively, if intermittently, for the next decade
9.
The Little Willies
–
The Little Willies is an American alternative country supergroup formed in 2003. It features Norah Jones on piano and vocals, Richard Julian on vocals, Jim Campilongo on guitar, Lee Alexander on bass, the group formed around a love of country classics. Between members regular gigs, they first played at New York City’s Living Room, the show led to a series of events, including a benefit concert for public radio station WFUV. The loose-knit collective found itself with a growing following, the Little Willies’ self-titled debut album has added to their popularity. Their first album features covers of tracks by Fred Rose, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Kris Kristofferson. Fusing cover material with a few of their own original compositions and their second album was released in January,2012 and features covers from a variety of down-home legends, including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and many more. Official website The Little Willies at AllMusic Review of the bands self-titled album Review of The Little Willies
10.
Ravi Shankar
–
Ravi Shankar, KBE, born Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury, his name often preceded by the title Pandit, was an Indian musician and a composer of Hindustani classical music. He was one of the exponents of the sitar in the second half of the 20th century. Shankar was born to a Bengali family in India, and spent his youth touring India and he gave up dancing in 1938 to study sitar playing under court musician Allauddin Khan. After finishing his studies in 1944, Shankar worked as a composer, creating the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray and his influence on the latter helped popularize the use of Indian instruments in pop music throughout the 1960s. Shankar engaged Western music by writing compositions for sitar and orchestra, from 1986 to 1992, he served as a nominated member of Rajya Sabha, the upper chamber of the Parliament of India. He continued to perform until the end of his life, in 1999, Shankar was awarded Indias highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna. Shankar was born on 7 April 1920 in Benares, British India, in a Bengali family and his father, Shyam Shankar, was a Middle Temple barrister and scholar from East Bengal. A respected statesman, lawyer and politician, he served for years as dewan of Jhalawar, Rajasthan. Shyam was married to Hemangini Devi who hailed from a village named Nasrathpur in Mardah block of Ghazipur district, near Benares. Shyam later worked as a lawyer in London, England, and there he married a second time while Devi raised Shankar in Benares, Shankar shortened the Sanskrit version of his first name, Ravindra, to Ravi, for sun. Shankar had six siblings, only four of whom lived past infancy, Uday, Shankar attended the Bengalitola High School in Benares between 1927 and 1928. At the age of ten, after spending his first decade in Benares, by the age of 13 he had become a member of the group, accompanied its members on tour and learned to dance and play various Indian instruments. Shankar was sporadically trained by Khan on tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become a musician under the condition that he abandon touring. Shankars parents had died by the time he returned from the European tour, Shankar gave up his dancing career in 1938 to go to Maihar and study Indian classical music as Khans pupil, living with his family in the traditional gurukul system. He often studied with Khans children Ali Akbar Khan and Annapurna Devi, Shankar began to perform publicly on sitar in December 1939 and his debut performance was a jugalbandi with Ali Akbar Khan, who played the string instrument sarod. Shankar completed his training in 1944 and he moved to Mumbai and joined the Indian Peoples Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets in 1945 and 1946. Shankar recomposed the music for the popular song Sare Jahan Se Achcha at the age of 25 and he began to record music for HMV India and worked as a music director for All India Radio, New Delhi, from February 1949 to January 1956. Shankar founded the Indian National Orchestra at AIR and composed for it, in his compositions he combined Western, beginning in the mid-1950s he composed the music for the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, which became internationally acclaimed
11.
Billie Joe Armstrong
–
He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder and provides lead vocals for Green Days side projects Foxboro Hot Tubs and The Network. Raised in Rodeo, California, Armstrong developed an interest in music at a young age and he met Mike Dirnt while attending elementary school, and the two instantly bonded over their mutual interest in music, forming the band Sweet Children when the two were 15 years old. The band changed its name to Green Day, and would later achieve massive commercial success, Armstrong has also pursued musical projects outside of Green Days work, including numerous collaborations with other musicians. The record company has come under the management of Pat Magnarella. Billie Joe Armstrong was born in Oakland, California and raised in nearby Rodeo and his father worked as a jazz musician and truck driver for Safeway Inc. to support his family. He died of cancer on September 10,1982, when Armstrong was 10. The song Wake Me Up When September Ends is a memorial to his father and he has five older siblings, David, Alan, Marci, Hollie, and Anna. His mother worked at Rods Hickory Pit restaurant in El Cerrito, Armstrong is of Scotch-Irish, English, Scottish, Italian, Spanish, German, and Welsh descent. Armstrongs interest in music started at a young age and he attended Hillcrest Elementary School in Rodeo, where a teacher encouraged him to record a song titled Look for Love at the age of five on the Bay Area label Fiat Records. After his father died, his mother married a man whom her children disliked, at the age of 10, Armstrong met Mike Dirnt in the school cafeteria and they immediately bonded over their love of music. He became interested in punk rock after being introduced to rock by his brothers. Armstrong has also cited Minneapolis-based bands The Replacements and Hüsker Dü as major musical influences, Armstrong and Mike Dirnts first live performance under the name Green Day was in Davis, a town approximately an hours drive northeast of the San Francisco Bay area. Along with Hillcrest Elementary, Armstrong attended Carquinez Middle School and John Swett High School, on his 18th birthday, he dropped out to pursue his musical career. In 1986, aged 14, Armstrong formed a band called Sweet Children with his childhood friend Mike Dirnt, in the beginning, Dirnt and Armstrong both played guitar, with John Kiffmeyer, also known as Al Sobrante, on drums, and Sean Hughes on bass. After a few performances, Hughes left the band in 1988, Dirnt then began playing bass and they changed their name to Green Day in April 1989, choosing the name because of their fondness for marijuana. In 1989, Armstrong provided lead guitar and backing vocals on three songs for The Lookouts final EP IV and that same year, Green Day released their debut EP1,000 Hours through Lookout. They recorded their debut studio album 39/Smooth and the extended play Slappy in 1990, tré Cool became Green Days drummer in late 1990 after Sobrante left in order to go to college. Cool made his debut on Green Days second album, Kerplunk, in 1993, Armstrong played live several times with California punk band Rancid
12.
Seth MacFarlane
–
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American television producer, filmmaker, actor, and singer, working primarily in animation and comedy, as well as live-action and other genres. MacFarlane is the creator of the TV series Family Guy, co-creator of the TV series American Dad. and he also wrote, directed, and starred in the films Ted, its sequel Ted 2, and A Million Ways to Die in the West. MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, recruited to Hollywood, he was an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera for several television series, including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexters Laboratory, I Am Weasel, and Larry & Steve. As an actor, he has made guest appearances on series, such as Gilmore Girls, The War at Home, in 2008, he created his own YouTube series titled Seth MacFarlanes Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. He won several awards for his work on Family Guy, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and an Annie Award, in 2009, he won the Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year. He occasionally speaks at universities and colleges throughout the United States, MacFarlanes first feature-length comedy film, Ted, features his voice acting and performance-capture as the titular anthropomorphic teddy bear and became the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy. As a singer MacFarlane has performed at venues, including Carnegie Hall. MacFarlane has released three albums, in the same vein of his musical idol Frank Sinatra, beginning with Music Is Better Than Words in 2011. He wrote the lyrics for the Academy Award-nominated song Everybody Needs a Best Friend for Ted, MacFarlane served as executive producer of Cosmos, A Spacetime Odyssey, an update of the 1980s Carl Sagan–hosted Cosmos series, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. MacFarlane was instrumental in providing funding for the series, as well as securing support for it from other entertainment executives. MacFarlane was born and raised in Kent, Connecticut and his parents, Ronald Milton MacFarlane and Ann Perry, were born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. His sister is voice actress Rachael Ann MacFarlane and he is of English, Scottish, and Irish descent, with roots in New England going back to the 1600s, including descent from Mayflower passenger William Brewster. MacFarlanes parents met in 1970, when both lived and worked in Boston, Massachusetts, and married later that year. The couple moved to Kent in 1972, where Ann began working in the Admissions Office at South Kent School and she later worked in the College Guidance and Admissions Offices at the Kent School, a selective college preparatory school, where Ronald was a teacher. During his childhood, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration and began drawing cartoon characters Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker, as early as two years old. By the age of five, MacFarlane knew that he would want to pursue a career in animation, in one anecdote from the time, MacFarlane said in an October 2011 interview that as a child he was always weirdly fascinated by the Communion ceremony. He created a strip with a character kneeling at the altar taking Communion, the paper printed it and he got an angry letter from the local priest, it led to sort of a little mini-controversy in the town. MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School, while there, he continued experimenting with animation, and his parents gave him an 8 mm camera
13.
Walter Murphy
–
Walter Anthony Murphy, Jr. is an American composer, arranger, pianist, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental A Fifth of Beethoven, further classical–disco fusions followed, such as Flight 76, Rhapsody in Blue, Toccata and Funk in D Minor, Bolero, and Mostly Mozart, but were not as successful. He has had a partnership with Seth MacFarlane, composing music for his films and TV shows such as Family Guy, The Cleveland Show. Murphy was born on December 19,1952, in New York City, at age four, he attended music lessons hosted by Rosa Rio, studying an array of instruments, including the organ and piano. Rio frequently opted for him to star in advertisements for the Hammond organ. There, Murphy studied jazz and classical piano, referring to his studies, in 1972, he married Laurie Robertson, who worked in the plastics industry. In the early 1970s, Murphy was the leader of a band called WAM and they gigged in the New York tri-state area, often at the New Rochelle club Pearlys. In 1976, Murphy played piano on Peter Lemongellos second album Do I Love You, in college, Murphys interests included rock music, particularly that which was adapted from classical music, such as Joy by Apollo 100 and A Lovers Concerto by The Toys. Later, in 1976, he was writing a song for a commercial, when a producer gave him the idea of updating classical music. Response was generally unimpressive, but Fifth caught the interest of Private Stock Records owner Larry Uttal, Murphy signed on to Private Stock and recorded the album A Fifth of Beethoven. The first single and title track, A Fifth of Beethoven, was released on May 29,1976 and it was a hit, starting out at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually reaching number 1 within 19 weeks, where it stayed for one week. The single sold two million copies, while the album sold about 750,000 copies, the second single, a rendition of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakovs Flight of the Bumblebee titled Flight 76, was less successful, reaching only number 44 on the Hot 100. The record was credited to Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band upon encouragement from Private Stock, who believed it would become a hit if credited to a group rather than an individual. Following the success of A Fifth of Beethoven, Murphy toured with his band and made guest appearances on such as Don Kirshners Rock Concert, The Midnight Special, Dinah. In addition, as a result of the success, Murphy and his wife were able to move out of their two-room apartment in Yonkers. On the success of the single, he said, Its really sad that the kids today can only relate to Beethoven via a version of his music. He hoped that maybe if theyve heard this much of his symphony, theyll go out, in 1977, A Fifth of Beethoven was licensed to RSO Records for inclusion on the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever, giving it a new lease on life. Also that year, Murphy recorded the album Rhapsody in Blue, two singles were released, a disco treatment of George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue, and the self-penned instrumental Uptown Serenade
14.
Billboard (magazine)
–
Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events and it is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular singles and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows, Billboard was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegens interest in 1900 for $500, in the 1900s, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows. It also created a service for travelling entertainers. Billboard began focusing more on the industry as the jukebox, phonograph. Many topics it covered were spun-off into different magazines, including Amusement Business in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment so that it could focus on music. After Donaldson died in 1925, Billboard was passed down to his children and Hennegans children, until it was sold to investors in 1985. The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 1,1894 by William Donaldson, initially, it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called Billboard Advertising. At the time, billboards, posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the means of advertising. Donaldson handled editorial and advertising, while Hennegan, who owned Hennegan Printing Co. managed magazine production, the first issues were just eight pages long. The paper had columns like The Bill Room Gossip and The Indefatigable, a department for agricultural fairs was established in 1896. The title was changed to The Billboard in 1897, after a brief departure over editorial differences, Donaldson purchased Hennegans interest in the business in 1900 for $500, to save it from bankruptcy. That May, Donaldson changed it from a monthly to a paper with a greater emphasis on breaking news. He improved editorial quality and opened new offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London and he also re-focused the magazine on outdoor entertainment like fairs, carnivals, circuses, vaudeville and burlesque shows. A section devoted to circuses was introduced in 1900, followed by more prominent coverage of events in 1901. Billboard also covered topics including regulation, a lack of professionalism, economics and it had a stage gossip column covering the private lives of entertainers, a tent show section covering traveling shows and a sub-section called Freaks to order. According to The Seattle Times, Donaldson also published articles attacking censorship, praising productions exhibiting good taste
15.
Grammy Award
–
A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an honor awarded by The Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the mainly English-language music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the industry as that of the other performance awards such as the Emmy Awards, the Tony Awards. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4,1959, to honor, following the 2011 ceremony, The Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 59th Grammy Awards, honoring the best achievements from October 2015 to September 2016, was held on February 12,2017, the Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating a given by their industry similar to the Oscars. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts, after it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it, one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, the number of awards given grew and fluctuated over the years with categories added and removed, at one time reaching over 100. The second Grammy Awards, also held in 1959, was the first ceremony to be televised, the gold-plated trophies, each depicting a gilded gramophone, are made and assembled by hand by Billings Artworks in Ridgway, Colorado. In 1990 the original Grammy design was revamped, changing the traditional soft lead for a stronger alloy less prone to damage, Billings developed a zinc alloy named grammium, which is trademarked. The trophies with the name engraved on them are not available until after the award announcements. By February 2009,7,578 Grammy trophies had been awarded, the General Field are four awards which are not restricted by genre. Album of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a full album if other than the performer. Record of the Year is awarded to the performer and the team of a single song if other than the performer. Song of the Year is awarded to the writer/composer of a single song, Best New Artist is awarded to a promising breakthrough performer who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording that establishes the public identity of that artist. The only two artists to win all four of these awards are Christopher Cross, who won all four in 1980, and Adele, who won the Best New Artist award in 2009 and the other three in 2012 and 2017. Other awards are given for performance and production in specific genres, as well as for other such as artwork. Special awards are given for longer-lasting contributions to the music industry, the many other Grammy trophies are presented in a pre-telecast Premiere Ceremony earlier in the afternoon before the Grammy Awards telecast
16.
Come Away with Me
–
Come Away with Me is the debut album of pianist and singer Norah Jones, released by Blue Note Records on February 26,2002. Recording sessions for the album took place at New York Citys Sorcerer Sound Studio, the albums critical and commercial success was a breakthrough for Jones in 2002, as it reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart and several jazz charts. The album also topped many critics albums of the lists and gathered major music awards in the process. Following initial sales, Come Away with Me was certified diamond by the RIAA on February 15,2005 after having shipped over 10 million copies in its first three years of release and it has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide as of April 2012. Come Away with Me is a mellow, acoustic pop album with soul and it also incorporates blues, jazz, and folk styles. Bobby Dodd of All About Jazz writes that, although the album features jazz standards, jazz purists, Jones guitarist Jesse Harris and bassist Lee Alexander wrote most of the albums songs, which feature simple melodies and progressions. In the US, Come Away with Me debuted at No.139 on the Billboard 200 before climbing to No.1 in January 2003, in total the album has appeared on the Billboard 200164 weeks. It was certified platinum from the Recording Industry Association of America on August 22,2002 and it went on to sell over ten million copies over the next year, and on February 15,2005, was certified as a diamond record by the RIAA. As of March 2016, the album has sold 11.1 million copies, the album sold approximately 26 million copies worldwide. In Germany, though the album debuted at just No,37, it nevertheless stayed for a total of 141 weeks on the official German Albums Chart and it managed to reach No.2 in its 37th week on that chart, where it stayed for 4 weeks. In the end, Come Away with Me sold 750,000 copies, reaching 5× gold, being her most successful album in that country, polyphonic HMIs Hit Song Science software predicted the albums success months before its release, contradicting skeptical executives. Come Away with Me received acclaim from music critics, at Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82 out of 100, which indicates universal acclaim based on 9 reviews. The album received 3.5 out of 4 stars from both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Los Angeles Times reviews, allMusics David R. Adler wrote that while the mood of this record stagnates after a few songs, it does give a strong indication of Jones alluring talents. In his Consumer Guide, Christgau picked out her version of Hank Williams Cold, Cold Heart as a choice cut. E. Kludge included it on their list of best albums of 2002, the album won eight awards at the Grammy Awards of 2003, including Album of the Year, as well as Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Dont Know Why. Although she was happy about her success, Jones felt bad about sweeping the Grammy Awards, in an interview for 60 Minutes, Jones told Katie Couric, I felt like I went to somebody elses birthday party and I ate all their cake. Without anybody else getting a piece, rolling Stone ranked Come Away with Me at number 54 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the Decade
17.
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
–
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, the award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as follows, For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, note that this is not necessarily the first album released by an artist. It is sometimes asserted, with varying degrees of sincerity, that winning the award is a curse, as several award winners were never able to duplicate the success they experienced in their debut year. This viewpoint was expressed by former Starland Vocal Band member Taffy Danoff in a 2002 interview for VH1s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders, so that was basically the kiss of death and I feel sorry for everyone whos gotten it since. The category is also notable for being the one of its kind in which a Grammy Award was vacated. This occurred in 1990 after it was revealed winners Milli Vanilli did not contribute their own vocals on their debut album, the award was revoked, but was not handed out to another artist. Of the 54 awards presented in the category since its inception, the honor has been presented to 25 solo female artists,18 duos or groups, between 1997 and 2003, all the winners were solo female artists. Also, from 1993 to 2005, no winner was a male artist. In 2006, John Legend broke this trend, which started with Marc Cohn in 1992. Only four artists have won both Best New Artist and Album of the Year in the year, Bob Newhart in 1961, Christopher Cross in 1981, Lauryn Hill in 1999. Of all the winners, only three have been country artists, in 1997, LeAnn Rimes became the first country artist to win the award. She was followed by Carrie Underwood in 2007 and Zac Brown Band in 2010, additionally,2017 marked the first time that two country artists were nominated in this category in the same year. 1984 marked the first time all of the nominees were from outside of the United States. Over the years, the eligibility rules for this category have changed several times, in 2010, Lady Gagas exclusion from the Best New Artist category caused the Recording Academy to change eligibility requirements for the next ceremony. She was ineligible for the nomination because her hit Just Dance had been nominated in 2008, the new rule stated that an artist can be nominated as long as that artist has not previously released an entire album and has subsequently not won a Grammy. To be eligible in the category of Best New Artist, the artist, duo, or group, Must have released a minimum of five singles/tracks or one album, but no more than 30 singles/tracks or three albums. May not have entered into this more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group
18.
Feels Like Home (Norah Jones album)
–
Feels Like Home is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, released on February 10,2004, through Blue Note Records. It serves as the follow up to Jones 2002 breakthrough album, at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards the album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. Sunrise, the lead single, won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Creepin In, featuring Dolly Parton, was nominated for a Grammy. Feels Like Home received generally positive reviews music critics. Club also gave it a review and stated that the album should neither shock old fans nor disappoint those hoping to hear reach for more. E. Online gave it a B+ and said, Instead of making any concessions to her sudden celebrity. The Home girl plays it cool, carrying on with the same smooth vibes that made her a star, spin also gave it a B+, calling it A better record than Come Away--less piano bar, more honkey-tonk. Mojo gave it four out of five and said the album was similar to the debut. But theres a more vivid light-and-shade to the textures and a craft, the Village Voice gave the album a positive review and stated, If the choice of songs and beat and instrumentation were sometimes restrictive, still the piano and the voice endured. Blender gave it three-and-a-half stars out of five and said that its mood was more or less the same, if slight friskier. Other reviews are average, mixed or negative, Uncut gave the three stars out of five and stated that, Yes, its an unchallenging and even deeply conservative record. But its class is positively aristocratic, the Guardian only gave it one star out of five and said that the album was so inoffensive you have trouble remembering whether you put it on. Sleepless Nights Moon Song I Turned Your Picture to the Wall In the Morning She Long Way Home Creepin In Sunrise What Am I to You, interview with Norah Feels Like Home sold 1,022,000 copies in its first week of release in the U. S. It sold 395,000 copies in its week and spent its first six weeks of release atop the Billboard 200. It was the second best-selling album of 2004 in the U. S. selling 3,842,920 copies and it stands as the seventh largest first-week sales for a woman, behind Adeles 25, Britney Spears Oops. I Did It Again, Taylor Swifts 1989, Red and Speak Now, in the Netherlands, it was the years best-selling album and the twenty-fourth best-selling album of the 2000s. Worldwide, this album has shipped over 12 million copies, Feels Like Home at Discogs Feels Like Home at Metacritic Album Review at IGN Album Review at The New Yorker
19.
Not Too Late (album)
–
Not Too Late is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, released on January 30,2007, through Blue Note Records. It was produced by Lee Alexander, the songwriter and bassist featured on Joness previous albums, Come Away with Me, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making it Jones third consecutive number one album. Jones had a guitar with her on the tour and wrote more songs with it than she previously had, The guitar is simple. After the tour concluded, Jones began recording the album with Alexander, Not Too Late was mostly recorded at Joness home studio and is the first album Jones recorded without producer Arif Mardin, who died in the summer of 2006. Jones described the sessions as fun, relaxed and easy and without a deadline, many of the sessions were spur of the moment, with friends of Jones and musicians they recommended being asked to play. The album features guest appearances by organist Larry Goldings, singer-songwriter M. Ward, Jones said the songs on the album are not so cut-and-dried compared to her earlier material and have a twist to them. Ive always liked the guitar as the instrument, Jones explained. Not Too Late received generally positive reviews music critics. Mojo gave the four stars out of five and said that its majority hums with a placid darkness. MusicOMH likewise gave it four stars and said that This collection of quaint, feel-good numbers is not going to set the world alight, now gave it the similar four stars out of five score and called it A very good showcase for Joness evolution as a writer and musician. The Phoenix gave it three out of four and said of Jones, Too good to hate, not exciting enough to love. Other reviews are average or mixed, The Austin Chronicle gave the three stars out of five and said, Jones has concocted a pleasing effort underneath its delicate air. Music UK gave it six out of ten and called it Norahs most personal collection of songs to date. Q gave it three out of five and said, With a surfeit of samey country-rock ballads, Not Too Late ultimately proves rather a long haul. Blender gave the two stars out of five and said that the results are a mutant virus of gorgeous and bland, grainy. The Village Voice gave it a review and stated that Jones voice is still that voice. By January 29,2007, the album had become the most pre-ordered album of all time on Amazon. com, Not Too Late was released as a radio single in Taiwan in early 2007. For the week beginning January 23, the album was streamed on VH1. coms Hear Music First program
20.
The Fall (Norah Jones album)
–
The Fall is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Norah Jones, released November 17,2009, through Blue Note Records. The album debuted at three on the Billboard 200, selling 180,000 copies in its first week. As of August 2012, the album has more than three million copies worldwide. Jones enlisted several songwriting collaborators, including Ryan Adams and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, the cover artwork for the album features a portrait by photographer Autumn de Wilde. The first single, Chasing Pirates, was released on October 13,2009, “Young Blood” was released as the second single for North America, Europe and Japan. The music video was available at iTunes on 30 March 2010. The song has reached #33 on the Japan Hot 100, stuck was released as the second single on March 5,2010 in the UK. Its Gonna Be was released as the single for North America in April 2010. It charted on the billboard Triple A Chart and peak on airplay chart #11 in April 2010, Jones performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Jones reappeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on June 25 and performed Its Gonna Be on the show for a second time and she performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on August 31,2010. Billboard gave the album a score of 83 out of 100 and stated that Jones ditches the gentle piano-playing of her previous work and rises to a new level of creative boldness. The New York Times gave it a review and called it the sonic and emotional expansion music needed. Uncut gave it four out of five and said that The emotional imprint. Moves beyond the pining, wistful tones that are trademark in favor of Sex And The City scenarios bursting with heartbreak, regret, Q also gave it four stars out of five and praised the album for its copper-bottomed classics. MusicOMH likewise gave it four out of five and said, Less predictable was her now clear desire to take risks and step off the all-too-well-forged path of safe. Instead, on The Fall Norah Jones chooses to defy categorization, Hot Press gave it a score of four out of five with the header, Easy listening princess goes indie-goth. Filter gave the album a score of 78% and stated that unlike Not Too Late, in a way, she has indeed found a different beat to groove to, and if anyone can play in a piano bar without a piano, it would certainly be Norah Jones. Paste gave it a score of 7.6 out of 10 and stated that Jones is clearly comfortable with where she’s arrived, spin gave it a score of seven out of ten and said that the album has been billed as Norah Jones rock album
21.
Little Broken Hearts
–
Little Broken Hearts is the fifth solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Norah Jones, released on April 25,2012, through Blue Note Records. The album was produced by Brian Burton, better known as Danger Mouse, who is notable for his work with The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley. Happy Pills was released as the lead single on March 6,2012. It reached No.13 on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart and No.44 on the Hot Rock Songs chart, the second single, Miriam, was released on July 25,2012, and peaked at No.82 on the Japan Hot 100. In 2009, Jones and Burton jammed in the Gnarls Barkley producers Los Angeles studio to work on a project about which nobody knew. They spent five days together in June 2009, working on what would eventually become Jones fifth solo album, the sessions were fruitful, but neither of them were quite satisfied. Burton started a new project Broken Bells with James Mercer, spending time in studio with U2 and working on their 13th studio album and produced The Black Keys seventh studio album. The duo previously collaborated on the 2011 album Rome, on which she contributed vocals to the tracks Seasons Trees, Black, soon after the project was completed, the two headed into the studio again to work on her fifth album. In mid-2011, Jones and Burton reconvened at Burtons studio to finish Little Broken Hearts, at that time, Jones brought a handful of raw, emotionally charged new tunes she penned in the wake of a harsh breakup with her fiction-writer boyfriend. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she said, I always heard the old stories about how you write songs when you go through some shit. Little Broken Hearts follows from experimental chamber serenades to stark, electronic-embellished confessions, as Burton mentioned in his interview with Rolling Stone, this album is very different from anything Jones has ever done before. Rolling Stone writer Matt Diehl pointed the track Take It Back as Jones boldest departure, which features fuzzed-out guitars and spooky, distorted vocals. On 4 Broken Hearts, he compared her to Dusty Springfield while confronting a mutual infidelity and, the cover art for the album was inspired by the poster to the 1965 film Mudhoney. Jones was recording the album at Danger Mouses studio and saw the poster on the wall and she said, Brian has this great collection of Russ Meyer posters in his studio. And this particular one. was right over the couch where I sat every day, I always was looking at it and thinking thats so cool I want to look like her. I remember staring at the poster the whole time we made the record. The photos for the album were taken by the photographer of Mad Men Frank Ockenfels III, the rest of the album design and directions were by Frank Harkins. The title of the album allude to a recent break-up, on February 28,2012, Jones premiered Happy Pills, the first single from the album, via an announcement on her Facebook page on SoundCloud
22.
My Blueberry Nights
–
My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 romance/drama/road art film directed by Wong Kar Wai, his first feature in English. The screenplay by Wong and Lawrence Block is based on a short Chinese-language film written and this film was the debut of jazz singer Grammy-winner Norah Jones as an actress, and also starred Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, and Benjamin Kanes. The cinematographer of this film was Darius Khondji, christopher Doyle was Wongs cinematographer for his last seven features before My Blueberry Nights, starting from 1990s Days of Being Wild. Jeremy is an émigré from Manchester who owns a small New York City cafe, the cafe becomes a haven for Elizabeth, a young woman, as Jeremy tells her that he saw her boyfriend cheating on her. Devastated, she stays in his cafe the entire night, eating a pie he made. Elizabeth leaves her key of her apartment and leaves Jeremys cafe, later on, he decides to send out postcards to any restaurants she may be to try to find her. He confesses to Lizzie his many attempts at achieving sobriety have ended in failure, taking many AA meetings, one night off duty in the bar where Lizzie works, he drunkenly threatens Sue Lynne with his gun if she leaves. Later on, Arnie drives drunk and dies after crashing into a pole. Lizzie comforts Sue Lynne at the site, before leaving town, and is given the money towards Arnies tab at the bar, revealing to Lizzie that she made a mistake. The place where he died is also the place where they met, heading west, Elizabeth – now calling herself Beth – gets another waitress job at a casino in a small town in Nevada. Here she meets Leslie, a poker player who has lost all her money. Beth agrees to lend her $2200 she has in exchange for a third of her winnings or her car, a Jaguar XK, if she loses. When she does lose, she fulfills her promise by giving Beth her Jaguar, but asks her to drive her to Las Vegas so she can borrow money from her father, whom she has not seen in a long time. While en route Leslie receives a call from a Vegas hospital and she believes the call is simply a ruse to lure her home, but upon arrival in Vegas she discovers her father died the previous night. Leslie announces she wants to keep the car, which she had stolen from her father and she confesses she really won the card game and gives Beth her promised share of the winnings, which she uses to finally purchase the car she always wanted. As she eats a slice of pie, Elizabeth realizes her feelings for him are reciprocated. She passes out on the counter after spending the night, and Jeremy kisses her while she is asleep, main Norah Jones as Elizabeth Jude Law as Jeremy David Strathairn as Arnie Copeland Rachel Weisz as Sue Lynne Copeland Natalie Portman as Leslie Support Chan Marshall. Wong expanded the idea into a movie that would take place in other locations besides New York
23.
Anoushka Shankar
–
Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer. She is the daughter of Ravi Shankar and the half-sister of Norah Jones, Anoushka was born in London and her childhood was divided between London and Delhi. She is the daughter of Sukanya Shankar and Indian sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, through her father, she is also the half-sister of American singer Norah Jones, and Shubhendra Shubho Shankar, who died in 1992. As a teenager, Anoushka lived in Encinitas, California, a 1999 honors graduate and Homecoming Queen, Anoushka decided to pursue a career in music rather than attend college. Anoushka began training on the sitar with her father Ravi at the age of seven, as part of her training, she began accompanying him on the tanpura at his performances from the age of ten, soaking up the music and becoming acclimatised to the stage. Anoushka gave her first public performance on 27 February 1995 at the age of 13. For this solo debut, she was accompanied by tabla maestro Zakir Hussain and her first experience in the recording studio came that same year when Angel Records released a special four-CD box set called In Celebration, to mark her father’s birthday. By the age of fourteen, she was accompanying her father at concerts around the world, at fifteen, she assisted her father on the landmark album Chants of India, produced by George Harrison. Under both their guidance, she was in charge of notation and eventually of conducting the performers who took part in the record. After this experience, the heads of Angel Records came to her parents home to ask to sign her and she released her first album, Anoushka, in 1998, followed by Anourag in 2000. In 1999 Shankar graduated from school with honors, but decided against university in favour of beginning to tour as a solo artist. In that time, she toured worldwide, playing an average of 50-60 concerts per year,2005 brought the release of her fourth album RISE, her first self-produced, self-composed, non-classical album, earning her another Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary World Music category. In February 2006 she became the first Indian to play at the Grammy Awards, Shankar, in collaboration with Karsh Kale, released Breathing Under Water on 28 August 2007. It is a mix of classical sitar and electronica beats and melodies, notable guest vocals included her paternal half-sister Norah Jones, Sting, and her father, who performed a sitar duet with her. In 2011 Shankar signed with record label Deutsche Grammophon as an exclusive artist and this marked the beginning of a prolific recording and creative period for Shankar, during which time she continued to refine the sitar sound and musical ideas she had become known for. In 2013 she released an album called Traces of You. Produced by Nitin Sawhney, and featuring her half-sister Norah Jones as the vocal performer. In July 2015 Shankar released Home, her first purely classical album of Indian Ragas, self-composed and produced, Home was recorded over a week in October 2014 in Shankar’s new, purpose-built home-studio
24.
Grapevine High School
–
Grapevine High School is an American High school located in the far northeast portion of Tarrant County in the city of Grapevine, Texas. It is part of the Grapevine–Colleyville Independent School District, Grapevine has been categorized as one of the top 100 high schools in the United States of America by Newsweek magazine, and was named a 1999-2000 National Blue Ribbon School. Students come from Cross Timbers Middle School, other portions of Colleyville Middle School, although Grapevine High School is in Grapevine, only half of the student body lives in Grapevine. The other half lives in Colleyville, GHS was established in the late nineteenth century by a group of settlers on the Grapevine prairie. The school had its first graduating class in 1907, in the year 2007, Grapevine celebrated its 100th year centennial as a Texas public high school. The school mascot is the mustang, School colors are red, white and royal blue. Grapevine school pep rallies have been known to be the most spirited pep rallies in the area, GHS has one of the most active high school alumni associations in the United States. Dave Denning is Principal and Steffany Batik is Associate Principal, the Mustang football program is led by head football coach and boys athletic coordinator, Dave Henigan. Henigan joined GHS in 2009 from Corsicana High School, where he served as the football coach. He has compiled an record of 35-21 with three playoff appearances, and was named District 13-4A Coach of the Year in 2004. Before becoming head coach in Corsicana, Henigan served as the coordinator for Denton Ryan High School from 2002-2004. During that time, Denton Ryan was a state finalist in 2003, the football program was taken over by former Plano East head coach Randy Jackson in April 2014. GHS football is as rich in tradition as it is in history, the program began in 1924 as a Conference B school until 1951 when the UIL changed to more familiar 1-A, 2-A, 3-A and 4-A format. In 1980 the largest class, 5-A was added, during the 1986 to 1995 seasons, GHS was classified as a 5-A school. With the opening of a high school in GCISD, GHS moved to 4-A in 1996 until 2001. Grapevine won the 4-A Football State Championship in 1996 and 1998, the Mustangs moved back to 5-A in 2002. UIL added a 6-A class in 2014 and Grapevine stayed in 5-A in 2014, the Mustang Football program currently plays its home games at Mustang-Panther Stadium located on 3000 Ira E Woods Ave in Grapevine. The stadium can hold 9100 people, the stadium is always jam packed on Friday nights The Grapevine basketball program has excelled over the past years, participating in 4 playoff appearances and a district championship in 2006
25.
Dallas
–
Dallas is a major city in the U. S. state of Texas. It is the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the citys population ranks ninth in the U. S. and third in Texas after Houston and San Antonio. The citys prominence arose from its importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries. The bulk of the city is in Dallas County, of which it is the county seat, however, sections of the city are located in Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. According to the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 1,197,816, the United States Census Bureaus estimate for the citys population increased to 1,300,092 as of July 1,2015. In 2016 DFW ascended to the one spot in the nation in year-over-year population growth. In 2014, the metropolitan economy surpassed Washington, D. C. to become the fifth largest in the U. S. with a 2014 real GDP over $504 billion, as such, the metropolitan areas economy is the 10th largest in the world. As of January 2017, the job count has increased to 3,558,200 jobs. The citys economy is based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare and medical research. The city is home to the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the nation. Located in North Texas, Dallas is the core of the largest metropolitan area in the South. Dallas and nearby Fort Worth were developed due to the construction of railroad lines through the area allowing access to cotton, cattle. Later, France also claimed the area but never established much settlement, the area remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when Mexico declared independence from Spain, and the area was considered part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. In 1836, the Republic of Texas, with majority Anglo-American settlers, in 1839, Warren Angus Ferris surveyed the area around present-day Dallas. John Neely Bryan established a permanent settlement near the Trinity River named Dallas in 1841, the origin of the name is uncertain. The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845, Dallas was formally incorporated as a city on February 2,1856. With construction of railroads, Dallas became a business and trading center and it became an industrial city, attracting workers from Texas, the South and the Midwest. The Praetorian Building of 15 stories, built in 1909, was the first skyscraper west of the Mississippi and it marked the prominence of Dallas as a city
26.
Bill Evans
–
William John Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist and composer who mostly worked in a trio setting. In 1955, he moved to New York City, where he worked with bandleader, in 1958, Evans joined Miles Daviss sextet, where he was to have a profound influence. In 1959, the band, then immersed in modal jazz, recorded Kind of Blue, in late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio. In 1961, ten days recording the highly acclaimed Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby. After months of seclusion, Evans re-emerged with a new trio, in 1963, Evans recorded Conversations with Myself, an innovative solo album using the unconventional technique of overdubbing over himself. In 1966, he met bassist Eddie Gómez, with whom he would work for eleven years, several successful albums followed, such as Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Alone and The Bill Evans Album, among others. Many of his compositions, such as Waltz for Debby, have become standards and have played and recorded by many artists. Evans was honored with 31 Grammy nominations and seven awards, and was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame, Bill Evans was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Harry and Mary Evans. His father was of Welsh descent and ran a course, his mother was of Rusyn ancestry. The marriage was due to his fathers heavy drinking, gambling. He had a brother, Harry, two years his senior, with whom he shared a close relationship. Given Harry Evans Sr. s destructive character, Mary Evans would often leave home with her sons to nearby Somerville, to stay with her sister Justine, there, Harry began piano lessons somewhere between age 5 and 7 with local teacher Helen Leland. Even though Bill was thought to be too young to receive lessons, soon both brothers were taking piano lessons. Evans remembered Leland with affection for not insisting on a technical approach, with scales. He would soon develop a fluid sight-reading ability, though his teacher rated his brother as a better pianist, at age 7, Bill began violin lessons, and soon also flute and piccolo. Even though he soon dropped those instruments, it is believed they later influenced his keyboard style and he later cited Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert as frequently played composers. Around the same time came his first exposure to jazz. At the age of 13, Bill stood in for a sick pianist in Buddy Valentinos rehearsal band, soon, Bill began to perform for dances and weddings throughout New Jersey, playing music like boogie woogie and polkas for $1 per hour
27.
Billie Holiday
–
Eleanora Fagan, professionally known as Billie Holiday, was an American jazz musician and singer-songwriter with a career spanning nearly thirty years. Nicknamed Lady Day by her friend and music partner Lester Young, Holiday had a influence on jazz music. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and she was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills, which made up for her limited range and lack of formal music education. There were other singers with equal talent, but Holiday had a voice that captured the attention of her audience. After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by the producer John Hammond and she signed a recording contract with Brunswick Records in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson yielded the hit What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia Records and Decca Records. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles, after a short prison sentence, she performed a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall, but her reputation deteriorated because of her drug and alcohol problems. Her final recordings were met with mixed reaction to her voice but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958, Holiday died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1959. A posthumous album, Last Recording, was released following her death, much of Holidays material has been rereleased since her death. She is considered a performer with an ongoing influence on American music. She is the recipient of four Grammy awards, all of them posthumous awards for Best Historical Album, Holiday herself was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1973. Lady Sings the Blues, a film about her life, starring Diana Ross, was released in 1972, Eleanora Fagan was born on April 7,1915, in Philadelphia, the daughter of Sarah Julia Sadie Fagan and Clarence Holiday, an unmarried teenaged couple. Her father did not live with her mother, not long after Eleanora was born, Clarence abandoned his family to pursue a career as a jazz banjo player and guitarist. Sarah moved to Philadelphia at age 19, after she was evicted from her parents home in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, for becoming pregnant. With no support from her parents, she made arrangements with her older, married half-sister, Eva Miller, the child was of African-American ancestry and was also said to have had Irish ancestors through her mothers mixed heritage. Her mother often took what were known as transportation jobs. Holidays autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, first published in 1956, is sketchy on details of her early life, some historians have disputed Holidays paternity, as a copy of her birth certificate in the Baltimore archives lists the father as a man named Frank DeViese
28.
Interlochen Center for the Arts
–
Interlochen Center for the Arts is a tax exempt,501 non-profit corporation, operating an arts education institution in northwest Michigan. The center is situated on a 1, 200-acre campus in Interlochen, Michigan, Interlochen draws young people from around the world to study music, theater, dance, visual arts, creative writing, motion picture arts, and comparative arts. Interlochen Center for the Arts comprises five major divisions, an annual summer camp attended by young artists from around the world. Programs are offered to students in grades three through twelve, providing an opportunity to learn, create and perform alongside leading artists, a fine arts boarding high school offering arts training combined with comprehensive, college-preparatory academics. An adult artist learning program offering programs in a variety of arts disciplines. Two listener-supported stations that broadcast to northwest Michigan, Classical Music 88.7,88.5,94.7 and 100.9 FM, broadcasts include arts, news and culture from around the world, as well as local and regional news, information and artists. IPR was a member of National Public Radio. An ongoing series of performances by students, faculty and dozens of world-renowned guest artists, the series presents more than 600 events each year, making Interlochen one of the nations largest arts presenters. The Interlochen Arts Academy, the highest profile pre-professional arts boarding school worldwide, was founded in 1962 by Joseph E. Maddy, as of 2016, it had 350 faculty and staff, and approximately 500 students. While more than half the major in Music Performance, IAA offers majors in Comparative Arts, Creative Writing, Dance, Theatre, Motion Picture Arts. Newer majors include Motion Picture Arts beginning in 2005, Comparative Arts in 2011, the vast majority of students at Interlochen Arts Academy are boarding students, including many international students, some are day students who live in the vicinity. This was due to the schools boarding feature and competitive entrance auditions, with the addition of new majors, IAA has attempted to increase the number of students attending all four years. IAA also offers a year for further pre-professional study. Upon graduation, most IAA graduates continue to universities or conservatories for further study in the arts or academics, Interlochen Arts Academy graduates also matriculate at colleges and universities that do not have a primary focus on the arts. From the State of Michigan historical marker on Interlochens Osterlin Mall, in the late 1800s white men came and cut the pines, leaving only a small forest between the lakes. This virgin pine was purchased in 1917 by the state and became part of one of the first state parks, when the lumber era ended, the Wylie Cooperage mill occupied the Indian village site, making barrels until the hardwood ran out. Willis Penningtons summer hotel, opened in 1909, was popular with fishermen until automobiles, then in 1918, Camp Interlochen, one of Michigans first girls recreation camps, was opened, followed in 1922 by Camp Penn Loch for boys. In 1928, by arrangement with Willis Pennington, Joseph E. Maddy and it grew rapidly in scope, size, and reputation, becoming the National Music Camp in 1931, and affiliating with the University of Michigan in 1942
29.
DownBeat
–
Down Beat is an American magazine devoted to jazz, blues and beyond, the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois and it is named after the downbeat in music also called beat one or the first beat of a musical measure. Down Beat publishes results of surveys of both its readers and critics in a variety of categories. The Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame includes winners from both the readers and critics poll, the results of the readers poll are published in the December issue, those of the critics poll in the August issue. In April 1979, Down Beat went to a schedule for the first time since 1939. The DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame is maintained at Universal Studios City Jazz club in Orlando, current membership, by year, is listed in the following table. The critics poll was not initiated until 1961, so winners before then were all chosen by readers polls, in 2010, the Veterans Committee Hall of Fame began electing deserving, deceased musicians of bygone eras
30.
University of North Texas
–
Ten colleges, two schools, an early admissions math and science academy for exceptional high-school-age students from across the state, and a library system comprise the university core. Its research is driven by 34 doctoral degree programs, during the 2013–2014 school year, the university had a budget of $865 million, of which $40 million was allocated for research. In 1901, North Texas was formally adopted by the state, UNT is the main campus of the University of North Texas System, which includes additional campuses in Dallas and Fort Worth. The Denton campus is located in the largest populated region of Texas under two categories defined by the U. S. Census, core based statistical area and combined statistical area, as a state, Texas, as of 2011, had the second highest GDP in the country. On behalf of the state, the university, in its advocacy for the state. In 2009, the University of North Texas at Dallas became its own independent institution and that same year, the Texas legislature approved the creation of University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law, opening in 2014 in Downtown Dallas as part of UNT Dallas. In 2004, North Texas opened UNT Discovery Park —290 acres — in Denton, north of the campus with technology incubator facilities dedicated to science. In 1985 the Governors Select Committee on Higher Education recommended that North Texas be designated a national research university. Nine years earlier, in 1976, the Carnegie Foundation designated North Texas as a Class 1 Doctorate-Granting Institution, in 1992, UNT was elected to full membership in the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. And, in 2011, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board included UNT as one of eight Emerging Research Institutions in its accountability system, certified enrollment as of the fall of 2013 was 36,198, the fourth largest in the state. For the 2011 academic year, the university awarded 8,608 degrees, North Texas awarded 459 PhD degrees from fiscal years 2009 to 2011. Of the thirteen constituent collegiate units, ten sponsor 97 bachelors degree programs, the Toulouse Graduate School coordinates admissions, recruiting, and other aspects of the 81 masters and 34 doctorate degree programs offered by the ten collegiate units. The Honors College is described below, the student-faculty ratio at UNT is 23,1, and 28.8 percent of its classes consist of fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors include business, management, marketing, communication, journalism, English, multi/interdisciplinary studies, and visual and performing arts. As of this year,2017, North Texas is a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is among the twenty-seven universities in Texas at Level VI. As of 2013, the university was home to research centers and institutes. Three have been sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, simultaneously, the university launched six additional strategic research areas, some of which involving frontiers in science, medicine, and hi-tech. In 2010, the National Science Foundation ranked UNT 104th out of 418 academic institutions for number of science
31.
Jesse Harris
–
Jesse Harris is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter. He has collaborated with musical artists including Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, Nikki Yanofsky. Harris was born in New York City, along with his twin sister and he graduated from Cornell University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, in English. Harris gave guitar lessons and performed in groups before he formed the duo Once Blue with singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin. Once Blue released its debut on EMI Records in 1995. The band released two albums on Verve Records. Harris recorded three solo albums Mineral, Feel, and Watching the Sky on his own label, Secret Sun Recordings, in 2003 he was awarded a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for Dont Know Why, performed by Norah Jones. In 2007, Harris contributed songs to the soundtrack of the film The Hottest State and he also acted in the film and sang with Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Feist, Cat Power, M. Ward and others singing the rest of Harris compositions. His music has been described as a folk, rock, jazz. Harris has toured throughout North America, South America, Australia, Europe and Japan and has been an act for Norah Jones, American Music Club, Bright Eyes, Joshua Radin. Harris was a judge for the 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists, in August 2010 Harris released his album Through the Night and recorded a new version of his song The Secret Sun for a Corona commercial. Harris 11th album, Sub Rosa, was released in July 2012 and features guest vocals from Conor Oberst, Melody Gardot, Harris 12th album, the stripped down Borne Away, was released on June 25,2013. In 2016, he produced Julian Lages album ARCLIGHT, official website NPR story on The Hottest State
32.
Lead sheet
–
A lead sheet is a form of musical notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song, the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the staff, the lead sheet does not describe the chord voicings, voice leading, bass line or other aspects of the accompaniment. These are specified later by an arranger or improvised by a performer or rhythm section, a lead sheet is often the only form of written music used by a small jazz ensemble. Similarly, a sufficiently skilled jazz pianist should be able to accompany a singer, lead sheets are also called fake sheets and collections of lead sheets are called fakebooks. Together, the melody, lyrics and harmony define what a song is, in the music industry and entertainment law, a lead sheet is the document used to describe a song for legal purposes. Or if a song is considered for an Academy Award or a Grammy, the song is submitted for consideration in the form of a lead sheet
33.
Peter Malick
–
Peter Malick is a blues guitarist and record producer. In the late 1960s Malick was a member of the band Listening, Listening was signed by Vanguard Records in New York City when Malick was sixteen. He played guitar with blues pianist Otis Spann, who invited Malick to live with his family in Chicago, over the years, Malick backed up and toured with blues greats such as Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, and John Lee Hooker. Later, Malick was a conductor and music director for the touring company of Hair. Malick next joined the James Montgomery Band, recording First Time Out and High Roller, for the next twenty years, he made money at cards. He returned to music in the 1990s, recording Wrong Side of My Life, handy Award for historic album of the year in 2001 for the Otis Span album Last Call. The next year he released an album of recordings made with Norah Jones
34.
Charlie Hunter
–
Charlie Hunter is an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays basslines, rhythm guitar, Hunter was born in Rhode Island. At an early age, he was around guitars because his mother repaired them for a living and he and his sister and mother lived for several years on a commune in Mendocino County, California, then settled in Berkeley. Hunter graduated from Berkeley High School and took lessons from guitarist Joe Satriani, at eighteen he moved to Paris. He has stated that busking in Paris gave him on the job training, returning to San Francisco, he played seven-string guitar and organ in Michael Frantis political rap group, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. In 1992, they were one of the acts for U2s Zoo TV Tour. On his debut album, Charlie Hunter Trio, he played seven-string guitar with Dave Ellis on saxphone, on the next album, Bing, Bing, Bing. He played a guitar custom built by Ralph Novak. In the 1990s, Hunter played in the band T. J. Kirk, the band released two albums before breaking up. Hunter co-founded Garage a Trois, a fusion band with Stanton Moore and Skerik. In the summer of 2007, he toured in a trio with keyboardist Erik Deutsch and drummer Simon Lott and he performed on three songs on DAngelos album Voodoo, including The Root. He has stated that the session for the song was the most challenging session he has worked on and he was an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards judging panel to support independent artists. Hunter plays a custom seven-string guitar made by Jeff Traugott, previously, Hunter played a custom-made, eight-string guitar made by luthier Ralph Novak of Novax Guitars. He played chords and lead guitar solos on the top five strings, with the addition of a Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere, his unique style produced a sound similar to that of a Hammond organ—an instrument he set out to imitate. In 2006, Hunter removed the top string and had the neck of his guitar reworked. Hunter has mentioned that because of his hands, he had to move out of position to make use of the 8th string. A change in Hunters style away from the sound into a more blues. After removing the 8th string, Hunter retuned all of the strings up a step, F-A#-D# on the bass
35.
First Sessions (Norah Jones EP)
–
First Sessions is an EP by singer Norah Jones, released in 2001. The EP was a release of approximately 10,000 copies which were available on Jones website. As the name suggests, First Sessions marked the first recordings made by Jones after being signed with Blue Note Records, label A&R Brian Bacchus put the singer with experienced engineer Jay Newland to record demos of around nine songs. Six of these were chosen for the sampler release First Sessions, ultimately, most of the songs featured here ended up on Come Away with Me
36.
EMI
–
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
37.
J. C. Hopkins
–
JC Hopkins is an American bandleader, record producer, and Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter. JC Hopkins was born and raised in Cypress, California where he attended school and he plays guitar, harmonica, and piano, eventually concentrating on the latter. Upon moving to San Francisco in the early 1980s Hopkins began performing solo works as a Folk singer and his first band there, Flophouse, began as a folk rock ensemble whose debut self-titled album was produced by Peter Case. The bands second album, Undaunted, garnered favorable reviews including ink in Spin Magazine, in 1998 he debuted his first musical, Show Bizness, at the legendary Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco. In 2000 Hopkins moved to Brooklyn, New York to pursue his interest in transitioning from folk and musical theater to jazz, Hopkins was introduced to a then fledgling singer Norah Jones through bassist Lee Alexander who played on Victoria Williams album Water To Drink, which Hopkins co-produced. Jones began singing with the Biggish Band and they performed in venues throughout New York City, a 2008 interview with Judy Camichael delves into Hopkins creative relationship with Jones. Peyroux continued to perform with the band along with vocalist Queen Esther who eventually became the bands mainstay singer and that song appears on Nelsons album It Always Will Be and was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Country Collaboration. In 2005 Hopkins released the full-length album Underneath A Brooklyn Moon consisting of nine original songs co-written by Norah Jones, the album received positive press on a national scale, including The New Yorker, as well as on National Public Radio. Actor John Lithgow, upon hearing Hopkins in his NPR interview, inquired with Michael Krumper of Razor, shortly after, Lithgow asked Hopkins to produce his album of Tin Pan Alley childrens songs, titled The Sunny Side of the Street. That album was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Childrens Album, in addition to concerts and events throughout the country, JC Hopkins Biggish Band notably played two tribute shows honoring—and featuring—seminal jazz songwriter Mose Allison. The first, in 2001, was held at Joes Pub in Manhattan and included Hopkins longtime friend and collaborator, singer Martha Wainwright, Norah Jones, Madeline Peyroux and Queen Esther. One decade later, in 2011, the band held its second tribute to Allison, again featuring the jazz great, the Biggish Band was also given the honor of celebrating the 100 year centennial for Frank Sinatra with the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Bandleader Hopkins created updated arrangements for classic Sinatra songs crooned by actress and singer Lea DeLaria, artist Ne-Yo, singer Alice Smith, and The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. In addition to his residency at the famed jazz institution Mintons Harlem, in 2014 Hopkins took over as music programmer, JC Hopkins photography appears on Martha Wainwrights Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, à Paris, Martha Wainwrights Piaf Record and inside the 2012 album Come Home to Mama
38.
HitQuarters
–
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is the site to the songwriting tip sheet SongQuarters. The website hosts a music industry directory that includes regularly updated contact info for A&Rs. The directory is distinctive for including track records for individual entry. The idea behind this is that users can judge the value of a contact by reviewing their past successes. It also means that users are able to search for a particular artist and find out the appropriate A&R, members of HitQuarters that have gone on to find success have included Christelle, The Knife, Dominique Young Unique, Bobby Creekwater, Lesley Roy and State of Shock. One of HitQuarters most prominent features is its weekly in-depth interviews with major figures such as A&Rs. Past judges have included Visible Noise CEO Julie Weir, and producers Colin Richardson and Eddie Galan, HitQuarters founded the worlds first A&R chart that measured the success of individual A&R representatives based on points accumulated from their respective artists chart success. Most notably,2004 saw Wind-Up Records Diana Meltzer become the first woman to top HitQuarters World Top 100 A&R Chart, previous number 1s have included Clive Davis, Tommy Mottola, Dr. Dre and Mark Williams. HitQuarters is a site to SongQuarters, an online tip sheet for songwriting leads to major. SongQuarters shares the same directory as HitQuarters and its members automatically have access to the HitQuarters site. SongQuarters is a subscription based service with 7-day trials available for those wanting to try it out first, the songwriting leads are split into three categories according to the level of the artist they relate to, Top 500, Newly Signed and Developing and Unsigned and Up-and-coming. SongQuarters Official HitQuarters Facebook page Official Twitter
