1.
Discotheque
–
A nightclub is an entertainment venue and bar which serves alcoholic beverages that usually operates late into the night. Another distinction is that whereas many pubs and sports bars aim at a market, nightclubs typically aim at a niche market of music and dancing enthusiasts. The upmarket nature of nightclubs can be seen in the inclusion of VIP areas in some nightclubs, for celebrities, nightclubs are much more likely than pubs or sports bars to use bouncers to screen prospective clubgoers for entry. Some nightclub bouncers do not admit people with ripped jeans or other clothing or gang apparel as part of a dress code. The busiest nights for a nightclub are Friday and Saturday night, most clubs or club nights cater to certain music genres, such as house music or gothic rock. A nightclub may also be called a discothèque, disco, or dance club, from about 1900 to 1920, working class Americans would gather at honky tonks or juke joints to dance to music played on a piano or a jukebox. Webster Hall is credited as the first modern nightclub, being built in 1886 and starting off as a hall, originally functioning as a home for dance. During Prohibition in the United States, nightclubs went underground as illegal speakeasy bars, with Webster Hall staying open, with rumors circulating of Al Capones involvement and police bribery. With the repeal of Prohibition in February 1933, nightclubs were revived, such as New Yorks 21 Club, Copacabana, El Morocco, in Germany, possibly the first discothèque was Scotch-Club. These discothèques were also patronized by anti-Vichy youth called zazous, there were also underground discothèques in Nazi Germany patronized by anti-Nazi youth called the swing kids. In Harlem, Connies Inn and the Cotton Club were popular venues for white audiences, before 1953 and even some years thereafter, most bars and nightclubs used a jukebox or mostly live bands. The Whisky à Gogo set into place the elements of the modern post World War II discothèque-style nightclub. At the end of the 1950s, several of the bars in Soho introduced afternoon dancing. In the early 1960s, Mark Birley opened a members-only discothèque nightclub, Annabels, in Berkeley Square, in 1962, the Peppermint Lounge in New York City became popular and is the place where go-go dancing originated. However, the first rock and roll generation preferred rough and tumble bars and taverns to nightclubs, disco has its roots in the underground club scene. It brought together people from all walks of life and backgrounds and these clubs acted as safe havens for homosexual partygoers to dance in peace and away from public scrutiny. Disco allowed patrons to explore sexuality and push the envelope on the dance floor, disco clubs acted as an escape from such depressing environments and acted as the fantasy marginalized peoples could escape to forget oppression and racism. Disco clubs originally functioned as liberated party spaces and were seen as places of political statement, a smooth mix of long single records to keep people dancing all night long
Discotheque
–
Laser lights illuminate the dance floor at a
trance music event in a nightclub
Discotheque
–
People dance at an
industrial music event in a nightclub, some of them drinking refreshments,
alcoholic beverages or
soft drinks
Discotheque
–
"The Cave" in the basement of
the Gruenwald (later Roosevelt) Hotel,
New Orleans opened in 1912; said by some to be one of the first "nightclubs" in the United States
Discotheque
–
A
Disk Jockey playing music in a club
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
New York City
–
Clockwise, from top:
Midtown Manhattan,
Times Square, the
Unisphere in
Queens, the
Brooklyn Bridge,
Lower Manhattan with
One World Trade Center,
Central Park, the
headquarters of the United Nations, and the
Statue of Liberty
New York City
–
New Amsterdam, centered in the eventual
Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year
England took control and renamed it "New York".
New York City
–
The
Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the
American Revolution, took place in
Brooklyn in 1776.
New York City
–
Broadway follows the Native American Wickquasgeck Trail through Manhattan.
3.
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
Pop music
–
The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that the term "pop" refers to music performed by such artists as
the Rolling Stones (pictured here in a 2006 performance)
Pop music
–
According to several sources,
MTV helped give rise to
pop stars such as
Michael Jackson and
Madonna; and Jackson and Madonna helped make MTV.
Pop music
4.
Nightclub
–
A nightclub is an entertainment venue and bar which serves alcoholic beverages that usually operates late into the night. Another distinction is that whereas many pubs and sports bars aim at a market, nightclubs typically aim at a niche market of music and dancing enthusiasts. The upmarket nature of nightclubs can be seen in the inclusion of VIP areas in some nightclubs, for celebrities, nightclubs are much more likely than pubs or sports bars to use bouncers to screen prospective clubgoers for entry. Some nightclub bouncers do not admit people with ripped jeans or other clothing or gang apparel as part of a dress code. The busiest nights for a nightclub are Friday and Saturday night, most clubs or club nights cater to certain music genres, such as house music or gothic rock. A nightclub may also be called a discothèque, disco, or dance club, from about 1900 to 1920, working class Americans would gather at honky tonks or juke joints to dance to music played on a piano or a jukebox. Webster Hall is credited as the first modern nightclub, being built in 1886 and starting off as a hall, originally functioning as a home for dance. During Prohibition in the United States, nightclubs went underground as illegal speakeasy bars, with Webster Hall staying open, with rumors circulating of Al Capones involvement and police bribery. With the repeal of Prohibition in February 1933, nightclubs were revived, such as New Yorks 21 Club, Copacabana, El Morocco, in Germany, possibly the first discothèque was Scotch-Club. These discothèques were also patronized by anti-Vichy youth called zazous, there were also underground discothèques in Nazi Germany patronized by anti-Nazi youth called the swing kids. In Harlem, Connies Inn and the Cotton Club were popular venues for white audiences, before 1953 and even some years thereafter, most bars and nightclubs used a jukebox or mostly live bands. The Whisky à Gogo set into place the elements of the modern post World War II discothèque-style nightclub. At the end of the 1950s, several of the bars in Soho introduced afternoon dancing. In the early 1960s, Mark Birley opened a members-only discothèque nightclub, Annabels, in Berkeley Square, in 1962, the Peppermint Lounge in New York City became popular and is the place where go-go dancing originated. However, the first rock and roll generation preferred rough and tumble bars and taverns to nightclubs, disco has its roots in the underground club scene. It brought together people from all walks of life and backgrounds and these clubs acted as safe havens for homosexual partygoers to dance in peace and away from public scrutiny. Disco allowed patrons to explore sexuality and push the envelope on the dance floor, disco clubs acted as an escape from such depressing environments and acted as the fantasy marginalized peoples could escape to forget oppression and racism. Disco clubs originally functioned as liberated party spaces and were seen as places of political statement, a smooth mix of long single records to keep people dancing all night long
Nightclub
–
Laser lights illuminate the dance floor at a
trance music event in a nightclub
Nightclub
–
People dance at an
industrial music event in a nightclub, some of them drinking refreshments,
alcoholic beverages or
soft drinks
Nightclub
–
"The Cave" in the basement of
the Gruenwald (later Roosevelt) Hotel,
New Orleans opened in 1912; said by some to be one of the first "nightclubs" in the United States
Nightclub
–
A
Disk Jockey playing music in a club
5.
Hudson Square
–
To the north of the neighborhood is Greenwich Village, to the south is TriBeCa, and to the east is SoHo. The area once was known as the Printing District, and into the 21st century it remains a center of media-related activity, including in advertising, design, communications, the most prominent feature within the neighborhood is the Manhattan entrance to the Holland Tunnel. The tallest structure in the neighborhood is the Trump SoHo hotel, the Spring Street subway station serves the neighborhood, as do several bus lines. When George Washington led the defense of New York against the British in 1776, his headquarters were located at the Mortier House at what is now Charlton and Varick Streets. One of the earliest known uses of the term New Yorker in a work is found in a letter that he wrote from Lower Manhattan. The neighborhood was home to the first African-American newspaper in the United States, called Freedoms Journal, edited by John Russwurm, the newspaper provided international, national, and regional information on current events and contained editorials declaiming against slavery, lynching, and other injustices. Trinity Wall Street owns substantial commercial real estate in Hudson Square, the Ear Inn is one of the oldest bars in New York City, said to have been established in 1817, built by George Washington’s aide. During Prohibition it was a speakeasy, but afterwards it had no name and it was known as The Green Door to sailors and longshoremen. In 1977, new resident-owners christened it the Ear Inn, a chosen to avoid the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissions lengthy review of any new sign. The neon BAR sign was painted to read EAR, after Ear Magazine, the Holland Tunnel was once the longest underwater tunnel in the world. It officially opened at midnight on November 13,1927 and it still serves as a heavily used Hudson River crossing, especially for trucks bound for Long Island. The New York City Fire Museum is located on 278 Spring Street between Hudson and Varick Streets, the Paradise Garage was a discotheque notable in the history of modern dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures located at 84 King Street. The SoHo Playhouse at 15 Vandam Street stands on land that was once Richmond Hill, purchased from Burr in 1817, the land was then developed into federalist-style row houses by fur magnate John Jacob Astor. 15 Van Dam Street was designated at the Huron Club, a meeting house. The turn of the century brought the Tammany Hall machine to the Huron Club, prominent regulars included Battery Dan Finn and the infamous Mayor Jimmy Beau James Walker. The main floor was transformed into a theater in the 1920s, the playhouse now serves as a 199-seat off-Broadway venue. Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway in a Manhattan loft on Varick Street, South Village Media related to Hudson Square at Wikimedia Commons
Hudson Square
–
Federal style houses, c.1820, on Charlton Street in the
Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District
Hudson Square
–
The SoHo Playhouse
Hudson Square
–
Alphabet City
6.
DJ
–
A disc jockey is a person who mixes different sources of pre-existing recorded music as it is playing, usually for a live audience in a nightclub or dance club or via broadcasting. DJs typically perform for an audience in a nightclub or dance club or a TV, radio broadcast audience, or in the 2010s. DJs also create mixes, remixes and tracks that are recorded for later sale, in hip hop music, DJs may create beats, using percussion breaks, basslines and other musical content sampled from pre-existing records. In hip hop, rappers and MCs use these beats to rap over, DJs use equipment that can play at least two sources of recorded music simultaneously and mix them together. This allows the DJ to create seamless transitions between recordings and develop unique mixes of songs, DJ equipment, notably the specialized DJ mixer, a small audio mixer with a crossfader and cue functions. The crossfader enables the DJ to blend or transition from one song to another, the cue knobs or switches allow the DJ to preview a source of recorded music in headphones before playing it for the live club or broadcast audience. Previewing the music in headphones helps the DJ pick the track they want to play. DJs may also use a microphone to speak to the audience, effects such as reverb to create sound effects, drum machines. The title DJ is also used by DJs in front of their real names or adopted pseudonyms or stage names as a title to denote their profession. Some DJs focus on creating a mix of songs for the club dancers or radio audience. Other DJs use turntablism techniques such as scratching, in which the DJ or turntablist manipulates the record player turntable to create new sounds. In many types of DJing, including club DJing and radio/TV DJing, there are several types of disc jockey. Radio DJs or radio personalities introduce and play music that is broadcast on AM, FM, club DJs select and play music in bars, nightclubs or discothèques, or at parties, raves, or even in stadiums. Mobile DJs travel with portable sound systems and play recorded music at a variety of events. Some mobile DJs also serve as the master of ceremonies at weddings or other events, directing the attention of attendees, there are also many competitions for DJs that specialize in different turntablism techniques, such as mixing, hip hop music-style scratching or other kinds of techniques. Other types of DJ use musical performance techniques that allow them to be categorized as performing musicians, hip hop DJs and are also often songwriters or music producers who use turntablism and sampling to create backing instrumentals for new tracks. In reggae, the DJ is a vocalist who raps, toasts, chants or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks, the individual who helps the DJ by selecting tracks or records to be played is called the selector. Many electronica artists and producers who work as DJs often perform music by combining turntablism with keyboards, digital musical instruments
DJ
–
A DJ performing at an event
DJ
–
Technics 1200 MK2, Technics 1210 MK2, and Pioneer DJM-500 shown in a common DJ configuration
DJ
–
A DJ at Sundance Film Festival 2003
DJ
–
A young woman plays a gramophone in an air raid shelter in north London (1940).
7.
Sound reinforcement system
–
In both cases, these systems reinforce sound to make it louder or distribute it to a wider audience. Some audio engineers and others in the audio industry disagree over whether these audio systems should be called sound reinforcement systems or PA systems. Distinguishing between the two terms by technology and capability is common, while others distinguish by intended use, in some regions or markets, the distinction between the two terms is important, though the terms are considered interchangeable in many professional circles. These primary parts involve varying amounts of components to achieve the desired goal of reinforcing and clarifying the sound to the audience, performers. These signal inputs are plugged into the input jacks of a thick multicore cable, the snake then routes the signals of all of the inputs to either one or two mixing consoles. In these cases, at least two audio engineers are required, one to do the FOH Main mix and one to do the Monitor mix, once the signal arrives at a channel on the mixing console, this signal can be adjusted in many ways by the sound engineer. A signal can be equalized, compressed, or panned before being routed to an output bus. The signal may also be routed into an effects processor, such as a reverb effect, which outputs a wet version of the signal. Many electronic effects units are used in sound reinforcement systems, including digital delay, some concerts use pitch correction effects, which electronically correct any out-of-tune singing. A group of signals may be routed through a bus before being sent to the main bus to allow the engineer to control the levels of several related signals at once. A bus can often be processed just like an input channel. The mix of all the different signals and channels to the master faders on the console. Mixing consoles also have additional sends, also referred to as auxes or aux sends, on each channel so that a different mix can be created. One usage for aux sends is to create a mix of the vocal, another use of an aux send is to select varying amounts of certain channels, and then route these signals to an effects processor. A common example of the use of aux sends is to send all of the vocal signals from a rock band through a reverb effect. While reverb is usually added to vocals in the mix, it is not usually added to electric bass. The next step in the path generally depends on the size of the system in place. In smaller systems, the outputs are often sent to an additional equalizer, or directly to a power amplifier
Sound reinforcement system
–
Large outdoor concerts use complex and powerful sound reinforcement systems.
Sound reinforcement system
–
A Yamaha PM4000 and a Midas Heritage 3000 mixing console at the Front of House position at an outdoor concert.
Sound reinforcement system
–
Graphic equalizer
Sound reinforcement system
–
A rack of compressors
8.
Diana Ross
–
Diane Ernestine Earle Ross, known professionally as Diana Ross, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. As part of the Supremes, her success made it possible for future African-American R&B, Dianas high-pitched and bright lyric-soprano voice has been enjoyed and still is by fans around the world. The group released a record-setting twelve number-one hit singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including the hits Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Come See About Me, Stop. In the Name of Love, You Cant Hurry Love, You Keep Me Hangin On, Love Child and she later released the album Touch Me in the Morning in 1973, its title track reached number 1, as her second solo hit. That same year, her album Lady Sings The Blues, which was the soundtrack of her film based on the life of jazz singer Billie Holiday. By 1975, the Mahogany soundtrack included her third number-one hit and her eponymous 1976 album included her fourth number-one hit, Love Hangover. In 1979, Ross released the album The Boss and her 1980 semi-eponymous album Diana reached number 2 on the US Billboard albums chart, and spawned the number-one hit Upside Down, and the international hit Im Coming Out. After leaving Motown, Ross achieved her sixth and final US number-one hit, Ross has also ventured into acting, with a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award-nominated performance for her performance in the film Lady Sings the Blues. She also starred in two films, Mahogany and The Wiz, later acting in the television films Out of Darkness, for which she also was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Ross was named the Female Entertainer of the Century by Billboard magazine, Ross has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, when her releases with the Supremes and as a solo artist are tallied. In 1988, Ross was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as member of the Supremes, alongside Mary Wilson and she was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. She is a 12-time Grammy nominee, never earning a competitive honor, in December 2016, Billboard magazine named her the 50th most successful dance artist of all time. Diane Ross was born at Hutzel Womens Hospital in Detroit on March 26,1944 and she was the second eldest child of Ernestine, a schoolteacher, and Fred Ross, Sr. a former Army soldier. Much has been made of whether her first name ends in an a or an e, according to Ross, her mother actually named her Diane but a clerical error resulted in her name being recorded as Diana on her birth certificate. She was listed as Diane during the first Supremes records, she introduced herself as Diane until early in the groups heyday and her friends and family still call her Diane. Rosss grandfather John E. Ross, a native of Gloucester County, Virginia, was born to Washington Ross, Virginia Baytops mother Francis Frankey Baytop was a former slave who had become a midwife after the Civil War. Ross and her family lived at Belmont Road in the North End section of Detroit, near Highland Park, MI. When Ross was seven, her mother contracted tuberculosis, causing her to seriously ill
Diana Ross
–
Diana Ross performing at the 2008
Nobel Peace Prize concert in
Oslo
Diana Ross
–
The Frederick Douglass housing project in Detroit, where Diana spent her teenage years.
Diana Ross
–
Diana Ross (far right) performing with
the Supremes as lead singer
Diana Ross
–
Ross's debut solo album,
Diana Ross, on Motown Records released in 1970.
9.
Tim Curry
–
Timothy James Tim Curry is an English actor, voice actor, and singer. He is known for his work in a range of theatre, film. Curry was born in Grappenhall, Cheshire and his father, James Curry, a chaplain in the Royal Navy, died when Curry was 12. Currys mother, Patricia, a secretary, died in June 1999 after living with cancer for two years. His older sister, Judith, was a concert pianist who died of a tumour in the early 2000s. Curry spent most of his childhood in Plymouth, Devon, but, after his fathers death from pneumonia in 1958, Curry then went to boarding school and attended Kingswood School in Bath, Somerset. He developed into a boy soprano. Deciding to concentrate on acting, Curry graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in English. Curry recalled his first encounter with the project, Id heard about the play because I lived on Paddington Street, off Baker Street, and there was an old gym a few doors away. I saw Richard OBrien in the street, and he said hed just been to the gym to see if he could find a muscleman who could sing, I said, Why do you need him to sing. And he told me that his musical was going to be done and he gave me the script, and I thought, Boy, if this works, its going to be a smash. Originally, Curry rehearsed the character with a German accent and peroxide blond hair, Curry originally thought the character was merely a laboratory doctor dressed in a white lab coat. He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles, figure out, help them maybe figure out their own sexuality. In 2016, Curry played The Criminologist in the film remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Shortly after the end of Rocky Horrors run on Broadway, Curry returned to the stage with Tom Stoppards Travesties, which ran in London and New York from 1975 to 1976. Travesties was a Broadway hit which won two Tony Awards, as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and Currys performance as the famous dadaist Tristan Tzara received good reviews. In 1981, Curry formed part of the original cast in the Broadway show Amadeus, playing the title character and he was nominated for his first Tony Award for this role but lost out to his co-star Ian McKellen, who played Antonio Salieri. In 1982, Curry took the part of the Pirate King in the Drury Lane production of Joe Papps version of The Pirates of Penzance opposite George Cole, earning enthusiastic reviews
Tim Curry
–
Curry in
New York City in 2005
Tim Curry
–
Curry as Dr Frank N. Furter in
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
10.
West End Records
–
West End Records is an American music record label based in New York City. Led by co-founder Mel Cheren, West End was one of the most prominent labels in dance history, along with Prelude Records, Salsoul Records. West End Records was eventually acquired by Verse music group in 2010, on June 29,2015, Verse Music was acquired by BMG Rights Management. It was founded by Mel Cheren and Ed Kushins in 1976 and that sound eventually filtered to dance floors and clubs across the country and around the world. During the disco era, many labels and artists scrambled to put out records that would ride the wave of discos popularity and these titles, along with many others in the West End Records catalog, went on to become some of the most sampled songs in music history. In 1992, a UK music production and remix team called West End produced numerous UK #1 Club Chart hits influenced by the style of the West End Records label and associated Garage sound. Samples of West End Records titles appear in productions of million selling artists, Jennifer Lopez, Notorious B. I. G, Ja Rule, Ini Kamoze, DMX, the sound of West End is intimately remembered by all the dancers and music lovers from the world over. In the film industry, you can find West End’s music in films as The Cookout, Honey, Loving Jezebel, Reversal of Fortune. West End’s music has also featured on such television programs as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Queer Eye for the Straight Girl. The label released such hits as Taana Gardner - “Heartbeat” Karen Young - “Hot Shot” Barbara Mason - “Another Man” Loose Joints - “Is It All Over My Face
West End Records
–
West End Records
11.
Verizon Communications
–
The company is based at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, but is incorporated in Delaware. Bell Atlantic came into existence in 1984 with a footprint from New Jersey to Virginia, as part of the rebranding that the Baby Bells took in the mid-1990s, all of the operating companies assumed the Bell Atlantic name. In 1997, Bell Atlantic expanded into New York and the New England states by merging with fellow Baby Bell NYNEX, although Bell Atlantic was the surviving company, the merged company moved its headquarters from Philadelphia to NYNEXs old headquarters in New York City. In 2000, Bell Atlantic merged with GTE, which operated telecommunications companies across most of the rest of the country that was not already in Bell Atlantics footprint, Bell Atlantic, the surviving company, changed its name to Verizon, a portmanteau of veritas and horizon. As of 2016, Verizon is one of three companies that had their roots in the former Baby Bells, the other two, like Verizon, exist as a result of mergers among fellow former Baby Bell members. One, SBC Communications, bought out its former parent AT&T Corporation, the other, CenturyLink, was formed initially in 2011 by the acquisition of Qwest. Bell Atlantic Corporation was created as one of the original Regional Bell Operating Companies in 1984, in 1994, Bell Atlantic became the first RBOC to entirely drop the original names of its original operating companies. In 1996, CEO and Chairman Raymond W. Smith orchestrated Bell Atlantics merger with NYNEX, when it merged, it moved its corporate headquarters from Philadelphia to New York City. NYNEX was consolidated into this name by 1997, the approval came with 25 stipulations to preserve competition between local phone carriers, including investing in new markets and broadband technologies. The new venture was headed by co-CEOs Charles Lee, formerly the CEO of GTE, upon its inception, Verizon became the largest local telephone company in the United States, operating 63 million telephone lines in 40 states. The company also inherited 25 million mobile phone customers, additionally, Verizon offered internet services and long-distance calling in New York, before expanding long-distance operations to other states. The name Verizon derives from the combination of the words veritas, Latin for truth, the name was chosen from 8,500 candidates and the company spent $300 million on marketing the new brand. The companies established Verizon Wireless as its own business operated by Bell Atlantic, Vodafone retained 45% of the company. The deal was valued at approximately $70 billion and created a mobile carrier with 23 million customers, Verizon Wireless merged Bell Atlantics wireless network, Vodafones AirTouch and PrimeCo holdings, and the wireless division of GTE. Due to its size, Verizon Wireless was able to offer national coverage at competitive rates, in another partnership with MSN in 2002, Verizon Wireless launched the mobile content service VZW with MSN and a phone that utilized the Microsoft Windows operating system. In August 2000, approximately 85,000 Verizon workers went on an 18-day labor strike after their contracts expired. The strike affected quarterly revenues, resulting in Verizon Wireless postponement of the companys IPO, Verizon launched 3G service in 2002, which doubled the Internet speeds of the time to 144kb a second. In August 2002, Verizon began offering local, long-distance, and mobile calling, as well as Internet service and it was initially only available to customers in New York and Massachusetts
Verizon Communications
–
Verizon service van
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications
–
Verizon Wireless outlet at the Bangor Mall in
Bangor,
Maine
Verizon Communications
–
Directors
12.
Disco
–
Disco is a genre of dance music containing elements of funk, soul, pop, and salsa. It achieved popularity during the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, Disco can be seen as a reaction against both the domination of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. It was popular with men and women, from many different backgrounds. The disco sound often has several components, a beat, an eighth note or 16th note hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat. In most disco tracks, string sections, horns, electric piano, Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and lead guitar is less frequently used in disco than in rock. Many disco songs use electronic synthesizers, particularly in the late 1970s, well-known 1970s disco performers included Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Boney M. KC and the Sunshine Band, The Trammps, Sylvester, Village People, Gloria Gaynor and Chic. While performers and singers garnered much attention, record producers working behind the scenes played an important role in developing the disco sound. Many non-disco artists recorded songs at the height of discos popularity. Disco was the last mass popular movement that was driven by the baby boom generation. Disco was a phenomenon, but its popularity drastically declined in the United States in 1980. Disco Demolition Night, an anti-disco protest held in Chicago on 12 July 1979, is thought of as a factor in discos fast. By the late 1970s most major U. S. cities had thriving disco club scenes, Studio 54, a venue popular amongst celebrities, is a well-known example of a disco club. Popular dances included the Hustle, a suggestive dance. Discotheque-goers often wore expensive, extravagant and sexy fashions, Disco clubs were also associated with promiscuity. Disco was a key influence on the 1980s electronic dance style called house. The term is derived from discothèque, by the early 1940s, the terms disc jockey and DJ were in use to describe radio presenters. During WWII, because of restrictions set in place by the Nazi occupiers, eventually more than one of these jazz venues had the proper name discothèque. By 1959, the term was used in Paris to describe any of these type of nightclubs and that year a young reporter named Klaus Quirini started to select and introduce records at the Scotch-Club in Aachen, West Germany
Disco
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A
disco ball
Disco
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Major disco clubs had lighted dance floors, with the light flashing according to the beat.
Disco
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Man wearing Disco Sucks T-shirt.
Disco
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Students from
Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City performing disco during a cultural event on campus
13.
House music
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House music is a genre of electronic music created by club DJs and music producers in Chicago in the early 1980s. Early house music was characterized by repetitive 4/4 beats, rhythms mainly provided by drum machines, off-beat hi-hat cymbals. While house displayed several characteristics similar to music, it was more electronic and minimalistic. House music became popular in Chicago clubs in 1984 and it was pioneered by figures such as Frankie Knuckles, Phuture, Kym Mazelle, and Mr. Fingers, and was associated with African-American and gay subcultures. House music quickly spread to other American cities such as Detroit, New York City, Baltimore, in the mid-to-late 1980s, house music became popular in Europe as well as major cities in South America, and Australia. Since the early to mid-1990s, house music has been infused in mainstream pop, in the late 1980s, many local Chicago house music artists suddenly found themselves presented with major label deals. House music proved to be a successful genre and a more mainstream pop-based variation grew increasingly popular. House music has also fused with other genres creating fusion subgenres, such as euro house, tech house, electro house. After enjoying significant success in the early to mid-90s, house music grew even larger during the wave of progressive house. The genre has remained popular and fused into other subgenres, for example, ghetto house, deep house. As of 2016, house music popular in both clubs and in the mainstream pop scene while retaining a foothold on underground scenes across the globe. The song structure of music songs typically involves an intro, a chorus, various verse sections, a midsection. Some songs do not have a verse, taking a part from the chorus. The drum beat is one of the important elements within the genre and is almost always provided by an electronic drum machine rather than by a human drummer playing drumkit. The drum beats of house are four on the floor, with bass drums played on every beat, House music is often based on bass-heavy loops or basslines produced by a synthesizer and/or from samples of disco or funk songs. The tempo of most house songs is between 118 and 135 beats per minute, soul music and disco influenced house music. These artists produced longer, more repetitive, and percussive arrangements of existing disco recordings, early house producers such as Frankie Knuckles created similar compositions from scratch, using samplers, synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. Rachel Cain, co-founder of an influential Trax Records, was involved in the burgeoning punk scene and cites industrial
House music
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An honorary
street name sign in
Chicago for house music and
Frankie Knuckles.
House music
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Building in New York City where the
Paradise Garage nightclub was located
House music
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Swedish House Mafia performing in 2011.
14.
Frankie Knuckles
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Francis Frankie Nicholls, better known by his stage name Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1980s, in 1997, Knuckles won the Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, Non-Classical. Due to his importance in the development of the genre, Knuckles was often known as The Godfather of House Music, born in the The Bronx, Knuckles and his friend Larry Levan began frequenting discos as teenagers during the 1970s. While studying textile design at the FIT, Knuckles and Levan began working as DJs, playing soul, disco, in the late 1970s, Knuckles moved from New York City to Chicago, where Robert Williams, an old friend was opening what became the Warehouse. When the Warehouse club opened in Chicago in 1977, he was invited to play on a regular basis, which enabled him to hone his skills and style. This style was a mixture of classics, unusual indie-label soul, the occasional rock track, European synth-disco and all manner of rarities. The style of music now known as house was named after a version of the Warehouse. He continued DJing at the Warehouse until November 1982, when he started his own club in Chicago, the combination of bare, insistent drum machine pulses and an overlay of cult disco classics defined the sound of early Chicago house music. A sound which many local producers began to mimic in the studios by 1985, when the Power Plant closed in 1987, Knuckles played for four months at Delirium in the United Kingdom. Chicago house artists were in demand and having major success in the UK with this new genre of music. Knuckles also had a stint in New York, where he continued to immerse himself in producing, remixing,1988 saw the release of Pet Shop Boys third album, Introspective, which featured Knuckles as a co-producer of the song I Want a Dog. In 1982, Knuckles was introduced to then-unknown Jamie Principle by mutual friend Jose Louie Gomez, Louie Gomez met up with Frankie at the local record pool and gave him a tape copy of the track. Knuckles played Gomezs unreleased dub mix for an year in his sets during which it became a crowd favorite. His debut album Beyond the Mix, released on Virgin Records, contained what would be considered his work, The Whistle Song. The Def Classic mix of Lisa Stansfields Change, released in the same year, another track from the album, Rain Falls, featured vocals from Lisa Michaelis. Eight thousand copies of the album had sold by 2004, other key remixes from this time include his rework of the Electribe 101 anthem Talking with Myself and Alison Limericks Where Love Lives. When Junior Vasquez took a sabbatical from The Sound Factory in Manhattan, Knuckles took over and he continued to work as a remixer through the 1990s and into the next decade, reworking tracks from Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Eternal and Toni Braxton. He released several new singles, including Keep on Movin and a re-issue of an earlier hit Bac N Da Day with Definity Records, in 1995, he released his second album titled Welcome to the Real World
Frankie Knuckles
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Knuckles (front) in 2012
15.
The Clash
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The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, dub, funk, ska, for most of their recording career the Clash consisted of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Nicky Topper Headon. Headon left the group in 1982, and internal friction led to Joness departure the following year, the group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986. The Clash achieved commercial success in the United Kingdom with the release of their debut album, The Clash. Their third album, London Calling, released in the UK in December 1979 and it was declared the best album of the 1980s a decade later by Rolling Stone. In 1982 they reached new heights of success with the release of Combat Rock and their final album, Cut the Crap, was released in 1985. The Clashs politicised lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude had a influence on rock. They became widely referred to as The Only Band That Matters, originally a promotional slogan introduced by the record label. In January 2003, shortly after the death of Joe Strummer, in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked the Clash number 28 on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Before the Clashs founding, the future members were active in different parts of the London music scene. John Graham Mellor sang and played guitar in the pub rock act the 101ers. Mick Jones played guitar in protopunk band London SS, which rehearsed for much of 1975 without ever playing a live show and recording only a single demo. London SS was managed by Bernard Rhodes, an associate of impresario Malcolm McLaren and a friend of the members of the McLaren managed band. Jones and his bandmates became friendly with Sex Pistols Glen Matlock and Steve Jones, among those who auditioned for London SS without making the cut were Paul Simonon, who tried out as a vocalist, and drummer Terry Chimes. Nicky Headon drummed with the band for a week, then quit, after London SS broke up in early 1976, Rhodes continued as Joness manager. In February, Jones saw the Sex Pistols perform for the first time, You knew straight away that was it, and it was a new scene, new values—so different from what had happened before. At the instigation of Rhodes, Jones contacted Simonon in March, soon Jones, Simonon on bass, Keith Levene on guitar and whoever we could find really to play the drums were rehearsing. Chimes was asked to audition for the new band and got the job, the band was still searching for a lead singer
The Clash
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The Clash performing in
Oslo in 1980. Left to right: Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, and Paul Simonon.
The Clash
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The "iconic" cover of London Calling
The Clash
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Graffiti commemorating Joe Strummer
16.
The Police
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The Police were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the band consisted of Sting, Andy Summers and they are also considered one of the leaders of the Second British Invasion of the United States. They disbanded in 1986, but reunited in early 2007 for a world tour that ended in August 2008. Their 1978 debut album, Outlandos dAmour, reached No.6 in the UK and their second album Reggatta de Blanc became the first of five consecutive UK No.1 albums with its lead single, Message in a Bottle, their first UK number one. Their next two albums, Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine, saw further critical and commercial success and their final studio album, Synchronicity, was No.1 in both the UK and the US, selling over 8 million copies in the US alone. Every Breath You Take became their fifth UK number one single, the Police have sold over 75 million records, making them one of the worlds best-selling artists of all time. They were the worlds highest-earning musicians in 2008, thanks to their reunion tour, four of their five studio albums appeared on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Police were included among both Rolling Stones and VH1s lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, on 12 January 1977, Sting relocated to London and the very same day of his arrival, he sought out Copeland for a jam session. Curved Air had recently split up and Copeland, inspired by the then-current punk rock movement, was eager to form a new band and join the burgeoning London punk scene. While less keen, Sting acknowledged the commercial opportunities, so the duo formed the Police as a power trio with Corsican guitarist Henry Padovani recruited as the third member. After their debut concert on 1 March 1977 at Alexanders in Newport, Wales and their first single Fall Out, recorded at Pathway Studios in Islington, North London on 12 February 1977 with a budget of £150, was released in May 1977 by Illegal Records. Also in May 1977, former Gong musician Mike Howlett invited Sting to join him in the band project Strontium 90, the drummer Howlett had in mind, Chris Cutler, was unavailable to play, so Sting brought Copeland. The bands fourth member was guitarist Andy Summers from Lancashire in northwest England, a decade older than Sting and Copeland, Summers was a music industry veteran who had played with Eric Burdon and the Animals and Kevin Ayers among others. Strontium 90 performed at a Gong reunion concert in Paris on 28 May 1977, the band also recorded several demo tracks, these were released 20 years later in 1997 on the archive album Strontium 90, Police Academy. Summers musicality impressed Sting, who was becoming frustrated with Padovanis rudimentary abilities, shortly after the Strontium 90 gig, Sting approached Summers to join the band. He agreed, on the condition the band remain a trio, shortly after these two gigs, Summers delivered an ultimatum and Padovani was dismissed from the band. The Polices power trio line-up of Copeland, Sting, and Summers performed for the first time on 18 August 1977 at Rebeccas club in the English city of Birmingham in the West Midlands. A trio was unusual for the time, and this line-up endured for the rest of the bands history, few punk bands were three-pieces, while contemporary bands pursuing progressive rock, symphonic rock and other sound trends usually expanded their line-ups with support players
The Police
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Summers (far right),
Sting (front),
Copeland (drums). The Police performing,
Madison Square Garden, New York City, 1 August 2007
The Police
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Sting with the group at Madison Square Garden, August 2007
17.
Gwen Guthrie
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Guthrie was born in and raised in Newark, New Jersey. In school, she studied music, and her father began teaching her piano when she was eight years old. By the early 1970s, she had joined vocal groups such as the Ebonettes, when a backup singer scheduled to sing on Aretha Franklins 1974 single Im in Love fell ill, Guthrie took the vocalists place beside Cissy Houston. In the 1970s she co-wrote Satans Daughter with Patrick Grant for the rock/pop star Gary Glitter, intended to be a single for the entertainer. However, another track was chosen, but it appeared on his album GG in 1976. Guthrie soon began moonlighting as a singer of commercial jingles, sometimes with her friend Valerie Simpson, a songwriting partnership with her then boyfriend, trombonist/bassist Haras Fyre resulted in Ben E. Kings comeback single, Supernatural Thing, and This Time Ill Be Sweeter and she was also the writer of Roberta Flacks God Dont Like Ugly. As Guthries solo career developed, she worked extensively with Sly and Robbie on dub-influenced club cuts and she was dubbed The First Lady of the Paradise Garage as several of her songs became anthems at the venue, helped by the frequent and dynamic performances she gave there. She also sang back up on Madonnas debut album from 1982, a literal reading suggests a man only require the finances to make a relationship work. However, Guthries lyrics intend to motivate her partner into being responsible for maintaining equality, the song is referenced in the Eddie Murphy monologue No Romance Without Finance, in his Eddie Murphy Raw concert and film. Guthrie also had a hit in 1986 with a cover of Close to You and her 1988 single Cant Love You Tonight boldly addressed AIDS at a time when the disease was a taboo subject. Guthrie was an ally to the gay community, and to people with AIDS long before the masses caught up, proceeds from the single went to the AIDS Coalition. Other club hits of hers include the Compass Point All Stars-produced Seventh Heaven, Peanut Butter, padlock was later covered by M People, who included it on their 1995 album Bizarre Fruit, featuring vocalist Heather Small. Guthrie died of cancer on February 3,1999, at the age of 48
Gwen Guthrie
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Gwen Guthrie
18.
Sylvester James
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Sylvester James, Jr. who used the stage name of Sylvester, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s. Born in Watts, Los Angeles, to a middle-class African-American family, during the Cockettes critically panned tour of New York City, Sylvester left them to pursue his career elsewhere. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, an act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in 1973 before disbanding. His first solo album, Sylvester, was a moderate success and this was followed with the acclaimed disco album Step II, which spawned the singles You Make Me Feel and Dance, both of which were hits in the U. S. and Europe. Distancing himself from the genre, he recorded four more albums – including a live album – with Fantasy Records. During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the moniker of the Queen of Disco and during his life he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography. Sylvester James was born on September 6,1947 in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California and his mother, Letha Weaver, had been raised near Palestine, Arkansas into a relatively wealthy African-American family who owned their own farmland. Lethas biological mother, Gertha Weaver, was unmarried and too sickly to care for her child, so Gerthas sister Julia, known to the family as JuJu, became Lethas adoptive mother. In the late 1930s, Julia and her took part in the Great Migration of African-Americans out of the Southern United States. It was here that Letha was largely raised and where she met and married her first husband, Sylvester Sweet James and their first child, named Sylvester after his father, was followed by the birth of John Wesley in 1948 and Larry in 1950. Sylvester and his brothers became known in their predominantly African-American community by their nicknames. Sylvester considered his father to be a lowlife because he was an adulterer and left his wife, Letha and her three sons moved to a downtown housing project at Aliso Village before moving back into her parental home at 114th Street in Watts. Letha was an adherent of the Pentecostal denomination of Christianity. Sylvester and his brothers accompanied her to the services, where he developed a particular interest in gospel music. The young Sylvester was often accused of effeminacy and recognized his own homosexuality from an early age, news of Sylvesters homosexual activity soon spread through the church congregation, and feeling unwelcome, he ceased his attendance at age 13. During Sylvesters childhood, his mother gave birth to three children by different fathers before marrying Robert Sonny Hurd in the early 1960s, with whom she adopted three foster children
Sylvester James
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A promotional image of Sylvester from the late 1970s
Sylvester James
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San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, where Sylvester regularly performed and socialized among the LGBT community. Biographer Joshua Gamson described him as Castro's "undisputed First Lady".
Sylvester James
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The Castro Theatre in San Francisco, where Sylvester performed his "One Night Only" retrospective
19.
Patti Austin
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Patti Austin is an American R&B, pop and jazz singer. Austin was born in Harlem, New York to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist, Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have referred to themselves as her godparents. When she was four years old, she made her debut at the Apollo Theater, during the 1960s, she was a session musician who sang background vocals and commercial jingles. She was known as Queen of the Jingles, appearing on commercials for Almay, Avon, Burger King, Impulse, KFC, Maxwell House, McDonalds, Meow Mix, Stouffers, in 1969, she made the R&B Top 50 with the single Family Tree. Her debut album, End of a Rainbow, appeared in 1976 on the jazz label CTI Records, Two years later, she sang on the song Love Light by Japanese musician Yutaka Yokokura. She provided vocals for Roberta Flack, Angela Bofill, and Noel Pointer, in 1981, she sang on the album The Dude by Quincy Jones and on the hit single Razzmatazz. Jones signed her to his label, Qwest Records. A second duet with Ingram, How Do You Keep the Music Playing, was used on the soundtrack for the movie Best Friends, Austins single, Its Gonna Be Special, was featured on the soundtrack for the movie Two of a Kind. Its Gonna Be Special peaked at No.5 on the chart, No.15 on the R&B chart. The song also appeared on Austins self-titled album in 1984, a follow-up single, Rhythm of the Street, remixed by John Jellybean Benitez, narrowly missed the Billboard Dance Top Ten chart, though it peaked higher on Hi-NRG charts. The two songs were featured on a double-A-side 12 single, for Rhythm of the Street Austin shot her first music video. Austins 1985 album, Gettin Away With Murder, was her album in as many years. It produced two hit singles, Honey For The Bees and The Heat of Heat. The album used producers Russ Titelman, Tommy LiPuma, Monte Moir and Jimmy Jam, billy Joel, Dan Hartman, friends Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown and Chaka Khan were among the background vocalists on the project. Songwriters included Randy Goodrum, Michael Bolton and Jam & Lewis, also in 1985, Austin sang lead vocals on a collaboration with her producer, Narada Michael Walden, and the single, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, hit the top 40 of the R&B charts. Austin appeared with Jeff Bridges and Joan Allen in Francis Ford Coppolas 1988 comedy-drama film, Tucker, The Man, also in 1988, Austin released The Real Me, a collection of standards which garnered the first of several Top 10 showings on the jazz albums chart. The Real Me was chiefly produced by David Pack, lead singer of the pop group Ambrosia, though Austin served as a co-producer, Austin scored a top five dance hit with the single, Reach, from her 1994 album, That Secret Place. Austin was scheduled to be on onboard United Flight 93 on September 11,2001, in 2002, she recorded For Ella, a tribute to jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald
Patti Austin
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Austin on the evening of her appearance at the Ram's Head in
Annapolis,
Maryland, where she sang an all-
Gershwin show on October 29, 2007.
