1.
U2
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U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, initially rooted in post-punk, U2s sound grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music, yet has maintained an anthemic sound. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes, popular for their live performances, the group has staged several ambitious and elaborate tours over their career. The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency, within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album War, by the mid-1980s, they had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The groups fifth album, The Joshua Tree, made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US, With or Without You, facing a backlash and creative stagnation, U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image. This experimentation continued through their album, Pop, and the PopMart Tour. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Cant Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. The groups thirteenth album, Songs of Innocence, was released at no cost through the iTunes Store, U2 have released 13 studio albums and are one of the worlds best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The band formed in Dublin on 25 September 1976, Larry Mullen Jr. then a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, posted a note on the schools notice board in search of musicians for a new band—six people responded. Mullen later described it as The Larry Mullen Band for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge. Martin, who had brought his guitar and amplifier to the first practice but could not play, did not remain with the group, the group settled on the name Feedback because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. Most of their material consisted of cover songs, which the band admitted was not their forte. Some of the earliest influences on the band were emerging punk rock acts, such as the Jam, the Clash, Buzzcocks, the popularity of punk rock convinced the group that musical proficiency was not a prerequisite to being successful. In April 1977, Feedback played their first gig for an audience at St. Fintans High School. Shortly after, the changed their name to The Hype
U2
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U2 performing at
Madison Square Garden in November 2005, from left to right: The Edge; Larry Mullen, Jr. (drumming); Bono; Adam Clayton
U2
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Bono performs in Norway during the
War Tour in 1983.
U2
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The tree pictured on
The Joshua Tree album sleeve.
Adam Clayton said, "The desert was immensely inspirational to us as a mental image for this record."
U2
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The Zoo TV Tour was a multimedia-intensive event, featuring a stage that used dozens of video screens.
2.
Sun Studio
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Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3,1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the building with the Sun Records label business. Blues and R&B artists like Howlin Wolf, Junior Parker, Little Milton, B. B. King, James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips opened the larger Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio, better known as Phillips Recording, in 1959 to replace the older facility. Since Phillips had invested in the Holiday Inn Hotel chain earlier, in 1957, Bill Justis recorded his Grammy Hall of Fame song Raunchy for Sam Phillips and worked as a musical director at Sun Records. In 2005, Brian Setzer released his Rockabilly Riot Vol.1, A Tribute To Sun Records album, although not recorded at Sun it did feature various Sun Records recordings including some hits and other more obscure songs. In 2007, Canadian rockabilly band the Kingmakers recorded a selection of originals and classics such as Elvis Presleys Thats All Right at Sun Studio, released as their first CD Live at SUN Studio. In May 2009, Canadian blues artist JW-Jones recorded with blues legend Hubert Sumlin, Larry Taylor, in July 2009, John Mellencamp recorded nine songs for his album No Better Than This at the studio. In 2011, Chris Isaak released Beyond the Sun, a collection of songs recorded at Sun Studio, in January 1950, WREC radio engineer Sam Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue with his assistant and long-time friend, Marion Keisker. Phillips had dreamed of opening his own recording studio since he was a young man, however, getting the company off the ground was not an easy task. To create revenue at the beginning, Phillips would record conventions, weddings, choirs and he also held an open door policy, allowing anybody to walk in and, for a small fee, record their own record. Phillips slogan for his studio was We Record Anything, Anywhere, in June, Phillips and a friend, local DJ Dewey Phillips who was no relation, set up their own record label called Phillips Records. The purpose of the label was to record artists of the South who wanted to make a recording but had no place to do so. The label failed to make an impact and folded after just one release, Boogie in the Park by Joe Hill Louis and it was during this time that Phillips recorded what many consider to be the first rock and roll song, Jackie Brenstons Rocket 88. The Sun Studio tour lends credence to the latter, with the tour guide saying the amplifier was stuffed with wads of newspaper, in early 1952, Phillips once again launched his own record label, this time calling it Sun Records. During his first year he recorded several artists who would go on to have successful careers, among them were B. B. King, Joe Hill Louis, Rufus Thomas, and Howlin Wolf. Despite the amount of singers who recorded there, Phillips found it difficult to keep profits up. He reportedly drove over 60,000 miles in one year to promote his artists with radio stations, to keep costs down, he would pay his artists 3% royalties instead of the usual 5% that was more common at the time. Phillips turned to alcohol when it looked like his label would once again fail, Rufus Thomas Bearcat, a recording that was similar to Hound Dog, was the first real hit for Sun in 1953
Sun Studio
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Sun Record Company, Memphis Recording Service
Sun Studio
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The front office of the Sun Studio, where office manager
Marion Keisker worked and greeted many artists on their first visit to the studio, including a young
Elvis Presley.
Sun Studio
Sun Studio
3.
Memphis, Tennessee
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Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U. S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the fourth Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf, Memphis had a population of 653,450 in 2013, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee. It is the largest city on the Mississippi River, the third largest in the greater Southeastern United States, the greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2014 population of 1,317,314. This makes Memphis the second-largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed by metropolitan Nashville, Memphis is the youngest of Tennessees major cities, founded in 1819 as a planned city by a group of wealthy Americans including judge John Overton and future president Andrew Jackson. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian, and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as Memphis and the Mid-South. Occupying a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi River, the site of Memphis has been a location for human settlement by varying cultures over thousands of years. The historic Chickasaw Indian tribe, believed to be their descendants, French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto would encounter the Chickasaw in that area, in the 16th century. J. D. L. Chickasaw Bluffs, located on the Mississippi River at the present day location of Memphis, spain and the United States vied for control of this site, which was a favorite of the Chickasaws. The United States gained the right to navigate the Mississippi River, the Spanish dismantled the fort, shipping its lumber and iron to their locations in Arkansas. Captain Isaac Guion led an American force down the Ohio River to claim the land, by this time, the Spanish had departed. The forts ruins went unnoticed twenty years later when Memphis was laid out as a city, the city of Memphis was founded on May 22,1819 by John Overton, James Winchester and Andrew Jackson. They named it after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River, Memphis developed as a trade and transportation center in the 19th century because of its flood-free location high above the Mississippi River. Located in the delta region along the river, its outlying areas were developed as cotton plantations. The cotton economy of the antebellum South depended on the labor of large numbers of African-American slaves. Through the early 19th century, one million slaves were transported from the Upper South, Many were transported by steamboats along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. This gave planters and cotton brokers access to the Atlantic Coast for shipping cotton to England, the citys demographics changed dramatically in the 1850s and 1860s under waves of immigration and domestic migration. Due to increased immigration since the 1840s and the Great Famine, ethnic Irish made up 9.9 percent of the population in 1850, but 23.2 percent in 1860, when the total population was 22,623. They had encountered considerable discrimination in the city but by 1860 and they also gained many elected and patronage positions in the Democratic Party city government, and an Irish man was elected as mayor before the Civil War
Memphis, Tennessee
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From top to bottom and left to right:
Downtown Memphis skyline,
Beale Street,
Graceland,
Orpheum Theatre, Beale Street Landing, and the
Hernando de Soto Bridge
Memphis, Tennessee
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A
Mississippian era priest (Digital illustration, 2004)
Memphis, Tennessee
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Memphis in the mid-1850s
Memphis, Tennessee
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Cotton merchants on Union Avenue (1937)
4.
Point Theatre
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The Point Theatre was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, enjoyed by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall Quay of the River Liffey, the Point was closed in the summer of 2007 for a major redevelopment and underwent a rebranding as The O2 in July 2008. Prior to the redevelopment the capacity was 8,500. Following the acquisition of O2 Ireland by 3 Ireland, it was renamed in September 2014 as the 3Arena and it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest on three separate occasions in the 1990s and the 1999 MTV European Music Awards. The building was constructed in 1878 as a depot to serve the nearby busy port. Among railwaymen it was known as The Point Store. Melissa Etheridge being the act for Huey Lewis and the News was the first to play there. U2 played four nights at the venue near the end of their Lovetown Tour from 26–31 December 1989 and their 31 December concert was broadcast live on radio stations around the world and would later receive an official online release via iTunes. Riverdance was first performed in the Point Depot, as the act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994. Tragedy struck the Point on 11 May 1996, when a 17-year-old fan, singer Billy Corgan warned the crowd that people were getting hurt, while at one point, bassist Darcy Wretzky announced, Theres a girl dying backstage, do you care. The show was abandoned, and a show in Belfast the following night was cancelled out of respect. Gardaí were said to be investigating why the bars in the Point remained open for the teen-packed show, the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards were held in the Point Depot on 11 November. Hosted by Ronan Keating, there were performances from Mariah Carey, The Corrs, Whitney Houston, Iggy Pop, Marilyn Manson, the largest winner was Britney Spears who won four awards. The final event to place before closure and rebranding was a boxing card featuring local boxer. Frank Sinatra performed at the venue on 9,10 and 11 October 1991, kylie Minogue performed at the venue in November 1991, on her Lets Get To It European tour, which was filmed for a VHS release the following year. She returned to the Point in May 2005 with her Showgirl Tour and she played six nights at the Dublin venue, just weeks before she was told she had breast cancer. Irish band Westlife performed at the venue for a record breaking 13 consecutive nights at year 2001 on their Where Dreams Come True Tour from 19, March 2001 to 31, on 19 June 1992, Def Leppard began their Seven Day Weekend Tour of Europe in the Point Depot. The show was the first time Def Leppard had brought their in the stage show outside the United States
Point Theatre
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The rocket, located just outside the venue itself.
Point Theatre
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McFly performed at the Point in 2006.
5.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
Dublin
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Clockwise from top:
Samuel Beckett Bridge,
Trinity College,
Custom House,
Dublin Castle,
O'Connell Bridge, and
Convention Centre Dublin.
Dublin
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Father Mathew Bridge, formerly Dublin Bridge, is understood to be near the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles" (Baile Átha Cliath), the original crossing point on the River Liffey.
Dublin
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Dublin Castle was the fortified seat of
British rule in Ireland until 1922.
Dublin
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Henrietta Street, developed in the 1720s, is the earliest Georgian Street in Dublin.
6.
Henson Recording Studios
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The Jim Henson Company Lot is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. It was built in 1917 by film star Charlie Chaplin, in 1969, it was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. In October 1917, Charlie Chaplin announced plans to build his own studio at the southeast corner of La Brea. In his autobiography, Chaplin described the decision as follows, At the end of the Mutual contract, I was anxious to get started with First National, I decided to buy land in Hollywood and build one. The site was the corner of Sunset and La Brea and had a very fine house and five acres of lemon, orange. We built a unit, complete with developing plant, cutting room. Chaplin purchased the site from R. S, mcClellan, who lived on the site and had a large grove of orange trees on the property. The lot had 300 feet of frontage on Sunset and 600 feet on La Brea, extending south to De Longpre. Chaplin announced he would make his home on the part of the property. Chaplins plans for six English-style buildings, arranged as to give the effect of a picturesque English village street, were published in the Los Angeles Times in October 1917. The plans were prepared by the Milwaukee Building Company, and the investment was estimated to be in the region of $100,000. The layout of the buildings was described by the Los Angeles Times in 2002 as a cottage complex. Another writer has described the style as eccentric Peter Pan architecture, however, the City Council voted 8–1 to approve Chaplins permit. Chaplin reportedly built his English cottage-style studio in three months beginning in November 1917, at a reported cost of only $35,000, the DVD collection titled Chaplin Collection includes Chaplins 1918 film How to Make Movies, which depicts the studios construction in time-lapse photography. Construction of the studios was completed in approximately 1919, Chaplin preserved a large existing residence on the northern end of the property, and planned to live there, but never in fact did. Various studio personnel lived there over the years, including his brother Sydney Chaplin, the English cottages along La Brea served as the facade for offices, a screening room, and a film laboratory. The grounds included stables, a pool and tennis courts. The central part of the property, which was originally an orchard, became the backlot, many of Chaplins classic films were shot at the studios, including The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator, Monsieur Verdoux, and Limelight
Henson Recording Studios
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Postcard of Charlie Chaplin Studios, 1922
Henson Recording Studios
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Henson Recording Studios - Present Day
7.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles
8.
Rock music
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It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock music
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Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2006, showing a quartet lineup for a rock band (from left to right: bassist, lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist).
Rock music
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Elvis Presley in a promotion shot for
Jailhouse Rock in 1957
Rock music
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Chubby Checker in 2005
Rock music
–
The Beach Boys performing in 1964
9.
Roots rock
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Roots rock is rock music that looks back to rocks origins in folk, blues and country music. Because roots music is used to mean folk and world musical forms. In the 1980s, roots rock enjoyed a revival in response to trends in rock, new wave. The same movement saw the beginning of the careers of Californian solo artists like Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt. The back to basics tendency would also be evident in the Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet and Exile on Main Street, the Beatles The White Album and Let It Be. The Doors Morrison Hotel and L. A. Woman, as well as the Grateful Deads Workingmans Dead Dylans lead was followed by The Byrds. The result of Parsons tenure in the Byrds was Sweetheart of the Rodeo, country rock was a particularly popular style in the California music scene of the late 1960s, and was adopted by bands including Hearts and Flowers, Poco and New Riders of the Purple Sage. Some folk-rockers followed the Byrds into the genre, among them the Beau Brummels, one of the few acts to successfully move from the country side towards rock were the bluegrass band The Dillards. Members of Ronstadts former backing band went on to form the Eagles, country rock began to fade in the late 1970s in the face of punk and new wave trends.38 Special, and Molly Hatchet. It has been seen as an American Midwest and Rust Belt counterpart to West Coast country rock and it can also be heard as an influence on artists as diverse as Billy Joel, Kid Rock and The Killers. As rock music in general, and blue collar and white working class themes in particular, lost influence with younger audiences, the term roots rock was coined during the mid-80s. Also part of trend and enjoying some mainstream success were Gun Club, Chris Isaak, John Mellencamp, BoDeans. In addition the alternative country movement, producing figures as Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and Uncle Tupelo. The movement began to decline in popularity again in the 1990s but produced some bands like Son Volt, Wilco, after disbanding Dire Straits in 1995, frontman and lyricist Mark Knopfler has largely returned to a roots-rock sound across his nine albums since. List of Roots rock bands and musicians
Roots rock
–
Bob Dylan
Roots rock
–
Duane Allman playing guitar at the
Fillmore East, June 26, 1971 (late show)
10.
Island Records
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Island Records is a major record label that operates as a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. It was founded by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong in Jamaica in 1959, Blackwell sold the label to PolyGram in 1989. Three Island labels exist in the world, Island UK, Island US, and Island Australia, current key people of Island Records include Island president Darcus Beese, OBE and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to the labels significant legacy, Island remains one of UMGs pre-eminent record labels, Island Records was founded in Jamaica on 4 July 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong, and partially financed by Stanley Borden from RKO. Its name was inspired by the Harry Belafonte song Island in the Sun. Blackwell explained in 2009, “I loved music so much, I just wanted to get into it, or be as close to it as I could. ”Tom Hayes, the labels sales manager between 1965 and 1967, referred to the early period of the label in the UK as “organized chaos”. “My Boy Lollipop”, sung by Millie Small, was the labels first success in the UK, Blackwell explained in a 50-year-anniversary documentary that he was only interested in building long-term careers at that stage in time, rather than short-term projects. Suzette Newman has been a colleague of Chris Blackwells since working together in the early days of Island Records. Suzette Newman and Chris Salewicz were the editors for the book “The Story of Island Records, Blackwell relocated to England in May 1962 to garner greater levels of attention after the local Jamaican sound systems proved to be overwhelmingly successful. The vast majority of the artists who had signed to Blackwells fledgling label while he was in Jamaica agreed to allow the entrepreneur to release their music in the UK. While in England, Blackwell travelled throughout the city carrying his stock with him and he did not provide any copies to radio stations, as they would not play any of the Island music, the music was also not reviewed by the press. Meanwhile, Goodall left to start the Doctor Bird record label in 1965, Blackwell signed the Spencer Davis Group to the label. The group became popular and Island started their own independent series to spotlight UK rock talent. They signed artists like John Martyn, Fairport Convention, Free, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, they were a major label in England with artists like Roxy Music, King Crimson, Traffic, The Wailers, and many others. Blackwell had signed Bob Marley, and now Toots and the Maytals, in November 2016, Jackie Jackson described the formation of the group in a radio interview for Kool 97 FM Jamaica. Accompanied by Paul Douglas and Radcliffe Dougie Bryan in studio, Jackson explained, Were all original members of Toots, first it was Toots and the Maytals, three guys, Toots, Raleigh, and Jerry. …And then they were signed to Island Records, Chris Blackwell, and we were their recording band. One day we were summoned to Chris house, and he says, Alright gentleman, I think its time
Island Records
–
Island Records
11.
Record producer
–
A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
Record producer
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Alan Parsons in an
ESO 50th anniversary video.
Record producer
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A
Danish recording session
Record producer
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Mixing Console
12.
Jimmy Iovine
–
James Jimmy Iovine is an American record and film producer. He is best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records and chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M, in 2006, Iovine teamed with Dr. Dre to found Beats Electronics, a company which produces audio products and operated a now defunct music streaming service. The company was purchased by Apple for $3 billion in May 2014, James Iovine was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a teenager, Iovine was introduced to production after he met a songwriter who got him a job cleaning a recording studio. He began working as a professional around 1972. Since the start of his career, Iovine has been involved in the production of more than 250 albums, in the early 1970s, Iovine became a recording engineer, working with John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen, among others. By 1973, Iovine was on staff at the New York studio the Record Plant and he came to prominence via his work on the 1978 Patti Smith album Easter, which included her Top 40 hit Because the Night. He teamed with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on Damn the Torpedoes and U2 on Rattle, Iovine also produced Bella Donna, Making Movies for Dire Straits, and Get Close for The Pretenders. Iovine was also responsible for supervising the music used in the 1984 romance film, Sixteen Candles and 1988 comedy film, in 1990, Iovine co-founded Interscope Records, which became Interscope Geffen A&M after a merger in 1999. Iovine signed Tupac Shakur to a contract as one of the first Hip Hop acts on the Interscope label in 1991. Iovine was also responsible for providing distribution, initial funding and financial oversight for the highly successful Death Row Records hip hop label in the 1990s. In 2002, Iovine co-produced the Academy Award-winning Eminem movie,8 Mile, additionally, Iovine executive produced the 2009 LeBron James documentary, More Than A Game and 50 Cents Get Rich or Die Tryin. In 2008, Iovine teamed up with Dr. Dre to co-found Beats By Dr. Dre, due in part to the design of its headphones and an expansion into smartphones and automotive audio systems, the company has captured 40 percent market share of the headphones industry. In January 2013, Iovine announced the expansion of the Beats brand into the digital music world with Daisy. Former Topspin Media executive Ian Rogers and Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor were said to be involved, on May 28,2014, Apple Inc. announced the acquisition of Beats Electronics. Iovine was hired to assume a position at Apple where he helped in the creation of Apple Music. In 2005, Iovine made a guest appearance as himself on Dont Make Me Over, from 2011 to 2013, Iovine was a mentor on Foxs American Idol. Iovines protégés—Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, and Candice Glover—release their music through Interscope, Iovine stopped working with the show in mid-2013
Jimmy Iovine
–
Jimmy Iovine
13.
The Joshua Tree
–
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records, inspired by American tour experiences, literature, and politics, U2 chose America as a theme for the record. Recording began in January 1986 in Ireland, and to foster a relaxed, creative atmosphere, Recording was completed in November 1986, additional production continued into January 1987. Throughout the sessions, U2 sought a cinematic quality for the record, one that would evoke a sense of location, in particular and they represented this in the sleeve photography depicting them in American desert landscapes. The Joshua Tree received critical acclaim, topped the charts in over 20 countries, according to Rolling Stone, the album increased the bands stature from heroes to superstars. The album won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1988, the group supported the record with the Joshua Tree Tour throughout 1987. Frequently featured on lists of the greatest records, The Joshua Tree is one of the worlds best-selling albums. U2 commemorated the records 20th anniversary with a remastered re-release, and its 30th anniversary with announcements of a concert tour. In 2014, it was deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the US Library of Congress, before The Joshua Tree, U2 had released four studio albums and were an internationally successful band, particularly as a live act having toured every year in the 1980s. The groups stature and the anticipation for a new album grew following their 1984 record The Unforgettable Fire, their subsequent tour. U2 began writing new material in mid-1985 following the Unforgettable Fire Tour, I saw the spoiled child of the Western world. I started thinking, They may have a desert. And thats what attracted me to the desert as a symbol of some sort, in 1985, Bono participated in Steven Van Zandts anti-apartheid Sun City project and spent time with musicians Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. When Richards and Jagger played blues, Bono was embarrassed by his lack of familiarity with the genre, Bono realised that U2 had no tradition, and he felt as if they were from outer space. This inspired him to write the blues-influenced song Silver and Gold, nascent friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Richards encouraged Bono to look back to rocks roots and to focus on his skills as a songwriter and lyricist. He explained, I used to think that writing words was old-fashioned, I wrote words on the microphone. For The Joshua Tree, I felt the time had come to words that meant something. Dylan told Bono of his own debt to Irish music, while Bono further demonstrated his interest in music traditions in his duet with Irish Celtic, the group referred to this approach as working within the primary colours of rock music—guitar, bass, and drums
The Joshua Tree
–
Brian Eno and
Daniel Lanois produced the album, their second time working with U2.
The Joshua Tree
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The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
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Sting and Bono performing during
A Conspiracy of Hope. U2's appearance on the tour helped them focus their new material.
The Joshua Tree
–
In August 1986, U2 moved recording of the album to
Windmill Lane Studios (pictured in 2008).
14.
Achtung Baby
–
Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 on Island Records, thematically, Achtung Baby is darker, more introspective, and at times more flippant than their previous work. Seeking inspiration from German reunification, U2 began recording Achtung Baby at Berlins Hansa Studios in October 1990, the sessions were fraught with conflict, as the band argued over their musical direction and the quality of their material. After tensions and slow progress nearly prompted the group to disband, morale and productivity improved during subsequent recording sessions in Dublin, where the album was completed in 1991. To confound the publics expectations of the band and their music, U2 chose the records facetious title and colourful multi-image sleeve. Achtung Baby is one of U2s most successful records, it received reviews and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 Top Albums. Five songs were released as singles, all of which were chart successes, including One, Mysterious Ways. The album has sold 18 million copies worldwide and won a Grammy Award in 1993 for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Achtung Baby has since been acclaimed by writers and music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. The record was reissued in October 2011 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its original release, U2s high exposure and their reputation for being overly serious led to accusations of grandiosity and self-righteousness. By the bands 1989 Lovetown Tour, they had become bored with playing their greatest hits. U2 believe that audiences misunderstood the groups collaboration with blues musician B. B. King on Rattle and Hum and the Lovetown Tour, and they described it as an excursion down a dead-end street. Bono said that, in retrospect, listening to black music enabled the group to create a work such as Achtung Baby, while their experiences with folk music helped him to develop as a lyricist. Towards the end of the Lovetown Tour, Bono announced on-stage that it was the end of something for U2, following the tour, the group began, what was at the time, their longest break from public performances and album releases. Reacting to their own sense of stagnation and to their critics. They wrote God Part II from Rattle and Hum after realising they had excessively pursued nostalgia in their songwriting, the song had a more contemporary feel that Bono said was closer to Achtung Babys direction. Much of the material they wrote was experimental, and according to Bono, ideas deemed inappropriate for the play were put aside for the bands use. During this period, Bono and the Edge began increasingly writing songs together without Mullen or bassist Adam Clayton, in mid-1990, Bono reviewed material he had written in Australia on the Lovetown Tour, and the group recorded demos at STS Studios in Dublin. The demos later evolved into the songs Whos Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Until the End of the World, Even Better Than the Real Thing, and Mysterious Ways
Achtung Baby
–
Prior to recording Achtung Baby,
The Edge and
Bono (pictured in 2009) began working more closely together on songwriting without the other band members.
Achtung Baby
–
Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby
–
The initial recording sessions took place at Berlin's
Hansa Studios in late 1990 in a former
SS ballroom.
Achtung Baby
–
Bono as his alter ego "The Fly" in 1992. He conceived this character during the band's sessions in Dublin.
15.
Single (music)
–
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
Single (music)
–
45
rpm single record
16.
Desire (U2 song)
–
Desire is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the third track on their 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. Released as the lead single, Desire was the bands first number-one single in the UK. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U. S. and topped both the Modern and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, the first song to reach the top of both of these charts simultaneously and it reached number two on the Dutch Top 40. In 1989, Desire won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, the band cite the Stooges song 1969 as the primary influence on Desire, which is an interpolation of the Bo Diddley Beat. Desire debuted live on the first night of the Lovetown Tour on 21 September 1989, and appeared at almost every concert on that tour. It segued into a cover of Bob Dylans All Along the Watchtower, on the Zoo TV Tour, Desire was re-invented with different effects on the Edges guitar, and it opened most encores. Bono would use the song to accentuate characteristics of his onstage alteregos Mirrorball Man, on the PopMart Tour, Bono and the Edge would play the song acoustically. For the Elevation Tour, it was an electric version played at the tip of a heart-shaped walkway that extended into the audience. Adam Clayton would join in with bass just before the bridge, on 15 October 2004, at an appearance on British television promoting the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album, Bono and Edge performed a rough electric version. On the Vertigo Tour, Desire was not played at all on the tours first three legs, and appeared just once in a form on the fourth leg in response to a fans request in São Paulo. It made a full debut at the beginning of the fifth leg at the second show in Sydney. Desire was played sporadically during the U2 360° Tour tour, usually played in a semi-acoustic form, on one occasion, it was combined with Bruce Springsteens Shes the One. It has been played semi-regularly on the Innocence + Experience Tour during their b-stage set, desires B-side Hallelujah has never been played in full live by U2 but was debatably snippeted once during Bullet the Blue Sky. Desire has appeared on two U2 compilation albums, The Best of 1980-1990 and U218 Singles, an early version of the song appears in the form of a studio performance in the Rattle and Hum film. Desire has furthermore appeared on Zoo TV, Live from Sydney, PopMart, Live from Mexico City, Elevation 2001, Live from Boston, the music video for Desire was filmed in Hollywood, California. It is the Hollywood remix version of the song, with members and local people in assorted places in the city. Bono – lead vocals, harmonica The Edge – guitar, backing vocals Adam Clayton – bass guitar Larry Mullen Jr
Desire (U2 song)
–
"Desire"
17.
Angel of Harlem
–
Angel of Harlem is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the track on their 1988 studio album Rattle. It peaked at nine on the UK Singles Chart, number eight on the Dutch Top 40, number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrical content of the song refers to various New York City-area landmarks, including JFK airport, WBLS radio and it also refers to jazz-related history including John Coltrane and A Love Supreme, Birdland club, Miles Davis and Holiday herself. The song was a regular on 1989s Lovetown Tour and was played with B. B, a stripped-down acoustic rendition was performed on the Zoo TV Tour in 1992 and 1993 on a b-stage positioned in the midst of the crowd. It was then not played again until 2001s Elevation Tour, when it was performed acoustically and sometimes in its original electric style. The only performances on 2005s Vertigo Tour came when a fan was pulled on stage in Dallas in late October to play guitar. The fan asked to play Angel of Harlem and although Bonos knowledge of the lyrics was poor, the agreed to the request. The song has also performed on 2009s U2 360° Tour with dedications to Michael Jackson. The version of A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel on The Best of 1980-1990 B-Sides disc is actually an edit of the version on this single
Angel of Harlem
–
"Angel of Harlem"
18.
When Love Comes to Town
–
When Love Comes to Town is a song by Irish rock band U2 featuring blues guitarist B. B. It is the track from U2s 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. The song was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis, when Love Comes to Town reached number one in the Irish Singles Chart, number six in the UK singles chart, number ten in the Dutch Top 40 and number two in the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Little Richard is featured preaching, rapping in funky rhyme style, the single contained two different versions of the Patti Smith song Dancing Barefoot. The 7 and cassette featured the version, while the 12. While U2 has stopped playing it live since 1993, it continued to be featured in B. B. King concerts. During the Lovetown Tour concerts, this song would be played, usually along with Angel of Harlem and Love Rescue Me, in an encore featuring B. B. and his band. The debut performance took place on 24 November 1987 in Fort Worth, TX during the concerts encore, on 1989s Lovetown Tour, the song again featured during the encore and was played with BB King. It was played at 46 of the 47 shows, the concert it missed was 18 December 1989 in Amsterdam. On the next tour, 1992-93s Zoo TV Tour, When Love Comes to Town did not debut until the second-last concert of the first leg on 21 April 1992 in Tacoma. It appeared only infrequently on the leg, in Europe, but on the third leg, in North America, it was performed frequently. The Zoo TV Tour version of the song was stripped down in comparison to versions and was performed on a b-stage in the midst of the crowd. U2 would not perform the song for years after the legs final show on 28 August 1993 in Dublin. On 26 October 2008, Bono and the Edge rejoined B. B. King to play the song for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Founders Award, all lyrics written by Bono, all music composed by U2, except Dancing Barefoot. List of covers of U2 songs - When Love Comes to Town Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
When Love Comes to Town
–
"When Love Comes to Town"
19.
All I Want Is You (U2 song)
–
All I Want Is You is the final song on U2s 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, and was released on 13 June 1989 as the albums fourth and final single. It is the song from the film, Rattle and Hum. String arrangements on the song are by Van Dyke Parks, All I Want Is You was released in the UK as a single on 12 June 1989. The B-side featured covers of The Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody, and it reached number 4 in the UK charts and number 2 in Australia, number 12 on the Dutch Top 40, but only reached number 67 and number 83 in the Canadian and American charts, respectively. It appeared on the soundtrack for the 1994 film Reality Bites, the popularity of the song in the film led to a re-release in 1994 where it reached number 38 in the U. S. The single was rereleased in the Netherlands with Everlasting Love now being the a-side, Everlasting Love reached number 10 in the Dutch Charts, in January 1990. In 2004, it was ranked number 9 in Entertainment Weeklys list of The 50 Greatest Love Songs and it is also featured during an episode of Hindsight and the final scenes of the 2011 film Contagion. The song October appears on the compilation album The Best of 1980-1990 as a hidden track encoded within the track for All I Want Is You following about a minute of silence. Director Meiert Avis shot the video in the town of Ostia. Written by Barry Devlin, the video takes a cinematic approach to the song. The video tells the story of a dwarf played by Paolo Risi who falls in love with a trapeze artist played by Paola Rinaldi, while there is disagreement amongst fans about exactly who has died, The Edge was quoted as saying it is the trapeze artist who dies. This video pays homage to Fellini, who was shooting his last movie, La Voce Della Luna only a few miles away from the U2 set, and also to Tod Brownings 1932 film Freaks. All I Want Is You was played at almost every date of 1989s Lovetown Tour, occasionally seguing into Bad and it has since been featured in some capacity at every subsequent tour. On the Zoo TV Tour in 1992 and 1993, it was merely a snippet at the end of Bad. The version played on 1997s PopMart Tour was much more complete, during its performance on 2001s Elevation Tour, it would segue into Where the Streets Have No Name. Another version was played on their Vertigo Tour, in the usual place of Miracle Drug. The song also closed some shows of the 4th leg, in South America, All I Want Is You has also seen occasional appearances on the U2 360° Tour. At the July 2,2011 show in Nashville, Bono invited a fan onstage to play All I Want Is You on guitar for his wife after normal set closer Moment of Surrender
All I Want Is You (U2 song)
–
"All I Want Is You"
20.
Studio album
–
Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves
Studio album
–
Early record albums were packages of 78
RPM records in book form
Studio album
–
Two vinyl records with inner and outer album sleeves
Studio album
–
A blank compact cassette tape and case
Studio album
–
A compact disc within an open 'Jewel Case'
21.
Paramount Pictures
–
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film studio based in Hollywood, California, that has been a subsidiary of the American media conglomerate Viacom since 1994. In 1916, film producer Adolph Zukor contracted 22 actors and actresses and these fortunate few would become the first movie stars. Paramount Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America, in 2014, Paramount Pictures became the first major Hollywood studio to distribute all of its films in digital form only. Paramount is the fifth oldest surviving studio in the world after the French studios Gaumont Film Company and Pathé, followed by the Nordisk Film company. It is the last major film studio headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Paramount Pictures dates its existence from the 1912 founding date of the Famous Players Film Company, hungarian-born founder, Adolph Zukor, who had been an early investor in nickelodeons, saw that movies appealed mainly to working-class immigrants. With partners Daniel Frohman and Charles Frohman he planned to offer feature-length films that would appeal to the class by featuring the leading theatrical players of the time. By mid-1913, Famous Players had completed five films, and Zukor was on his way to success and its first film was Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth, which starred Sarah Bernhardt. That same year, another aspiring producer, Jesse L. Lasky, opened his Lasky Feature Play Company with money borrowed from his brother-in-law, Samuel Goldfish, the Lasky company hired as their first employee a stage director with virtually no film experience, Cecil B. DeMille, who would find a site in Hollywood, near Los Angeles, for his first feature film. Hodkinson and actor, director, producer Hobart Bosworth had started production of a series of Jack London movies, Paramount was the first successful nationwide distributor, until this time, films were sold on a statewide or regional basis which had proved costly to film producers. Also, Famous Players and Lasky were privately owned while Paramount was a corporation, in 1916, Zukor maneuvered a three-way merger of his Famous Players, the Lasky Company, and Paramount. Zukor and Lasky bought Hodkinson out of Paramount, and merged the three companies into one, with only the exhibitor-owned First National as a rival, Famous Players-Lasky and its Paramount Pictures soon dominated the business. It was this system that gave Paramount a leading position in the 1920s and 1930s, the driving force behind Paramounts rise was Zukor. In 1926, Zukor hired independent producer B. P. Schulberg and they purchased the Robert Brunton Studios, a 26-acre facility at 5451 Marathon Street for US$1 million. In 1927, Famous Players-Lasky took the name Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, three years later, because of the importance of the Publix Theatres, it became Paramount Publix Corporation. In 1928, Paramount began releasing Inkwell Imps, animated cartoons produced by Max, the Fleischers, veterans in the animation industry, were among the few animation producers capable of challenging the prominence of Walt Disney. The Paramount newsreel series Paramount News ran from 1927 to 1957, Paramount was also one of the first Hollywood studios to release what were known at that time as talkies, and in 1929, released their first musical, Innocents of Paris
Paramount Pictures
–
Logo used as of 2012
Paramount Pictures
–
Paramount Pictures logo, based on a design by founder
William Wadsworth Hodkinson, from 1917 to 1967.
Paramount Pictures
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Lasky's original studio, a.k.a.: "The Barn"; as it appeared in the mid-1920s. The Taft building, built in 1923, is visible in the background.
Paramount Pictures
–
The original Paramount logo seen on its 1930s films and
Popeye shorts.
22.
American roots music
–
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional folk music, contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the family or folk group for generations. Mike Seeger once famously commented that the definition of American folk music is. all the music that fits between the cracks. Roots music is a category of music including bluegrass, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun. It is considered roots music because it served as the basis of music developed in the United States, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues. Most songs of the Colonial Fletch and Revolutionary period originated in England, Scotland and Ireland and were brought over by early settlers, barbara Allen remains a popular traditional ballad originating in England and Scotland, which immigrants introduced to the United States. The murder ballad Pretty Polly is an American version of an earlier British song, African American folk music in the area has roots in slavery and emancipation. Sacred music, both a Capella and instrumentally accompanied, is at the heart of the tradition, early spirituals framed Christian beliefs within native practices and were heavily influenced by the music and rhythms of Africa. Spirituals are prominent, and often use a call and response pattern, Gospel developed after the Civil War. It relied on text for much of its direction. Gospel is a noise, sometimes accompanied by instrumentation and almost always punctuated by hand clapping, toe tapping. Sea shanties functioned to lighten the burden of routine tasks and provide a rhythm that helped workers perform as a team, cowboys songs are typically ballads that cowboys sang in the West and Southwest. The familiar Streets of Laredo derives from an Irish folk song of the late 18th century called The Unfortunate Rake, while Streets of Laredo uses the same melody as The Unfortunate Rake, St. James Infirmary Blues adapts the story to a different tune. This illustrates how folk songs can change in the retelling and appear in a variety of versions, the Ballad of John Henry is about an African-American folk hero said to have worked as a steel-driving man. Many roots musicians do not consider themselves folk musicians, the main difference between the American folk music revival and American roots music is that roots music seems to cover a broader range, including blues and country. Roots music developed its most expressive and varied forms in the first three decades of the 20th century, by the 1950s, forms of roots music had led to pop-oriented forms. In recent years roots music has been the focus of popular programs such as Garrison Keillors public radio program, A Prairie Home Companion. American traditional music is also called roots music, Roots music is a broad category of music including bluegrass, country music, gospel, old time music, jug bands, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and Native American music
American roots music
–
Singer-songwriter
Woody Guthrie emerged from the dust bowl of Oklahoma and the
Great Depression in the mid-20th Century, with lyrics that embraced his views on ecology, poverty, and
unionization in the USA., paired with melody reflecting the many genres of American folk music.
23.
The Joshua Tree Tour
–
The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree. The tour was depicted by the video and live album Live from Paris and in the film and part-live album Rattle and this tours opening night was 2 April at Arizona State Universitys Activity Center in Tempe, Arizona. The day before the night, Bono had partially lost his voice. He asked the audience to him sing the majority of the set. He had fully regained his voice for the second of the two shows at the arena on 4 April, the first leg took place in American indoor arenas during April and May. The 29 concerts generated US$7,501,329 with a total of 465,452 tickets sold,1,063 tickets from Las Vegas remained unsold equating to a 99. 77% sellout for the 1st American leg. The first leg finished with 5 concerts at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford between 11 and 16 May, the second leg in European arenas and outdoor stadiums ran from late May through to early August, starting at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome on 27 May. The final show of the European leg is at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork on 8 August, the third leg returned to American and Canadian arenas and stadiums in the autumn. The tour ended on 20 December back where it started in Tempe, Arizona, on 30 April, the band played the Pontiac Silverdome, their first headlining stadium show in the United States. While the shows reviews were positive, they said that a screen is necessary for people at the back. U2 production manager, Willie Williams, recalls the debate within the band about the use of screens, the Joshua Tree Tour sold out stadiums around the world, the first time the band had consistently played venues of that size. The Joshua Tree and its singles had become hits and the band had reached a new height in their popularity. Tickets for shows were very hard to get, especially on the first American leg when they only played in arenas. That first leg was organised around multiple-night stands in centres of U2 fandom along the two U. S. coasts, with only a very few dates in the middle of the country. These multiple-night stands also featured a set list twist. The house lights would then stay up for Pride, only going off at the end of it, the new level of fame, exposure and the frantic nature of the tour put the U2 organisation under a large amount of stress. The 79 North American shows on the tour sold 2,035,539 tickets, in total, the tour grossed US$40 million and drew 3 million attendees. At Wembley Stadium in London, Bono sang The Beatles Help, dedicating it to those in the audience who were dreading another five years of the recently re-elected Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher
The Joshua Tree Tour
–
The Joshua Tree Tour
The Joshua Tree Tour
–
Fans waiting for U2 outside Hartford Civic Center May 1987
The Joshua Tree Tour
–
The back of the most common
T-shirt from the Joshua Tree Tour's first leg.
24.
Blues rock
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Blues rock is a fusion genre combining elements of blues and rock. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with similar to electric blues. From its beginnings in the early- to mid-1960s, blues rock has gone through several stylistic shifts and along the way inspired hard rock, Southern rock, Blues rock continues to be an influence, with performances and recordings by several popular artists. Blues rock started with rock musicians in the United Kingdom and the United States performing American blues songs. They typically recreated electric Chicago-style blues songs, such as those by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Howlin Wolf, and Albert King, at faster tempos and with a more aggressive sound common to rock. In the UK, the style was popularized by such as the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and the Animals. In the US, Lonnie Mack, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, in the US, Johnny Winter, the Allman Brothers Band, and ZZ Top represented a hard rock trend. Although around this time, AllMusic commented, the lines between rock and hard rock were barely visible, there was a return to more blues-influenced styles. Groups, such as the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the White Stripes, brought an edgier, more diverse style into the 2000s, Blues rock bands borrow the idea of an instrumental combo and loud amplification from rock & roll. It is also played at a fast tempo, again distinguishing it from the blues. The core blues rock sound is created by the guitar, bass guitar. Often bands also included a harmonica, usually called a harp, the electric guitar is usually amplified through a tube guitar amplifier or using an overdrive effect. While 1950s-era blues bands would still use the upright bass, the blues rock bands of the 1960s used the electric bass. Keyboard instruments, such as the piano and Hammond organ, are occasionally used. As with the guitar, the sound of the Hammond organ is typically amplified with a tube amplifier. Vocals also typically play a key role, although the vocals may be equal in importance or even subordinate to the guitar playing. As well, a number of rock pieces are instrumental-only. Blues-rock pieces often follow typical blues structures, such as blues, sixteen-bar blues
Blues rock
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Eric Clapton in
Barcelona, 1974
25.
Folk rock
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Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the referred to a genre that arose in the United States. The genre was pioneered by the Los Angeles band the Byrds, the term folk rock was coined by the U. S. music press to describe the Byrds music in June 1965, the month in which the bands debut album was issued. A distinct, eclectic style of folk was created in Britain and Europe in the late 1960s by Pentangle, Fairport Convention. In a broader sense, folk rock includes later similarly inspired musical genres, Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the referred to a genre that arose in the United States. The style was influenced by the Beatles and other British bands. The term folk rock was coined by the U. S. music press to describe the Byrds music in June 1965, the month in which the bands debut album was issued. In a broader sense, folk rock includes later similarly inspired musical genres and movements in the English-speaking world and, to a lesser extent, as with any genre, the borders are difficult to define. Of these, the first two owed direct debts to protest folk singers such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, along with the leftist Popular Front culture of the 1930s. The Weavers mainstream popularity set the stage for the revival of the 1950s and early 1960s. By 1951, however, the group had fallen afoul of the U. S, red Scare of the McCarthy era, and as a result they disbanded in 1952. The group reformed in 1955, releasing the influential album The Weavers at Carnegie Hall in 1957, before disbanding for a time in 1964. The crystal-clear harmony singing and liberal outlook that characterized American folk rock during the mid-1960s sprang directly from the music, while this urban folk revival flourished in many cities across the U. S. Like the 1950s Beat Generation before them, the vast majority of the urban folk revivalists shared a disdain for the values of mainstream American mass culture, across the Atlantic, a parallel folk revival was occurring in the UK during the 1950s and early 1960s. However, it wasnt until 1956 and the advent of the skiffle craze that the British folk revival crossed over into the mainstream, skiffle was a blend of jazz, folk, and country blues, with roots in African-American folk music and the post-war British jazz scene. This renewed popularity of folk music forms in Britain led directly to the folk movement. Among the leading lights of the folk movement were Bert Jansch and John Renbourn
Folk rock
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Pete Seeger entertaining
Eleanor Roosevelt (center), at a racially integrated Valentine's Day party.
Folk rock
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Bob Dylan was the most influential of all the urban folk-protest songwriters.
Folk rock
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The Byrds performing "Mr. Tambourine Man" on
The Ed Sullivan Show, 12 December 1965.
Folk rock
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Dylan in 1963.
26.
Gospel music
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Gospel music is a music genre in Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of music varies according to culture. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were repeated in a call and response fashion, most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella, the first published use of the term Gospel Song probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music, following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate. Gospel blues is a form of gospel music. Southern gospel used all male, tenor-lead-baritone-bass quartet make-up, progressive Southern gospel is an American music genre that has grown out of Southern gospel over the past couple of decades. Christian country music, sometimes referred to as gospel music, is a subgenre of gospel music with a country flair. It peaked in popularity in the mid-1990s, bluegrass gospel music is rooted in American mountain music. Celtic gospel music infuses gospel music with a Celtic flair, and is popular in countries such as Ireland. British black gospel refers to Gospel music of the African diaspora, some proponents of standard hymns generally dislike gospel music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, with distance, there is a greater acceptance of such gospel songs into official denominational hymnals. Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals referencing lyrics of a Christian nature, subgenres include contemporary gospel, urban contemporary gospel, Southern gospel, and modern gospel music. Several forms of gospel music utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and, increasingly, electric guitar. In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, several attempts have been made to describe the style of late 19th and early 20th century gospel songs in general
Gospel music
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Mahalia Jackson in the
Concertgebouw concert hall, The Netherlands
Gospel music
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Exemplification of gospel music: an open Bible and a CD, which represent the gospel in written and musical forms
27.
Sun Records
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Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in 1952. Sun was the first company to record Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Sun Records discovered and first recorded such influential musicians as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Presleys recording contract was sold to RCA Victor Records for $35,000 in 1955 to relieve Suns financial difficulties. Before those records, Sun had concentrated mainly on African-American musicians because Phillips loved rhythm and blues, Sun record producer and engineer Jack Clement discovered and recorded Jerry Lee Lewis while Phillips was away on a trip to Florida. The original Sun Records logo was designed by John Gale Parker, Jr. a resident of Memphis, Sun was founded with the financial aid of Jim Bulliet, one of many record executives for whom Phillips had scouted artists before 1952. Some of the artists at Sun were Roscoe Gordon, Rufus Thomas, Little Milton, Tex Weiss, Charlie Rich, Howlin Wolf, Bill Justis. In the Lovin Spoonful song Nashville Cats, John Sebastian used poetic license when he referred to Sun as the Yellow Sun Records from Nashville, there were also sixteen female recording artists whose records were released on the Sun and Phillips international label. These include Barbara Pittman and the Miller Sisters, in 1969, Mercury Records label producer Shelby Singleton purchased the Sun label from Phillips. Singleton merged his operations into Sun International Corporation, which re-released and re-packaged compilations of Suns early artists in the early 1970s and it later introduced rockabilly tribute singer Jimmy Orion Ellis in 1980, with Orion taking on the persona of Elvis Presley. The company remains in business as Sun Entertainment Corporation, and currently licenses its brand, Sun Entertainment also includes SSS International Records, Plantation Records, Amazon Records, Red Bird Records, Blue Cat Records among other labels the company acquired over the years. Its website sells collectible items and compact discs bearing the original 1950s Sun logo, Sun Records is located in Nashville, Tennessee. It has been mainly a reissue label since the 1970s but signed country musician Julie Roberts to a contract in 2013. The music of many Sun Records musicians helped lay part of the foundation of late 20th-century rock and roll and influenced younger musicians. In 2001, Paul McCartney appeared on a compilation album titled Good Rockin Tonight. List of record labels Elvis Presleys Sun recordings Johnny Cashs Sun recordings Roy Orbisons Sun Recordings Official website Sun Studio official site Chronology, session files, discography
Sun Records
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Sun Records
Sun Records
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Sun label
28.
Bob Dylan
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Bob Dylan is an American songwriter, singer, painter, and writer. He has been influential in music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when his songs chronicled social unrest, early songs such as Blowin in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin became anthems for the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war movement. Leaving behind his initial base in the American folk music revival, his six-minute single Like a Rolling Stone, recorded in 1965, Dylans lyrics incorporate a wide range of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed to the burgeoning counterculture, initially inspired by the performances of Little Richard and the songwriting of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams, Dylan has amplified and personalized musical genres. Dylan performs with guitar, keyboards, and harmonica, backed by a changing lineup of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s on what has been dubbed the Never Ending Tour. His accomplishments as a recording artist and performer have been central to his career, since 1994, Dylan has published seven books of drawings and paintings, and his work has been exhibited in major art galleries. As a musician, Dylan has sold more than 100 million records and he has also received numerous awards including eleven Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. Dylan has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Pulitzer Prize jury in 2008 awarded him a citation for his profound impact on popular music and American culture. In May 2012, Dylan received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, in 2016, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition. Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in St. Marys Hospital on May 24,1941, in Duluth, Minnesota and he has a younger brother, David. Dylans paternal grandparents, Zigman and Anna Zimmerman, emigrated from Odessa, in the Russian Empire and his maternal grandparents, Ben and Florence Stone, were Lithuanian Jews who arrived in the United States in 1902. Dylans father, Abram Zimmerman – an electric-appliance shop owner – and mother, Beatrice Beatty Stone, were part of a small, close-knit Jewish community. They lived in Duluth until Robert was six, when his father had polio and the returned to his mothers hometown, Hibbing. In his early years he listened to the radio—first to blues and country stations from Shreveport, Louisiana, and later and he formed several bands while attending Hibbing High School. In the Golden Chords, he performed covers of songs by Little Richard and their performance of Danny & the Juniors Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay at their high school talent show was so loud that the principal cut the microphone. In 1959, his high school yearbook carried the caption Robert Zimmerman, the same year, as Elston Gunnn, he performed two dates with Bobby Vee, playing piano and clapping
Bob Dylan
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Dylan onstage at Azkena Rock Festival,
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, June 26, 2010
Bob Dylan
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Zimmerman family home in Hibbing, Minnesota
Bob Dylan
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With
Joan Baez during the civil rights "
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom ", August 28, 1963
Bob Dylan
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Bob Dylan in November 1963
29.
B. B. King
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Riley Benjamin King, known professionally as B. B. King, was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. King introduced a style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that influenced many later electric blues guitarists. King was known for performing throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s. In 1956, he appeared at 342 shows. King was born on a plantation in Berclair, Mississippi. He was attracted to music and the guitar in church, and began his career in juke joints. He later lived in Memphis, Tennessee, and Chicago, King died at the age of 89 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 14,2015, from congestive heart failure and diabetic complications. Riley Benjamin King was born on September 16,1925, on a plantation called Berclair, near the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi. He considered the city of Indianola, Mississippi to be his home. When Riley was four years old, his mother left his father for another man, so the boy was raised by his grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael. While young, King sang in the choir at Elkhorn Baptist Church in Kilmichael. King was attracted to the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ because of its music, the local minister led worship with a Sears Roebuck Silvertone guitar. The minister taught King his first three chords and it seems that at the age of 12 he purchased his first guitar for $15.00, although another source indicates he was given his first guitar by Bukka White, his mothers first cousin. In November 1941 King Biscuit Time first aired, broadcasting on KFFA in Helena and it was a radio show featuring the Mississippi Delta blues. King listened to it while on break at a plantation, a self-taught guitarist, he then wanted to become a radio musician. In 1946, King followed Bukka White to Memphis, Tennessee, White took him in for the next ten months. However, King returned to Mississippi shortly afterward, where he decided to prepare himself better for the next visit and he performed on Sonny Boy Williamsons radio program on KWEM in West Memphis, where he began to develop an audience. Kings appearances led to engagements at the Sixteenth Avenue Grill in West Memphis
B. B. King
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King at the 2009
North Sea Jazz Festival in
Rotterdam
B. B. King
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Performing with his famous guitar,
Lucille
B. B. King
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B.B. King performs in Germany in 1971
B. B. King
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King performing in New York in the late 1980s
