1.
Richmond, Virginia
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Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond Region and it was incorporated in 1742, and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the population was 204,214, in 2015, the population was estimated to be 220,289, the Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state. Richmond is located at the line of the James River,44 miles west of Williamsburg,66 miles east of Charlottesville. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is located at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, Major suburbs include Midlothian to the southwest, Glen Allen to the north and west, Short Pump to the west and Mechanicsville to the northeast. The site of Richmond had been an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609. The present city of Richmond was founded in 1737 and it became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America, the city entered the 20th century with one of the worlds first successful electric streetcar systems. The Jackson Ward neighborhood is a hub of African-American commerce. Richmonds economy is driven by law, finance, and government, with federal, state. Dominion Resources and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, are headquartered in the city, in 1737, planter William Byrd II commissioned Major William Mayo to lay out the original town grid. The settlement was laid out in April 1737, and was incorporated as a town in 1742, Richmond recovered quickly from the war, and by 1782 was once again a thriving city. A permanent home for the new government, the Virginia State Capitol building, was designed by Thomas Jefferson with the assistance of Charles-Louis Clérisseau, after the American Revolutionary War, Richmond emerged as an important industrial center. The legacy of the canal boatmen is represented by the figure in the center of the city flag, on April 17,1861, five days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the legislature voted to secede from the United States and joined the Confederacy. Official action came in May, after the Confederacy promised to move its capital to Richmond. It became the target of Union armies, especially in the campaigns of 1862. The Seven Days Battles followed in late June and early July 1862, during which Union General McClellan threatened to take Richmond, three years later, as March 1865 ended, the Confederate capitol became indefensible. On March 25, Confederate General John B, gordons desperate attack on Fort Stedman east of Petersburg failed
2.
R&B
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Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated as R&B or RnB, is a genre of popular African-American music that originated in the 1940s. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy. Lyrics focus heavily on the themes of triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, freedom, economics, aspirations, the term rhythm and blues has undergone a number of shifts in meaning. In the early 1950s it was applied to blues records. This tangent of RnB is now known as British rhythm and blues, by the 1970s, the term rhythm and blues changed again and was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. In the 1980s, a style of R&B developed, becoming known as Contemporary R&B. It combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop, popular R&B vocalists at the end of the 20th century included Michael Jackson, R. Kelly, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey. Although Jerry Wexler of Billboard magazine is credited with coining the term rhythm and blues as a term in the United States in 1948. It replaced the term race music, which came from within the black community. The term rhythm and blues was used by Billboard in its chart listings from June 1949 until August 1969, before the Rhythm and Blues name was instated, various record companies had already begun replacing the term race music with sepia series. In 2010 LaMont Robinson founded the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Museum, writer and producer Robert Palmer defined rhythm & blues as a catchall term referring to any music that was made by and for black Americans. He has used the term R&B as a synonym for jump blues, however, AllMusic separates it from jump blues because of its stronger, gospel-esque backbeat. Lawrence Cohn, author of Nothing but the Blues, writes that rhythm, according to him, the term embraced all black music except classical music and religious music, unless a gospel song sold enough to break into the charts. Well into the 21st century, the term R&B continues in use to music made by black musicians. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, arrangements were rehearsed to the point of effortlessness and were sometimes accompanied by background vocalists. Simple repetitive parts mesh, creating momentum and rhythmic interplay producing mellow, lilting, while singers are emotionally engaged with the lyrics, often intensely so, they remain cool, relaxed, and in control. The bands dressed in suits, and even uniforms, an associated with the modern popular music that rhythm. Lyrics often seemed fatalistic, and the music typically followed predictable patterns of chords, there was also increasing emphasis on the electric guitar as a lead instrument, as well as the piano and saxophone
3.
Soul music
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Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It combines elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States, where record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music, catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and a tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds, Soul music reflected the African-American identity and it stressed the importance of an African-American culture. The new-found African-American consciousness led to new styles of music, which boasted pride in being black, Soul music dominated the U. S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U. S. By 1968, the music genre had begun to splinter. Some soul artists developed funk music, while other singers and groups developed slicker, more sophisticated, by the early 1970s, soul music had been influenced by psychedelic rock and other genres, leading to psychedelic soul. The United States saw the development of neo soul around 1994, there are also several other subgenres and offshoots of soul music. The term soul had been used among African-American musicians to emphasize the feeling of being an African-American in the United States, according to another source, Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the 60s. The phrase soul music itself, referring to music with secular lyrics, is first attested in 1961. The term soul in African-American parlance has connotations of African-American pride, gospel groups in the 1940s and 1950s occasionally used the term as part of their name. The jazz style that derived from gospel came to be called soul jazz, important innovators whose recordings in the 1950s contributed to the emergence of soul music included Clyde McPhatter, Hank Ballard, and Etta James. Ray Charles is often cited as popularizing the genre with his string of hits starting with 1954s I Got a Woman. Singer Bobby Womack said, Ray was the genius and he turned the world onto soul music. Charles was open in acknowledging the influence of Pilgrim Travelers vocalist Jesse Whitaker on his singing style, little Richard and James Brown were equally influential. Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson are also acknowledged as soul forefathers. Cooke became popular as the singer of gospel group The Soul Stirrers
4.
Funk
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Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid- 1960s when African American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Like much of African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves. Funk uses the same richly-colored extended chords found in jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths. Other musical groups, including Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic, soon began to adopt, Funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music, and drum and bass. It is also the influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk. The word funk initially referred to a strong odor and it is originally derived from Latin fumigare via Old French fungiere and, in this sense, it was first documented in English in 1620. In 1784 funky meaning musty was first documented, which, in turn, in early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to get down by telling one another, Now, put some stank on it. At least as early as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky, as late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when funk and funky were used increasingly in the context of jazz music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer Earl Palmer was the first to use the word funky to explain to other musicians that their music should be made more syncopated, the style later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent rhythm, implying a more carnal quality. This early form of the set the pattern for later musicians. The music was identified as slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented, a great deal of funk is rhythmically based on a two-celled onbeat/offbeat structure, which originated in sub-Saharan African music traditions. New Orleans appropriated the bifurcated structure from the Afro-Cuban mambo and conga in the late 1940s, New Orleans funk, as it was called, gained international acclaim largely because James Browns rhythm section used it to great effect. Funk creates an intense groove by using strong guitar riffs and bass lines, like Motown recordings, funk songs used bass lines as the centerpiece of songs. Slap basss mixture of thumb-slapped low notes and finger popped high notes allowed the bass to have a rhythmic role. In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a style, often using the wah-wah sound effect. Guitarist Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic were notably influenced by Jimi Hendrixs improvised solos, Eddie Hazel, who worked with George Clinton, is one of the most notable guitar soloists in funk. Ernie Isley was tutored at an age by Jimi Hendrix himself. Jimmy Nolen and Phelps Collins are famous funk rhythm guitarists who both worked with James Brown, on Browns Give It Up or Turnit a Loose, Jimmy Nolens guitar part has a bare bones tonal structure
5.
Jazz fusion
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Jazz fusion is a musical genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined aspects of jazz harmony and improvisation with styles such as funk, rock, rhythm and blues, and Latin jazz. During this time many jazz musicians began experimenting with electric instruments and amplified sound for the first time, as well as electronic effects, many of the developments during the late 1960s and early 1970s have since become established elements of jazz fusion musical practice. Fusion arrangements vary in complexity—some employ groove-based vamps fixed to a key, or even a single chord. Others can feature odd or shifting time signatures with elaborate chord progressions, melodies, typically, these arrangements, whether simple or complex, will feature extended improvised sections that can vary in length. As with jazz, fusion often employs brass and woodwind instruments such as trumpet and saxophone as melody and soloing instruments, the rhythm section typically consists of electric bass, electric guitar, electric piano/synthesizer and drums. As with traditional jazz improvisation, fusion instrumentalists generally require a level of technical proficiency. The term jazz-rock is often used as a synonym for jazz fusion as well as for music performed by late 1960s, experimentation continued in the 1990s and 2000s. Fusion albums, even those that are made by the group or artist. Rather than being a musical style, fusion can be viewed as a musical tradition or approach. Afro-Cuban jazz, one the earliest form of Latin jazz, is a fusion of Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban jazz first emerged in the early 1940s with the Cuban musicians Mario Bauza and Frank Grillo Machito in the band Machito and his Afro-Cubans, based in New York City. Early combinations of jazz with Cuban music, such as Dizzys and Pozos Manteca and Charlie Parkers and Machitos Mangó Mangüé, were referred to as Cubop. During its first decades, the Afro-Cuban jazz movement was stronger in the United States than in Cuba itself, allmusic Guide states that until around 1967, the worlds of jazz and rock were nearly completely separate. One of the earliest releases from Pink Floyd, London 66–67 incorporated jazz-influenced improvisation to their psychedelic compositions, nevertheless, these developments made little impact in the United States. Jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton was an innovator in the 1960s, in 1967, Burton worked with electric guitarist Larry Coryell and recorded Duster, which is considered one of the first fusion records. Texas-born guitarist Coryell was also a pioneer of jazz in the same era. Trumpeter and composer Miles Davis had a influence on the development of jazz fusion with his 1968 album Miles in the Sky. It is the first of Davis albums to incorporate electric instruments, with Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter playing electric piano and bass guitar, respectively
6.
Songwriter
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A songwriter is an individual who writes the lyrics, melodies and chord progressions for songs, typically for a popular music genre such as rock or country music. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the term tends to be used mainly for individuals from the classical music genre. The pressure from the industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with a gift for creating original melodies, pop songs may be written by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own publishers, while others have outside publishers. The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by university degrees and college diplomas, a knowledge of modern music technology, songwriting elements and business skills are necessary requirements to make a songwriting career in the 2010s. Several music colleges offer songwriting diplomas and degrees with music business modules, the legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or transferred. This is governed by international copyright law, song pitching can be done on a songwriters behalf by their publisher or independently using tip sheets like RowFax, the MusicRow publication and SongQuarters. Skills associated with song-writing include entrepreneurism and creativity, songwriters who sign an exclusive songwriting agreement with a publisher are called staff writers. In the Nashville country music scene, there is a staff writer culture where contracted writers work normal 9-to-5 hours at the publishing office and are paid a regular salary. This salary is in effect the writers draw, an advance on future earnings, the publisher owns the copyright of songs written during the term of the agreement for a designated period, after which the songwriter can reclaim the copyright. In an interview with HitQuarters, songwriter Dave Berg extolled the benefits of the set-up, unlike contracted writers, some staff writers operate as employees for their respective publishers. Under the terms of work for hire agreements, the compositions created are fully owned by the publisher. In Nashville, young writers are often encouraged to avoid these types of contracts. Staff writers are common across the industry, but without the more office-like working arrangements favored in Nashville. All the major publishers employ writers under contract, songwriter Allan Eshuijs described his staff writer contract at Universal Music Publishing as a starter deal. His success under the arrangement eventually allowed him to found his own publishing company, so that he could. keep as much as possible, songwriters are also often skilled musicians. In addition to selling their songs and musical concepts for other artists to sing, songwriters need to create a number of elements for a song
7.
Guitar
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The guitar is a musical instrument classified as a fretted string instrument with anywhere from four to 18 strings, usually having six. The sound is projected either acoustically, using a wooden or plastic and wood box, or through electrical amplifier. It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers, the guitar is a type of chordophone, traditionally constructed from wood and strung with either gut, nylon or steel strings and distinguished from other chordophones by its construction and tuning. There are three types of modern acoustic guitar, the classical guitar, the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of a guitar is produced by the strings vibration, amplified by the hollow body of the guitar. The term finger-picking can also refer to a tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass. The acoustic bass guitar is an instrument that is one octave below a regular guitar. Early amplified guitars employed a body, but a solid wood body was eventually found more suitable during the 1960s and 1970s. As with acoustic guitars, there are a number of types of guitars, including hollowbody guitars, archtop guitars and solid-body guitars. The electric guitar has had a influence on popular culture. The guitar is used in a variety of musical genres worldwide. It is recognized as an instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, folk, jazz, jota, mariachi, metal, punk, reggae, rock, soul. The term is used to refer to a number of chordophones that were developed and used across Europe, beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas. The modern word guitar, and its antecedents, has applied to a wide variety of chordophones since classical times. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar, at least two instruments called guitars were in use in Spain by 1200, the guitarra latina and the so-called guitarra morisca. The guitarra morisca had a back, wide fingerboard. The guitarra Latina had a sound hole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers moresca or morisca and latina had been dropped, and it had six courses, lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist
8.
Motown
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Motown is an American record company. The record company was founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12,1958, the name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has also become a nickname for Detroit. Motown played an important role in the integration of popular music as an African American-owned record label that achieved significant crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as the Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a distinct pop influence. During the 1960s, Motown achieved spectacular success for a record company,79 records in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 record chart between 1960 and 1969. The company was sold to MCA Inc. Motown was later sold to PolyGram in 1994, before being sold again to MCA Records successor, Universal Music Group, Motown spent much of the 2000s as a part of the Universal Music subsidiaries Universal Motown and Universal Motown Republic Group, and headquartered in New York City. From 2011 to 2014, Motown was a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group division of Universal Music. On April 1,2014, Universal Music Group announced the dissolution of Island Def Jam and it now operates out of the landmark Capitol Tower. For many decades, Motown was the highest-earning African American business in the United States, Berry Gordy got his start as a songwriter for local Detroit acts such as Jackie Wilson and the Matadors. Wilsons single Lonely Teardrops, written by Gordy, became a huge success and he realized that the more lucrative end of the business was in producing records and owning the publishing. In 1959, Billy Davis and Berry Gordys sisters Gwen and Anna started Anna Records, Davis and Gwen Gordy wanted Berry to be the company president, but Berry wanted to strike out on his own. On January 12,1959, he started Tamla Records, with a loan from his family. Gordy originally wanted to name the label Tammy Records, after the hit song popularized by Debbie Reynolds from the 1957 film Tammy, when he found the name was already in use, Berry decided on Tamla instead. Tamlas first release, in the Detroit area, was Marv Johnsons Come to Me in 1959 and its first hit was Barrett Strongs Money, which made it to number 2 on the Billboard R&B charts. Gordys first signed act was the Matadors, who changed their name to the Miracles. Their first release, Got a Job, was a record to the Silhouettes Get a Job. The Miracles first, minor hit was their single, 1959s Bad Girl, released in Detroit as the debut record on the Motown imprint
9.
Michael Jackson
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Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, actor, and philanthropist. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music, dance, the eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music, the popularity of these videos helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Jacksons 1987 album Bad spawned the U. S and he continued to innovate with videos such as Black or White and Scream throughout the 1990s, and forged a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and his distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous artists of various music genres. Thriller is the album of all time, with estimated sales of 65 million copies worldwide. Jacksons other albums, including Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and he is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. Jackson won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when Love Never Felt So Good reached number nine on May 21,2014. Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism, and, in 2000, aspects of Jacksons personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of child sexual abuse allegations. While preparing for his concert series, This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25,2009. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician, Jacksons death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world. Forbes ranks Jackson as the dead celebrity with earnings of $825 million in 2016. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 and his mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovahs Witness. She played clarinet and piano and once aspired to be a country-and-western performer, michaels father, Joseph Walter Joe Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at U. S. Steel
10.
Herbie Hancock
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Herbert Jeffrey Herbie Hancock is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer and actor. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers, Hancocks music is often melodic and accessible, he has had many songs cross over and achieved success among pop audiences. Hancocks best-known compositions include Cantaloupe Island, Watermelon Man, Maiden Voyage, Chameleon, and his 2007 tribute album River, The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award, after Getz/Gilberto in 1965. Hancock was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winnie Belle, a secretary, and Wayman Edward Hancock and his parents named him after the singer and actor Herb Jeffries. He attended the Hyde Park Academy, like many jazz pianists, Hancock started with a classical music education. He studied from age seven, and his talent was recognized early, through his teens, Hancock never had a jazz teacher, but developed his ear and sense of harmony. He was also influenced by records of the group the Hi-Los. He reported that. by the time I actually heard the Hi-Los, I started picking that stuff out, my ear was happening. I could hear stuff and thats when I really learned some much farther-out voicings – like the harmonies I used on Speak Like a Child – just being able to do that, I really got that from Clare Fischers arrangements for the Hi-Los. Clare Fischer was an influence on my harmonic concept. he and Bill Evans. You know, thats where it came from, in 1960, he heard Chris Anderson play just once, and begged him to accept him as a student. Hancock often mentions Anderson as his harmonic guru, Hancock left Grinnell College, moved to Chicago and began working with Donald Byrd and Coleman Hawkins, during which period he also took courses at Roosevelt University. Byrd was attending the Manhattan School of Music in New York at the time and suggested that Hancock study composition with Vittorio Giannini, the pianist quickly earned a reputation, and played subsequent sessions with Oliver Nelson and Phil Woods. He recorded his first solo album Takin Off for Blue Note Records in 1962, Watermelon Man was to provide Mongo Santamaría with a hit single, but more importantly for Hancock, Takin Off caught the attention of Miles Davis, who was at that time assembling a new band. Hancock was introduced to Davis by the young drummer Tony Williams, Hancock received considerable attention when, in May 1963, he joined Daviss Second Great Quintet. Davis personally sought out Hancock, whom he saw as one of the most promising talents in jazz, the rhythm section Davis organized was young but effective, comprising bassist Ron Carter, 17-year-old drummer Williams, and Hancock on piano. After George Coleman and Sam Rivers each took a turn at the saxophone spot and this quintet is often regarded as one of the finest jazz ensembles, and the rhythm section has been especially praised for its innovation and flexibility. The second great quintet was where Hancock found his own voice as a pianist, not only did he find new ways to use common chords, but he also popularized chords that had not previously been used in jazz
11.
Maxwell (musician)
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Gerald Maxwell Rivera, better known by his stage name Maxwell, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Along with fellow musicians DAngelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell has been credited with helping to shape what has been termed the neo soul movement that rose to prominence during the late 1990s. Maxwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a Haitian mother and his mother grew up in a devout Baptist household in Haiti. Maxwells father died in a crash when Maxwell was three years old. The experience made him a religious child, and during his childhood he sang in a Baptist church. After receiving a low-cost Casio keyboard from a friend, the Brooklyn, already a fan of what he described as jheri curl soul, which was the trademark of early 1980s R&B acts such as Patrice Rushen, S. O. S. Band and Rose Royce, Maxwell began to teach himself to play a variety of instruments, initially influenced by early-1980s urban R&B, Maxwell progressed rapidly, and by 1991 he was performing on the New York City club scene. Maxwell was able to access to a 24-track recording studio and started to record songs for a demo tape. The demo engendered interest, and his debut concert performance at Manhattan nightclub Nells drew a crowd. During the next two years, Maxwell wrote and recorded three hundred songs and played frequently at small venues throughout New York City. Maxwells performances continued to draw interest and increase the buzz about him, after earning a considerable reputation, Maxwell signed a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1994. He adopted his name as a moniker out of respect for his familys privacy. Maxwell began working with songwriter Leon Ware and noted guitarist Wah Wah Watson to record his debut Maxwells Urban Hang Suite in the early 1990s. Recording sessions for the album took place in 1994 and 1995 at Electric Lady Studios, RPM Studios, Sorcerer Studios and Chung King Studios in New York City, and at CRC Studios in Chicago, Illinois. After production for the album was completed in 1995, the product was presented to Columbia Records in Spring of that same year. However, it was shelved for nearly a year, due to issues with Columbias management, initially, the album was slow to obtain commercial interest. On April 20,1996, the album made its debut at number 38 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It spent seventy-eight weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and it became a Top 30 hit in the United Kingdom
12.
Nickname
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A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place, or thing, for affection or ridicule. The term hypocoristic is used to refer to a nickname of affection between those in love or with an emotional bond, compared with a term of endearment. The term diminutive name refers to nicknames that convey smallness, hence something regarded with affection or familiarity, the distinction between the two is often blurred. It is a form of endearment and amusement, as a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from a title, although there may be overlap in these concepts. A moniker also means a nickname or personal name, the word often distinguishes personal names from nicknames that became proper names out of former nicknames. English examples are Bob and Rob, nickname variants for Robert, a nickname is often considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can sometimes be a form of ridicule. The compound word ekename, literally meaning additional name, was attested as early as 1303 and this word was derived from the Old English phrase eaca an increase, related to eacian to increase. By the fifteenth century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase an ekename led to its reanalysis as a nekename, though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since. However, it is common for the nickname to be identified after a comma following the full real name or later in the body of the text. The middle name is generally eliminated, especially in speech, like English, German uses quotation marks between the first and last names. The latter may cause confusion because it resembles an English convention sometimes used for married, in Viking societies, many people had heiti, viðrnefni, or kenningarnöfn which were used in addition to, or instead of the first name. Slaves have often used nicknames, so that the master who heard about someone doing something could not identify the slave, in capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, the slaves had nicknames to protect them from being caught, as practising capoeira was illegal for decades. In Anglo-American culture, a nickname is based on a shortening of a persons proper name. However, in societies, this may not necessarily be the case. For example, my nickname is farmer Phil In Indian society, for example, generally people have at least one nickname, Indian nicknames very often are a trivial word or a diminutive. In Australian society, Australian men will often give ironic nicknames, for example, a man with red hair will be given the nickname Blue or Bluey. A tall man will be called Shorty, an obese person Slim, in England, some nicknames are traditionally associated with a persons surname. A man with the surname Clark will be nicknamed Nobby, the surname Miller will have the nickname Dusty, there are several other nicknames linked traditionally with a persons surname, including Chalky White, Bunny Warren, Tug Wilson, and Spud Baker
13.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
14.
Wah-wah pedal
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The pedal sweeps the peak response of a frequency filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, a spectral glide, also known as the wah effect. The wah-wah effect originated in the 1920s, with trumpet or trombone players finding they could produce an expressive crying tone by moving a mute in and this was later simulated with electronic circuitry for the electric guitar when the wah-wah pedal was invented. It is controlled by movement of the foot on a rocking pedal connected to a potentiometer. Wah-wah effects are used when a guitarist is soloing, or creating a wacka-wacka funk-styled rhythm for rhythm guitar playing, an envelope filter or envelope follower is often referred to as an auto-wah. The first wah pedal was created by Bradley J. Plunkett at Warwick Electronics Inc. /Thomas Organ Company in November 1966 and this pedal is the original prototype made from a transistorized MRB potentiometer bread-boarded circuit and the housing of a Vox Continental Organ volume pedal. The concept, however, was not new, country guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins had used a similar, self-designed device on his late 1950s recordings of Hot Toddy and Slinkey. A DeArmond Tone and Volume pedal was used in the early 1960s by Big Jim Sullivan, notably in some Krew Cats instrumental tracks, the creation of the modern wah pedal was actually an accident which stemmed from the redesign of the Vox Super Beatle guitar amplifier in 1966. In addition to distributing the British-made Vox amplifiers, the Thomas Organ Company also designed and manufactured much of the Vox equipment sold in the US, the US-made Vox product line development was headed by musician and bandleader Bill Page. Plunkett had lifted and bread-boarded a transistorized tone-circuit from the Thomas Organ to duplicate the Jennings 3-position circuit, after adjusting and testing the amplifier with an electronic oscillator and oscilloscope, Plunkett connected the output to the speaker and tested the circuit audibly. At that point, several engineers and technical consultants, including Bill Page and Del Casher, Page insisted on testing this bread-boarded circuit while he played his saxophone through an amplifier. After the installation, Page began playing his saxophone through the pedal and had asked Joe Banaron, CEO of Warwick Electronics Inc. /Thomas Organ Company, to listen to the effect. Banaron, being a fan of the big band style of music, was interested in marketing the wah pedal for wind instruments as suggested by Page rather than for the guitar as suggested by Casher. After the initial invention of the wah pedal, the pedal was then modified by Casher. The un-modified version of the Vox wah pedal was released to the public in February 1967 with an image of Clyde McCoy on the bottom of the pedal. Warwick Electronics Inc. assigned Lester L. Kushner, an engineer with the Thomas Organ Company, the patent application was submitted on February 24,1967 which included technical diagrams of the pedal being connected to a four-stringed guitar. Warwick Electronics Inc. was granted US patent 3530224 on September 22,1970, early versions of the Clyde McCoy featured an image of McCoy on the bottom panel, which soon gave way to only his signature. Thomas Organ then wanted the effect branded as their own for the American market, Jen, who had been responsible for the manufacture of Thomas Organ and Vox wah pedals, also made rebranded pedals for companies such as Fender and Gretsch and under their own Jen brand. When Thomas Organ moved production completely to Sepulveda, California and Chicago, some of the most famous electric guitarists of the day were keen to adopt the wah-wah pedal soon after its release
15.
Detroit
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Detroit is the most populous city in the U. S. state of Michigan, the fourth-largest city in the Midwest and the largest city on the United States–Canada border. It is the seat of Wayne County, the most populous county in the state, the municipality of Detroit had a 2015 estimated population of 677,116, making it the 21st-most populous city in the United States. Roughly one-half of Michigans population lives in Metro Detroit alone, the Detroit–Windsor area, a commercial link straddling the Canada–U. S. Border, has a population of about 5.7 million. Detroit is a port on the Detroit River, a strait that connects the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is among the most important hubs in the United States, the City of Detroit anchors the second-largest economic region in the Midwest, behind Chicago, and the thirteenth-largest in the United States. Detroit and its neighboring Canadian city Windsor are connected through a tunnel and various bridges, Detroit was founded on July 24,1701 by the French explorer and adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and a party of settlers. During the 19th century, it became an important industrial hub at the center of the Great Lakes region, with expansion of the American automobile industry in the early 20th century, the Detroit area emerged as a significant metropolitan region within the United States. The city became the fourth-largest in the country for a period, in the 1950s and 1960s, suburban expansion continued with construction of a regional freeway system. A great portion of Detroits public transport was abandoned in favour of becoming a city in the post-war period. Due to industrial restructuring and loss of jobs in the auto industry, between 2000 and 2010 the citys population fell by 25 percent, changing its ranking from the nations 10th-largest city to 18th. In 2010, the city had a population of 713,777 and this resulted from suburbanization, corruption, industrial restructuring and the decline of Detroits auto industry. In 2013, the state of Michigan declared an emergency for the city. Detroit has experienced urban decay as its population and jobs have shifted to its suburbs or elsewhere, conservation efforts managed to save many architectural pieces since the 2000s and allowed several large-scale revitalisations. More recently, the population of Downtown Detroit, Midtown Detroit, paleo-Indian people inhabited areas near Detroit as early as 11,000 years ago. In the 17th century, the region was inhabited by Huron, Odawa, Potawatomi, for the next hundred years, virtually no British, colonist, or French action was contemplated without consultation with, or consideration of the Iroquois likely response. When the French and Indian War evicted the Kingdom of France from Canada, the 1798 raids and resultant 1799 decisive Sullivan Expedition reopened the Ohio Country to westward emigration, which began almost immediately, and by 1800 white settlers were pouring westwards. By 1773, the population of Detroit was 1,400, by 1778, its population was up to 2,144 and it was the third-largest city in the Province of Quebec
16.
The Temptations
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The Temptations are an American vocal group known for their success with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and flashy wardrobe, having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are one of the most successful groups in music history. As of 2015, the Temptations continue to perform with one member, Otis Williams. Featuring five male vocalists and dancers, the formed in 1960 in Detroit. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, who was the lead vocalist on a number of the groups biggest hits, including My Girl, Aint Too Proud to Beg, and I Wish It Would Rain. Ruffin was replaced in 1968 by Dennis Edwards, with whom the group continued to record hit records such as Cloud Nine, the groups lineup has changed frequently since the departures of Kendricks and Paul Williams from the act in 1971. Over the course of their career, the Temptations have released four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and fourteen R&B number-one singles, and their material has earned them three Grammy Awards. The Temptations were the first Motown recording act to win a Grammy Award - for Cloud Nine in 1969 -, six of the Temptations were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Three classic Temptations songs, My Girl, Just My Imagination, the Temptations were also ranked at number 68 on Rolling Stone magazines list of the 100 Greatest Artists of all time. Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams started singing together in church as children, by their teenage years, they formed a doo-wop quartet in 1955 with Kell Osborne and Wiley Waller, naming themselves the Cavaliers. After Waller left the group in 1957, the trio left Birmingham to break into the music business. The group settled in Detroit where they changed their name to the Primes under the direction of Milton Jenkins, the Primes soon became well known around the Detroit area for their meticulous performances. Jenkins later created a group, The Primettes, later known as the Supremes. Kendricks was already seen as an idol in the Detroit area while Williams was well received for his baritone vocals. Texas teenager Otis Williams moved to Detroit as a youngster to be with his mother, by 1958, Williams was the leader of a vocal group named Otis Williams and the Siberians. The group included Elbridge Al Bryant, James Pee-Wee Crawford, Vernard Plain, the group recorded a song, Pecos Kid for a label run by radio deejay Senator Bristol Bryant. Shortly after its release, the changed its name to The El Domingoes. Following this, Montgomery native Melvin Franklin replaced Arthur Walton as bass vocalist and Franklins cousin, Detroit-born Richard Street, signing with Johnnie Mae Matthews Northern Records, the group had their name changed again to The Distants
17.
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
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Papa Was a Rollin Stone is a psychedelic soul song, written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as a single for Motown act The Undisputed Truth in 1971. This version of Papa was released as a single in early 1972 and peaked at #63 on the Pop Charts and #24 on the R&B Charts, and was included on The Undisputed Truths 1973 album Law of the Land. While the original Undisputed Truth version of the song has largely forgotten, The Temptations version of the song has been an enduring. It was ranked number 168 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, in retrospect, The Temptations Otis Williams considers Papa to be the last real classic the group recorded. A very unusual thing about this song is that it only one chord throughout — B-flat minor. Friction arose during the recording of Papa Was a Rollin Stone for a number of reasons, Norman Whitfield forced Dennis Edwards to re-record his parts dozens of times until he finally got the angered, bitter grumble he desired out of the usually fiery-toned Edwards. Whitfields treatment of the group led to his dismissal as their producer. It actually was on the third of October, however, a seven-minute edited version of Papa Was a Rollin Stone was released as a single in September 1972. For this mix, congas were added to bolster the songs sparse percussion, the Temptations box set Emperors of Soul has the edited version in stereo, but without the congas. The B-side was the backing by The Funk Brothers without the Temptations vocals. Papa rose to one on the U. S. pop charts and number five on the U. S. R&B charts. A number of covers of Papa Was a Rollin Stone have been recorded. Issac Hayes and Charlotte Kelly recorded a version of this song, in January 1995, they also performed the song live on Taratata. The record producer and remixer Dr. Heinz Funkenpumpe released a remix of The Pioneers version in 2009, bill Wolf Wolfer created an electronic cover of the number for his 1982 debut album, Wolf. The single peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1983, luis Miguel recorded a Spanish-language version during the recording sessions of Soy como quiero ser in 1987. The group Was covered the song on their 1990 album Are You Okay. george Michael performed the song during the Cover to Cover tour in 1991, where it was blended with the Adamski hit Killer. It was released on the EP Five Live and this arrangement was also performed by Seal. In the Battle of the Groups segment of the TV special Motown Returns to the Apollo in 1985 the Four Tops sang the coda, much to the outrage of the Temptations
18.
The Jackson 5
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The Jackson 5, or Jackson Five, also known as The Jacksons in later years, was an American popular music group. Formed in 1964 under the name the Jackson Brothers, the members were elder brothers Jackie, Tito. Younger brothers Marlon and Michael would join soon after and they participated in talent shows and performed in clubs on the chitlin circuit. They entered the music scene in 1967, signing with Steeltown Records. In 1969, the group left Steeltown Records and signed with Motown, the Jackson 5 was one of the first groups of black American performers to attain a crossover following, preceded by the Supremes, the Four Tops and the Temptations. In 1983, Jermaine reunited with the band to perform on Motown 25, Yesterday, Today, Forever, after the end of their tour to promote the album, Michael and Marlon Jackson promptly left the group. The remaining four released the poorly received 2300 Jackson Street album in 1989 before being dropped from their label. Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999, following the death of Michael Jackson in 2009, the four eldest of the brothers embarked on their Unity Tour in 2012. The five Jackson brothers interest in music began in Gary, Indiana, bolstered by their father, in 1964, Joe caught Tito playing with his guitar after a string broke. Upon fixing the string, threatening punishment, Titos father had him play and was impressed enough to buy Tito his own guitar, Marlon, then seven years old, eventually joined, playing the tambourine. Johnny Jackson and Ronnie Rancifer eventually replaced Milford Hite and Reynaud Jones, during early 1968, the group also performed at strip clubs on Joes behest to earn extra income. Following initial recordings at Detroits Hitsville USA studio, Berry Gordy sent the Jacksons to Hollywood in July, hiring Suzanne de Passe to become a mentor of the brothers. Starting in August, the Jackson Five performed as the act for The Supremes. In October, their first single for Motown was released and the group promoted it while performing at the Hollywood Palace with Ross hosting, in December, the brothers made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Afterwards, their album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, was released that same month. In January 1970, I Want You Back topped the Billboard Hot 100, led by the Corporation, the Jackson 5 released two more number-one singles, ABC and The Love You Save. All four singles were almost as popular in countries as they were in the United States. Releasing a succession of four albums in one year, the Jackson 5 replaced The Supremes as Motowns best-selling group
19.
Four Tops
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The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit, Michigan who helped to define the citys Motown sound of the 1960s. The groups repertoire has included music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their singer, whereas most male. The group was the male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland. These included two Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits for the Tops, I Cant Help Myself in 1965, after Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four Tops were assigned to a number of producers, primarily Frank Wilson, but generally with less success. When Motown left Detroit in 1972 to move to Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s, the Four Tops recorded for Casablanca Records, Arista Records and Motown, returning to that label on two occasions for brief stays. Apart from their album Indestructible, Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire catalog and also their 1956 single. A change of lineup was forced on the group when Lawrence Payton died on June 20,1997, the group initially continued as a three-piece under the name the Tops, before Theo Peoples was recruited as the new fourth member. Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000, on July 1,2005, Benson died of lung cancer. Paytons son Roquel Payton replaced him, Levi Stubbs died on October 17,2008. Fakir, McNeir, Roquel Payton, and Harold Spike Bonhart, Fakir is the only surviving founding member of the group. All four members of the began their careers together while they were high-school students in Detroit. At the insistence of their friends, Pershing High students Levi Stubbs and Abdul Duke Fakir performed with Renaldo Obie Benson, the quartet decided to remain together and named the group the Four Aims. With the help of Paytons songwriter cousin Roquel Davis, the Aims signed to Chess Records in 1956, over the next seven years, the Tops had unsuccessful tenures at Chess, Red Top, Riverside Records and Columbia Records. Without any hit records to their name, they toured frequently, developing a stage presence. In 1963, Berry Gordy, Jr. who had worked with Roquel Davis as a songwriter in the late 1950s, during their early Motown years, the Four Tops recorded jazz standards for the companys Workshop label. In addition, they sang backup on Motown singles by the Supremes, Martha, in 1964, Motowns main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland, created a complete instrumental track without any idea of what to do with it. They decided to craft the song as a mainstream pop song for the Four Tops
20.
Gladys Knight & the Pips
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Gladys Knight & the Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for three decades. After a couple years performing in talent shows, the signed with Brunswick Records in 1957. Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest were eventually replaced by cousin, Edward Patten. This lineup produced the groups first hit single, Every Beat of My Heart, after the single was released on three different labels, they changed their name to Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1961. Langston George left the year and Gladys Knight left in 1962 to start a family with musician Jimmy Newman. Knight rejoined in 1964 and this continued until the groups disbandment in 1989. The group reached commercial success after signing with Motown Records in 1966, contractual difficulties with their labels forced the group to record side projects until 1980 when they signed with Columbia Records. Later hits included Save the Overtime and the Grammy-winning single Love Overboard, in 1989, the group disbanded with the Pips retiring and Knight embarking on a successful solo career. Gladys Knight & the Pips are multiple Grammy and American Music Award winners and are inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Gladys Knight performed on Ted Macks Original Amateur Hour in 1952 at the age of seven, winning first prize. On September 4,1952, Gladys, Bubba, sister Brenda and their cousins William, shortly afterwards, the quintet agreed to form a group under the insistence of Gladys mother Elizabeth Knight. They settled on the name The Pips, inspired by the nickname of their cousin James Pip Woods, by 1955, the group began performing at the talent show circuit at their hometown of Atlanta, winning each talent show they performed on. This success allowed them a contract with Brunswick Records in 1957. The group released two recordings that failed to chart, despite this, the group was now opening for top recording acts such as Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. By 1959, Brunswick dropped the group and both Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest left the group to begin families and they were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a friend, Langston George. Patten and George were involved in another group before joining the Pips, in 1961, they recorded their version of Johnny Otis Every Beat of My Heart. Because the group was without a label, a local Atlanta label, Huntom Records, pushed the single. During this time, the moved to New York where they auditioned for Bobby Robinsons Fury Records. Upon learning that Every Beat of My Heart was already becoming a hit and cutting the group off of profits, Robinson had the group re-record the song, both versions made the Billboard charts, with the Huntom/Vee-Jay version reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100
21.
The Supremes
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The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motowns main songwriting and production team, founding members Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, all from the Brewster-Douglass public housing project in Detroit, formed the Primettes as the sister act to the Primes. Barbara Martin replaced McGlown in 1960, and the signed with Motown the following year as the Supremes. Martin left the act in early 1962, and Ross, Ballard, during the mid-1960s, the Supremes achieved mainstream success with Ross as lead singer. In 1967, Motown president Berry Gordy renamed the group Diana Ross & the Supremes, Ross left to pursue a solo career in 1970 and was replaced by Jean Terrell, at which point the groups name reverted to the Supremes. After 1972, the lineup changed frequently, Lynda Laurence, Scherrie Payne. The Supremes disbanded in 1977 after 18 years, since Ballard sang, as did Paul Williams girlfriend Betty McGlown, the Primess manager Milton Jenkins decided to create a sister group to the Primes called the Primettes. Ballard recruited her best friend Mary Wilson, who in turn recruited classmate Diane Ross, mentored and funded by Jenkins, the Primettes began by performing hit songs by artists such as Ray Charles and the Drifters at sock hops, social clubs and talent shows around the Detroit area. Receiving additional guidance from group friend and established songwriter Jesse Greer, after winning a prestigious local talent contest, the Primettes sights were set on making a record. Robinson liked the girls and agreed to help, but he liked their guitarist even more, with the Primettes permission he hired Tarplin, who became the guitarist for the Miracles. Undaunted, later that year the Primettes recorded a single for Lu Pine Records, a label created just for them, titled Tears of Sorrow, the single failed to find an audience, however. Shortly thereafter, McGlown became engaged and left the group, local girl Barbara Martin was McGlowns prompt replacement. Determined to leave an impression on Gordy and join the stable of rising Motown stars, eventually, they convinced Gordy to allow them to contribute hand claps and background vocals for the songs of other Motown artists including Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells. In January 1961, Gordy finally relented and agreed to sign the girls to his label –, the Primes had by this time combined with Otis Williams & the Distants and would soon sign to Motown as the Temptations. Gordy gave Ballard a list of names to choose from that included such as the Darleens, the Sweet Ps, the Melodees, the Royaltones. Ballard chose the Supremes, a name that Ross initially disliked as she felt it too masculine, nevertheless, on January 15 the group signed with Motown as the Supremes. In the spring of 1962, Martin left the group to start a family, thus, the newly named Supremes continued as a trio. Between 1961 and 1963, the Supremes released six singles, none of which charted in the Top 40 positions of the Billboard Hot 100, jokingly referred to as the no-hit Supremes around Motowns Hitsville U. S. A
22.
Disco
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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
23.
The Pointer Sisters
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The Pointer Sisters are an American R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Spanning over four decades, their repertoire has included such genres as pop, disco, jazz, electronic music, bebop, blues, soul, funk, dance, country. The Pointer Sisters have won three Grammy Awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994, the group had 13 US top 20 hits between 1973 and 1985. The group had its origins when sisters June and Bonnie Pointer began performing in clubs in 1969 as Pointers, the line-up grew to a trio when sister Anita Pointer joined them. They scored a deal with Atlantic Records and released several unsuccessful singles. The trio grew to a quartet when sister Ruth joined in December 1972 and they then signed with Blue Thumb Records, recorded their debut album, and began seeing more success, winning a Grammy Award in 1975 for Best Country Vocal Performance for Fairytale. Bonnie left the group in 1978 to commence a career with only modest success. The group achieved its greatest commercial success as a trio during the 1980s consisting of the line-up of June, Ruth, and Anita, winning two more Grammys for the top 10 hits Jump and Automatic. The groups other U. S. top 10 hits are Fire, Hes So Shy, Slow Hand, the remixed version of Im So Excited and Neutron Dance. June Pointer, the youngest sister, struggled with addiction for much of her career, leaving the group in April 2004 and dying from extensive cancer in April 2006. She was replaced by Ruths daughter Issa Pointer and this trio had a number two hit in Belgium in 2005, covering Sisters Are Doin It for Themselves with Belgian singer Natalia. Since 2009, the group has consisted of Anita, Ruth, Issa, while all four women remain in the group, they most often perform as a trio rotating the lineup as needed. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked them as the 80th most successful artists of all-time. As children in West Oakland, the Pointer sisters and brothers were encouraged to listen to and sing music by their parents Reverend Elton Pointer. However, they were rock and roll and the blues were the devils music. They regularly sang at a local Church of God in Christ congregation in West Oakland, the sisters graduated from Oakland Technical High School, Ruth in 1963, Anita in 1965, and Bonnie in 1968. After leaving school Ruth, the oldest sister, was married with two children Faun and Malik, Anita, the second oldest sister, also was married with a child Jada. Bonnie, the third oldest sister, and June sought a business career and they formed a duo, Pointers
24.
Columbia Records
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Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. the United States division of Sony Corporation. It was founded in 1887, evolving from an enterprise named the American Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the sound business. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of singers, instrumentalists. It is one of Sony Musics three flagship record labels alongside RCA Records and Epic Records, rather, as above, it was connected to CBS, a broadcasting media company which had purchased the company in 1938, and had been co-founded in 1927 by Columbia Records itself. Though Arista Records was sold to Bertelsmann Music Group, it would become a sister label of Columbia Records through its mutual connection to Sony Music. The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded in 1887 by stenographer, lawyer and New Jersey native Edward Easton and it derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. At first it had a monopoly on sales and service of Edison phonographs and phonograph cylinders in Washington. As was the custom of some of the regional companies, Columbia produced many commercial cylinder recordings of its own. Columbias ties to Edison and the North American Phonograph Company were severed in 1894 with the North American Phonograph Companys breakup, thereafter it sold only records and phonographs of its own manufacture. In 1902, Columbia introduced the XP record, a brown wax record. According to Gracyk, the molded brown waxes may have sold to Sears for distribution. Columbia began selling records and phonographs in addition to the cylinder system in 1901, preceded only by their Toy Graphophone of 1899. For a decade, Columbia competed with both the Edison Phonograph Company cylinders and the Victor Talking Machine Company disc records as one of the top three names in American recorded sound. In order to add prestige to its catalog of artists. The firm also introduced the internal-horn Grafonola to compete with the extremely popular Victrola sold by the rival Victor Talking Machine Company, during this era, Columbia used the famous Magic Notes logo—a pair of sixteenth notes in a circle—both in the United States and overseas. Columbia was split into two companies, one to make records and one to make players, Columbia Phonograph was moved to Connecticut, and Ed Easton went with it. Eventually it was renamed the Dictaphone Corporation, in late 1923, Columbia went into receivership
25.
Red Hot Organization
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Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit,5013, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. The Red Hot Organization Collection was donated to Fales Library in New York City in 2006, Red Hot is a not-for-profit production company that has produced 16 albums and dedicated more than 10 million dollars to worthy organizations, causes and pro-social projects around the world. Its mission is to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health, Red Hot is more of a creative production company than a traditional charitable organization. Overhead is kept to a minimum and production focused on making innovative projects that target hard to reach audiences by using popular culture, revenues from these projects are given to traditional charities, often in collaboration with the artists who have contributed their music or art. What is significant is their fund raising does not compete with local AIDS service organizations and they tap basically new money, and thats very important. Furthermore, the contracts Red Hot signs with artists guarantees that at least 80% of the profits generated from the sales will be earmarked for AIDS efforts. John Carlin, Paul Heck, and Béco Dranoff are key persons associated with the organization. First founded as King Cole, Inc. by Leigh Blake and John Carlin, Red Hot was established in 1989 in response to the devastation wrought by AIDS on a generation of New York artists and intellectuals. In 1990 the dream was realized when Red Hot + Blue was released, featuring such stars as David Byrne, Annie Lennox, Tom Waits, U2 and Erasure. Carlin,43 at the time, couldn’t believe he pulled it off, That CD was inspired by naïveté, Red Hot + Blue ultimately sold over 1 million copies worldwide, and raised millions of dollars for AIDS charities such as AmFAR and ActUp. The release of Red Hot + Blue became the template for many charity projects that followed and its one-and-a-half-hour TV special, hosted by Richard Gere, Carrie Fisher and Kyle MacLachlan aired on World AIDS Day during prime time on ABC. The 1990s were a hotbed of activity for Red Hot, in 1992, Red Hot produced the second in the series, Red Hot + Dance features remixes and original tracks by major club artists, remixed by some of the most influential DJs and producers in the world. It also contains three tracks by George Michael, including the international smash hit Too Funky, and Supernatural with Madonna. For the Dance project, Red Hot held club nights around the world spotlighting top dance performers and these parties were filmed for an AIDS awareness television special and released on home video. In 1993, Red Hot released, No Alternative, produced by Paul Heck, which featured Nirvana and it features original tracks and covers from bands that went on to define the alternative rock scene of the 1990s. An MTV special and home video featured performances, music videos. Red Hot + Country was released in 1994 by Mercury Nashville, the album received two Grammy nominations. A live show was held at the Ryman Auditorium, the home to the Grand Ole Opry
26.
Time (magazine)
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Time is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It was founded in 1923 and for decades was dominated by Henry Luce, a European edition is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong, the South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney, Australia. In December 2008, Time discontinued publishing a Canadian advertiser edition, Time has the worlds largest circulation for a weekly news magazine, and has a readership of 26 million,20 million of which are based in the United States. As of 2012, it had a circulation of 3.3 million making it the eleventh most circulated magazine in the United States reception room circuit, as of 2015, its circulation was 3,036,602. Richard Stengel was the editor from May 2006 to October 2013. Nancy Gibbs has been the editor since October 2013. Time magazine was created in 1923 by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, the two had previously worked together as chairman and managing editor respectively of the Yale Daily News. They first called the proposed magazine Facts and they wanted to emphasize brevity, so that a busy man could read it in an hour. They changed the name to Time and used the slogan Take Time–Its Brief and it set out to tell the news through people, and for many decades the magazines cover depicted a single person. More recently, Time has incorporated People of the Year issues which grew in popularity over the years, notable mentions of them were Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, Matej Turk, etc. The first issue of Time was published on March 3,1923, featuring Joseph G. Cannon, the retired Speaker of the House of Representatives, on its cover, a facsimile reprint of Issue No. 1, including all of the articles and advertisements contained in the original, was included with copies of the February 28,1938 issue as a commemoration of the magazines 15th anniversary. The cover price was 15¢ On Haddens death in 1929, Luce became the dominant man at Time, the Intimate History of a Publishing Enterprise 1923–1941. In 1929, Roy Larsen was also named a Time Inc. director, J. P. Morgan retained a certain control through two directorates and a share of stocks, both over Time and Fortune. Other shareholders were Brown Brothers W. A. Harriman & Co. the Intimate History of a Changing Enterprise 1957–1983. According to the September 10,1979 issue of The New York Times, after Time magazine began publishing its weekly issues in March 1923, Roy Larsen was able to increase its circulation by utilizing U. S. radio and movie theaters around the world. It often promoted both Time magazine and U. S. political and corporate interests, Larsen next arranged for a 30-minute radio program, The March of Time, to be broadcast over CBS, beginning on March 6,1931
27.
Now (Maxwell album)
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Now is the third studio album by American R&B singer Maxwell. It was released on August 14,2001, by Columbia Records, following the lukewarm commercial performance of his 1998 record Embrya, Maxwell pursued a different direction while recording Now, abandoning the conceptual style of his previous albums. Now received positive reviews and sold over 296,000 units in the U. S. in the first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, while earning Maxwell his first number-one album on the Billboard 200. The albums second single This Womans Work, a staple of Maxwells, charted at number 58 on the Hot 100. Now was Maxwells last album before a hiatus, which culminated in the release of his fourth studio album BLACKsummersnight. Now received generally positive reviews from critics, at Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 11 reviews. Daryl Easlea from BBC Music highlighted the cover of the 1989 Kate Bush song This Womans Work and deemed the album grown-up and he is, as throughout Now, a soul singer who knows precisely what hes doing, Hunter wrote. All tracks written by Hod David, Stuart Matthewman, and Maxwell unless otherwise noted, on physical copies, Get to Know Ya is separated into two tracks, the first four seconds on track 1, followed by the rest of the song on track 2. The album packaging simply lists the song as track 1, with Lifetime as track 3, on digital copies, Get to Know Ya is one track, as listed above
28.
Angie Stone
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Angie Stone is an American recording artist, producer, and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence, soon after, Stone began working with futuristic rap group Mantronix and singer Lenny Kravitz. In the early 1990s, she became a member of the R&B trio Vertical Hold, in 1999, Stone released her solo debut album Black Diamond on Arista Records, which was certified gold and spawned the R&B single “No More Rain ”. After the transition to J Records, she released another gold selling album, 2001s Mahogany Soul and she has since released five albums, Stone Love, The Art of Love & War, Unexpected, Rich Girl, and Dream. Stone has appeared on shows such as VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club and TV Ones R&B Divas. Stone has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and she has been most successful on the R&B charts, with four top 10 albums, including a number one, and 10 singles, including a top 10. Stone was born in Columbia, South Carolina, where she began singing gospel music at First Nazareth Baptist Church and her father, a member of a local gospel quartet, took Stone to see performances by gospel artists such as the Singing Angels and the Gospel Keynotes. In the late 1970s, when Stone was 16, she formed the rap trio The Sequence and they were the second rap group signed to the Sugar Hill Records after auditioning for Sylvia Robinson backstage at a Sugar Hill Gang concert in South Carolina. The Sequence had a hit in 1980 with Funk You Up, Top Black Singles chart, and a minor hit with Monster Jam featuring rapper Spoonie Gee. Stone notes that she was underage at the time and thus unable to sign a contract. Meanwhile, Robinson sold the rights to Funk You Up to Dr. Dre and it hurts because this was our first song ever by the first female rap group worldwide, Stone said. The Sequence enjoyed a series of rap hits as the first female rap group during the years of hip hop. Such hits as Funky Sound kept the band touring with many of the Soul Bands of the day, Stone said that she and the other members of the group learned a lot from Robinson, who acted as their mentor. Stone then worked with Mantronix, before singing background on Lenny Kravitzs fifth studio album,5, the Sequence faded into obscurity as hip hop changed from its original party sound to a more gritty street art form. Stone emerged during the 1990s as part of the trio Vertical Hold which released the popular single Seems Youre Much Too Busy as well as two albums, A Matter of Time and Head First. In 1996, Stone teamed up with Gerry DeVeaux and Charlie Mole to form the group Devox and they recorded one album, Devox Featuring Angie B. Stone, released in Japan by Toshiba EMI, selected cuts were featured on Gerry DeVeauxs Front Of The line via the UK Expansion Records, which also included Stone-penned material. Stone shared songwriting credits on DAngelos first two albums, Brown Sugar and Voodoo, as well as provided backing vocals when on tour with him
29.
Shaft (2000 film)
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Jacksons John Shaft character is the nephew of the original John Shaft. The film received positive reviews and opened at the number one position at the box office when it debuted June 16,2000. NYPD Detective John Shaft II is called in to investigate the racially motivated murder of Trey Howard, committed by Walter Wade, Shaft briefly meets a potential eyewitness to the murder, Diane Palmieri, but she disappears soon after and cannot be found for the trial. Wade is released on bail and flees to Switzerland, two years later, Wade returns and Shaft rearrests him for leaving the country. During his temporary incarceration at police headquarters, Wade meets Peoples Hernandez, Wade relinquishes his passport and is released on bail again, in frustration Shaft resigns from the police force, promising to bring Wade to justice on his own terms. Worried that Shaft might find the missing eyewitness, Wade hires Peoples to find, Shaft continues his search for Diane, enlisting the help of his friends Detective Carmen Vasquez and taxi driver Rasaan. While visiting Dianes uncooperative mother, Shaft and Carmen realise they are being followed by officers Jack Roselli and Jimmy Groves, Shaft finally finds her, but before they can talk, they are attacked by Peopless men. In the shootout, Shaft kills Peopless younger brother, Shaft, Diane, Rasaan, and Dianes brother manage to escape to Rasaans apartment, but they are followed by Roselli and Groves. While at the apartment, Diane confesses that she saw the entire murder, when Peoples arrives at the location, another shootout takes place. Roselli and Groves, outed as corrupt, are killed by Carmen, in a face-off between Shaft and Peoples, Peoples insinuates that hes been working for Wade, and Shaft kills him. Before it can begin, however, he is gunned down by Treys mother, in the police station, Shaft reiterates to Carmen that he prefers to be a private detective. A woman arrives, asking for Shaft to help her, claiming to have an abusive boyfriend, Shaft is initially reluctant, but when he sees her injury, he decides to help her anyway. Shaft, along with his uncle, John Shaft I and Rasaan, lee Tergesen as Luger Daniel von Bargen as Lt. Kearney Peter McRobbie as Lt. P, as a homage by director John Singleton to the original film. Shaft received mixed to positive reviews, earning a 68% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus states With a charismatic lead, on Metacritic, which uses an average of critics reviews, the film holds a 50/100, indicating mixed or average reviews. The film opened at the box office at #1 with $21,714,757, by the end of its run, Shaft had grossed $70,334,258 in the box office. Based on a $46 million budget, the film can be considered a success, in 2000, McFarlane Toys released a Shaft action figure as part of their Movie Maniacs series three toy line. Accessories included are a handgun, sunglasses and a replica of the poster with a skulls. A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on June 6,2000 by LaFace Records and it peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
30.
Damita Jo (album)
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Damita Jo is the eighth studio album by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It was released on March 30,2004, by Virgin Records, the album takes its title from Jacksons middle name. Its music incorporates rock, electro, house, and hip hop styles, in addition to dance-pop and its concept is based on Jacksons alternate personalities, exploring themes involving intimacy, monogamy, love, and dance. Recorded over eighteen months, it was the longest Jackson spent on a project, Jackson sought to find producers who identified with her emotions, intending hard-hitting dance music. Producers declared it a sexy record which was bold, fun. Multiple personae portrayed include the obstinate Damita Jo and lascivious Strawberry, Jackson stated they were another way to express and expose a deeper part of me, comparing her writing process to that of a novelist, inventing characters with independent personalities. Jackson claimed the characters absolutely live inside of her, stating it feels wonderful to release them. Prior to its completion, Jackson performed a medley of hits at the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, the performance ended in Jacksons breast being exposed by surprise guest Justin Timberlake. Conglomerates involved with the broadcast who received massive fines by the U. S, the album received generally favorable reviews. It garnered Jacksons second highest-first week sales in the US, and was certified platinum, Damita Jo sold over three million copies worldwide. It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album, Jackson was awarded several career accolades throughout its promotion. The album spawned three singles, the rock-fused Just a Little While, classic R&B ballad I Want You. Prior to recording, Jackson experienced massive success with All for You, lead single All for You peaked at number one for seven weeks in the United States, becoming the biggest hit of the year, and attained success internationally. The entertainer embarked on the All for You Tour, which garnered over twelve million viewers upon its broadcast on television network HBO, Jackson had also recorded the unreleased theme for the film Chicago. Jacksons personal life became a subject of attention, in particular her rumored romances with actor Matthew McConaughey, recording artist Justin Timberlake. The album is Jacksons second to bear a Parental Advisory label, the clean version is heavily censored, removing all explicit and sexual content, omitting two songs entirely. Censoring is most notable Sexhibition, retitled Exhibition, All Nite, in several lines have been removed, and Like You Dont Love Me. Jackson had considered postponing music for other plans, but ultimately decided to record a new album
31.
Janet Jackson
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Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. After signing a contract with A&M Records in 1982, she became a pop icon following the release of her third studio album Control. Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover success in popular music. In 1991 Jackson signed the first of two record-breaking multimillion-dollar contracts with Virgin Records, establishing her as one of the highest paid artists in the industry. Her debut album under the label, Janet, saw her develop an image as a sex symbol as she began to explore sexuality in her work. That same year, she appeared in her first starring role in Poetic Justice. By the end of the 1990s, she was the second most successful recording artist of the decade, the release of her seventh studio album All for You coincided with a celebration of her impact on popular music as the inaugural MTV Icon. After parting ways with Virgin she released her studio album, Discipline, her first. In 2015 she partnered with BMG Rights Management to launch her own label, Rhythm Nation. Having sold over 100 million records, Jackson is one of the artists in the history of contemporary music. In 2016, Billboard placed her number seven on its list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, in December 2016, the magazine named her the second most successful dance artist of all-time. One of the worlds most awarded artists, her longevity, records and she has been cited as an inspiration among numerous performers. Janet Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the youngest of ten children, to Katherine Esther, the Jacksons were lower-middle class and devout Jehovahs Witnesses, although Jackson would later refrain from organized religion. At a young age, her brothers began performing as The Jackson 5 in the Chicago-Gary area, in March 1969, the group signed a record deal with Motown, and soon had their first number-one hit. The family then moved to the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jackson had initially desired to become a horse racing jockey or entertainment lawyer, with plans to support herself through acting. Despite this, she was anticipated to pursue a career in entertainment, at age seven, Jackson performed at the Las Vegas Strip at the MGM Casino. A biography revealed her father, Joseph Jackson, was emotionally withdrawn and she began acting in the variety show The Jacksons in 1976. In 1977, she was selected to have a role as Penny Gordon Woods in the sitcom Good Times
32.
Alicia Keys
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Alicia Augello Cook, known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, pianist and actress. Keys released her album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia. Keys debut album, Songs in A Minor was released in 2001, producing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single Fallin, the album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002. Her sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003, spawning successful singles You Dont Know My Name, If I Aint Got You and Diary, the duet song My Boo with Usher scored her a second number-one single in 2004. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005, later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, becoming the first woman to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one. As I Am was released in 2007, producing the Hot 100 number-one single No One, selling 5 million copies worldwide, the Element of Freedom was released in 2009, becoming her first chart-topping album in the UK, and selling 4 million copies worldwide. Keys additionally collaborated with Jay Z on Empire State of Mind as her fourth number-one single, Girl on Fire was released in 2012 as her fifth Billboard 200 topping album, spawning the successful title track. Her second live album, VH1 Storytellers was released in 2013, Here was released in 2016, becoming her seventh R&B/Hip-Hop chart topping album. Keys made her first television appearance on The Cosby Show in 1985 as a four year old child and she made her film debut in Smokin Aces and later in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Keys then had a NAACP Image Award nominated appearance in The Secret Life of Bees in 2008, Keys also made an appearance on season 2 of Empire in 2015. She is currently a coach on The Voice as of 2016, Keys has won numerous awards such as 15 Grammy Awards and 17 NAACP Image Awards. She has sold over 35 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide, considered a pop icon, Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000s decade and placed her number 10 on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years. Time named her in their 100 list of most influential people in 2005, Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25,1981, in the Hells Kitchen area of Manhattan, New York City. She is the child of Teresa, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook. Keys father is African American and her mother is of Italian, Scottish, Keys has expressed that she was comfortable with her multiracial heritage because she felt she was able to relate to different cultures. Her parents separated when she was two and she was raised by her mother during her formative years in Hells Kitchen. Keys has 2 younger half brothers, Clay Cook and Cole Cook, in 1985, Keys made an appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtables sleepover guests in the episode Slumber Party. Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother and she graduated in four years as valedictorian at the age of 16
33.
Unplugged (Alicia Keys album)
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Unplugged is the first live album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. The album has sold one million copies in the United States. Additionally, it received four nominations for the 2006 Grammy Awards, the first single released from the album was Unbreakable, which peaked at number thirty-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The second single, Every Little Bit Hurts, was released in January 2006, the video premiered on January 17 on BETs 106 & Park. The album and DVD includes songs from her multi-platinum albums Songs in A Minor, upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 65/100 from Metacritic. E. Online gave the album an A− and said of Alicia Keys, entertainment Weekly said that the album largely leaves Keys runaway careerism in the dressing room, where it belongs. Blender gave it four out of five and called it a stellar set. Q gave the four stars out of five and said it Stands as an apt reminder that she is the finest soul talent of her generation. Billboard gave it a review and said, This self-assured. Other reviews are pretty average or mixed, Rolling Stone gave it three out of five and said the album bursts with sweet soul that seems to feed off the adoring crowd. Neumu gave it four out of ten and called it Just another bloated arena show. The albums two singles, Unbreakable, reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and final single Every Little Bit Hurts, it failed to enter the US and international charts. Y
34.
The Element of Freedom
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The Element of Freedom is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on December 11,2009, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at The Oven Studios in Long Island, production was handled by Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Swizz Beatz, Noah 40 Shebib, Toby Gad and Kerry Krucial Brothers. Departing from the classicist soul music of Keys previous albums, The Element of Freedom has a mid-tempo, low-key sound, the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. It became Keys first non-number-one album in the United States and her first number-one album in the United Kingdom, the Element of Freedom was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America within its first month of release and produced five singles that attained chart success. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from music critics. Keys supported album with a tour, The Freedom Tour. By August 2012, The Element of Freedom had sold four million copies worldwide. She described The Element of Freedom as diverse, but noted there is a balance. She explained that one side is strong and one side is vulnerable, the album has a strong, edgy feel, but is also intimate and vulnerable and delicate. While on BETs 106 & Park, she described the album, Keys revealed to The Times that in the period she was recording the album, she listened to artists such as Genesis, Tears for Fears, Fleetwood Mac and The Police. The Element of Freedom was scheduled to be released on December 1,2009, to correspond with World AIDS Day, but was pushed back to December 15 for additional recording. According to the vice president of urban marketing for J Records, Keys had a couple of more things in the oven. Keys pointed out that she felt the album was being rushed for no reason. In an interview with Scottish newspaper The Scotsman, she stated that it seems unfair to have to rush these songs that were still coming and it was just two weeks difference, but it made for an even better record. Keys began working on the album in May 2009, during this time, Keys and her audio engineer bought several vintage keyboards, describing the Moog as her special best friend. Recording took place in The Oven Studios in Long Island, New York, Keys expressed that she didnt know what to do when she began working on the album, but knew to do it. After exhausting herself, she stated that she found the key. She explained that the album dealt with overcoming depression and she went on to say, I found more freedom
35.
ABC (The Jackson 5 album)
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ABC is the second studio album by The Jackson 5 and was issued on May 8,1970 by Motown Records. It featured the No.1 singles, ABC and The Love You Save, the album peaked at No.4 on the Billboard Pop Albums Chart and at No.1 on the Billboard Black Albums chart. It was named No.98 on the VH1 All-Time Albums Top 100 and it remains one of the Jackson 5s most popular efforts selling over 5.7 million copies worldwide. In 2001, Motown Records remastered all J5 albums in a Two Classic Albums/One CD series and this album was paired up with Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. The bonus track was an outtake, Oh, Ive Been Blessed, an alternate version of the title track appears on the CD Jackson 5 – I Want You Back. List of number-one R&B albums of 1970
36.
The Undisputed Truth (The Undisputed Truth album)
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The Undisputed Truth is the self titled debut album of the Motown group of the same name. Released in 1971, it was produced entirely by Norman Whitfield, the album includes the groups biggest hit single, Smiling Faces Sometimes, which peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Many of the songs on album were also recorded by the groups Motown labelmates. Save My Love For A Rainy Day, for example, was recorded by The Temptations for their 1968 album The Temptations With A Lot O Soul. The Undisputed Truths version was released as their single, and it became a minor R&B hit. The album itself mixes the traditional Motown sound with psychedelic-influenced soul music and you Got The Love I Need was released as the B-side to The Undisputed Truths hit single Smiling Faces Sometimes. It is also the original song on the album, as all its other tracks had already been recorded by other artists. com
37.
All Directions
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All Directions is a 1972 album by The Temptations for the Gordy label, produced by Norman Whitfield. The LP features the #1 hit Papa Was a Rollin Stone, strong left Motown to restart his career as a recording artist. In addition, his father was a minister, a good, steady, religious man, the group was certain that Papa and All Directions would flop, and that they would be back to singing ballads like My Girl and Aint Too Proud to Beg again. Although the first single, Mother Nature, charted at number 92 on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart, the album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
38.
Masterpiece (The Temptations album)
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Masterpiece is a 1973 album by The Temptations for the Gordy label, produced and written by Norman Whitfield. The title refers to the album being not the groups intended masterpiece, the title track, at nearly fourteen minutes long, includes only three minutes of vocals from the group, who all share sections of the lead vocal. Masterpiece shares space on one with Hey Girl, a slow classic-styled ballad led by Richard Street which opens the album. Side two of the LP opens with Ma, an ode to a hillbilly mother led by Street, Damon Harris, and Melvin Franklin, law of the Land, led by Dennis Edwards, Street, and Harris, was recorded the same year by The Undisputed Truth. The song is a track in the tradition of Dont Let the Joneses Get You Down from Puzzle People. Fans complained directly to the Temptations themselves, and some music journalists began snidely referring to the Temptations as The Norman Whitfield Chorale Singers and other such names. Despite the criticism directed towards the LP, Masterpiece became a #1 hit on the Billboard R&B singles chart, and its follow-up, the Papa Was a Rolling Stone-like Plastic Man, hit #40 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hey Girl also became a Top 40 hit in the late fall of 1973. Law of the Land was released as a UK-only single by Tamla Motown, Masterpiece was the final Temptations LP recorded in Detroit at Motowns Hitsville U. S. A. studio. By 1973, Motown Records had completed its migration to Hollywood, California, and beginning with the release,1990. All selections written and produced by Norman Whitfield
39.
Under the Influence of... Love Unlimited
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Is the second studio album by Love Unlimited. This album became a smash in gay and black bars. Long before it hit #1 on the Hot 100, Loves Theme ubiquitously played as opening and closing each nights festivities. The vocal tracks like the track was practically chosen because of the feverish reaction in the clubs. It May Winter Outside almost follows The Supremes hit B-side, Everythings Good About You from their I Hear a Symphony, undoubtedly, the familiarity of that melody was another contributing element to Under Influence of Love. become a Top 3/Gold sophomore album. It has been issued on CD as a limited edition 24- bit remastered as of 2017, released in the summer of 1973, this album would chart at #3 in the U. S. R&B charts and reach #1 in Canada on the RPM national albums chart
40.
Let's Get It On
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Lets Get It On is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Marvin Gaye, released August 28,1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U. S. A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles. Serving as Gayes first venture into the genre and romance-themed music, Lets Get It On incorporates smooth soul, doo-wop. It has been noted by critics for its suggestive lyrics. Following the breakthrough success of his socially conscious album Whats Going On, Lets Get It On helped establish Gaye as a sex icon and it produced three singles—the title track, Come Get to This, and You Sure Love to Ball—that attained Billboard chart success. Lets Get It On became the most commercially successful album of Gayes recording career and its sexual balladry, multi-tracking of Gayes vocals, and seductive, funk sound influenced later R&B artists and production. The album has been regarded by music writers and critics as a landmark recording in soul music. It furthered funk musics popularity during the 1970s, and its smooth soul sound marked a change for his record labels previous success with the Motown Sound formula, Lets Get It On has been ranked on many critics and publications lists of the best albums of all time. In 2001, it was reissued by Motown Records as a deluxe edition release. In the spring of 1972, Marvin Gaye was suffering from writers block, the contract provided him with more creative control over his recordings. The deal was worth $1 million, making him the soul artist, as well as the highest-earning black artist. Amid relocation and his lack of material, Gaye was struggling with his conscience, as well as dealing with expectations from his wife, Gayes separation from Gordy pressured him emotionally. During this time, he had also been attempting to cope with past issues that had stemmed from his childhood, during his childhood, Gaye had been physically abused by his preacher father Marvin Gay, Sr. who disciplined his son under extremely moralistic and fundamentalist Christian teachings. As a result, the meaning and practice of sex had later become a question for Gaye. As an adult, he suffered with sexual impotence and became plagued by sadomasochistic fantasies, according to Gayes biographer David Ritz, his view of sex was unsettled, tormented, riddled with pain. Gaye learned to cope with his issues with a newly found spirituality. The hope for such a reconciliation, the search for sexual healing, is what drives his art, the paradox is this, The sexiest of Marvin Gayes work is also his most spiritual. Thats the paradox of Marvin himself, in his struggle to wed body and soul, in his exploration of sexual passion, he expresses the most human of hungers—the hunger for God
