1.
What the World Needs Now Is Love (album)
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What the World Needs Now Is Love is the sixth studio album by American country music artist Wynonna Judd, released in 2003 as her first album for Curb / Asylum Records. It produced four singles, the first of these, which was the title track. It was followed by Heaven Help Me at #37 and Flies on the Butter at #33. The fourth and final single, a cover of Foreigners I Want to Know What Love Is, did not enter the country charts, also covered on this album is Elvis Presleys Burning Love, Wynonnas cover was previously included in the soundtrack to the 2002 film Lilo & Stitch. Additionally, You Are was featured in the soundtrack to the 2003 film Someone Like You, finally, Flies on the Butter was previously recorded by Lari White on her 1998 album Stepping Stone
2.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
3.
Jackie DeShannon
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Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock n roll period, DeShannon was born Sharon Lee Myers in Hazel, Kentucky, the daughter of musically inclined farming parents, Sandra Jean and James Erwin Myers. By age six, she was singing country tunes on a radio show. By age 11, she was hosting her own radio program, when life on the farm became too difficult, the family moved to her mothers hometown, Aurora, Illinois, where her father resumed his other career as a barber. After a year, they moved to nearby Batavia, Illinois, in Batavia, the Myers family lived at 713 East Wilson Street. According to the Batavia Herald, she had her own Saturday morning radio show Breakfast Melodies on radio station WMRO. Further, Though only 13, the youngster can boast almost 11 years of training and experience. Also she has sung on radio with a band for 2 years and has appeared on television 3 times. According to the Batavia Herald, Sherry Lee is a young lady. Each Saturday morning at 9,30 she is on the WMRO radio show, Saturday nights she is the vocalist with the valleys Square Dance Band, Don Lee and she had made appearances with the Pee Wee King Show at Ottawa, Rockford and LaSalle in recent weeks. Following her television appearance this Saturday night, the young Batavia artist will appear at the West Aurora Junior High School auditorium on Sunday and she attended Batavia High School for two years, leaving school after her sophomore year. She began to record under various names such as Sherry Lee, Jackie Dee and her only release on Gone included Ill Be True and How Wrong I Was, which appeared in both 78 rpm and 45 rpm versions. Jackie almost certainly sang these songs at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia on 3 July 1957 and their partnership produced Brenda Lees hit Dum Dum. In a Fresh Air interview, DeShannon said that she chose Jackie as a cross-gender name, since she had a low singing voice, she could be heard as either male or female. When she found that Jackie Dee was too similar to Brenda Lee, Sandra Dee, et al. she changed it to Jackie Dee Shannon, armed with her new name, she made the WLS Chicago radio survey with the single Lonely Girl in late 1960. She fared better with the Sonny Bono-Jack Nitzsche song Needles and Pins, both reached the lower rungs of the US pop charts, but were Top 40 hits in Canada, where Needles and Pins made it all the way to No.1. Needles and Pins and When You Walk in the Room later became US, DeShannon recorded many other singles that encompassed teen pop, country ballads, rockabilly, gospel, and Ray Charles-style soul that didnt fare as well on the charts. During these years it was her songwriting and public profile rather than her career that kept her contracted to Liberty
4.
A-side and B-side
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The terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 78,45, and 33 1/3 rpm phonograph records, whether singles, extended plays, or long-playing records. Creedence Clearwater Revival had hits with both A-side and B-side releases, others took the opposite approach, producer Phil Spector was in the habit of filling B-sides with on-the-spot instrumentals that no one would confuse with the A-side. With this practice, Spector was assured that airplay was focused on the side he wanted to be the hit side, the earliest 10-inch,78 rpm, shellac records were single sided. Double-sided recordings, with one song on side, were introduced in Europe by Columbia Records. There were no record charts until the 1930s, and radio stations did not play recorded music until the 1950s, in this time, A-sides and B-sides existed, but neither side was considered more important, the side did not convey anything about the content of the record. The term single came into use with the advent of vinyl records in the early 1950s. At first, most record labels would randomly assign which song would be an A-side, under this random system, many artists had so-called double-sided hits, where both songs on a record made one of the national sales charts, or would be featured on jukeboxes in public places. As time wore on, however, the convention for assigning songs to sides of the record changed. By the early sixties, the song on the A-side was the song that the company wanted radio stations to play. It was not until 1968, for instance, that the production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom. In the late 1960s stereo versions of pop and rock songs began to appear on 45s. The majority of the 45s were played on AM radio stations, by the early 1970s, double-sided hits had become rare. Album sales had increased, and B-sides had become the side of the record where non-album, non-radio-friendly, with the advent of cassette and compact disc singles in the late 1980s, the A-side/B-side differentiation became much less meaningful. With the decline of cassette singles in the 1990s, the A-side/B-side dichotomy became virtually extinct, as the dominant medium. However, the term B-side is still used to refer to the tracks or coupling tracks on a CD single. With the advent of downloading music via the Internet, sales of CD singles and other media have declined. B-side songs may be released on the record as a single to provide extra value for money. There are several types of material released in this way, including a different version, or, in a concept record
5.
Folk rock
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It has also been influential in those parts of the world with close cultural connections to Britain and gave rise to the genre of folk punk. By the 1980s the genre was in decline in popularity. When English bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s defined themselves as electric folk they were making a distinction with the existing folk rock. Folk rock was what they had already been producing, American or American style singer-songwriter material played on instruments, as undertaken by Bob Dylan. They drew the distinction because they were focusing on indigenous songs, the result of this hybridisation was an exchange of specific features drawn from Traditional music and Rock music. For example, electric folk groups, while using traditional material as their source for lyrics and tunes. In the same year, The Beatles began incorporating overt folk influences into their music, the Beatles and other British Invasion bands, in turn, influenced the Californian band The Byrds, who began playing folk-influenced material and Bob Dylan compositions with rock instrumentation. The Byrds recording of Dylans Mr Tambourine Man was released in April 1965 and reached #1 on the U. S. and UK singles charts, setting off the mid-1960s folk rock movement. The Beatles late 1965 album, Rubber Soul, contained a number of songs clearly influenced by the American folk rock boom, such as Nowhere Man and If I Needed Someone. Folk rock became an important genre among emerging English bands, particularly those in the London club scene towards the end of the 1960s. Like the American revival, it was often overtly left wing in its politics, most important among their responses were the foundation of folk clubs in major towns, starting with London where MacColl began the Ballads and Blues Club in 1953. These clubs were usually urban in location, but the songs sung in them often hearkened back to a rural pre-industrial past, in many ways this was the adoption of abandoned popular music by the middle classes. This meant that there were, by the later 1960s, a group of performers with musical skill and knowledge of a variety of traditional songs. The result was an interpretation of the song A Sailors Life. The rapid expansion of electric folk that followed in the wake of Liege, five Hand Reel a band formed out of the remnants of Spencers Feat proved to be one of the more successful and influential folk rock bands. Releasing 4 albums with Topic/RCA records they were popular in Europe. He then quit that and eventually formed the Albion Country Band, later the Albion Band, a much smaller group of English bands were formed in emulation of existing electric rock bands. Fiddlers Dram were often dismissed as one hit wonders for their single Day Trip to Bangor, most of their career, from that point until they disbanded in 1979, was one of declining profile and sales
6.
Jazz
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Jazz is a music genre that originated amongst African Americans in New Orleans, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in Blues and Ragtime. Since the 1920s jazz age, jazz has become recognized as a form of musical expression. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms, Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Although the foundation of jazz is deeply rooted within the Black experience of the United States, different cultures have contributed their own experience, intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as one of Americas original art forms. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on different national, regional, and local musical cultures, New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass-band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. In the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz, bebop emerged in the 1940s, shifting jazz from danceable popular music toward a more challenging musicians music which was played at faster tempos and used more chord-based improvisation. Cool jazz developed in the end of the 1940s, introducing calmer, smoother sounds and long, modal jazz developed in the late 1950s, using the mode, or musical scale, as the basis of musical structure and improvisation. Jazz-rock fusion appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, combining jazz improvisation with rock rhythms, electric instruments. In the early 1980s, a form of jazz fusion called smooth jazz became successful. Other styles and genres abound in the 2000s, such as Latin, the question of the origin of the word jazz has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well documented. It is believed to be related to jasm, a term dating back to 1860 meaning pep. The use of the word in a context was documented as early as 1915 in the Chicago Daily Tribune. Its first documented use in a context in New Orleans was in a November 14,1916 Times-Picayune article about jas bands. In an interview with NPR, musician Eubie Blake offered his recollections of the slang connotations of the term, saying, When Broadway picked it up. That was dirty, and if you knew what it was, the American Dialect Society named it the Word of the Twentieth Century. Jazz has proved to be difficult to define, since it encompasses such a wide range of music spanning a period of over 100 years. Attempts have been made to define jazz from the perspective of other musical traditions, in the opinion of Robert Christgau, most of us would say that inventing meaning while letting loose is the essence and promise of jazz. As Duke Ellington, one of jazzs most famous figures, said, although jazz is considered highly difficult to define, at least in part because it contains so many varied subgenres, improvisation is consistently regarded as being one of its key elements
7.
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
8.
Imperial Records
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Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. The current owner is Universal Music Group, when Imperial was founded in 1947, it concentrated on rhythm and blues and country music, Fats Domino, Frankie Ford, Ricky Nelson, and Slim Whitman. In the UK Imperial was distributed by London Records, Imperial bought Aladdin Records in 1960 and Minit Records in 1963. In 1963, after Imperial lost Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson to rival record companies, under Libertys management, the label enjoyed success with Irma Thomas, Johnny Rivers, Jackie DeShannon, Classics IV, and Cher. During the British Invasion, Liberty licensed The Hollies, Billy J. Kramer, the Dakotas, recordings by the Bonzo Dog Band and Kim Fowley were issued in the U. S. on the Imperial label. By 1970 the label had become part of Libertys merger with United Artists Records but was phased out shortly after, EMI acquired the Imperial Records catalogue with its acquisition of UA Records in 1979. This is not the same Imperial Records that exists currently in Japan or that was a division of EMIs Dutch arm, throughout the 1990s, EMI released CD compilations of Imperial artists that featured the original Imperial labels. The first signing to the imprint was Raptivism Records, fat Joe signed with Virgin Records and Imperial Records. Imperial provides resources for developing artists with EMIs major labels, including Capitol Records and Virgin Records. Universal Music Group acquired the Capitol Music Group as part of its acquisition of EMIs recorded music operations in 2012
9.
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
10.
Hal David
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Harold Lane Hal David was an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York City and he was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. David was born in New York City, a son of Austrian Jewish immigrants Lina and Gedalier David, who owned a delicatessen in Brooklyn and he is credited with popular music lyrics, beginning in the 1940s with material written for bandleader Sammy Kaye and for Guy Lombardo. He worked with Morty Nevins of The Three Suns on four songs for the feature film Two Gals, in 1957, David met composer Burt Bacharach at Famous Music in the Brill Building in New York. The two teamed up and wrote their first hit The Story of My Life, recorded by Marty Robbins in 1957, J. Thomas, Gene Pitney, Tom Jones, Jackie DeShannon and others. In addition, Dont Make Me Over, Close to You and Walk On By have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. A. with Albert Hammond, recorded by Hammond and later Art Garfunkel. With Paul Hampton, David co-wrote the country standard Sea of Heartbreak, David and Bacharach were awarded the 2011 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, bestowed by the Library of Congress, the first time a songwriting team was given the honor. David was recuperating from a recent illness and was unable to attend the Washington D. C. presentation ceremony in May 2012, David died in the morning hours of September 1,2012, of a stroke. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park beside his first wife, Anne, Hal David at Find a Grave Hal David Interview - NAMM Oral History Library
11.
Burt Bacharach
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Burt Freeman Bacharach is an American composer, songwriter, record producer, pianist, and singer. As of 2014, Bacharach had written 73 US and 52 UK Top 40 hits, in 1997 he was the subject of a PBS Great Performances biography. And in recent years a number of albums and concerts have helped introduce his music to younger audiences. Among them was a 2009 concert by Dutch singer Trijntje Oosterhuis, in 2012 Bacharach and David received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the first time the honor has been given to a songwriting team. The ceremony was hosted by President Obama, and included a concert performed with various stars, Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in the Forest Hills section of New York City, graduating from Forest Hills High School in 1946. His family was Jewish, but he says that they didnt practice or give attention to their religion. But the kids I knew were Catholic, he adds, I was Jewish but I didnt want anybody to know about it. Bacharach showed a keen interest in jazz as a teenager, disliking his classical piano lessons and he got to hear bebop musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie, whose style would later influence his songwriting. Bacharach studied music at Montreals McGill University, under Helmut Blume, at the Mannes School of Music, during this period he studied a range of music, including jazz harmony, which has since been important to songs which are generally considered pop music. His composition teachers included Darius Milhaud, Henry Cowell, and Bohuslav Martinů, Bacharach cites Milhaud as his biggest influence, under whose guidance he wrote a Sonatina for Violin, Oboe and Piano. Following his tour of duty in the United States Army, Bacharach spent the three years as a pianist and conductor for popular singer Vic Damone. Damone recalls, Burt was clearly bound to go out on his own and he was an exceptionally talented, classically trained pianist, with very clear ideas on the musicality of songs, how they should be played, and what they should sound like. He later worked in similar capacity for other singers, including Polly Bergen, Steve Lawrence. When he was unable to better jobs, Bacharach worked at resorts in the Catskill Mountains of New York. In 1956, at age 28, Bacharachs productivity increased when composer Peter Matz recommended him to Marlene Dietrich and he then became part-time music director for Dietrich, a German actress and singer who had been an international screen star in the 1930s. They toured worldwide off and on until the early 1960s, when they werent touring, as a result of his collaboration with Dietrich, he gained his first major recognition as a conductor and arranger. In her autobiography, she remembered that Bacharach loved touring in Russia and Poland because the violinists were extraordinary and he liked Edinburgh and Paris, along with the Scandinavian countries, and he also felt at home in Israel, she says, where music was similarly much revered. By the early 1960s, after five years with Dietrich
12.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
13.
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play and online streaming, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday, when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming data, is available on a real-time basis. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesdays, as of the issue for the week ending on April 15,2017, the Hot 100 has had 1,061 different number one hits. The current number one song is Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, prior to 1955, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart, instead measuring songs by individual metrics. At the start of the era in 1955, three such charts existed, Best Sellers in Stores was the first Billboard chart, established in 1936. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country, Most Played by Jockeys was Billboards original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. On the week ending November 12,1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time, the Top 100 combined all aspects of a singles performance, based on a point system that typically gave sales more weight than radio airplay. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. The week ending July 28,1958 was the publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts. On August 4,1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13,1958. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a songs popularity is measured in the United States, the Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to the calculation of the Hot 100. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data. Hot Singles Sales, the top selling singles compiled from a sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled. The chart is released weekly and measures sales of commercial singles. With the decline in sales of singles in the US
14.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
15.
Dionne Warwick
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Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV-show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health. Having been in a partnership with songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest hit makers of the rock era. She is second only to Aretha Franklin as the female vocalist of all time. Marie Dionne Warrick, later Warwick, was born on December 12,1940 in East Orange, New Jersey, to Mancel Warrick and her mother was manager of the Drinkard Singers, and her father was a Pullman porter, chef, record promoter and CPA. She was named after her aunt on her mothers side, Dionne had a sister Delia who died in 2008 and a brother, Mancel Jr. who was killed in an accident in 1968 at the age of 21. Her parents were both African American, and she also has Native American, Brazilian and Dutch ancestry, after finishing East Orange High School in 1959, Warwick pursued her passion at the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. She also landed work with her group singing backing vocals for recording sessions in New York City. During one session, Warwick met Burt Bacharach, who hired her to record demos featuring songs written by him, much of Warricks family were members of the Drinkard Singers, a renowned family gospel group and RCA recording artists that frequently performed throughout the New York metropolitan area. The original group consisted of Cissy, Anne, Larry, and Nicky, but later included Warwicks grandparents, Nicholas and Delia Drinkard, Marie instructed the group and they were managed by Lee. As they became successful, Lee and Marie began performing with the group, and they were augmented by pop/R&B singer Judy Clay. Elvis Presley eventually expressed an interest in having them join his touring entourage, Dionne began singing gospel as a child at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. After personnel changes, the Gospelaires became the group the Sweet Inspirations, which had some chart success. And we left and did the session, I wish I remembered the gentlemans name because he was responsible for the beginning of my professional career. The backstage encounter led to the group being asked to sing background sessions at recording studios in New York, the background vocal work would continue while Warwick pursued her studies at Hartt. According to a July 14,1967 article on Warwick from Time, Bacharach stated, She has a strong side. Musically, she was no play-safe girl, what emotion I could get away with. And what complexity, compared with the run of pop songs. During the session, Bacharach asked Warwick if she would be interested in recording demonstration recordings of his compositions to pitch the tunes to record labels
16.
Here Where There Is Love
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Here Where There Is Love is Dionne Warwicks sixth studio album for Scepter Records, and was released in December 1966. The LP was catalog number 555 on the label, the album was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City and was produced in full by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It also reached #1 on the R&B albums chart, the album featured cover art which did not feature Warwick at all. A sunset covered this album, with two lovers at the bottom of the photograph, two of Warwicks hit singles from 1966 were included on the album, Trains and Boats and Planes and I Just Dont Know What to Do with Myself. Of note was Warwicks version of Alfie, which became Warwicks signature song after she was selected to perform it at the Academy Awards the following year. This version became a bigger Top 40 hit than any of the 40-plus versions that had previously recorded, peaking at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. All tracks written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, except where noted, list of number-one R&B albums of 1967 Here Where There Is Love at Discogs
17.
Gene Pitney
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Gene Francis Alan Pitney was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and sound engineer. Pitney charted 16 Top-40 hits in the U. S. four in the Top 10, in the UK he had 22 Top-40 hits, and 11 singles in the Top Ten. He also wrote the early 1960s hits Rubber Ball recorded by Bobby Vee, Hes a Rebel by the Crystals, in 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and grew up in Rockville, now part of Vernon and his early influences were Clyde McPhatter, country-blues singer Moon Mullican and doo-wop groups like the Crows. He attended Rockville High School, at which he was named the Rockville Rocket, Pitney was an avid doo wop singer and sang with a group called the Embers. He made records as part of a duo called Jamie and Jane with Ginny Arnell and he followed that same year with his first Top 20 single, the title song from the film Town Without Pity starring Kirk Douglas. Written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington, the song won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, Pitney performed the song at the Oscars ceremony on 9 April 1962. Pitney is also remembered for the Burt Bacharach–Hal David song Liberty Valance, meanwhile, Pitney wrote hits for others, including Hes a Rebel for the Crystals, Todays Teardrops for Roy Orbison, Rubber Ball for Bobby Vee, and Hello Mary Lou for Ricky Nelson. The Crystals version of Hes A Rebel kept Pitneys own No.2 hit Only Love Can Break a Heart, his highest-charting single in the U. S. from the top spot. His popularity in the UK market was ensured by the success of Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa, a Bacharach and David song. It was only Pitneys third single release in the UK to reach the singles chart and the first to break into the Top Twenty there, it was also a hit in the U. S, peaking at No.17 on the Hot 100. The Jagger/Richards song That Girl Belongs to Yesterday was a No.7 UK hit for Pitney in 1964, in the U. S. the single stalled at No. 49, ending a run of seven Top 40 singles for Pitney as a performer. 9, respectively, in the U. S. and 1966s Nobody Needs Your Love, which peaked at No.2 in the UK, matching the No.2 UK peak of Im Gonna Be Strong. It Hurts to Be in Love had been planned for and recorded by Neil Sedaka, the writers, Howard Greenfield and Helen Miller, presented the song to Pitney. Miller replaced Sedakas voice with Pitneys, though Sedakas trademark backing harmonies were left intact, in 1965, Pitney recorded two successful albums with country singer George Jones. They were voted the most promising country-and-western duo of the year and he had a regional hit with Nessuno mi può giudicare. Pitneys career in the U. S. took a downturn after mid-1966, Pitney maintained a successful career in Britain and the rest of Europe into the 1970s, appearing regularly on UK charts as late as 1974
18.
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
19.
Reflections (The Supremes album)
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Reflections is the twelfth studio album recorded for Motown by Diana Ross & the Supremes. Released in 1968, it was the first regular studio LP to display the new billing of the formerly known as The Supremes. It contains the singles Reflections, In and Out of Love, also included are covers of songs made famous by Martha and the Vandellas and The 5th Dimension. The album includes the songs the Supremes recorded with their main creative team of Holland–Dozier–Holland before the three writers/producers departed Motown over royalty and title disputes. Initially, the cover included three photos with Ballard but it was quickly replaced with the cover featuring just Ross, Wilson. A photo of the album cover can be found on Motown 45 rpm promotional sleeves issued in early 1968. One of the singles, Forever Came Today, was later covered by The Jackson 5 on their 1975 album Moving Violation. In and Out of Love was chosen to be the key song for the American Bandstand dance contest that year, because of that exposure, the single remained #1 on American Bandstands chart for an impressive four weeks. It outperformed Reflections with Dick Clarks audience affording the album two top three singles on that pivotal show
20.
Ronan Keating
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Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer, musician, and philanthropist. He debuted in 1994 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch and his solo career started in 1999 and has recorded nine albums. He gained worldwide attention when his single When You Say Nothing at All was featured in the film Notting Hill, Ronan Keating was born on 3 March 1977, the youngest of five children. He grew up on the Northside of Dublin and County Meath and his father Gerry Keating was a lorry driver, his mother Marie was a mobile hairdresser. He has one sister, Linda, and three brothers, Ciaran, Gerard and Gary and he was a track and field athlete and represented Ireland in several tournaments, winning the All Ireland under-13 200m title. He also worked as an assistant in a shoe shop just as his siblings emigrated to the United States, also, Keating auditioned for Stars in Their Eyes. Keating, Keith Duffy, Richard Rock, Shane Lynch, Mark Walton, Walton and Rock would later leave the group before being replaced by Michael Graham. The group performed in clubs and pubs before being signed by PolyGram in 1994. The group also released a version of Love Me for a Reason which would peak on several charts. In 1998, his mother died at the age of 51 from breast cancer, at the age of 21 years, Keating married Yvonne Connolly in April 1998 and together, the couple have three children, Jack, Marie and Ali. The couple are now divorced after Keating had an affair, in 1999, while still a member of Boyzone, Keating recorded a version of When You Say Nothing at All for the motion picture Notting Hill. The single peaked at one in the UK charts, leading to a successful solo career. Keating released his solo album, titled Ronan, in 2000. The album was given negative reviews, although it sold over 750,000 copies. It debuted at one on the UK Albums Chart, and has been certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 1.2 million copies. In the singers native Ireland, the album debuted at number two, the album also became a commercial success in other European countries, where it charted within the top ten of eight countries. Keating collaborated with major stars, including Elton John, Lulu, LeAnn Rimes. Keating and Paul Brady co-wrote the 2001 hit single The Long Goodbye, one of Keatings most loved hits amongst fans, Keating and Brady won the BMI European song-writing award for the single
21.
When Ronan Met Burt
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When Ronan Met Burt is the eighth studio album by Irish singer-songwriter and Boyzone frontman Ronan Keating. It was produced and composed by Burt Bacharach, the album sold 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom. All the tracks were recorded live with a full orchestra, in a promotional video, Keating admitted that he was intimidated by the prospect of working with Burt Bacharach, although he found the experience both exciting and energising. Keating also said that he found the far more complicated than they first appeared. He said, It sounds so simple because that is the ability that Burt has. To create these songs sound so simple. But you try to sing them and they are some of the hardest songs youll ever sing. Bacharach is quoted on the video, acknowledging that his music can be complicated but complimenting Keating for his dedication
22.
American Idol (season 12)
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The twelfth season of American Idol premiered on January 16,2013, as part of the mid-season of the 2012–13 network television season. Randy Jackson returned for his season as judge and was joined by new judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban. The season was the third to have four judges, after the eighth and ninth seasons and it was also the first season where the judges did not use the Judges Save since its introduction in the eighth season. This was the season where both finalists were in the bottom three or two at some point in the competition, following the third and eighth seasons. On May 16,2013, Candice Glover was announced the winner of the season of American Idol. Glover also became the third African-American female behind Fantasia Barrino and Jordin Sparks to win the show, Glover was also the last female contestant to win the competition. In a series first, Glovers debut album, Music Speaks, was available for pre-order immediately following the finale broadcast, so far, two finalists, Candice Glover and Angie Miller, are signed to record deals. This was the season to feature Carey and Minaj as judges. After a sharp drop in ratings during the season, Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced that the show would undergo some creative tweaking for the following season. After two seasons, judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez announced their exits from the series on July 12 and 13,2012, on July 23, Mariah Carey was announced as a judge for the twelfth season. On September 16, returning judge Randy Jackson and new hires Nicki Minaj, on December 31,2012, it was announced that Ryan Seacrest has signed on to remain the host for at least two more seasons. Producer Nigel Lythgoe indicated on January 9,2013, that during the Hollywood rounds, the separation of the sexes would continue in the Vegas round right up until the Top 10. This is the first season to introduce the Sudden death-round in which the top 40 already has to perform in front of a live audience, the judges pick five out of the ten contestants per show to proceed to the top 20. The amount of finalists was limited to ten which happened last in the inaugural season and this season also introduced the SuperVote where viewers were able to cast fifty votes at once online or through the new American Idol App, in addition to all the regular voting methods. Voters are able to allocate any number of votes for one contestant or multiple contestants, for a total of fifty votes, across all online voting destinations. This season is notable for showcasing an Idol Update segment by bringing back many Idol alumni to perform on the result shows or as a guest in the audience. In addition, three judges made appearances on this season. Paula Abdul returned to the show briefly on the Top 5 result night, Tyler appeared dressed up posing as a contestant during the audition rounds, in an attempt to refresh the shows audition process, new ways to audition were announced
23.
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
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The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. Since the bands inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim Johnny Vegas Burton, the line-up also includes drummer Joe Sirois, saxophonist Kevin Lenear, guitarist Lawrence Katz and trombonist Chris Rhodes. The Bosstones are often credited as one of the progenitors of the genre of ska punk, the band had released seven studio albums, three EPs and a live album by the time they announced a hiatus in December 2003. In 2007, the Bosstones reunited to resume recording and touring, from 1994-2002, and since 2007, they have hosted the annual Hometown Throwdown music festival. The bands roots lay in the scene of the early 1980s along with a strong influence from the British 2 Tone ska scene of the 1970s. Bassist Joe Gittleman played with local hardcore band Gang Green, while vocalist Dicky Barrett was a member of Impact Unit and, later on, the Cheap Skates lineup went through frequent changes and would feature members of Gang Green on occasion. It was through the Cheap Skates that a core lineup coalesced around Barrett, Gittleman, Tim Johnny Vegas Burton, Nate Albert, Josh Dalsimer, Tim Bridewell, the group decided on the name, the Bosstones as a reference to the city near their hometowns. In 1987, the Bosstones made their recorded debut when they were featured on the Mash It Up ska compilation, the Bosstones contribution was The Cave, and Ugly. Another early recording, Drums and Chickens, appeared on the 1989 ska compilation Mashin Up The Nation, by the time Mashin Up The Nation was released, the Bosstones had temporarily disbanded in order for Albert and Gittleman to finish high school. After their graduation, the band reunited, around this time, it was brought to the bands attention that an a cappella group, The Bosstones, had already used the name during the 1950s. A bartender friend arbitrarily suggested that they become the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, in order to any possible legal hassles. Despite not consistently drawing large crowds at their shows, the Taang. Record label gave the band a contract which would result in the Devils Night Out album. The album was released to local and lukewarm national reaction during a time when ska was struggling to move out of the American underground. The band found resistance from ska purists who did not like that the band were not playing traditional ska while hardcore fans were against the ska, despite the initial reaction, Devils Night Out has gone on to become one of the bands most popular albums. It was during this time that the bands trademark plaid clothing came to be, after a show where Barrett wore plaid, fans started to show up wearing it as well. It was noticeable enough that the band was approached by the Converse sneaker company to promote their new line of Chuck Taylor sneakers, the band accepted the proposal and were seen in several television commercials promoting the sneakers. By this time, Tim Bridewell had left the band, to be replaced by Dennis Brockenborough, the bands next release was an EP titled Whered You Go
24.
Hans Zimmer
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Hans Florian Zimmer is a German composer and record producer. Since the 1980s, he has composed music for over 150 films, Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the music division at DreamWorks studios and works with other composers through the company that he founded, Remote Control Productions. His studio in Santa Monica, California has a range of computer equipment and keyboards. Zimmers works are notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements and he has received four Grammy Awards, three Classical BRIT Awards, two Golden Globes, and an Academy Award. He was also named on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses, Zimmer was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. As a young child, he lived in Königstein-Falkenstein, where he played the piano at home but had piano lessons only briefly as he disliked the discipline of formal lessons and he moved to London as a teenager, where he attended Hurtwood House school. In an interview with Mashable in February 2013, he said of his parents My mother was very musical, basically a musician and my father was an engineer and an inventor. In an interview with the German television station ZDF in 2006, he commented, My father died when I was just a child, and I escaped somehow into the music and music has been my best friend. In a speech at the 1999 Berlin Film Festival, Zimmer stated that he is Jewish, Zimmer began his career playing keyboards and synthesizers in the 1970s, with the band Krakatoa. He worked with the Buggles, a new band formed in London in 1977 with Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes. Zimmer can be seen briefly in the Buggles music video for the 1979 song Video Killed the Radio Star, after working with the Buggles, he started to work for the Italian group Krisma, a new wave band formed in 1976 with Maurizio Arcieri and Christina Moser. He was a featured synthesist for Krisma’s third album, Cathode Mamma and he has also worked with the band Helden. Both Zimmer and Cann, were invited to be part of the Spanish group Mecano for a performance in Segovia in 1984. Two songs from this concert were included in the Mecano, En Concierto album released in 1985 only in Spain, in 1985, he contributed to the Shriekback album Oil & Gold. While living in London, Zimmer wrote advertising jingles for Air-Edel Associates, in the 1980s, Zimmer partnered with Stanley Myers, a prolific film composer who wrote the scores for over sixty films. Zimmer and Myers co–founded the London–based Lillie Yard recording studio, together, Myers and Zimmer worked on fusing the traditional orchestral sound with electronic instruments. Some of the films on which Zimmer and Myers worked are Moonlighting, Success is the Best Revenge, Insignificance, Zimmers first solo score was Terminal Exposure for director Nico Mastorakis in 1987, for which he also wrote the songs
25.
Ed Ames
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Ed Ames is an American popular singer and actor. He is known for his pop hits of the 1960s including My Cup Runneth Over, Who Will Answer. and he was part of a popular 1950s singing group called the Ames Brothers. Ames was born in Malden, Massachusetts, to Jewish parents Sarah and David Urick and he was the youngest of nine children, five boys and four girls. Ames grew up in a poor household and he attended the Boston Latin School and was educated in Classical and Opera music, as well as literature. While still in school, the brothers formed a quartet. Three of the later formed the Amory Brothers quartet and went to New York City. Playwright Abe Burrows helped the brothers along the way, suggesting the siblings change their groups name to the Ames Brothers. The Ames Brothers were first signed on with Decca Records in 1947, as the ban was ending, they signed on with another label, Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca. They had their first major hit in the 1950s with the double-sided Rag Mop and Sentimental Me. The Brothers joined RCA Victor records and continued to have throughout the 1950s with many hits like It Only Hurts For a Little While, You, You, You. The brothers made appearances regularly on variety programs, and for a period of time in 1955 had their own 15-minute show. In the early 1960s, the Ames Brothers disbanded, and Ed Ames, pursuing a career in acting and his first starring role was in an Off Broadway production of Arthur Millers The Crucible, going on to starring performances in The Fantasticks off-Broadway and Carnival. He was in the touring company of Carnival. Ames dark complexion and facial bone structure led to his being cast regularly as a Native American and he played Chief Bromden in the Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, opposite Kirk Douglas. His characters father was an English officer, in an episode of Season One, Ames also portrayed Mingos evil twin brother, Taramingo. Ames main character was actually named Caramingo, but went by Mingo throughout the entire series and he guest-starred in 1963 on Richard Egans NBC modern western series, Redigo. While playing Mingo on television, Ames developed some skill in throwing a tomahawk and this led to one of the most memorable moments of his career, when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on April 29,1965. During the course of the show, Ames and Johnny Carson were discussing Ames tomahawk throwing abilities, when Ames claimed that he could hit a target from across the room, Carson asked Ames if he could demonstrate this skill
26.
Rick Astley
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Richard Paul Rick Astley is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and radio personality. His 1987 song, Never Gonna Give You Up was a No 1 hit single in 25 countries, by the time of his retirement in 1993, Astley had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide. Astley made a comeback in 2007, becoming an Internet phenomenon when his video Never Gonna Give You Up became integral to the known as rickrolling. Astley was voted Best Act Ever by Internet users at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and his 2016 album 50 debuted in the UK at No 1. Astley was born on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire and his parents divorced when he was five, and Astley was brought up by his father. His musical career started when he was ten, singing in the church choir. During his schooldays, Astley formed and played the drums in a number of local bands, in 1985, Astley was performing as a drummer with a soul band named FBI, with Morris on guitar. They were a local band writing and performing their own music. When FBIs lead singer left the band, and Morris left to concentrate on his career in hairdressing, Astley offered to be the lead vocalist. This was when he was noticed by the record producer Pete Waterman, the reason for Astley to be hired as a tape op was to overcome his shyness. SAW also hired most of FBI, including Morris as a guitarist/songwriter and his first single was the little-known When You Gonna, released as a collaboration with Lisa Carter, with little promotion. His first solo offering was Never Gonna Give You Up, recorded on New Years Day 1987, Astleys distinctive rich, deep voice combined with dance-pop, made the song an immediate success, spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the years highest-selling single. The song was also a number one hit, topping the charts in 24 other countries, including the US, Australia. It would become the first of 13 top 30 hit singles for him, Never Gonna Give You Up won Best British single at the 1988 BPI awards, and he performed the hit in front of a global audience of 100 million. His next single was Whenever You Need Somebody, which was released in October, the single was a recycled Stock, Aitken, Waterman song, originally recorded by OChi Brown in 1985. It became a successful European hit, reaching No 1 in seven countries, including Germany and Sweden and it also reached No 3 in the UK. It was not released in North America, overall Whenever You Need Somebody sold 15.2 million copies worldwide, making him the top-selling British act of the year. In December 1987, Astley released a version of the Nat King Cole classic When I Fall in Love
27.
Polly Bergen
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Polly Bergen was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in The Helen Morgan Story, for her stage work she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carlotta Campion in Follies in 2001. Her film work included 1962s Cape Fear and 1963s The Caretakers and she hosted her own variety show for one season, and as an author wrote three books on beauty, fashion, and charm. Bergen was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Lucy and William Hugh Burgin, Bergen appeared in many film roles, most notably in the original Cape Fear opposite Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. She had roles as the romantic interest in three Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy films in the early 1950s, At War with the Army, Thats My Boy, and The Stooge. She was featured in a number of westerns during the 1950s, including Warpath, Arena, bergens later roles included Mrs. Vernon-Williams in Cry-Baby, a John Waters film. Bergen received an Emmy award for her portrayal of singer Helen Morgan in the episode The Helen Morgan Story of the 1950s television series Playhouse 90, signed to Columbia Records, she enjoyed a successful recording career during this era, as well. In the 1950s she also was known as The Pepsi Cola Girl and she was a regular panelist on the CBS game show To Tell the Truth, during its original run. She also appeared on the NBC interview program Heres Hollywood and she earned an Emmy nomination for her role as Rhoda Henry, wife of Capt. Pug Henry, in two ABC miniseries, The Winds of War and its sequel, War and Remembrance. She starred in a 2001 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheims Follies at the Belasco Theater, in 2003, she starred at the same theatre in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks opposite Mark Hamill in a role she took over from Rue McClanahan. Bergen played Fran Felstein on HBOs The Sopranos, the mistress of Johnny Soprano. From 2007 to 2011 Bergen had a guest role in Desperate Housewives as Lynette Scavos mother, Stella Wingfield and she was a semi-regular cast member of Commander-in-Chief as the mother of Mackenzie Allen, the President of the United States, played by Geena Davis. Bergen herself had once played the first female President of the United States, as President Leslie McCloud in the 1964 film, Kisses for My President. Another late appearance came in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Candles on Bay Street, in 1965, Bergen created the Polly Bergen Company cosmetics line. She also created lines of jewelry and shoe brands, and authored three books on beauty, Bergen was married to actor Jerome Courtland in the early 1950s. In 1957 she married Hollywood agent-producer Freddie Fields with whom she had two adopted children, Pamela Kerry Fields and Peter William Fields, and stepdaughter, Kathy Fields, Bergen converted from Southern Baptist to Judaism upon marrying Fields. She was married to entrepreneur Jeffrey Endervelt in the 1980s, Bergen was a liberal-minded, politically active Democrat and feminist. She was an advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment, womens education
28.
Cilla Black
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Priscilla Maria Veronica White OBE, known by her stage name Cilla Black, was an English singer, television presenter, actress, and author. Championed by her friends the Beatles, she began her career as a singer in 1963, Black had eleven Top Ten hits on the British charts between then and 1971. In May 2010, new research published by BBC Radio 2 showed that her version of Anyone Who Had a Heart was the UKs biggest selling single by a female artist in the 1960s. Youre My World was also a modest hit in the US, along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976. In 2013, Black celebrated her 50 years in show business, British television network ITV honoured this milestone with a one-off entertainment special which aired on 16 October 2013. The show, called The One & Only Cilla Black, featured Black herself and was hosted by Paul OGrady, Black died on 1 August 2015 after a fall in her villa in Estepona, Spain. The day after her funeral, the compilation album The Very Best of Cilla Black went to one on the UK Albums Chart. Priscilla White was born in Liverpool, England, on 27 May 1943 and her parents were John Patrick White and Priscilla Blythen. She had a Welsh grandfather, Joseph Henry Blythen, who was born in Wrexham, and Irish great-grandparents on both her fathers and mothers sides of the family. She was raised in a Roman Catholic household, and attended St. Anthonys School, situated behind St. Anthonys Church in Scotland Road, and Anfield Commercial College, where she learned office skills. Determined to become an entertainer, Cilla White gained a job as a cloakroom attendant at Liverpools Cavern Club. Her impromptu performances impressed the Beatles and others and she was encouraged to begin singing by a Liverpool promoter, Sam Leach, who booked her first gig at the Casanova Club, on London Road, where she appeared as Swinging Cilla. She became a guest singer with the Merseybeat bands Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Kingsize Taylor, meanwhile, she worked as a waitress at the Zodiac coffee lounge, where she later met her future husband Bobby Willis. She then took the name Black as part of her stage name and she was introduced to Epstein by John Lennon, who persuaded him to audition her. John was encouraged by his Aunt Mimi to introduce Cilla to Epstein, Epstein had a portfolio of local artists but initially showed little interest in her. Her first audition was a failure, partly because of nerves, in her autobiography Whats It All About. She wrote, Id chosen to do Summertime, but at the very last moment I wished I hadnt. I adored this song, and had sung it when I came to Birkenhead with the Big Three and it was too late for second thoughts, though
29.
Tom Clay
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Tom Clay was an American radio personality and disc jockey. Clay was born Thomas Clague in New York, and in the 1950s he was popular in the Detroit area on WJBK-AM both as a DJ, and for his on-air comic characterizations, he became a local celebrity. In the mid-1950s he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and was equally popular and he was caught up in the payola scandal of the late 1950s, and admitted to having accepted thousands of dollars for playing certain records. After being fired from WJBK, Clay worked at the short-lived Detroit Top 40 station WQTE only to be fired again when the changed format to easy listening music in 1961. Clays daughter, Kimberly, told Carson that her father never revealed much about his friendship with Monroe, riding the wave of early Beatlemania he again rose in popularity, met and interviewed The Beatles. However, since over 80,000 fans responded, Clay was able to live comfortably for a time on the cash that appeared in his personal post office box. Dave Shafer told David Carson in Rockin Down the Dial that Clay skipped town in the wake of the Beatles Booster fiasco, Clay eventually returned to work at other Detroit area radio stations, including WWWW-FM, and also worked at WCBS-FM in New York. In 1984, he played pop standards at KPRZ, Los Angeles and it went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc, a follow-up album had respectable sales, but another single, Whatever Happened To Love, flopped, and Clay found himself unemployed. Both songs were featured on the MoWest album What The World Needs Now, Clay finished his career doing voiceover work. Clay died of stomach and lung cancer at the age of 66, in Valley Village, Los Angeles, list of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States Answers. com 45-rpm. com
30.
Coldplay
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Coldplay are a British rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist and keyboardist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed under the name Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as bassist, will Champion joined as drummer and backing vocalist, completing the performing line-up. Creative Director Phil Harvey is often referred to as the fifth member by the band. The band renamed themselves Coldplay in 1998, before recording and releasing three EPs, Safety in 1998, Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999, the Blue Room was their first release on a major label, after signing to Parlophone. They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single Yellow in 2000 and this was followed by their debut album Parachutes released the same year, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The bands second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, was released to acclaim and won multiple awards. Their next release, X&Y, the album worldwide in 2005, was met with mostly positive reviews upon its release. In May 2014, they released their album, Ghost Stories. In December 2015, the released their seventh album, A Head Full of Dreams. Coldplay have sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making one of the worlds best-selling music artists. In December 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the fourth-best artist of the 2000s, Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfams Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland first met during their week at University College London in September 1996. The pair spent the rest of the university year planning a band, Guy Berryman, a classmate of Martin and Buckland, later joined the group. By 1997, the group, who had renamed themselves Starfish, Martin also had recruited his longtime school friend Phil Harvey, who was studying classics at the University of Oxford, to be the bands manager. Coldplay have since accepted Harvey as the member of the group. The bands line-up was completed when Will Champion joined to take up percussion duties, Champion had grown up playing piano, guitar, bass, and tin whistle, he quickly learned the drums. The band finally settled on the name Coldplay which was suggested by Tim Crompton, by 1997, Martin had met Classics student Tim Rice-Oxley. During a weekend in the English village Virginia Water in Surrey they asked each other to play their own songs on the piano
31.
Jad Fair
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Jad Fair is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist and a founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese. Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi group Half Japanese. Since then, Half Japanese has released nearly 30 records, mascis, Jason Willett, Monster Party, Weird Paul Petroskey, R. In 1982 Fair released his first solo work, the single The Zombies of Mora-Tau followed by the full-length album Everyone Knew, besides his musical career Fair is also active as a visual artist, drawings as well as papercuttings. He took up papercutting to alleviate boredom while touring on the road, many of the album covers are made by Fair. Four books of Fairs art have been published and its Spooky is a 1989 collaboration album by Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair. Strange but True is an album between the band Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair. It was released by Matador Records in 1998, song titles on the album were taken from outrageous newspaper headlines. In 2002 Fair recorded an album with R, words Of Wisdom And Hope is a collaboration between Glasgow, Scotlands Teenage Fanclub and Fair, released in 2002. In 2008 Vincent Moon made a documentary called Paris lost in Texas. In this short movie he visits Fair in house in Texas, in the same year experimental instrument builder Yuri Landman constructed for Fair a special 2 string instrument called the Bachelor QS. In 2011 Half Japanese reunited as a band and toured through Europe. In 2011 Thick Syrup Records released the compilation album 78 LTD and this album features the track 36 Perfect Ways I Ching of Love Fair made with Ken Stringfellow. In 2012 Fair contributed to the Landman album Thats Right Go Cats with a 22-minute vocal contribution on side A of the record, the Nantes based venue Le Lieu Unique has organised a large exhibition of graphical work made by Fair and Daniel Johnston in April 2012. In the same month Fair released a lost album called Songs from a Haunted House with Gilles Reider on Interbang Records, in 2012 Jad Fair released on Joyful Noise Recordings a collaboration with French experimentalist trio Hifiklub, and German guitarist/producer kptmichigan. The band was assembled to provide the audio component to Jad Fairs art exhibition at Le Dojo - Nice in France,2011
32.
Daniel Johnston
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Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2005 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Johnston has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He has been regarded as an important figure in outsider, lo-fi, Johnston was born in Sacramento, California, and grew up in New Cumberland, West Virginia. He is the youngest of five children of William Dale Bill Johnston and he began recording music in the late 1970s on a $59 Sanyo monaural Boombox, singing and playing piano as well as the chord organ. Following graduation from Oak Glen High School, Johnston spent a few weeks at Abilene Christian University in West Texas and he later attended the art program at the East Liverpool campus of Kent State University, during which he recorded Songs of Pain and More Songs of Pain. Johnstons musical work gained some notability when he moved to Austin, Johnston began to attract the attention of the local press and gained a following augmented in numbers by his habit of handing out tapes to people he met. Live performances were well-attended and hotly anticipated and his local standing led to him being featured in a 1985 episode of the MTV program The Cutting Edge featuring performers from Austins New Sincerity music scene. Subsequently, he performed at the 1985 Woodshock music festival in Austin, in 1988, Johnston visited New York City and recorded 1990 with producer Kramer at his Noise New York studio. It was released in 1990 on Kramers Shimmy-Disc label and this was Johnstons first experience in a professional recording environment after a decade of releasing home-made cassette recordings. His mental health deteriorated during the making of 1990. In 1989 Johnston released the album Its Spooky in collaboration with Half Japanese singer Jad Fair, in 1990, Johnston played at a music festival in Austin, Texas. His father, a former Air Force pilot, managed to successfully crash-land the plane, even there was nothing down there. Although the plane was destroyed, Johnston and his father emerged with only minor injuries, as a result of this episode, Johnston was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. Interest in Johnston increased when Kurt Cobain was frequently photographed wearing a T-shirt featuring the image of Johnstons album Hi. Kurt Cobain listed Yip/Jump Music as one of his albums in his journal in 1993. In spite of Johnston being resident in a hospital at the time. He refused to sign a deal with Elektra Records because Metallica was on the labels roster and he was convinced that they were of Satan. He also dropped his manager after having an episode at a Butthole Surfers concert
33.
Judy Garland
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Judy Garland was an American singer, actress, and vaudevillian. Garland began performing in vaudeville with her two sisters and was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. She made more than two films with MGM, including nine with Mickey Rooney. Garlands most famous role was as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and her other roles at MGM included Meet Me in St. Louis, The Harvey Girls and Easter Parade. After 15 years, she was released from the studio and made record-breaking concert appearances, a recording career. Film appearances became fewer in her years, but included two Academy Award nominated performances in A Star Is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg. Garland received a Golden Globe Award, a Juvenile Academy Award, and a Special Tony Award, deMille Award for lifetime achievement in the film industry. She was the first woman to win a Grammy for Album of the Year for her recording of Judy at Carnegie Hall. In 1997, Garland was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1999, the American Film Institute placed her among the 10 greatest female stars of classic American cinema, from an early age Garland struggled in her personal life. The pressures of adolescent stardom sent her to a psychiatrist at age eighteen and her self-image was influenced by film executives who said she was unattractive and manipulated her on-screen physical appearance. She was plagued by instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. She married five times, with her first four marriages ending in divorce and she also had a long battle with drugs and alcohol, which ultimately led to her death from a barbiturate overdose at the age of 47. Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10,1922, in Grand Rapids and she was the youngest child of Ethel Marion and Francis Avent Frank Gumm. Her parents were vaudevillians who settled in Grand Rapids to run a theater that featured vaudeville acts. She was of English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry, named after both of her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church, baby shared her familys flair for song and dance. The Gumm Sisters performed there for the few years, accompanied by their mother on piano. The family relocated to Lancaster, California, in June 1926, Frank purchased and operated another theater in Lancaster, and Ethel began managing her daughters and working to get them into motion pictures
34.
Rigmor Gustafsson
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Rigmor Elisabeth Gustafsson, is a Swedish jazz singer. Gustafsson comes from a musical family and her sister Christina is also a singer in the field of jazz. At the age of eight Rigmor learned how to play the guitar at the school in Grums. She later studied at Sundstagymnasiter in Karlstad where she studied classic guitar-work and she later began to study at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, USA and at Mannes College of Music. While living in New York she met other musicians and created the Rigmor Gustafsson Quintet and she graduated in 1995, and the quinted continued to tour between 1996 and 1997 in Sweden, Germany and Switzerland. In 2003 the German record label ACT signed her and released I Will Wait for You along with the trombonist Nils Landgren, the same year Rigmor performed at the Nobel Banquet. In 2004 the album Close to You was released in which she makes her own version of Dionne Warwicks songs made by Burt Bacharach, on the album On My Way to You, from 2006, she sings songs by French composer Michel Legrand. On 19 June 2007 Gustafsson participated in the radio show Sommar, the same year the music album Alone With You was released in which she had written all the songs. Media related to Rigmor Gustafsson at Wikimedia Commons
35.
Barry Manilow
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Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, musician, and producer with a career that has spanned over 50 years. He is best known for a string of hit recordings such as Mandy, Cant Smile Without You. He has recorded and released 47 Top 40 singles, including 12 that hit number one and 27 of which appeared within the top ten, and has released many multi-platinum albums. He is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R and Billboard magazines, Manilow has been praised by several well-known entertainers, including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s saying, Hes next. In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped Manilow at a party, hugged him and said, Dont stop what youre doing, as well as producing and arranging albums for other artists, including Bette Midler and Dionne Warwick, Manilow has written songs for musicals, films, and commercials. From February 2005 to December 2009, he was the headliner at the Las Vegas Hilton, since March 2010, he has headlined at the Paris hotel in Las Vegas. He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the worlds best-selling artists of all time, Manilow was born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17,1943, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Edna Manilow and Harold Pincus. His father was born to a Jewish father and an Irish-American Catholic mother, Barry adopted his mothers maiden name, Manilow, at the time of his bar mitzvah. Manilow grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and attended Eastern District High School and that same year, he enrolled in the City College of New York where he briefly studied before entering the New York College of Music. He also worked at CBS while he was a student in order to pay his expenses, according to one source, he married Susan Deixler that year, with the marriage lasting only one year. Another source says Manilow got an annulment from Deixler in 1966 after two years of marriage and he later studied Musical Theater at the Juilliard performing arts school. In 1964, Manilow met Bro Herrod, a CBS director, instead, Manilow wrote an entire original score. Herrod used Manilows composition in the Off Broadway musical, which enjoyed a run at New Yorks 13th Street Theatre. Manilow then earned money by working as a pianist, producer and arranger, during this time, he began to work as a commercial jingle writer, continuing well into the 1970s. Many of the jingles he wrote and/or composed he would perform, including State Farm Insurance. A1965 Polaroid Swinger commercial featuring Manilows Meet The Swinger jingle starred a young Ali MacGraw and his singing-only credits include commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, and the famed McDonalds You Deserve a Break Today campaign. Manilow won two Clio Awards in 1976 for his work for Tab and Band-Aid, by 1967, Manilow was the musical director for the WCBS-TV series Callback, which premiered on January 27,1968. He next conducted and arranged for Ed Sullivans production company, arranging a new theme for The Late Show, while writing, producing, and singing his radio and television jingles
36.
Aimee Mann
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Aimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist. She was the bassist and a vocalist for the band Til Tuesday during the 1980s and since then she has released albums. Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, attended Midlothian High School in Chesterfield County, in 1978, Mann enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She dropped out of Berklee and joined the Boston punk band the Young Snakes, in 1983, the band released the EP Bark Along with the Young Snakes. In 1983, Mann co-founded the new wave band Til Tuesday with Berklee classmate, in 1985, the band released Voices Carry, the debut album with the title track inspired by Manns breakup with Hausman. It won the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, in 1986, the band released Welcome Home, their second album. In 1987, she sang vocals with Geddy Lee on the single Time Stand Still by rock band Rush from their 1987 album Hold Your Fire and she also appeared in the music video for the song. In 1988, the band released Everythings Different Now, their third, shortly after its release, Mann said that she was much more pleased with it than the debut, primarily because she felt it made more of a personal statement about her life. The band broke up in 1990 when Mann left to start her solo career, in 1993, Mann released her debut solo album, Whatever, which sold modestly but met with critical praise. In 1995, Mann released Im with Stupid, her album, through Geffen Records which, like her debut, garnered positive reviews. In 2000, Mann released Bachelor No,2, released on SuperEgo, which included some songs from Magnolia and new material. In 2001, she joined the panel for the 1st Annual Independent Music Awards. In 2002, Mann released Lost in Space, an album which features art by Seth, the song High on Sunday 51 from this album was used on the soundtrack of Third Watch, Season 4, Episode 13. The following year she released Lost in Space Special Edition, which features a disc containing six live recordings as well as two B-sides and two previously unreleased songs. In 2004, Mann released Live at St. Anns Warehouse, in 2005, Mann released The Forgotten Arm, a concept album set in the 1970s about two lovers who meet at the Virginia State Fair and go on the run. The Joe Henry-produced album, which was recorded live with few overdubs. The following year Mann received a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for the albums artwork, in 2006, Mann released One More Drifter in the Snow, a Christmas album featuring both covers and new songs. Smilers, which features Grammy-nominated artwork by Gary Taxali, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 32 and on the Top Independent Albums chart at number 2
37.
Johnny Mathis
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John Royce Johnny Mathis is an American singer of popular music and jazz. Mathis has sold well over 100 million records worldwide, according to Guinness Book of British Hit Singles writer and charts music historian Paul Gambaccini, Mathis also recorded six albums of Christmas music. In a 1968 interview, Mathis cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas, United States, in 1935, the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd. The family moved to San Francisco, California, settling on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond District and his father had worked in vaudeville, and when he saw his sons talent, he bought an old upright piano for $25 and encouraged him. Mathis began learning songs and routines from his father and his first song was My Blue Heaven. Mathis started singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school, when he was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for work around her house. Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning scales and exercises, voice production, classical. He is one of the few popular singers who received years of professional voice training that included opera. The first band he sang with was formed by his school friend Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized him at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving him his first chance as a singer, Mathis was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He was a jumper and hurdler, and he played on the basketball team. In 1954, he enrolled at San Francisco State University on a scholarship, intending to become an English teacher. In San Francisco while singing at a Sunday afternoon jam session with a jazz sextet at the Black Hawk Club, Mathis attracted the attention of the clubs co-founder. After repeated calls, Noga finally persuaded Avakian to come hear Mathis at the 440 Club, after hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram stating, Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a jumper, and in 1956 he was asked to try out for the U. S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne, Australia. Mathis had to decide whether to go to the Olympic trials or to keep his appointment in New York City to make his first recordings, on his fathers advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career. His LP record album was released in late 1956 instead of waiting until the first quarter of 1957, Mathiss first record album, Johnny Mathis, A New Sound In Popular Song, was a slow-selling jazz album, but Mathis stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs. His second album was produced by Columbia Records vice-president and record producer Mitch Miller, Miller preferred that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him up with conductor and music arranger Ray Conniff, and later, Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey
38.
Mr. Bungle
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Mr. Bungle was an American experimental rock band from Eureka, California. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records, the band toured in 1999 and 2000 to support their last album before going on hiatus, ultimately revealing that they had dissolved in 2004. Although Mr. Members were based in San Francisco during the bands tenure with Warner Bros, Mr. Bungle was known for its highly eclectic style, often cycling through several musical genres within the course of a single song. Many of its songs had a structure and utilized a wide array of instruments. Live shows often featured members dressing up and an array of cover songs, Mr. Bungle formed in 1985 in Eureka, California, while the members were still in high school. The band initially consisted of Trevor Dunn, Mike Patton, Trey Spruance, Theo Lengyel, Watts was subsequently replaced by Hans Wagner, and then by Danny Heifetz, while Clinton Bär McKinnon joined in 1989. The bands name was taken from Lunchroom Manners, a 1959 childrens educational film which was featured in a Pee-wee Herman Show HBO special in the early 1980s. In it, a school class with a young boy named Phil watch a puppet show about an ill-mannered boy named Mr. Bungle. The short film was a very straight-laced attempt to teach children good deportment, the version shown on The Pee-wee Herman Show had a laugh track added, which gently ridiculed the strict code of conduct promoted in the film. They played their first show during November 1985 at the Bayside Grange Hall, the bands first demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, was recorded during Easter of 1986. It featured a fast, low-fi death/thrash sound, with touches of ska, instruments utilized on the album included a train whistle, saxophone, bongos and a kazoo. The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny was followed in 1987 by the Bowl of Chiley demo, it featured a much greater ska presence, as well as the sounds of jazz, swing and funk. Bradley Torreano noted at AllMusic that the recording was essentially the sound of some very talented teenagers trying to make their love of jazz, in 1988, Mr. Bungle released their third demo, Goddammit I Love America. Which was musically similar to Bowl of Chiley, Mike Patton described its style as funkadelic, thrashing, circus, ska. In 1988, Mike Patton became the lead vocalist for San Franciscos Faith No More, Patton continued to be a member of both bands simultaneously. Their final demo tape was OU818, released in 1989, this recording was the first to feature sax player Clinton Bär McKinnon. OU818 combined songs from the demos, along with some new tracks. At the time of release, Mike Patton described Mr. Bungle as a weirdo funk band
39.
My Morning Jacket
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My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, the bands sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances, the group first found success in Europe after the release of their debut album, The Tennessee Fire. Their next release, At Dawn, led to a large stateside following, after signing to major label ATO Records, the group released two albums, It Still Moves and Z, with the latter representing a critical breakthrough. Their next release, Evil Urges, was more polarizing for fans and critics, while Circuital, their sixth album, after many years of side projects and touring, the bands seventh album, The Waterfall, was released in 2015. My Morning Jacket was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998 by singer-songwriter Jim James, James created the group as an outlet for acoustic songs he had developed on his own that his band at the time, Month of Sundays, could not use. The groups first lineup included his cousin, Johnny Quaid, Tom Blankenship, the bands name stems from James, who once found a tainted coat with the emblazoned letters MMJ. The bands debut album, The Tennessee Fire, was released in May 1999 and it was mildly successful in the U. S. though it became a surprise hit internationally, particularly in the Netherlands. Soon, the group launched a European tour, where they received high marks from Dutch press, they appeared in the Dutch documentary. Danny Cash joined the band as keyboardist in 2000, the bands sophomore effort, At Dawn, helped grow the groups fanbase in their home country. For the album, James recorded his vocals in a grain silo, subsequently, drummer J. Glenn left the band, and was briefly replaced by Chris Guetig. Patrick Hallahan, James childhood best friend, replaced Guetig, in the early 2000s, the band toured heavily, often supporting bands such as Guided by Voices, Doves, and Foo Fighters. The group signed to independent label ATO Records in 2002 ahead of their album, It Still Moves. In January 2004, Cash and Quaid announced their departure from the group, they were replaced by keyboardist Bo Koster, Z, released in 2005, became their breakthrough album. It received highly critical reviews, in his review for Rolling Stone, veteran critic David Fricke wrote, America is a lot closer to getting its own Radiohead. The album was noticeable for a break from James heavily reverbed vocals, okonokos, a live album captured while the band toured Z, was released in 2006. The bands next release, Evil Urges, marked a shift in their sound, it received polarizing reactions from fans. Many songs on the album developed on 90-minute walks James would embark on in Louisville, to promote the album, the band appeared on Saturday Night Live
40.
Merrilee Rush
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Merrilee Rush is an American singer, best known for her recording of the song Angel of the Morning, a Top 10 hit which earned her a Grammy nomination for female vocalist of the year in 1968. Rush was born in Seattle, Washington and she grew up in Seattles North End, and studied classical piano from a young age. In 1960, she auditioned and became the singer for the Amazing Aztecs, a Seattle-area rock & roll band led by saxophone player Neil Rush, in 1965 the pair formed Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts, who soon became a popular act on the Pacific Northwests teen dancehall circuit. While in Memphis, Tennessee, Raiders lead vocalist Mark Lindsay introduced Rush to record producer Chips Moman, Rushs version of Angel of the Morning was recorded at Momans American Studio in Memphis in early 1968, and was produced by Moman and Tommy Cogbill. Released by Bell Records, the song climbed to #7 in late June 1968 on the U. S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, the one millionth sale of this record was reported by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1970. Although credited to Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts, both the single and subsequent album were recorded using the musicians who played on Elvis Presleys famous Memphis recordings. Angel of the Morning garnered Rush a Grammy Award nomination for best Contemporary Pop Female Vocalist of the year and she was nominated along with Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Mary Hopkin. The song Angel of the Morning was written and composed by the songwriter Chip Taylor, the song has also been featured in the major motion pictures Jerry Maguire and Fingers. In 1971, she signed with Scepter Records and released one single, while that was Rushs lone release on Scepter, she cut several tracks for the label including a femme version of the Billy Joel song Shes Got a Way. In 1976 Rush signed with United Artists Records, which released three singles, Could It Be Love I Found Tonight, Save Me, and Rainstorm and her self-titled album for United Artists was released in 1977. By the turn of the 21st century, Rush was living in the countryside near Seattle, Washington and she continued to perform with her own band in rock and roll nostalgia shows across the country. She is married to singer-songwriter and entertainer Billy Mac, and together they have a successful Old English Sheepdogs breeding business, in 1989, the Northwest Area Musicians Association honored Rush with membership in the NAMA Hall of Fame. In 2003, Rush appeared in the PBS special At the Drive-In along with Jan Berry and Dean Torrence, Fabian, Bobby Vee, Chris Montez, Dodie Stevens, Rushs Angel Of The Morning album has been re-published on compact disc via the Rev-Ola record label. All tracks are available digitally from the Arista/Legacy label. Merrilee Rush official site Billy Mac official site Gary James interview IMDBs At the Drive-In entry
41.
The Chambers Brothers
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The Chambers Brothers are an American soul band, best known for its eleven-minute long 1968 hit Time Has Come Today. The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions with modern psychedelic and their music has been kept alive through heavy use in film soundtracks. Originally from Carthage, Mississippi, the Chambers Brothers first honed their skills as members of the choir in their Baptist church and this set up ended in 1952 when the eldest brother George was drafted into the Army. George relocated to Los Angeles after his discharge, and his brothers soon settled there as well, as a foursome, they began performing gospel and folk throughout the Southern California region in 1954, but they more or less remained unknown until appearing in New York City in 1965. Consisting of George on washtub bass, Lester on harmonica, and Willie and Joe on guitar and they played at places like The Ash Grove, a very popular Los Angeles folk club. It became one of their favorite haunts and brought them into contact with Hoyt Axton, Ramblin Jack Elliott, Reverend Gary Davis, Dane became a great supporter, performing and recording with the brothers. With the addition of Brian Keenan on drums, Dane took them on tour with her and introduced them to Pete Seeger, one of the songs they performed, I Got It, appeared on the Newport Folk Festival 1965 compilation LP, which was issued on the Vanguard label. They were becoming accepted in the folk community, but, like many on the folk circuit, were looking to electrify their music and develop a more rock. Joe Chambers recalled in a May 1994 Goldmine article that people at the Newport Folk Festival were breaking down fences, Newport had never seen or heard anything like that. After the group finished and the crowd settled down, the MC came up and said Whether you know it or not. That night they played at a party for festival performers. Shortly after appearing at Newport, the group released its debut album, Time Has Come Today was edited for release as a single and spent five consecutive weeks in September/October at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, just missing the Top Ten. Later incarnations of the group included session guitarist Steve Hunter and session whiz Stephen Patt, freeing the brothers up to become front men, not just instrumentalists. However, due to a succession of dishonest promoters and managers, an album recorded that same year for Columbia, Oh. They reformed and moved from Columbia to Avco Records and released Unbonded, in 1976 the brothers released Recorded Live In Concert on Mars for the Roxbury label. They were signed to support Maria Muldaur on her Gospel Nights album and they also made commercials for Levis jeans. Lester moved to New York and formed a band with former Electric Flag bassist Harvey Brooks, guitarists Willie and Joe would find work as session men, George went back to singing gospel music and would later become a deacon of his church. Keenan retired to Connecticut where he set up his own recording studio, plied his trade as a carpenter, art Ramsey was hired as a replacement drummer
42.
The Staple Singers
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The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul and R&B singing group. Roebuck Pops Staples, the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha, Pervis, yvonne replaced her brother when he was drafted into the U. S. Army, and again in 1970. They are best known for their 1970s hits Respect Yourself, Ill Take You There, If Youre Ready, and Lets Do It Again, while the family name is Staples, the group used Staple commercially. Roebuck moved from Mississippi to Chicago after his marriage, and worked in steel mills, the family began appearing in Chicago-area churches in 1948. Their first public singing appearance was at the Mount Zion Church, Chicago, where Roebucks brother and they signed their first professional contract in 1952. During their early career recorded in an acoustic gospel-folk style with various labels, United Records, Vee-Jay Records, Checker Records, Riverside Records. Uncloudy Day was an influence on Bob Dylan, who said of it in 2015. Id think about them even at my school desk. Mavis looked to be about the age as me in her picture. Her singing just knocked me out. And Mavis was a great singer—deep. And even at the age, I felt that life itself was a mystery. It was on Epic that the Staple Singers developed a more accessible to mainstream audiences, with Why. In 1968, the Staple Singers signed to Stax Records and released two albums with Steve Cropper—Soul Folk in Action and Well Get Over, Pervis returning for these, the first Stax hit was Heavy Makes You Happy in early 1971. Their late 1971 recording of Respect Yourself, written by Luther Ingram and Mack Rice, peaked at No.2 on the Billboard R&B chart, both sold over one million copies, and were each awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The songs theme of self-empowerment had universal appeal, released in the immediately following the intense American civil rights movement of the 1960s. In 1972 Ill Take You There topped both Billboard charts, in 1973 If Youre Ready reached No.9 on the Hot 100 and No.1 on the R&B chart. In 1976 they collaborated with The Band for their film The Last Waltz, however, they were not able to regain their momentum, releasing only occasional minor hits. Their 1984 album Turning Point featured their final Top 40 hit, in 1994, they again performed the song The Weight with country music artist Marty Stuart for MCA Nashvilles Rhythm, Country and Blues compilation, somewhat re-establishing an audience. The song Respect Yourself was used by Spike Lee in the soundtrack to his movie Crooklyn, in 1999, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Pops Staples died of complications from a concussion suffered in December 2000, in 2005, the group was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
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