| Name | Yanni |
|---|---|
| | background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth name | Yiànnis Hrysomàllis |
| Born | November 14, 1954 |
| Origin | Kalamata, Greece |
| Instrument | PianoKeyboard |
| Genre | Instrumental, New Age, contemporary classical |
| Occupation | ComposerPianist |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Label | Private Music/Windham Hill Virgin Records Yanni Wake/Disney Pearl Series |
| Associated acts | Chameleon |
| Url | www.yanni.com |
| Notable instruments | piano, synthesizer, keyboard |
He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time. His breakthrough success came with the 1994 release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies. At the age of 18 he attended the University of Minnesota. While a student there, Yanni joined an up-and-coming local group called Chameleon where he met drummer Charlie Adams. Chameleon earned some modest commercial success touring throughout the Midwest, particularly in the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and South Dakota. After receiving a B.A. in psychology, he sought a life in music. He moved to Los Angeles, in pursuit of movie soundtrack work. In 1987 he put together a small band which included John Tesh and Charlie Adams, and began touring to promote his earliest instrumental albums, Keys to Imagination, Out of Silence, and Chameleon Days.
Yanni's breakthrough commercial success came with the release of his album and video, Yanni Live at the Acropolis, filmed on September 23, 1993 at the 2,000-year-old Herod Atticus Theater in Athens, Greece, and released in 1994. This was Yanni’s first live album and utilized a full orchestra under the supervision of the Iranian conductor, Shahrdad Rohani, in addition to his core band. Subsequently, the concert was broadcast in the US on PBS and quickly became one of their most popular programs ever, having been seen in 65 countries by half a billion people. It has almost continuously remained on the charts since its release and is the second best-selling music video of all time, selling more than 7 million copies worldwide, He has appeared on several major PBS Pledge TV Specials such as A Decade Of Excellence, including segments from Live at the Acropolis, Tribute, and Live at Royal Albert Hall, London.
In March 1997, Yanni became one of the few Western artists permitted to perform and record at the Taj Mahal in India. Later that year he performed at the Forbidden City in China. From these two events he created his next live album and video, Tribute, which was released in 1997. Armen Anassian, Conductor, concedes that he had some doubts about the artist's plans to perform at India's Taj Mahal and China's Forbidden City for Tribute: "To be honest, a few years ago when he was talking about it, the idea was so amazing. I myself was very skeptical, understandably so. But the truth is, it happened. We did it." Anassian describes Yanni as "very optimistic" and has observed that "nothing really fazes him."
The release of a new album Yanni Mexicanisimo in October 2010 is dedicated as a tribute to Mexico, a combination of Mexican music with Yanni’s style.
Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kalamata Category:Composers for piano Category:Greek composers Category:Greek immigrants to the United States Category:Greek pianists Category:Greek keyboardists Category:Greek swimmers Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:New Age pianists Category:Pop pianists Category:University of Minnesota alumni Category:Windham Hill Records artists
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| Name | Tank |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Durrell Babbs |
| Born | January 01, 1976Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US |
| Origin | Washington, DC, US |
| Genre | R&B;, pop, hip hop, dance, crunk&B;, reggae |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, dancer, actor, model, musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboard, piano, drums |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Label | Blackground (2000-2009), Atlantic (2010-Present) |
| Associated acts | TGT, Tyrese, Ginuwine, The Underdogs, Aaliyah, Omarion |
| Url | www.TheRealTank.com |
In 2002, Tank released his second album One Man and a single of the same name. Later the same year he went on to co-produce Missy Elliott's smash hit single "One Minute Man".
Tank released his third solo album entitled "Sex, Love & Pain" on May 15, 2007. The lead single was intended to be "I Luv Dem Girls", but for unknown reasons the song was given to Marques Houston who renamed it "Strip Club" (intending to place it on his third solo album "Veteran"). However, "Strip Club" did not make "Veteran," and "Sex, Love & Pain"'s last track is the Timbaland remix to "I Luv Dem Girls". The first single from Tank's third album was "Please Don't Go". Later in the year Tank, Ginuwine and Tyrese Gibson formed a group called TGT. Their first single was a remix of "Please Don't Go" with an international tour entitled "The Shirts Off Tour" and search for a fourth member to follow. Tank has also just released his 4th studio album Now Or Never on December 14, 2010. Tank collaborated with other artists on this project like Chris Brown, Drake, Letoya Luckett and many other artists.
Tank's song writing and production credits include working with Dave Hollister, Marques Houston, Omarion, Jamie Foxx, Donell Jones and Monica amongst others. As an associate of production team The Underdogs, also Thomas Dudley Tedii from LOVEISREALBAND, and along with his team, Song Dynasty. He has worked with many different artists over the years and was also a contributor to the score of the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls, in which he also had a cameo. He was also featured in the movie "The Preacher's Kid."
Category:African American singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American male singers Category:Living people Category:People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:1976 births
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
