, noted singer-songwriter]]Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano. A number of other well-known musicians may write some of their own songs, but are usually called singers instead.

History

The concept of a singer-songwriter can actually be traced to ancient bardic culture, which has existed in various forms throughout the world. Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving. This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture.

Traveling performers existed throughout Europe. Thus, the folklorist Anatole Le Braz gives a detailed account of one ballad singer, Yann Ar Minouz, who wrote and performed songs traveling through Brittany in the late nineteenth century and selling printed versions.

In large towns it was possible to make a living performing in public venues, and with the invention of phonographic recording, early singer-songwriters like Théodore Botrel and George M. Cohan became celebrities. Radio further added to their public recognition and appeal.

North America and United Kingdom

The term, "singer-songwriter" in North America can be traced back to singers who developed works in the blues and folk music style. Early to mid-20th century American singer-songwriters include Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie McTell, Lightnin' Hopkins, Son House, Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Pete Seeger, along with Lee Hays and other members of The Weavers (Seeger performed solo and as part of the Weavers). These proto-singer-songwriters were less concerned than today's singer-songwriters with the unadulterated originality of their music and lyrics, and would lift parts from other songs and play covers without hesitation. The tradition of writing topical songs (songs regarding specific issues of the day, such as LeadBelly 's "Jim Crow Blues" or Guthrie's "Deportees") was established by this group of musicians. Singers like Seeger and Guthrie would attend rallies for labor unions, and so wrote many songs concerning the life of the working classes, and social protest; while blues singers like Johnson and Hopkins wrote songs about their personal life experiences. This focus on social issues has greatly influenced the singer-songwriter genre. Additionally in the 1930s through the 1950s several jazz and blues singer-songwriters emerged like Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, and Nina Simone, as well as in the rock genre from which emerged influential singer-songwriters Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Richie Valens and Paul Anka. In the country music field singer-songwriters like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roger Miller and others emerged during the 1940s and 1950s, often writing compelling songs about love relationships and other subjects.

The first popular recognition of the singer-songwriter in English-speaking North America and Great Britain occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s when a series of blues, folk and country-influenced musicians rose to prominence and popularity. These singer-songwriters included Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Mickey Newbury, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Tom Rush, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Steve Goodman, Arlo Guthrie, Paul Simon, Neil Young, John Denver, Jackson Browne, John Prine, Dave Mason, Jim Croce, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, David Crosby, Leonard Cohen, Donovan, Van Morrison, Randy Newman, Ian Tyson, Gordon Lightfoot, Johnny Tillotson, Sylvia Tyson, Nick Drake, Tim Hardin, Carly Simon, John Fogerty, Eric Andersen, Cat Stevens, Bruce Cockburn, Harry Chapin, James Taylor, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lou Reed, Dan Fogelberg and Dolly Parton. People who had been primarily songwriters , notably Carole King, Townes Van Zandt and Neil Diamond, also began releasing work as performers. In contrast to the storytelling approach of most prior country and folk music, these performers typically wrote songs from a highly personal (often first-person), introspective point of view. The adjectives "confessional" and "sensitive" were often used (sometimes derisively) to describe this early singer-songwriter style.

While the members of rock bands of the era were not technically singer-songwriters, many former band members (including Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Peter Frampton and later Don Henley and Glenn Frey) found success as singer-songwriters in their later careers.

By the mid 1970s and early 1980s the original wave of singer-songwriters had largely been absorbed into a more general pop or soft rock format, but some new artists in the singer-songwriter tradition (including Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Mark Heard, Lucinda Williams, Patti Smith, Kate Bush, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Nicks, Cheryl Wheeler and Warren Zevon) continued to emerge, and in other cases rock and even punk rock artists such as Peter Case, Paul Collins and Paul Westerberg transitioned to careers as solo singer-songwriters.

In the late 1980s, the term was applied to a group of predominantly female U.S. artists, beginning with Suzanne Vega whose first album sold unexpectedly well, followed by the likes of Tracy Chapman, Nanci Griffith, k.d. lang Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Joan Osborne, and Tori Amos, who found success first in the United Kingdom, then in her home market. In the early 1990s, female artists also began to emerge in new styles, including Courtney Love and PJ Harvey. Later in the mid-1990s, the term was revived again with the success of Mariah Carey and Canada's Alanis Morissette and her breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill.

Also in the 1980s and 1990s, artists such as Dave Matthews and Elliott Smith borrowed from the singer-songwriter tradition to create new acoustic-based rock styles. In the 2000s, a quieter style emerged, with largely impressionistic lyrics, from artists such as Norah Jones, Conor Oberst, Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan, South San Gabriel, Iron & Wine, David Gray, Ray LaMontagne, The Civil Wars, Meg Hutchinson, Steve Millar, Jolie Holland, Richard Buckner, Jewel, and Jack Savoretti. Some started to branch out in new genres such as Kurt Cobain, Noel Gallagher and Eddie Vedder.

Recording on the professional-grade systems became affordable for individuals in the late 1990s. This created opportunities for people to independently record and sell their music. Such artists are known as "indies" because they release their records on independent, often self-owned record labels, or no label at all. Additionally the Internet has provided a means for indies to get their music heard by a wider audience.

Cantautori, the Italian tradition

Cantautori (Italian plural; the singular is cantautore) is the Italian expression corresponding to singer-songwriters in English. The word is a portmanteau of cantante (singer) and autore (writer).

Although the term, in theory, might refer to all those who compose and then perform their own songs, including, say, medieval troubadors, the term in contemporary Italian refers to a large number of relatively recent Italian popular singers − archetypically those who rose to prominence during the student protests of the 1960s and '70s − who write songs that may or may not be particularly melodic but always have social or political relevance. For the purposes of comparison, Bob Dylan would be an American cantautore.

Even if the first internationally renowned cantautore was Domenico Modugno with his song "Volare" in 1958, actually the most famous cantautore in Italy is Fabrizio De André. His songs are still popular today. In his works he often told stories of marginalized and rebellious people. In Italy he is considered as a poet because of the quality of his lyrics.

Among the other best known are Gino Paoli, Lucio Battisti, Francesco Guccini, Roberto Vecchioni, Lucio Dalla, Francesco De Gregori, Franco Battiato, Ivan Graziani and Ivano Fossati. Of the younger generation of artists, Samuele Bersani, Jovanotti, Carmen Consoli, Daniele Silvestri, Cristina Donà, Max Gazzè, Luciano Ligabue, Vinicio Capossela, Simone Tomassini, and Zucchero have often been tagged as modern cantautori.

The Neapolitan cantautore Pino Daniele has often fused genres as diverse as R&B;, pop, jazz, rock, fusion, blues and tarantella to produce a sound uniquely his own, with lyrics variously in Italian (and the dialect Neapolitan), or English. Similarly Paolo Conte was often tagged as a cantautore, but was more into the jazz tradition.

In the 1980s Vasco Rossi was renowned for his "rock" music mixed with Italian melodies. He was nicknamed the "only Italian rockstar" (l'unica rockstar italiana).

The word has been borrowed into other languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan cantautor, French chantauteur, Romanian cantautor, and Slovenian kantavtor.

Latin traditions

Beginning in the 1960s and following the Italian cantautori style of the 1950s (like the one of Domenico Modugno), many Latin American countries developed singer-songwriter traditions that adopted elements from various popular styles. The first such tradition was the mid-60s invention of nueva canción, which took hold in Andean countries like Chile, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia.

At around the same time, the Brazilian popular style bossa nova was evolving into a politically charged singer-songwriter tradition called Tropicalismo. Two performers, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso became two of the most famous people in all of Brazil through their work in Tropicalismo.

After WWII it was developed in Italy a very prolific singer-songwriter (in Italian cantautore) tradition, initially connected with the French school of the chansonniers, and lately developed very heterogeneously. Although the term cantautore normally implies consistent sociopolitical content in lyrics, noteworthy performers in a more inclusive singer-songwriter categorization are: Domenico Modugno, Luigi Tenco, Gino Paoli, Sergio Endrigo, Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Antonello Venditti, Roberto Vecchioni, Ivano Fossati, Lucio Dalla, Francesco Guccini and Franco Battiato.

In neighbouring Malta, the main singer-songwriters are Walter Micallef, Manwel Mifsud and Vince Fabri. They all perform in Maltese.

Spain and Portugal have also had singer-songwriter traditions, which are sometimes said to have drawn on Latin elements. Spain is known for the nova. cançó tradition — exemplified by Joan Manuel Serrat and Lluis Llach; the Portuguese folk/protest singer and songwriter José Afonso helped lead a revival of Portuguese folk culture, including a modernized, more socially-aware form of fado called nova canção. Following Portugal's Carnation Revolution of 1974, nova canção became more politicized and was known as canto livre. Another important Spain singer-songwriters are Joaquin Sabina, Jose Luis Perales and Luis Eduardo Aute .

In the latter part of the 1960s and into the 70s, socially and politically aware singer-songwriters like Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés emerged in Cuba, birthing a genre known as nueva trova. Trova as a genre has had broad influence across Latin America. In Mexico, for example, canción yucateca on the Yucatan Peninsula and trova serrana in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca are both regional adaptations of trova. Today, Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona qualifies as Latin America's most commercially successful singer-songwriter. Although sociopolitical engagement is uneven in his oeuvre, some see Arjona's more engaged works as placing him in the tradition of the Italian cantautori.

In the mid-1970s, a singer-songwriter tradition called canto popular emerged in Uruguay.

With the influence of Tropicalismo, Traditional Samba and Bossa Nova, MPB (Música Popular Brasileira), or Brazilian Popular Music, became highly singer-songwriter based. For years solo artists would dominate Brazilian popular music with romantic cynicism alla Jobim or subliminal anti-government messages alla Chico Buarque. After the end of the military dictatorship in Brazil, Brazilian music became less politically and socially conscious. The censored Raul Seixas or the humorous spiritualist Jorge Ben were slowly obscured by funk carioca, axé music and Brazilian disco. In recent years, however, a new stock of socially conscious Brazilian singer-songwriters is beginning to break the almost strictly dance-music momentum that has reigned since the 1980s (see the 'Brazilian folk/folk-rock sub-article in Brazilian Music).

Soviet Union and Russia

Since the 1960s, those singers who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment have been known as "bards". The first songs traditionally referred to as bard songs are thought to be written in late 30s and early 40s, and the very existence of the genre is traditionally originated from the amateur activities of the Soviet intelligentsia, namely mass backpacking movement and the students' song movement of 1950s and 1960s. Many bards performed their songs in small groups of people using a Russian guitar, rarely if ever would they be accompanied by other musicians or singers. Though, bards using piano or accordion are also known. Those who became popular held modest concerts. The first nationwide-famous bards (starting their career in 1950s) are traditionally referred to as the First Five: Mikhail Ancharov, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Novella Matveyeva, Bulat Okudzhava, Yuri Vizbor. In 1960s they were joined by Victor Berkovsky, Yuliy Kim, Sergey Nikitin, etc.

In the course of 1970s the shift to the classical 6-string guitar took place, now a Russian guitar is a rare bird with the bards. In the same period the movement of KSP (Kluby Samodeyatelnoy Pesni – amateur song fan clubs) emerged, providing the bards with highly educated audience, and up to the end of 1980s being their key promotion engine. Bards were rarely permitted to record their music, partly given the political nature of many songs, partly due to their vague status in the strictly organised state-supported show business establishment of the USSR. As a result, bard tunes usually made their way around as folk lore, from mouth to mouth, or via the copying of amateur recordings (sometimes referred as magnitizdat) made at concerts, particularly those songs that were of political nature. Bard poetry differs from other poetry mainly in the fact that it is sung along with a simple guitar melody as opposed to being spoken. Another difference is that this form of poetry focuses less on style and more on meaning. This means that fewer stylistic devices are used, and the poetry often takes the form of narrative. What separates bard poetry from other songs is the fact that the music is far less important than the lyrics; chord progressions are often very simple and tend to repeat from one bard song to another. On the other hand, in the USSR the chief bard supporter was the state Union of Composers, and the main bard hater was the state Union of Writers. A far more obvious difference was the commerce-free nature of the genre: songs were written to be sung and not to be sold. The similar genre dominated by singers-songwriters is known as sung poetry in other Post-Soviet countries.

Bulgaria

Singer-songwriters are popular in Bulgaria under the name "bards", or "poets with guitars". Their tradition is a mixture of traditional folk motifs, city folklore from the early 20th century and modern influences. In the 60's, 70's and 80's of the 20th century the Communist regime in the country started to tolerate the Bulgarian "bards", promoting the so called "political songs", performed usually by one-man bands. A national festival tradition was established, under the title "Alen Mak" (Red Poppy), a symbol with strong Communist meaning in Bulgaria. After the collapse of Communism in 1989 the singer-songwriters' tradition was re-established. Currently the Bulgarian "bards" enjoy several festivals (local and international) per year, namely the PoKi Festival (Poets with Guitars, Poetic Strings) in the town of Harmanli, the Bardfest in Lovech, the Sofia Evenings of Singer-Songwriters and others. Major figures in the Bulgarian tradition are Dimitar Taralezhkov, Mihail Belchev, Assen Maslarski, Grisha Trifonov, Plamen Stavrev, Vladimir Levkov, Margarita Drumeva, Plamen Sivov, Krasimir Parvanov.

Romania

Despite the communist isolation, the tradition of singer-songwriter in Romania flourished beginning with the end of the 1960s and it was put in the context of the folk music, with its three main styles in Romania: ethno folk, American-style folk and lyrical (cult) folk. The framework for many of these initiatives came under the form of Cenaclul Flacara, a series of mass cultural events with an inevitable ideological touch. Still, with the merit of supporting great opening initiatives: the appropriation of Western artists like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others from the Woodstock generation, the public performance of gospel-like music, the opening to big international issues (pop culture, accountability of the leadership, tension surging during the Cold War-with surprisingly neutral positions etc.). Overall, the Romanian folk, in general, could be marked as an underground cultural movement, somewhere between non-aligned and protest music.

See also

List of singer-songwriters

Cantautori

Swedish ballad tradition

Composer

Lyricist

Periodicals that include coverage of singer-songwriters

* Dirty Linen, focus on folk and world music.

* No Depression, focus on alternative country styles.

* Paste, eclectic music coverage.

* Pitchfork Media, focus on independent artists.

* Sing Out!, focus on folk styles.

References

Further reading

Alarik, Scott, Deep Community, (2003), Black Wolf Press.

Hoffman, Frank ">"The Singer-Songwriter Tradition", from Survey of American Popular Music (modified for the web by Robert Birkline)

Knopfler, David, The Singer-Songwriter: Defining the Genre – Defining the Style

DiMartino, Dave singer-songwriters: Pop Music's Performer-Composers from A to Zevon (1994), Billboard Books(web search required).

Rodgers, Jeffrey P., The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording & Business, (2003) Backbeat Books(web search required).

singer-songwriters of the Rock Era, (1996), Hal Leonard (sheet music)(web search required).

Category:Occupations in music * Category:Sociological genres of music

Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Roger Hodgson
Landscape	Yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson
Born	March 21, 1950
Origin	Portsmouth, England
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass
Genre	Progressive rock, pop rock, art rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1969 - present
Label	A&M;, Unichord/Voiceprint, Epic
Associated acts	Supertramp, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band
Url	RogerHodgson.com

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the co-lead vocalist (with Rick Davies), and one of the founding members of, the progressive rock band Supertramp.

Biography

1950–1969: Early years

Hodgson began playing guitar at a very young age. His first guitar was a parting gift from his father at age 12 when his parents divorced. He took it to boarding school with him, where his teacher taught him three chords. Right away he began composing his own music and lyrics and within a year gave his first concert at school with nine original songs. Roger's first band at school consisted of him on guitar and his buddy Roy playing snare drums. They were dubbed the "H-bombs" because of their last names, which were “Hodgson” and “Hoby.” Interestingly enough, the only encore was for a non-original cover of "Bachelor Boy" a hit for Cliff Richard in 1964.

At age 19, Roger Hodgson had just released his first single, under the name Argosy, accompanied by session musician Reg Dwight, who later became known as Elton John. Very soon after, in 1969, Hodgson, along with Rick Davies, co-founded the progressive rock band Supertramp.

1969–1983: Supertramp

Songs on the first album "Supertramp", released in 1970, were composed by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, with Richard Palmer writing the lyrics. From "Indelibly Stamped", released in 1971, and onward, Hodgson and Davies were the band’s lyricists and composers. The hugely successful Crime of the Century was released in 1974. Crisis? What Crisis?, released in 1975, was followed by Even in the Quietest Moments in 1977. In 1979, they released their most successful album, Breakfast in America. This album has sold over 20 million copies to date. The live album, Paris, was released in 1980, with Famous Last Words being released in 1982.

Through 1983, all songs recorded by Supertramp were legally credited with a shared writing credit of Davies/Hodgson. The person who sang the song is the one who wrote and composed it. Roger Hodgson was the writer of hits such as "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Breakfast in America", "It's Raining Again", "Take the Long Way Home" and "Fool's Overture".

Hodgson had been the major songwriter and singer in Supertramp, solely composing and writing 8 of their 10 biggest hits. When he was with Supertramp, he would make a demo of the complete song while alone and then bring it to the band so that they could learn their parts. Roger presented his songs to the band in this way so that the songs were finished and therefore not changed by additions or suggestions regarding the lyrics or music. Hodgson wrote some of his most popular songs like "Breakfast in America", "The Logical Song", and some of "Fool's Overture" at home with a harmonium he had bought from a neighbour when he was 17 years old (this instrument is used in the background of "Breakfast in America", and prominently appears on "Two of Us" and his solo track "The Garden").

1984–present: Solo career

Roger was with the band for 14 years before leaving in 1983. There was much speculation behind the reasons why Roger Hodgson left Supertramp. In an interview, Hodgson stated that the reason he left the band was to spend time with his two small children. At the time of his departure from Supertramp, Hodgson stated that one of the reasons that he and the other band members grew apart was that Hodgson's drug use had caused a rift within the band. In Rolling Stone Magazine, Hodgson stated that "Taking acid was definitely a life-changing experience. It led me in a direction [Rick] couldn't understand or share." He left Los Angeles and moved his family to Northern California where he built a home studio and produced several successful solo albums.

Hodgson's first solo album, In the Eye of The Storm contained the singles "Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy)" and "In Jeopardy". His second album, 1987's Hai Hai, had a distinctive synthpop-oriented feel, in the vein of the mid-80s trends, but it also maintains a songwriting style true to Hodgson's standards. However, just prior to the release of Hai Hai, Hodgson fell from a loft in his home and broke both wrists, which disabled him from successfully promoting the album. He also took a long break from both touring and recording.

In 1990, Hodgson was approached by Yes to take the lead singer position after Jon Anderson had left to record and tour with ABWH. Hodgson enjoyed working with the group but declined the offer, saying it was unwise to attempt to pass off the music as Yes. One of the songs he co-wrote with Trevor Rabin, "Walls", was released in 1994 on Yes' Talk album, with lyrics revised by Anderson. A version of "Walls" with only Hodgson and Rabin on vocals can be found on Trevor Rabin's 2003 archival release 90124.

After a long break, he launched into his first tour since 1984 and released 1997's live Rites of Passage to document the tour. The live album was recorded at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City, California. He performed with a full band including his son Andrew, and Supertramp sax player John Helliwell. He then embarked on his first world solo tour in 1998.

Hodgson played King Arthur in the rock opera Excalibur: La Legende Des Celtes, and appeared on the album for two songs: "The Elements," and "The Will of God." The project was headed by Alan Simon and released in 1999.

In 2000, Hodgson contributed vocals on a track titled "The Moon Says Hello" by Carlos Núñez, on the CD Mayo Longo.

Hodgson's third solo effort Open the Door was released in 2000 and continued in the vein of his previous work. He collaborated again with Alan Simon on the album. In August 2000, Hodgson guested with Fairport Convention at that years Cropredy Festival. He performed "Breakfast In America", "The Logical Song", "Open The Door" and "Give A Little Bit".

In 2001, Hodgson toured as a member of the All-Starr Band in 2001, playing lead guitar, and has since collaborated with Trevor Rabin (who appears on the track "The More I Look" on Open the Door) and Ringo Starr.

Hodgson is still giving concerts, often playing alone, but from time to time he is joined by other musicians or has a full orchestra accompanying him. He has taken part in the Night of the Proms concert series in Belgium and Germany in late 2004, as well as the rock festival, Bospop in 2005.

In May 2006, Roger Hodgson was honoured by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in recognition of his song Give A Little Bit being one of the most played songs in the ASCAP repertoire in 2005.

On 30 November 2005, he held his first concert in England in over twenty years, at Shepherd's Bush, London. While that performance was filmed and scheduled for a DVD release, the plan was scrapped. Instead, the concert recorded at the Place Des Arts in Montreal, Canada on 6 June 2006 was his first DVD, released on 22 August 2006, entitled Take The Long Way Home - Live In Montreal. In October 2006, the DVD was certified multi-platinum by the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association).

Hodgson participated as a mentor on Canadian Idol along with Dennis DeYoung. He continued mentoring several of the finalists during his 2006 Canadian Tour.

Hodgson performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium , UK on 1 July 2007. He sang a medley of his most popular songs: "Dreamer", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America" and "Give A Little Bit".

On 18 September 2007, Eagle Vision released the DVD Take The Long Way Home - Live In Montreal worldwide, achieving gold in Germany and France.

On 9 April 2008, Hodgson received an ASCAP award for the Gym Class Heroes' song "Cupid's Chokehold", recognised as being one of the most played songs in ASCAPs repertoire from the fourth quarter 2006 through to the fourth quarter of 2007.

Though Hodgson's former bandmates in Supertramp announced a 40th Anniversary reunion tour, he was not invited to join them. The agreement between Hodgson and Davies upon Hodgson's departure from the band was that Davies would keep the band’s name, Supertramp, while Hodgson would keep his songs in order to carry on as an artist. Another important component of this agreement was that Davies would no longer perform any songs written and composed by Hodgson. Davies has performed Hodgson's songs on every tour since the latter's depature, and this led to the departure of bassist Dougie Thompson out of principle.

Hodgson toured the US, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe, and Canada on his own 2010 World Tour, whilst Davies mainly concentrated on touring around Europe during Supertramp's 40th anniversary tour. Both Hodgson and Supertramp released live versions of their tour material on download only on their websites. Hodgson is again planning a worldwide tour in 2011 and has released some dates on his website and facebook page.

Trivia

Before joining Supertramp, Hodgson recorded a single in 1969 under the name "Argosy". The sole single, "Mr. Boyd" b/w "Imagine", was issued on the DJM (U.K.) and Congress (U.S) record labels, and remains quite rare and sought after. Musically, it's a bit more pop and slightly psychedelic compared to his work with Supertramp, but it's instantly recognisable as being Hodgson. Other musicians on the record were Caleb Quaye - guitar, Nigel Olsson - drums, and Reginald Dwight (better known as Elton John) - piano. "Mr. Boyd" was covered in 1997 by Jake Shillingford and his band My Life Story on their album "The Golden Mile".

There are at least four versions of the song "Land Ho". The first version was an early demo which was then edited and recorded as a "B" side of the song "Summer Romance" - a single that was released in 1973 when the most popular version of Supertramp came to be, a third version which was yet another edit and was a contender for Supertramp's "Crisis What Crisis?" in 1975 but never included on the album and released on The Supertramp Anthology - A Retrospectacle, and finally, the version that "introduced" the song to most fans on Hodgson's second solo album Hai Hai in 1987.

Discography

''For his work with Supertramp, see Supertramp discography between 1969 and 1982

References

External links

Official website

Official Facebook page

Official Twitter page

rogerhodgson.co.uk - UK Fansite

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English songwriters Category:English rock guitarists Category:English keyboardists Category:People from Portsmouth Category:Old Stoics Category:Supertramp members Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:Ivor Novello Award winners

Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Priscilla Ahn
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Priscilla Hartranft
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Instrument	Guitar, piano, harmonica, ukulele
Genre	Acoustic, folk
Years active	2003–present
Label	Blue Note
Url	PriscillaAhn.com

Priscilla Ahn (born Priscilla Natalie Hartranft; 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Early life

She was born in Fort Stewart, Georgia to Kay (née Ahn) and Harry Hartranft. Hartranft spent her early childhood years between Georgia and South Korea, after which she lived in Reading, Pennsylvania for ten years. From there, she moved to Bernville, Pennsylvania and attended Tulpehocken Area High School until moving to Los Angeles, California after graduation.

Biography

When she started to become famous, she adopted the maiden name of her mother as a stage name, who is South Korean.

Hartranft had her start during her time at Tulpehocken Area High School, playing coffee houses and open mikes in the Bernville, Reading, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. She was advised by a college music professor, who recognized her skills, to pursue a songwriting career instead of going to college, so she moved to Los Angeles about a year after graduating from high school.

After moving to Los Angeles, Hartranft toured with Joshua Radin, Amos Lee, and Ray Lamontagne sang on Amos Lee's album Supply and Demand, performed her song "Dream" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Two of her songs were also featured on two episodes of Grey's Anatomy. "Dream" was also featured on the soundtrack to the movie Disturbia, and more recently on an episode from Ghost Whisperer as well as the episode of the BBC's "Holby City", broadcast on 4 August 2009. In June 2008, she was the Artist of the Week for Paste magazine. Her song "I Don't Think So" was featured at the end of NBC's Knight Rider premiere episode.

In 2009, her single "Dream" was featured in the film Bride Wars and a brief clip of "A Good Day (Morning Song)" can be heard at the end of the Psych episode, "Tuesday the Seventeenth." The song dream also featured on episode 22 of the third season of ABC's hit show Brothers and Sisters that aired in May 2009 and appeared in episode 21 of Eli Stone. The song "Living In A Tree" is featured in the 2009 Jeep Wrangler commercial for the Dodge Chrysler "We Build" campaign. She is also featured in "I Am Strong" on Tiesto's 2009 album Kaleidoscope.

In 2009, her single "Dream" was also featured in the film Love Happens starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart.

In 2010, The Single "Dream" was used at the end of the third episode of season three in the British TV series Secret Diary of a Call Girl starring Billie Piper. It was also used in an episode of the show So You Think You Can Dance. Also, her song "Find My Way Back Home" was used in the 2009 film My Sister's Keeper and also as the title in the ITV drama Married Single Other, as well as the movie .

Discography

Albums

A Good Day, Blue Note Records, June 10, 2008.

EPs

Priscilla Ahn (2007, self-released)

Live Session, (2008, iTunes)

Singles

"Dream" (2008, Blue Note)

"I'll Never Smile Again" (2009)

"I Am Strong" Tiesto feat. Priscilla Ahn (2009)

Other Uncredited Album Involvement

"The Sparrow and the Crow" William Fitzsimmons (2008, Mercer Street)

"Leftovers" Jason Karaban (2006, Ascend Records)

Music videos

"Dream"

"Red Cape"

References

External links

Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American acoustic guitarists Category:American female guitarists Category:Musicians from Pennsylvania Category:People from Berks County, Pennsylvania Category:People from Reading, Pennsylvania Category:American people of Korean descent Category:1984 births Category:Living people

Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Nikki Jean
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nicholle Jean Leary
Born	August 25, 1983St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Instrument	Vocals, piano
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, actress
Years active	2007–present
Label	Columbia
Associated acts	Lupe Fiasco, Patty Crash, Nouveau Riche, Mayer Hawthorne,DJ Deckstream

Nikki Jean (born Nicholle Jean Leary on August 25, 1983 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and occasional actress. She was a part of the band Nouveau Riche, an indie/hip-hop band based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. She is also featured on Lupe Fiasco's second album, The Cool, as a lyricist and vocalist. As an actress, she performed in the award winning independent film On the Outs. From April 16, 2008 to August 6, 2008, Nikki Jean was part of the Glow in the Dark Tour with Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna and N.E.R.D.

Biography

Born Nicholle Jean Leary in St. Paul, Minnesota, the rising young singer-songwriter-performer Nikki Jean had a musical epiphany at the age of 5 (or 6) when she first watched the all-star tribute to Irving Berlin celebrating the master songsmith's 100th birthday. "The whole to-do was about a songwriter," she marvels. "It wasn't about a singer, it was about the songs. He's 100 years old but these songs are brand-new. I fell in love with the songs. It was like I understood him and he understood me and I was just a kid."

And so, at an early age, the switch went off in Nikki Jean's heart, mind and soul that she wanted to learn everything she could about how songs were written. From the experiences, sensations and perceptions that inspire songs through the alchemical wizardry of a well-crafted hook, Nikki Jean has both studied and lived the art of songwriting and its sister muses singing and performing.

Moving to Philadelphia, Nikki Jean hooked up musically with established and emerging Philly artists including The Roots, Jill Scott and others. "I worked with Nona Hendryx, who sang on the original 'Lady Marmalade,'" says Nikki Jean. "She's my mentor. She's the first person who told me, 'You are a songwriter. That's who you are.'"

While working on her own music, Nikki Jean contributed lyrics and vocals to "Hip Hop Saved My Life," a 2008 smash hit (and successful viral video) from Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, a #1 rap album that peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200. From April through August 2008, Nikki Jean performed on the Glow In The Dark Tour which included Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna and N.E.R.D.

Nikki Jean has been reaching out to her fans through the internet via her MySpace page and her YouTube channel, the Nikki Jean Project, which has garnered more than 2.9 million total video views. Since launching her channel, Nikki Jean has been YouTube's Most Viewed Musician of the Day, Most Viewed Musician of the Week, and a Most Viewed Musician of the Month. And was at Roosevelt Middle School Of The Arts

Guest appearances

DJ Deckstream — "Five Alarm"

DJ Deckstream — "Exit Sign"

Lupe Fiasco — "Hip Hop Saved My Life"

Lupe Fiasco — "Little Weapon"

Muja Messiah — "So Far So Good"

Sylk130 — "Fallen Angel"

Tu Phace — "Say Yes"

Oddisee — "Tell The Truth"

Traphik — "Favorite Song"

Filmography

External links

Nikki Jean's Official Website

Nikki Jean's YouTube channel

Category:People from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:Crush Management artists Category:1983 births Category:Living people

Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Missy Higgins
Img alt	A woman in her twenties with short dark hair plays an acoustic guitar and sings into a microphone, lit by bright stage lights.
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Melissa Morrison Higgins
Born	August 19, 1983
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Instrument	vocals, piano, synthesiser, guitar, melodica, xylophone
Genre	pop
Occupation	singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	2001–present
Label	Warner (US)
Url	missyhiggins.com
Notable instruments	Roland RD-700, Maton

Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor, her No. 1 albums are The Sound of White (2004) and On a Clear Night (2007), and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in Melbourne, she played piano by age six and sang at twelve. While boarding at Geelong Grammar School, she wrote a song for an assignment which was then entered into the national Unearthed radio competition for unsigned artists. Higgins won and signed recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros. After taking time off, backpacking in Europe, she recorded her first album The Sound of White, which was released in 2004. The album, and its first single, "Scar" both went to No. 1 on the relevant Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Charts. Its second single, "The Special Two", went to No. 2. Higgins was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards that year and won 'Best Pop Release' for "Scar". In 2005 she was nominated for seven more awards and won five. She won her seventh ARIA in 2007.

In 2006, Higgins wrote new material for her second album, and following a US tour she recorded On a Clear Night, which gave her another No. 1 single with "Steer". Higgins has conducted several well received Australian tours and performed at high-profile charity events WaveAid (2005) and Live Earth (2007). She has toured internationally and lived and worked in the United States for ten months in 2008. Her song "Where I Stood" has been used in television shows including Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and So You Think You Can Dance. Alongside her music career, Higgins pursues interests in animal rights and the environment, endeavouring to make her tours carbon neutral. She is also the patron of One in Five, an Australian mental health charity. In 2007, following years of press speculation about her sexual orientation, she came out as bisexual, saying that she prefers interviewers to focus on her music. In 2010 she made her acting debut in feature Bran Nue Dae, and performed on the related soundtrack.

Biography

Early life

Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins was born 19 August 1983 in Melbourne, Victoria to Christopher Higgins, an English-Australian general practitioner, and Margaret (née Morrison), an Australian childcare centre operator. Note: [on-line] version established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition.

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External links

Missy Higgins discography at MusicBrainz

Category:1983 births Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian female guitarists Category:Australian female singers Category:Australian pianists Category:Australian singer-songwriters Category:Australian vegetarians Category:Bisexual musicians Category:LGBT musicians from Australia Category:Living people Category:Old Geelong Grammarians Category:Singers from Melbourne

Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Jeffrey Steele
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jeffrey LeVasseur
Origin	Burbank, California, USA
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1990–present
Label	Curb, Monument, 3 Ring Circus/Lofton Creek
Associated acts	Boy Howdy, Miley Cyrus, Rascal Flatts, Montgomery Gentry, Keith Anderson, Billy Ray Cyrus
Url	JeffreySteele.net

Jeffrey LeVasseur (born August 27, 1961 in Burbank, California) is an American country music singer and songwriter, more commonly known by the name Jeffrey Steele. Along with recording his own material, Steele has become a prolific Nashville songwriter, having co-written more than sixty hit songs for such artists as Montgomery Gentry, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, and others.

Between 1990 and 1996, Steele was the lead singer and bass guitarist in the country music band Boy Howdy, which recorded two albums and an EP on Curb Records, in addition to charting seven singles on the Billboard country music charts. After Boy Howdy disbanded, Steele embarked on a solo career, recording seven studio albums (one of which was not released). He also charted four singles as a solo artist, with the highest-peaking ("Somethin' in the Water") reaching #33 on the country charts in 2001.

Biography

Jeffrey LeVasseur was born in Burbank, California to a musical family. His mother was a singer, and his father had aspirations to become a country music songwriter. Later, he shifted his focus to songwriting; by age seventeen, he was performing with local groups, and playing keyboards at various gigs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

Boy Howdy

In 1990, Steele and three other California musicians — Hugh Wright, along with brothers Cary and Larry Park — formed the band Boy Howdy, in which he served as lead vocalist and bass guitarist. Boy Howdy signed to Curb Records in 1992, recording two albums and an EP for the label, in addition to charting seven singles on the country music charts. 2004 saw the release of his fourth studio album, Outlaw, on the Lofton Creek Records label. By 2005, more than sixty of his songs had become chart hits for other artists;

His most successful single as a songwriter is "What Hurts the Most," a Number One single on both the Hot Country Songs and Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts for Rascal Flatts in 2006, which was also a chart single for Cascada. Another one of Steele's compositions, Steve Holy's Number One single "Brand New Girlfriend", earned him yet another BMI award in 2006, as well as the Rascal Flatts hit "My Wish" just as Steele released his album, Hell on Wheels. "What Hurts the Most" would later earn him the Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year awards from BMI, as well as the Songwriter of the Year award from Music Row magazine. Steele has since released two other albums, his second greatest hits record "Gold, Platinum, No Chrome, and More Steele" was released in 2007 and his country classics tribute album "Countrypolitan" which was released in 2008. Steele also produced Keith Anderson's two studio albums: 2005's Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll and 2008's C'mon!, as well as Montgomery Gentry's 2004 album You Do Your Thing and 2006 album Some People Change

In April 2008, Steele joined Jewel and John Rich of Big & Rich as judges on the talent show Nashville Star. Steele has also guest hosted for Bob Kingsley twice on the radio show Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40, a weekly radio countdown show based on the Mediabase country charts: for the weeks of September 13–14, 2008 and October 3–4, 2009.

In September 2008 The Country Music Hall of Fame honored Steele as a Poet & Prophet in the Hall of Fame's quarterly series.

Steele signed a deal with Best Buy to release 3 of his albums November 18, 2008: "Hell On Wheels", "Gold, Platinum, No Chrome, and More Steele: Greatest Hits Vol. II", and "Countrypolitan"

Jeffrey Steele and Miley Cyrus also co-wrote the main track I Thought I Lost You for the 2008 Disney animated film Bolt.

Discography

The following is a table of all albums and singles released by Jeffrey Steele as a recording artist.

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Songs written by Jeffrey Steele

References

External links

Official site

Radio Interview with Jeffrey Steele

Category:1961 births Category:American country bass guitarists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American country singers Category:Musicians from California Category:Living people Category:People from Burbank, California Category:Monument Records artists

Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Isaac Hayes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr.
Alias
Born	August 20, 1942Covington, Tennessee
Died	August 10, 2008Memphis, Tennessee
Origin	The United States of America
Instrument	the piano, keyboard instruments, vocals, and the saxophone
Genre	R&B;, funk music, soul music, disco
Voice type	bass
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor
Years active	1962–2008
Label	Enterprise/Stax, ABC, Columbia Records, Point Blank
Associated acts	David Porter, Booker T. & the MGs, The Bar-Kays
Url	www.isaachayes.com

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American songwriter, musician, singer, and occasionally an actor. Hayes was one of the creative geniuses behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. Hayes, Porter, Bill Withers, the Sherman Brothers, Steve Cropper, and John Fogerty were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of writing scores of notable songs for themselves, the duo "Sam & Dave", Carla Thomas, and others.

The hit song "Soul Man" written by Hayes and Porter, and first performed by "Sam & Dave" has been recognized as one of the most influential songs of the past 50 years by the Grammy Hall of Fame. This song was also honored by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, by Rolling Stone magazine, and by the RIAA as the Songs of the Century.

During the late 1960s, Hayes also became a recording musician, and he recorded several successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971). In addition to his work in popular music, Hayes worked as composer of musical scores for motion pictures.

Hayes is well known for his musical score for the film Shaft (1971). For his composition of the Theme from Shaft, Hayes was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972. Other than such distinguished actors as Sidney Poitier and Hattie McDaniel, Hayes became the first African-American to win an Academy Award in any field whatsoever covered by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Hayes also won two Grammy Awards for that same year. Later, he was given his third Grammy Award for his music album Black Moses.

During 1992, in recognition of his humanitarian work there, Hayes was crowned as the honorary king of the Ada, Ghana region. Hayes also acted in motion pictures and television, such as in the movie, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Then from 1997 to 2005, he lent his distinctive, deep voice to the character "Chef" on the animated TV series South Park, and also to Gandolf "Gandy" Fitch in the TV series The Rockford Files (1974 – 80).

On August 5, 2003, Isaac Hayes was honored as a BMI Icon at the 203 BMI Urban Awards for his enduring influence on generations of music makers. Throughout his songwriting career, Hayes received five BMI R&B; Awards, two BMI Pop Awards, two BMI Urban Awards and six Million-Air citations. As of 2008, his songs generated more than 12 million performances.

Hayes's life and career

Early years

Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, in Tipton County. He was the second-born child of Isaac Hayes, Sr., and Eula Hayes.

After his mother died young, and his father abandoned his family, Isaac, Jr., was raised by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade, Sr. The child of a poor sharecropper family, he grew up picking cotton on farms in Shelby County, Tennessee and in Tipton County.

Hayes dropped out of high school, but he was later encouraged by his former high school teachers at Manassas High School in Memphis to complete his high school diploma, which he did at the age of 21. After graduating from high school, Hayes was offered several music scholarships from colleges and universities. Hayes turned down all of them because of his obligations to his immediate family. Hayes next worked at a meat-packing plant in Memphis by day, and he played music at nightclubs and juke joints several evenings a week in Memphis and nearby northern Mississippi.

Stax Records and Shaft

Hayes began his recording career in the early 1960s, as a session player for various acts of the Memphis-based Stax Records. He later wrote a string of hit songs with songwriting partner David Porter, including "You Don't Know Like I Know", "Soul Man", "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", and "Hold On I'm Comin" for Sam & Dave. Hayes, Porter and Stax studio band Booker T. & the M.G.'s were also the producers for Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas and other Stax artists during the mid-1960s. Hayes-Porter contributed to the Stax sound made famous during this period, and Sam & Dave credited Hayes for helping develop both their sound and style. In 1968, Hayes released his debut album, Presenting Isaac Hayes, a jazzy, largely improvised effort that was commercially unsuccessful.

His next album was Hot Buttered Soul, which was released in 1969 after Stax had gone through a major upheaval. The label had lost its largest star, Otis Redding, in a plane crash in December 1967. Stax lost all of its back catalog to Atlantic Records in May 1968. As a result, Stax executive vice president Al Bell called for 27 new albums to be completed in mid-1969; Hot Buttered Soul, was the most successful of these releases. before breaking into song, and the lone original number, the funky "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" runs nearly ten minutes, a significant break from the standard three minute soul/pop songs.

"Walk On By" would be the first of many times Hayes would take a Burt Bacharach standard, generally made famous as three-minute pop songs by Dionne Warwick or Dusty Springfield, and transform it into a soulful, lengthy and almost gospel number.

In 1970, Hayes released two albums, The Isaac Hayes Movement and To Be Continued. The former stuck to the four-song template of his previous album. Jerry Butler's "I Stand Accused" begins with a trademark spoken word monologue, and Bacharach's "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is re-worked. The latter spawned the classic "The Look Of Love", another Bacharach song transformed into an eleven-minute epic of lush orchestral rhythm (mid-way it breaks into a rhythm guitar jam for a couple of minutes before suddenly resuming the slow love song). An edited three-minute version was issued as a single. Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the "Theme from Shaft," and was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score for the film's score.

Later in the year, Hayes released a double album, Black Moses, that expanded on his earlier sounds and featured The Jackson 5's song "Never Can Say Goodbye". Another single, "I Can't Help It", was not featured on the album.

In 1972, Hayes would record the theme tune for the TV series The Men and enjoy a hit single (with "Type Thang" as a B-side).

Hayes was back in 1973 with an acclaimed live double album, Live At Sahara Tahoe, and followed it up with the album Joy, with the eerie beat of the fifteen-minute title track. He moved away from cover songs with this album. An edited "Joy" would be a hit single.

In 1974, Hayes was featured in the blaxploitation films Three Tough Guys and Truck Turner, and he recorded soundtracks for both. Tough Guys was almost devoid of vocals and Truck Turner yielded a single with the title theme. The soundtrack score was eventually used by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in the Kill Bill film series and has been used for over 30 years as the opening score of Brazilian radio show Jornal de Esportes on the Jovem Pan station.

HBS (Hot Buttered Soul Records) and bankruptcy

By 1974, Stax Records was having serious financial problems, stemming from problems with overextension and limited record sales and distribution. Hayes himself was deep in debt to Union Planters Bank, which administered loans for the Stax label and many of its other key employees. In September of that year, Hayes sued Stax for $5.3 million. As Stax was in deep debt and could not pay, the label made an arrangement with Hayes and Union Planters: Stax released Hayes from his recording and production contracts, and Union Planters would collect all of Hayes' income and apply it towards his debts. Hayes formed his own label, Hot Buttered Soul, which released its product through ABC Records. His new album, 1975's Chocolate Chip saw Hayes embrace the disco sound with the title track and lead single. "I Can't Turn Around" would prove a popular song as time went on. This would be Hayes' last album to chart top 40 for many years. Later in the year, the all instrumental Disco Connection album fully embraced disco.

In 1976, the album cover of Juicy Fruit featured Hayes in a pool with naked women, and spawned the title track single and the classic "Storm Is Over". Later the same year the Groove-A-Thon album featured the singles "Rock Me Easy Baby" and the title track. However, while all these albums were regarded as solid efforts, Hayes was no longer selling large numbers. He and his wife were forced into bankruptcy in 1976, as they owed over $6 million. By the end of the bankruptcy proceedings in 1977, Hayes had lost his home, much of his personal property, and the rights to all future royalties earned from the music he'd written, performed, and produced.

Basketball team ownership

On July 17, 1974, Hayes, along with Mike Storen, Avron Fogelman and Kemmons Wilson took over ownership of the American Basketball Association team the Memphis Tams. The prior owner was Charles O. Finley, the owner of the Oakland A's baseball team. Hayes' group renamed the team the Memphis Sounds. Despite a 66% increase in home attendance, hiring well regarded coach Joe Mullaney and, unlike in the prior three seasons, making the 1975 ABA Playoffs (losing to the eventual champion Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals), the team's financial problems continued. The group was given a deadline of June 1, 1975 to sell 4,000 season tickets, obtain new investors and arrange a more favorable lease for the team at the Mid-South Coliseum. The group did not come through and the ABA took over the team, selling it to a group in Maryland that renamed the team the Baltimore Hustlers and then the Baltimore Claws before the club finally folded during preseason play for the 1975-1976 season.

Polydor and hiatus, film work, and the Duke of New York

In 1977, Hayes was back with a new deal with Polydor Records, a live album of duets with Dionne Warwick did moderately well, and his comeback studio album New Horizon sold better and enjoyed a hit single "Out The Ghetto", and also featured the popular "It's Heaven To Me".

1978's For The Sake Of Love saw Hayes record a sequel to "Theme from Shaft" ("Shaft II"), but was most famous for the single "Zeke The Freak", a song that would have a shelf life of decades and be a major part of the House movement in the UK. The same year, Fantasy Records, which had bought out Stax Records, released an album of Hayes' non-album singles and archived recordings as a "new" album, Hotbed, in 1978.

In 1979, Hayes returned to the Top 40 with Don't Let Go and its disco-styled title track that became a hit single (U.S. #18), and also featured the classic "A Few More Kisses To Go". Later in the year he added vocals and worked on Millie Jackson's album Royal Rappin's, and a song he co-wrote, "Deja Vu", became a hit for Dionne Warwick and won her a Grammy for best female R&B; vocal.

Neither 1980s And Once Again or 1981's Lifetime Thing produced notable songs or big sales, and Hayes chose to take a break from music to pursue acting.

In the 1970s, Hayes featured in the films Shaft (1971) and Truck Turner (1974); he also had a recurring role in the TV series The Rockford Files as an old cellmate of Rockford's, Gandolph Fitch (who always referred to Rockford as "Rockfish" much to his annoyance), including one episode alongside duet-partner Dionne Warwick. In the 1980s and 90s, he appeared in numerous films, notably Escape from New York (1981), I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), Prime Target (1991), and (1993), as well as in episodes of The A-Team and Miami Vice. He also attempted a musical comeback, embracing the style of drum machines and synth for 1986s U-Turn and 1988s Love Attack, though neither proved successful. In 1991 he was featured in a duet with fellow soul singer Barry White on White's ballad "Dark and Lovely (You Over There)". In 1991 Hayes produced the still controversial "Origin of the Feces" for Type O Negative.

Return to fame and stardom

In 1995 Hayes appeared as a Las Vegas minister impersonating Isaac Hayes in the comedy series the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Hayes launched a comeback on the Virgin label in May 1995 with Branded, an album of new material that earned impressive sales figures as well as positive reviews from critics who proclaimed it a return to form. A companion album released around the same time, Raw and Refined, featured a collection of previously unreleased instrumentals, both old and new.

In a rather unexpected career move shortly thereafter, Hayes charged back into the public consciousness as a founding star of Comedy Central's controversial — and wildly successful — animated TV series, South Park. Hayes provided the voice for the character of "Chef", the amorous elementary-school lunchroom cook, from the show's debut on August 13, 1997 (one week shy of his 55th birthday), through the end of its ninth season in 2006. The role of Chef drew on Hayes's talents both as an actor and as a singer, thanks to the character's penchant for making conversational points in the form of crudely suggestive soul songs. An album of songs from the series appeared in 1998 with the title reflecting Chef's popularity with the show's fans, and the Chef song "Chocolate Salty Balls" became a number-one U.K. hit. However, when South Park leaped to the big screen the following year with the smash animated musical , Hayes/Chef was the only major character who did not perform a showcase song in the film; his lone musical contribution was "Good Love," a track on the soundtrack album which originally appeared on Black Moses in 1971 and is not heard in the movie (more on Chef below).

In 2000, Isaac Hayes appeared in the soundtrack of the French film "The Magnet" on the song "Is It Really Home" written and composed by rapper Akhenaton (IAM) and composer Bruno Coulais.

Hayes was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. The same year, a documentary highlighting Isaac's career and his impact on many of the Memphis artists in the 1960s onwards was produced, "Only The Strong Survive".

In 2004, Hayes appeared in a recurring minor role as the Jaffa Tolok on the television series Stargate SG-1. The following year, he appeared in the critically acclaimed independent film Hustle & Flow.

Scientology activism

Hayes joined Scientology around 1995. He contributed endorsement blurbs for many Scientology books. The frontispiece page for Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought (1997 paperback edition) quotes Hayes as saying "If you really want to know about the mind, the spirit and life itself, read Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought. It will put you on the right path!" In 1996, Hayes began hosting The Isaac Hayes and Friends Radio Show on WRKS in New York City. While there Hayes became a client of young vegan raw food chef, Elijah Joy and his company Organic Soul, Inc. Hayes also appears in the Scientology film Orientation.

In 1998 Hayes and fellow Scientologist entertainers Anne Archer, Chick Corea and Haywood Nelson attended the 30th anniversary of Freedom Magazine, the Church of Scientology's investigative news journal, at the National Press Club in Washington DC, to honor eleven human rights activists.

In 2001, Hayes and Doug E. Fresh, another Scientologist musician, recorded a Scientology-inspired album called The Joy Of Creating – The Golden Era Musicians And Friends Play L. Ron Hubbard.

Charitable work

The Isaac Hayes Foundation was founded in 1999 by Hayes.

In February 2006, Hayes appeared in a Youth for Human Rights International music video called "United". YHRI is a human rights group founded by the Church of Scientology.

Hayes was also involved in other human rights related groups such as the One Campaign. Isaac Hayes was crowned a king in Ghana for his humanitarian work and economic efforts on the country’s behalf.

Family

Hayes fathered 12 children, and had 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His fourth wife, Adjowa, gave birth to a son named Nana Kwadjo Hayes on April 10, 2006. One son is his namesake, Isaac Hayes III, known as rap producer Ike Dirty. Hayes' eldest daughter is named Veronica, and he also had a daughter named Heather Hayes.

Hayes' first marriage, in 1960, ended in divorce.

He married bank teller Mignon Harley on April 18, 1973, and they divorced in 1986; they had two children. For her wedding gift, Hayes gave her a matching convertible Jaguar. The couple resided in a mansion with maid service. Hayes and his wife were forced into bankruptcy, owing over $6 million. Over the years, Isaac Hayes was able to recover financially.

Stroke and death

On March 20, 2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported that Hayes had suffered a minor stroke in January. but on October 26, 2006, Hayes himself confirmed that he had suffered a stroke.

Two years later, Hayes was found unconscious in his home located just east of Memphis on August 10, 2008, as reported by the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff's Department. A Shelby County Sheriff's deputy and an ambulance from Rural Metro responded to his home after his wife found him on the floor near a still-running treadmill. Hayes was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08pm. Hayes was ten days from his 66th birthday. The cause of death was not immediately clear, though the area medical examiners later listed a recurrence of stroke as the cause of death.

Hayes is buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.

South Park

on South Park.]]

During the late 1990s, Hayes gained new popularity as the voice of Chef on the Comedy Central animated television series South Park. Chef was a soul-singing cafeteria worker at the South Park kids' school. A song from the series performed by Chef, "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)", received international radio airplay in 1999. It reached number-one on the UK singles chart and also on the Irish singles chart. The track also appeared on the album in 1998.

Scientology episode

In the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet", a satire of Scientology which aired on November 16, 2005, Hayes did not appear in his role as Chef. While appearing on the Opie and Anthony radio show about a month after the episode aired, Hayes was asked, "What did you think about when Matt and Trey did that episode on Scientology?", he replied, "One thing about Matt and Trey, they lampoon everybody, and if you take that serious, I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge for two dollars. That's what they do."

In an interview for The A.V. Club on January 4, 2006, Hayes was again asked about the episode. He said that he told the creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, "Guys, you have it all wrong. We're not like that. I know that’s your thing, but get your information correct, because somebody might believe that shit, you know?" He then told them to take a couple of Scientology courses to understand what they do. In the interview, Hayes defended South Park's style of controversial humor, noting that he was not pleased with the show's treatment of Scientology, but conceding that he "understands what Matt and Trey are doing."

Departure from South Park

On March 13, 2006, a statement was issued in Hayes' name, indicating that he was asking to be released from his contract with Comedy Central, citing recent episodes which satirized religious beliefs as being intolerant. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," he was quoted in a press statement. The statement, however, did not directly mention Scientology. A response from Stone said that Hayes' complaints stemmed from the show's criticism of Scientology and that he "has no problem – and he's cashed plenty of checks – with our show making fun of Christians, Muslims, Mormons or Jews." Stone adds, "[We] never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin." Stone and Parker agreed to release Hayes from his contract by his request.

On March 20, 2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported having been told that the March 13 statement was made in Hayes' name, but not by Hayes himself. He wrote: "Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park. My sources say that someone quit it for him. ... Friends in Memphis tell me that Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park. They are mystified." In 2007, the New York Post reported that Hayes felt Stone and Parker "didn’t pay [him] enough" and "weren’t that nice."

The South Park season 10 premiere (aired March 22, 2006) featured "The Return of Chef", a thinly veiled telling of the affair from Parker and Stone's point of view. Using sound clips from past episodes, it depicts Chef as having been brainwashed and urges viewers (via Kyle talking to the town) to "remember Chef as the jolly old guy who always broke into song" and not to blame Chef for his defection, but rather, as Kyle stated, "be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains."

After South Park

Hayes’ income was sharply reduced as a result of leaving South Park. There followed announcements that he would be touring and performing. A reporter present at a January 2007 show in New York City, who had known Hayes fairly well, reported that "Isaac was plunked down at a keyboard, where he pretended to front his band. He spoke-sang, and his words were halting. He was not the Isaac Hayes of the past." Two months after his death, the South Park episode "The China Probrem" was dedicated to him.

During the spring of 2008, Hayes shot scenes for a comedy about soul musicians inspired by the history of Stax Records entitled Soul Men, in which he appears as himself in a supporting role. His voice can be heard in the film in a voice-over role as Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, and Sharon Leal's characters are traveling through Memphis, Tennessee. His first actual appearance in the film is when he is shown in the audience clapping his hands as The Real Deal does a rendition of Hayes' 1971 hit song "Do Your Thing." His next appearance consists of him entering The Real Deal's dressing room to wish them luck on their performance and shaking hands with Louis Hinds (played by Jackson) and Floyd Henderson (played by Mac). During this scene, Hayes also helps Hinds reunite with his long-lost daughter Cleo (played by Leal). His final appearance in the film consists of him introducing The Real Deal to the audience. |rowspan=3|Won |Best Instrumental Arrangement (For the song "Theme from Shaft", arranged with Johnny Allen) |Shaft |- |Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special |Shaft |- |1973 | Best Pop Instrumental Performance By An Arranger, Composer, Orchestra and/or Choral Leader |Black Moses |- |1999 |NAACP Image Award |Nominated |Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series |South Park |- |2006 |Screen Actors Guild Award |Nominated |Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |Hustle & Flow (Shared with cast) |}

Discography

Top Forty US and UK albums

1969: Hot Buttered Soul (US #8)

1970: The Isaac Hayes Movement (by The Isaac Hayes Movement, US #8)

1970: ...To Be Continued (US #11)

1971: Shaft (US #1)

1971: Black Moses (US #10)

1973: Joy (US #16)

1973: Live at the Sahara Tahoe (US #14)

1975: Chocolate Chip (US #18)

1979: Don't Let Go (US #39)

Top Forty US and UK singles

1969: "Walk On By" (US #30)

1969: "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (US #37)

1971: "Theme from Shaft" (US #1)

1971: "Never Can Say Goodbye" (US #22)

1972: "Do Your Thing" (US #30)

1973: "Joy" (US #30)

1980: "Don't Let Go" (US #18)

1998: (as Chef) "Chocolate Salty Balls" (UK #1)

Selected songwriting and production with David Porter

1965: "Candy" by The Astors

1965: "You Don't Know Like I Know" by Sam & Dave

1966: "Let Me Be Good to You" by Carla Thomas

1966: "B-A-B-Y" by Carla Thomas

1966: "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)" by Mabel John(later a big hit by Lou Rawls) .

1966: "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by Sam & Dave

1967: "When Something is Wrong with My Baby" by Sam & Dave

1967: "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave

1968: "I Thank You" by Sam & Dave

1969: "So I Can Love You" by The Emotions (production only)

1969: "The Sweeter He Is" by The Soul Children

1969: "Soul Sister Brown Sugar" by Sam & Dave

1979: "Deja Vu" by Dionne Warwick (co-written by Hayes and Adrienne Anderson)

2000: "I Can't Go To Sleep" by Wu-Tang Clan

Filmography

References

External links

Isaac Hayes Online Memorial

Isaac Hayes Memorial

IsaacHayes.com

Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' Pays Tribute To Isaac Hayes on the BBC News Channel, August 11 2008

Site of Isaac Hayes' breakout gig

[ Isaac Hayes] at Allmusic

Isaac Hayes at Wenig-LaMonica Associates

MP3 audio interview with Stax Records expert Rob Bowman on the radio program The Sound of Young America, including information on Hayes' performance at Wattstax

Isaac Hayes Final Interview with L.A. Record(7/31/2008)

Soul legend Isaac Hayes dies

R.I.P Issac Hayes 1942-2008/Asnycnow15News

Listen to Hayes' "(They Long to Be) Close to You" at Acousmata music blog

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Coordinates	53°11′21″N23°5′45″N
Name	Carole King
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Carol Klein
Born	February 09, 1942
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Instrument	PianoVocalsGuitar
Genre	Folk rock Pop Jazz
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1958–present
Label	RockingaleOde/Epic/CBS RecordsPriority/EMI Records
Associated acts	James TaylorThe CityDanny Kortchmar
Url	CaroleKing.com

Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King's album Tapestry topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks, in 1971, and remained on the charts for more than six years.

She was most successful as a performer in the first half of the 1970s, although she was a successful songwriter long before and long after. She had her first No. 1 hit as a songwriter in 1961, at age 18, with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which she wrote with Gerry Goffin. In 1997, she co-wrote "The Reason" for Celine Dion.

In 2000, Joel Whitburn, a Billboard Magazine pop music researcher, named her the most successful female songwriter of 1955-99, because she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry. Her most recent non-compilation album is Live at the Troubadour, a collaboration with James Taylor, which reached #4 on the charts, in its first week, and has sold over 400,000 copies.

She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting. In 2009, Carole King was inducted into the "Hit Parade" Hall of Fame. She holds the record for the longest time for an album by a female to remain on the charts and the longest time for an album by a female to hold the #1 position, both for Tapestry.

Biography

Born Carol Klein (she added the "e" to her first name) in 1942 to a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York, King grew up in Brooklyn. She learned the piano, then began singing with a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines at James Madison High School. As a teenager dreaming of having a successful entertainment career, she decided to give herself a new last name, stumbling upon "King" in a telephone directory. She attended Queens College, where she was a classmate (and girlfriend) of Neil Sedaka and inspired Sedaka's first hit, "Oh! Carol." She responded with "Oh! Neil". At Queens College, she befriended Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin.

The City

The City was a short-lived popular music trio consisting of Charles Larkey, bass, Danny Kortchmar, guitar and vocals, and Carole King, piano and vocals. The trio was assisted by Jim Gordon on drums. The City produced one album, Now That Everything's Been Said in 1969 but the album was a commercial failure. The group disbanded in 1969, and the members went on to other things; King emerged as a solo performer on her album Writer (1970), another failure, followed by the groundbreaking and highly successful Tapestry (1971); Kortchmar became a successful guitarist performing on a number of recordings, including King's solo efforts, as did Larkey.

Partnership and marriage with Gerry Goffin

Goffin and King formed a songwriting partnership for Aldon Music at 1650 Broadway in New York. Their partnership's first success was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", recorded by The Shirelles. It topped the American charts in 1961, becoming the first No. 1 hit by a girl group. It was later recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Ben E. King, Dusty Springfield, Laura Branigan, Little Eva, Roberta Flack, The Four Seasons, Bryan Ferry and Dionne Warwick, as well as by King herself.

Goffin and King married in September 1960 and had two daughters, Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin Kondor, both also musicians.

In 1965, Goffin and King wrote a theme song for Sidney Sheldon's television series, I Dream of Jeannie, but an instrumental by Hugo Montenegro was used instead. Goffin and King's 1967 song, "Pleasant Valley Sunday", a number 3 for The Monkees, was inspired by their move to suburban West Orange, New Jersey. Goffin and King also wrote "Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)" for Head, the Monkees' film.

Goffin and King divorced in 1968 but Carole consulted Goffin on music she was writing. King lost touch with Goffin because of his declining mental health and the effect it had on their children.

Hits and charted songs by Goffin and King

Recording artist

In 1967, King had a hit "Windy Day" with The Executives. In 1968, she was hired with Toni Stern to write for Strawberry Alarm Clock - "Lady of the Lake" and "Blues for a Young Girl Gone"—which appeared on the album, The World in a Seashell.

King sang backup vocals on the demo of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion". She had had a modest hit in 1962 singing one of her own songs, "It Might As Well Rain Until September" (22 in the US and top 10 in the UK, later a hit in Canada for Gary and Dave), but after "He's a Bad Boy" made 94 in 1963, it took King eight years to reach the Hot 100 singles chart again as a performer.

As the '60s waned, King helped start Tomorrow Records, divorced Goffin and married Charles Larkey (of the Myddle Class), with whom she had two children (Molly and Levi). Moving to the West Coast, Larkey, King and Danny Kortchmar formed The City, which made one album, Now That Everything's Been Said, a commercial failure. King made Writer (1970), also a commercial failure.

Tapestry and beyond

King followed Writer in 1971 with Tapestry, featuring new folk-flavored compositions, as well as reinterpretations of two of her songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Tapestry was an instant success. With numerous hit singles – including a Billboard #1 with "It's Too Late" – Tapestry held the #1 spot for 15 consecutive weeks, remained on the charts for nearly six years, sold 10 million copies in the United States, and 25 million worldwide. The album garnered four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Record of the Year ("It's Too Late," lyrics by Toni Stern); and Song of the Year ("You've Got a Friend"). The album signalled the era of platinum albums, though it was issued prior to the invention of the platinum certification by the RIAA. It would eventually be certified Diamond.

Tapestry was the top-selling solo album until Michael Jackson's Thriller in 1982. The album was later placed at 36 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

Wrap Around Joy

In September 1974, King released her album Wrap Around Joy, which was certified gold on 16 October 1974 and entered the top ten at 7 on 19 October 1974. Two weeks later it reached 1 and stayed there one week. She toured to promote the album. Wrap Around Joy spawned two hits. Jazzman was a single and reached 2 on 9 November but fell out of the top ten the next week. Nightingale, a single on December 17, went to #9 on 1 March 1975.

Beyond Wrap Around Joy

In 1975, King scored songs for the animated TV production of Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie, released as an album by the same name, with lyrics by Sendak.

Thoroughbred (1976) was the last studio album she made under the Ode label. In addition to enlisting her long-time friends such as David Crosby, Graham Nash, James Taylor and Waddy Wachtel, King reunited with Gerry Goffin to write four songs for the album. Their partnership continued intermittently. King also did a promotional tour for the album in 1976.

In 1977, King collaborated with another songwriter Rick Evers on Simple Things, the first release with a new label distributed by Capitol Records. Shortly after that King and Evers were married; he died of a heroin overdose one year later. Simple Things was her first album that failed to reach the top 10 on the Billboard since Tapestry, and it was her last Gold-certified record by the RIAA, except for a compilation entitled Her Greatest Hits the following year. Neither Welcome Home (1978), her debut as a co-producer on an album, nor Touch the Sky (1979), reached the top 100.

Pearls - The Songs of Goffin and King (1980) yielded a hit single, an updated version of "One Fine Day." Pearls marked the end of King's career as a hitmaker and a performer, no subsequent single reaching the top 40.

Later life and work

in the Mediterranean in 2000]] King moved to Atlantic Records for One to One (1982), and Speeding Time in 1983, which was a reunion with Tapestry-era producer Lou Adler. In 1983, she played piano in "Chains and Things" on the B.B. King album Why I Sing The Blues. After a well-received concert tour in 1984, journalist Catherine Foster of the Christian Science Monitor dubbed King as "a Queen of Rock." She also called King's performing as "all spunk and exuberance."

In 1985, she wrote and performed "Care-A-Lot," theme to The Care Bears Movie. Also in 1985, she scored and performed (with David Sanborn) the soundtrack to the Martin Ritt-directed movie Murphy's Romance. The soundtrack, again produced by Adler, included the songs "Running Lonely" and "Love For The Last Time (Theme from 'Murphy's Romance')," although a soundtrack album was apparently never officially released. King made a cameo appearance in the film as Tillie, a town hall employee.

In 1989, she returned to Capitol Records and recorded City Streets, with Eric Clapton on two tracks and Branford Marsalis on one, followed by Color of Your Dreams (1993), with an appearance by Slash of Guns N' Roses. Her song, "Now and Forever," was in the opening credits to the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 1988, she starred in the off-Broadway production A Minor Incident, and in 1994, she played Mrs Johnstone on Broadway in Blood Brothers. In 1996, she appeared in Brighton Beach Memoirs in Ireland, directed by Peter Sheridan. In 1991, she wrote with Mariah Carey the song "If It's Over", for Carey's second album Emotions. In 1996, she wrote "Wall Of Smiles / Torre De Marfil" with Soraya for her 1997 album of the same title.

In 1997, King wrote and recorded backing vocals on "The Reason" for Celine Dion on her album Let's Talk About Love. The song sold worldwide, including one million in France. It went to number 1 in France, 11 in the UK, and 13 in Ireland. The pair performed a duet on the first VH1 Divas Live benefit concert. King also performed her "You've Got A Friend" with Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain as well as "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" with Aretha Franklin and others, including Mariah Carey. In 1998, King wrote "Anyone at All", and performed it in You've Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

In 2001, King appeared in a television ad for the Gap, with her daughter, Louise Goffin. She performed a new song, "Love Makes the World," which became a title track for her studio album in autumn 2001 on her own label, Rockingale, distributed by Koch Records. The album includes songs she wrote for other artists during the mid-1990s and features Celine Dion, Steven Tyler, Babyface and k.d. lang. Love Makes the World went to 158 in the US and #86 in the UK. It also debuted on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and Top Internet Albums chart at #20. An expanded edition of the album was issued six years later called Love Makes the World Deluxe Edition. It contains a bonus disc with five additional tracks, including a remake of "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" co-written with Toni Stern. The same year, King and Stern wrote "Sayonara Dance," recorded by Yuki, former lead vocalist of the Japanese band Judy and Mary, on her first solo album Prismic the following year. Also in 2001, King composed a song for All About Chemistry album by Semisonic, with the band's frontman Dan Wilson.

King launched her Living Room Tour in July 2004 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. That show, along with shows at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and the Cape Cod Melody Tent (Hyannis, Massachusetts) were recorded as The Living Room Tour in July 2005. The album sold 44,000 copies in its first week in the US, landing at 17 on the Billboard 200, her highest-charting album since 1977. The album also charted at 51 in Australia. It has sold 330,000 copies in the United States. In August 2006 the album reentered the Billboard 200 at 151. The tour stopped in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A DVD of the tour, called Welcome to My Living Room, was released in October 2007.

performing "Up on the Roof" together during their 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour.]] In November 2007, King toured Japan with Mary J. Blige and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas. Japanese record labels Sony and Victor reissued most of King's albums, including the works from the late 1970s previously unavailable on compact disc. King recorded a duet of the Goffin/King composition "Time Don't Run Out on Me" with Anne Murray on Murray's 2007 album . The song had previously been recorded by Murray for her 1984 album Heart Over Mind.

In 2010, King and James Taylor staged their Troubadour Reunion Tour together, recalling the first time they played at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in 1970. The pair had reunited two and a half years earlier with the band they used in 1970 to mark the club's 50th anniversary. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to take the band on the road. The touring band featured players from that original band: Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Danny Kortchmar. Also present was King's son-in-law, Robbie Kondor. King played piano and Taylor guitar on each others' songs, and they sang together some of the numbers they were both associated with. The tour began in Australia in March, returning to the United States in May. It was a major commercial success, with King playing to some of the largest audiences of her career. Total ticket sales exceeded 700,000 and the tour grossed over 59 million dollars, making it one of the most successful tours of the year.

During their Troubadour Reunion Tour, Carole King released two albums, one with James Taylor. The first, released on April 27, 2010, The Essential Carole King, is a two-disc compilation album. The first disc features many songs Carole King has recorded, mostly her hit singles. The second disc features recordings by other artists of songs that King wrote, most of which made the top 40, and many of which reached #1. The second album was released on May 4, 2010 and is a collaboration of King and James Taylor called Live at the Troubadour, which debuted at #4 in the United States with sales of 78,000 copies. Live at the Troubadour has since received a gold record from the RIAA for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the US and has remained on the charts for 34 weeks, currently charting at #81 on the Billboard 200.

On December 22, 2010, Carole King's mother, Eugenia Gingold, died in the Hospice Care unit at Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Florida at the age of 94. King stated that the cause of death was congestive heart failure. Gingold's passing was reported by the Miami Herald on January 1, 2011.

Acting career

King has appeared sporadically in acting roles, notably three appearances as guest star on the TV series Gilmore Girls as Sophie, the owner of the Stars Hollow music store. King's song "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" was also the theme song to the series, in a version sung with her daughter Louise.

On April 9, 2009, Carole appeared as a guest on The One Show.

Political and environmental activism

After relocating to Idaho in 1977, King became involved in environmental issues. Since 1990, she has been working with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other groups towards passage of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA). King has testified on Capitol Hill three times on behalf of NREPA: in 1994, 2007 and again in 2009.

King is also politically active in the United States Democratic Party. In 2003, she began campaigning for John Kerry, performing in private homes for caucus delegates during the Democratic primaries. On July 29, 2004, she made a short speech and sang at the Democratic National Convention, about two hours before Kerry made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President. King continued her support of Kerry throughout the general election.

In 2008, King appeared on the March 18 episode of The Colbert Report, touching on her politics once more. She stated that she was supporting Hillary Clinton and mentioned that the choice had nothing to do with gender. She also expressed that she would have no issues if Barack Obama were to win the election. Before the show's conclusion, she returned to the stage to perform "I Feel the Earth Move".

King has recently lent her voice and support to several robocalls supporting Democratic Party candidates in the Washington State 2010 elections.

Tributes and covers

An all-star roster of artists paid tribute to King on the 1995 album . From the album, Rod Stewart's version of "So Far Away" and Celine Dion's cover of "A Natural Woman" were both Adult Contemporary chart hits. Other artists who appeared on the album included Amy Grant ("It's Too Late"), Richard Marx ("Beautiful"), Aretha Franklin ("You've Got a Friend"), Faith Hill ("Where You Lead"), and the Bee Gees ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow?").

Many other cover versions of King's work have appeared over the years. Most notably, "You've Got a Friend" was a smash #1 hit for James Taylor in 1971 and a top 40 hit for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway that same year. Isaac Hayes recorded "It's Too Late" for his #1 R&B; live album Live at the Sahara Tahoe. Barbra Streisand had a top 40 hit in 1972 with "Where You Lead" twice — by itself and as part of a live medley with "Sweet Inspiration." Streisand also covered "No Easy Way Down" in 1971, "Beautiful" and "You've Got A Friend" in 1972, and "Being At War With Each Other" in 1974. The Carpenters recorded King's "It's Going to Take Some Time" in 1972 ,and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts. Richard Carpenter produced a version of "You've Got A Friend" with then teen singer/actor Scott Grimes in 1989. Martika had a number 25 hit in 1989 with her version of I Feel the Earth Move, and "It's Too Late" reappeared on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1995 by Gloria Estefan. Linda Ronstadt recorded a new version of "Oh No Not My Baby" in 1993. Celine Dion also recorded King's song "The Reason" on her 1997 album Let's Talk About Love with Carole King singing backup and it became a million-seller and was certified Diamond in France. "Where You Lead" (lyrics by Toni Stern) became the title song of TV show Gilmore Girls.

In 1996, a film very loosely based on her life, Grace of My Heart, was released. In the film an aspiring singer sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. Mirroring King's life, the film follows her from her first break, through the pain of rejection from the recording industry and a bad marriage, to her final triumph in realizing her dream to record her own hit album.

Awards and recognition

In 1987, Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 1988, Goffin and King received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1990, King was inducted, along with Goffin, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category for her songwriting achievements.

In 2002, King was given the "Johnny Mercer Award" by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 2004, Goffin and King were awarded the Grammy Trustees Award.

King was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Discography and certifications

The years given are the years in which the albums and singles were released and not necessarilly the years in which they achieved their peak positions.

U.S. Billboard Top 10 Albums

1971 - Tapestry (#1)

1971 - Carole King: Music (#1)

1972 - Rhymes and Reasons (#2)

1973 - Fantasy (#6)

1974 - Wrap Around Joy (#1)

1976 - Thoroughbred (#3)

2010 - Live at the Troubadour (with James Taylor) (#4)

U.S. Billboard Top 10 'Pop' Singles

1971 - "I Feel the Earth Move" (#1)

1971 - "It's Too Late" (#1)

1971 - "Sweet Seasons" (#9)

1974 - "Jazzman" (#2)

1974 - "Nightingale" (#9)

Albums and singles certifications

See also

List of songwriter tandems

References

External links

www.caroleking.com

Articles on Carole King

Rachel Louis Snyder on Carole King, Salon, June 19, 1999

Franck Scheck on Carole King, Hollywood Reporter, July 15, 2005

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