Birds (class Aves) are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the Ostrich. The fossil record indicates birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, around 160 million years (Ma) ago. Paleontologists regard birds as the only clade of dinosaurs to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 65.5 Ma ago.

Modern birds are characterised by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. All living species of birds have wings—the now extinct flightless Moa of New Zealand was the only exception. Wings are evolved forelimbs, and most bird species can fly, with some exceptions, including ratites, penguins, and a number of diverse endemic island species. Birds also have unique digestive and respiratory systems that are highly adapted for flight. Some birds, especially corvids and parrots, are among the most intelligent animal species; a number of bird species have been observed manufacturing and using tools, and many social species exhibit cultural transmission of knowledge across generations.

Many species undertake long distance annual migrations, and many more perform shorter irregular movements. Birds are social; they communicate using visual signals and through calls and songs, and participate in social behaviours, including cooperative breeding and hunting, flocking, and mobbing of predators. The vast majority of bird species are socially monogamous, usually for one breeding season at a time, sometimes for years, but rarely for life. Other species have polygynous ("many females") or, rarely, polyandrous ("many males") breeding systems. Eggs are usually laid in a nest and incubated by the parents. Most birds have an extended period of parental care after hatching.

Many species are of economic importance, mostly as sources of food acquired through hunting or farming. Some species, particularly songbirds and parrots, are popular as pets. Other uses include the harvesting of guano (droppings) for use as a fertiliser. Birds figure prominently in all aspects of human culture from religion to poetry to popular music. About 120–130 species have become extinct as a result of human activity since the 17th century, and hundreds more before then. Currently about 1,200 species of birds are threatened with extinction by human activities, though efforts are underway to protect them.

Evolution and taxonomy

The first classification of birds was developed by Francis Willughby and John Ray in their 1676 volume ''Ornithologiae''. Carolus Linnaeus modified that work in 1758 to devise the taxonomic classification system currently in use. Birds are categorised as the biological class Aves in Linnaean taxonomy. Phylogenetic taxonomy places Aves in the dinosaur clade Theropoda. Aves and a sister group, the clade Crocodilia, contain the only living representatives of the reptile clade Archosauria. During the late 20th century, Aves was commonly defined phylogenetically as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and ''Archaeopteryx lithographica''. However, an alternate definition proposed by scientists including Jacques Gauthier and adherents of the Phylocode system defined Aves to include only the modern bird groups, the crown group. This was done by excluding most groups known only from fossils, and assigning them, instead, to the Avialae, in part to avoid the uncertainties about the placement of ''Archaeopteryx'' in relation to animals traditionally thought of as theropod dinosaurs.

All modern birds lie within the crown group Aves (alternately Neornithes), which has two subdivisions: the Palaeognathae, which includes the flightless ratites (such as the ostriches) and the weak-flying tinamous, and the extremely diverse Neognathae, containing all other birds. These two subdivisions are often given the rank of superorder, although Livezey and Zusi assigned them "cohort" rank. Depending on the taxonomic viewpoint, the number of known living bird species varies anywhere from 9,800 to 10,050.

Dinosaurs and the origin of birds

Based on fossil and biological evidence, most scientists accept that birds are a specialized subgroup of theropod dinosaurs. More specifically, they are members of Maniraptora, a group of theropods which includes dromaeosaurs and oviraptorids, among others. As scientists discover more nonavian theropods closely related to birds, the previously clear distinction between nonbirds and birds has become blurred. Recent discoveries in the Liaoning Province of northeast China, which demonstrate many small theropod dinosaurs had feathers, contribute to this ambiguity.

The consensus view in contemporary paleontology is that the birds, or avialans, are the closest relatives of the deinonychosaurs, which include dromaeosaurids, troodontids and possibly archaeopterygids. Together, these three form a group called Paraves. Some basal members of this group, such as ''Microraptor'' and ''Archaeopteryx'', have features which may have enabled them to glide or fly. The most basal deinonychosaurs are very small. This evidence raises the possibility that the ancestor of all paravians may have been arboreal, may have been able to glide, or both. Unlike ''Archaeopteryx'' and the feathered dinosaurs, who primarily ate meat, recent studies suggest that the first birds were herbivores.

The Late Jurassic ''Archaeopteryx'' is well known as one of the first transitional fossils to be found, and it provided support for the theory of evolution in the late 19th century. ''Archaeopteryx'' was the first fossil to display both clearly reptilian characteristics: teeth, clawed fingers, and a long, lizard-like tail, as well as wings with flight feathers identical to those of modern birds. It is not considered a direct ancestor of modern birds, though it is possibly closely related to the real ancestor.

Alternative theories and controversies

There have been many controversies in the study of the origin of birds. Early disagreements included whether birds evolved from dinosaurs or more primitive archosaurs. Within the dinosaur camp, there were disagreements as to whether ornithischian or theropod dinosaurs were the more likely ancestors. Although ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs share the hip structure of modern birds, birds are thought to have originated from the saurischian (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs, and therefore evolved their hip structure independently. In fact, a bird-like hip structure evolved a third time among a peculiar group of theropods known as the Therizinosauridae.

A small minority of researchers, such as paleornithologist Alan Feduccia of the University of North Carolina, challenge the majority view, contending that birds are not dinosaurs, but evolved from early archosaurs like ''Longisquama''.

Early evolution of birds

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Basal bird phylogeny simplified after Chiappe, 2007 Birds diversified into a wide variety of forms during the Cretaceous Period. Many groups retained primitive characteristics, such as clawed wings and teeth, though the latter were lost independently in a number of bird groups, including modern birds (Neornithes). While the earliest forms, such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Jeholornis'', retained the long bony tails of their ancestors, the tails of more advanced birds were shortened with the advent of the pygostyle bone in the clade Pygostylia.

The first large, diverse lineage of short-tailed birds to evolve were the Enantiornithes, or "opposite birds", so named because the construction of their shoulder bones was in reverse to that of modern birds. Enantiornithes occupied a wide array of ecological niches, from sand-probing shorebirds and fish-eaters to tree-dwelling forms and seed-eaters. More advanced lineages also specialised in eating fish, like the superficially gull-like subclass of Ichthyornithes (fish birds).

One order of Mesozoic seabirds, the Hesperornithiformes, became so well adapted to hunting fish in marine environments, they lost the ability to fly and became primarily aquatic. Despite their extreme specializations, the Hesperornithiformes represent some of the closest relatives of modern birds.

Diversification of modern birds

Containing all modern birds, the subclass Neornithes is, due to the discovery of ''Vegavis'', now known to have evolved into some basic lineages by the end of the Cretaceous and is split into two superorders, the Palaeognathae and Neognathae. The paleognaths include the tinamous of Central and South America and the ratites. The basal divergence from the remaining Neognathes was that of the Galloanserae, the superorder containing the Anseriformes (ducks, geese, swans and screamers) and the Galliformes (the pheasants, grouse, and their allies, together with the mound builders and the guans and their allies). The dates for the splits are much debated by scientists. The Neornithes are agreed to have evolved in the Cretaceous, and the split between the Galloanseri from other Neognathes occurred before the K–T extinction event, but there are different opinions about whether the radiation of the remaining Neognathes occurred before or after the extinction of the other dinosaurs. This disagreement is in part caused by a divergence in the evidence; molecular dating suggests a Cretaceous radiation, while fossil evidence supports a Tertiary radiation. Attempts to reconcile the molecular and fossil evidence have proved controversial.

The classification of birds is a contentious issue. Sibley and Ahlquist's ''Phylogeny and Classification of Birds'' (1990) is a landmark work on the classification of birds, although it is frequently debated and constantly revised. Most evidence seems to suggest the assignment of orders is accurate, but scientists disagree about the relationships between the orders themselves; evidence from modern bird anatomy, fossils and DNA have all been brought to bear on the problem, but no strong consensus has emerged. More recently, new fossil and molecular evidence is providing an increasingly clear picture of the evolution of modern bird orders.

===Modern bird orders: Classification=== |label2= Neognathae  |2= }} }} }}

Basal divergences of modern birdsbased on Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy

This is a list of the taxonomic orders in the subclass Neornithes, or modern birds. This list uses the traditional classification (the so-called Clements order), revised by the Sibley-Monroe classification. The list of birds gives a more detailed summary of the orders, including families.

Subclass Neornithes The subclass Neornithes has two extant superorders –

Superorder Palaeognathae:

The name of the superorder is derived from ''paleognath'', the ancient Greek for "old jaws" in reference to the skeletal anatomy of the palate, which is described as more primitive and reptilian than that in other birds. The Palaeognathae consists of two orders which comprise 49 existing species.

Struthioniformes—ostriches, emus, kiwis, and allies

Tinamiformes—tinamous

Superorder Neognathae:

The superorder Neognathae comprises 27 orders which have a total of nearly ten thousand species. The Neognathae have undergone adaptive radiation to produce the staggering diversity of form (especially of the bill and feet), function, and behavior that are seen today.

The orders comprising the Neognathae are:

Anseriformes—waterfowl

Galliformes—fowl

Charadriiformes—gulls, button-quails, plovers and allies

Gaviiformes—loons

Podicipediformes—grebes

Procellariiformes—albatrosses, petrels, and allies

Sphenisciformes—penguins

Pelecaniformes—pelicans and allies

Phaethontiformes—tropicbirds

Ciconiiformes—storks and allies

Cathartiformes—New World vultures

Phoenicopteriformes—flamingos

Falconiformes—falcons, eagles, hawks and allies

Gruiformes—cranes and allies

Pteroclidiformes—sandgrouse

Columbiformes—doves and pigeons

Psittaciformes—parrots and allies

Cuculiformes—cuckoos and turacos

Opisthocomiformes—hoatzin

Strigiformes—owls

Caprimulgiformes—nightjars and allies

Apodiformes—swifts and hummingbirds

Coraciiformes—kingfishers and allies

Piciformes—woodpeckers and allies

Trogoniformes—trogons

Coliiformes—mousebirds

Passeriformes—passerines

The radically different Sibley-Monroe classification (Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy), based on molecular data, found widespread adoption in a few aspects, as recent molecular, fossil, and anatomical evidence supported the Galloanserae.

Distribution

Birds live and breed in most terrestrial habitats and on all seven continents, reaching their southern extreme in the Snow Petrel's breeding colonies up to inland in Antarctica. The highest bird diversity occurs in tropical regions. It was earlier thought that this high diversity was the result of higher speciation rates in the tropics, however recent studies found higher speciation rates in the high latitudes that were offset by greater extinction rates than in the tropics. Several families of birds have adapted to life both on the world's oceans and in them, with some seabird species coming ashore only to breed and some penguins have been recorded diving up to .

Many bird species have established breeding populations in areas to which they have been introduced by humans. Some of these introductions have been deliberate; the Ring-necked Pheasant, for example, has been introduced around the world as a game bird. Others have been accidental, such as the establishment of wild Monk Parakeets in several North American cities after their escape from captivity. Some species, including Cattle Egret, Yellow-headed Caracara and Galah, have spread naturally far beyond their original ranges as agricultural practices created suitable new habitat.

Anatomy and physiology

Compared with other vertebrates, birds have a body plan that shows many unusual adaptations, mostly to facilitate flight.

The skeleton consists of very lightweight bones. They have large air-filled cavities (called pneumatic cavities) which connect with the respiratory system. The skull bones in adults are fused and do not show cranial sutures. The orbits are large and separated by a bony septum. The spine has cervical, thoracic, lumbar and caudal regions with the number of cervical (neck) vertebrae highly variable and especially flexible, but movement is reduced in the anterior thoracic vertebrae and absent in the later vertebrae. The last few are fused with the pelvis to form the synsacrum. The ribs are flattened and the sternum is keeled for the attachment of flight muscles except in the flightless bird orders. The forelimbs are modified into wings.

Like the reptiles, birds are primarily uricotelic, that is, their kidneys extract nitrogenous wastes from their bloodstream and excrete it as uric acid instead of urea or ammonia via the ureters into the intestine. Birds do not have a urinary bladder or external urethral opening and (with exception of the Ostrich) uric acid is excreted along with feces as a semisolid waste. However, birds such as hummingbirds can be facultatively ammonotelic, excreting most of the nitrogenous wastes as ammonia. They also excrete creatine, rather than creatinine like mammals. This material, as well as the output of the intestines, emerges from the bird's cloaca. The cloaca is a multi-purpose opening: waste is expelled through it, birds mate by joining cloaca, and females lay eggs from it. In addition, many species of birds regurgitate pellets. The digestive system of birds is unique, with a crop for storage and a gizzard that contains swallowed stones for grinding food to compensate for the lack of teeth. Most birds are highly adapted for rapid digestion to aid with flight. Some migratory birds have adapted to use protein from many parts of their bodies, including protein from the intestines, as additional energy during migration.

Birds have one of the most complex respiratory systems of all animal groups. Upon inhalation, 75% of the fresh air bypasses the lungs and flows directly into a posterior air sac which extends from the lungs and connects with air spaces in the bones and fills them with air. The other 25% of the air goes directly into the lungs. When the bird exhales, the used air flows out of the lung and the stored fresh air from the posterior air sac is simultaneously forced into the lungs. Thus, a bird's lungs receive a constant supply of fresh air during both inhalation and exhalation. Sound production is achieved using the syrinx, a muscular chamber incorporating multiple tympanic membranes which diverges from the lower end of the trachea. The bird's heart has four chambers and the right aortic arch gives rise to systemic circulation (unlike in the mammals where the left arch is involved). The postcava receives blood from the limbs via the renal portal system. Unlike in mammals, the red blood cells in birds have a nucleus.

The nervous system is large relative to the bird's size. The most developed part of the brain is the one that controls the flight-related functions, while the cerebellum coordinates movement and the cerebrum controls behaviour patterns, navigation, mating and nest building. Most birds have a poor sense of smell with notable exceptions including kiwis, New World vultures and tubenoses. The avian visual system is usually highly developed. Water birds have special flexible lenses, allowing accommodation for vision in air and water. Some species also have dual fovea. Birds are tetrachromatic, possessing ultraviolet (UV) sensitive cone cells in the eye as well as green, red and blue ones. This allows them to perceive ultraviolet light, which is involved in courtship. Many birds show plumage patterns in ultraviolet that are invisible to the human eye; some birds whose sexes appear similar to the naked eye are distinguished by the presence of ultraviolet reflective patches on their feathers. Male Blue Tits have an ultraviolet reflective crown patch which is displayed in courtship by posturing and raising of their nape feathers. Ultraviolet light is also used in foraging—kestrels have been shown to search for prey by detecting the UV reflective urine trail marks left on the ground by rodents. The eyelids of a bird are not used in blinking. Instead the eye is lubricated by the nictitating membrane, a third eyelid that moves horizontally. The nictitating membrane also covers the eye and acts as a contact lens in many aquatic birds. The bird retina has a fan shaped blood supply system called the pecten. Most birds cannot move their eyes, although there are exceptions, such as the Great Cormorant. Birds with eyes on the sides of their heads have a wide visual field, while birds with eyes on the front of their heads, such as owls, have binocular vision and can estimate the depth of field. The avian ear lacks external pinnae but is covered by feathers, although in some birds, such as the ''Asio'', ''Bubo'' and ''Otus'' owls, these feathers form tufts which resemble ears. The inner ear has a cochlea, but it is not spiral as in mammals.

A few species are able to use chemical defenses against predators; some Procellariiformes can eject an unpleasant oil against an aggressor, and some species of pitohuis from New Guinea have a powerful neurotoxin in their skin and feathers.

Chromosomes

Birds have two sexes: male and female. The sex of birds is determined by the Z and W sex chromosomes, rather than by the X and Y chromosomes present in mammals. Male birds have two Z chromosomes (ZZ), and female birds have a W chromosome and a Z chromosome (WZ).

In nearly all species of birds, an individual's sex is determined at fertilization. However, one recent study demonstrated temperature-dependent sex determination among Australian Brush-turkeys, for which higher temperatures during incubation resulted in a higher female-to-male sex ratio.

Feathers, plumage, and scales

Feathers are a feature characteristic of birds (though also present in some dinosaurs not currently considered to be true birds). They facilitate flight, provide insulation that aids in thermoregulation, and are used in display, camouflage, and signaling. There are several types of feathers, each serving its own set of purposes. Feathers are epidermal growths attached to the skin and arise only in specific tracts of skin called pterylae. The distribution pattern of these feather tracts (pterylosis) is used in taxonomy and systematics. The arrangement and appearance of feathers on the body, called plumage, may vary within species by age, social status, and sex.

Plumage is regularly moulted; the standard plumage of a bird that has moulted after breeding is known as the "non-breeding" plumage, or—in the Humphrey-Parkes terminology—"basic" plumage; breeding plumages or variations of the basic plumage are known under the Humphrey-Parkes system as "alternate" plumages. Moulting is annual in most species, although some may have two moults a year, and large birds of prey may moult only once every few years. Moulting patterns vary across species. In passerines, flight feathers are replaced one at a time with the innermost primary being the first. When the fifth of sixth primary is replaced, the outermost tertiaries begin to drop. After the innermost tertiaries are moulted, the secondaries starting from the innermost begin to drop and this proceeds to the outer feathers (centrifugal moult). The greater primary coverts are moulted in synchrony with the primary that they overlap. A small number of species, such as ducks and geese, lose all of their flight feathers at once, temporarily becoming flightless. As a general rule, the tail feathers are moulted and replaced starting with the innermost pair. Centripetal moults of tail feathers are however seen in the Phasianidae. The centrifugal moult is modified in the tail feathers of woodpeckers and treecreepers, in that it begins with the second innermost pair of feathers and finishes with the central pair of feathers so that the bird maintains a functional climbing tail. The general pattern seen in passerines is that the primaries are replaced outward, secondaries inward, and the tail from center outward. Before nesting, the females of most bird species gain a bare brood patch by losing feathers close to the belly. The skin there is well supplied with blood vessels and helps the bird in incubation. Feathers require maintenance and birds preen or groom them daily, spending an average of around 9% of their daily time on this. The bill is used to brush away foreign particles and to apply waxy secretions from the uropygial gland; these secretions protect the feathers' flexibility and act as an antimicrobial agent, inhibiting the growth of feather-degrading bacteria. This may be supplemented with the secretions of formic acid from ants, which birds receive through a behaviour known as anting, to remove feather parasites.

The scales of birds are composed of the same keratin as beaks, claws, and spurs. They are found mainly on the toes and metatarsus, but may be found further up on the ankle in some birds. Most bird scales do not overlap significantly, except in the cases of kingfishers and woodpeckers. The scales of birds are thought to be homologous to those of reptiles and mammals.

Flight

Most birds can fly, which distinguishes them from almost all other vertebrate classes. Flight is the primary means of locomotion for most bird species and is used for breeding, feeding, and predator avoidance and escape. Birds have various adaptations for flight, including a lightweight skeleton, two large flight muscles, the pectoralis (which accounts for 15% of the total mass of the bird) and the supracoracoideus, as well as a modified forelimb (wing) that serves as an aerofoil. Wing shape and size generally determine a bird species' type of flight; many birds combine powered, flapping flight with less energy-intensive soaring flight. About 60 extant bird species are flightless, as were many extinct birds. Flightlessness often arises in birds on isolated islands, probably due to limited resources and the absence of land predators. Though flightless, penguins use similar musculature and movements to "fly" through the water, as do auks, shearwaters and dippers.

Behaviour

Most birds are diurnal, but some birds, such as many species of owls and nightjars, are nocturnal or crepuscular (active during twilight hours), and many coastal waders feed when the tides are appropriate, by day or night.

Diet and feeding

Birds' diets are varied and often include nectar, fruit, plants, seeds, carrion, and various small animals, including other birds. Because birds have no teeth, their digestive system is adapted to process unmasticated food items that are swallowed whole.

Birds that employ many strategies to obtain food or feed on a variety of food items are called generalists, while others that concentrate time and effort on specific food items or have a single strategy to obtain food are considered specialists. Birds' feeding strategies vary by species. Many birds glean for insects, invertebrates, fruit, or seeds. Some hunt insects by suddenly attacking from a branch. Those species that seek pest insects are considered beneficial 'biological control agents' and their presence encouraged in biological pest control programs. Nectar feeders such as hummingbirds, sunbirds, lories, and lorikeets amongst others have specially adapted brushy tongues and in many cases bills designed to fit co-adapted flowers. Kiwis and shorebirds with long bills probe for invertebrates; shorebirds' varied bill lengths and feeding methods result in the separation of ecological niches. Loons, diving ducks, penguins and auks pursue their prey underwater, using their wings or feet for propulsion, while aerial predators such as sulids, kingfishers and terns plunge dive after their prey. Flamingos, three species of prion, and some ducks are filter feeders. Geese and dabbling ducks are primarily grazers.

Some species, including frigatebirds, gulls, and skuas, engage in kleptoparasitism, stealing food items from other birds. Kleptoparasitism is thought to be a supplement to food obtained by hunting, rather than a significant part of any species' diet; a study of Great Frigatebirds stealing from Masked Boobies estimated that the frigatebirds stole at most 40% of their food and on average stole only 5%. Other birds are scavengers; some of these, like vultures, are specialised carrion eaters, while others, like gulls, corvids, or other birds of prey, are opportunists.

Water and drinking

Water is needed by many birds although their mode of excretion and lack of sweat glands reduces the physiological demands. Some desert birds can obtain their water needs entirely from moisture in their food. They may also have other adaptations such as allowing their body temperature to rise, saving on moisture loss from evaporative cooling or panting. Seabirds can drink seawater and have salt glands inside the head that eliminate excess salt out of the nostrils.

Most birds scoop water in their beaks and raise their head to let water run down the throat. Some species, especially of arid zones, belonging to the pigeon, finch, mousebird, button-quail and bustard families are capable of sucking up water without the need to tilt back their heads. Some desert birds depend on water sources and sandgrouse are particularly well known for their daily congregations at waterholes. Nesting sandgrouse and many plovers carry water to their young by wetting their belly feathers. Some birds carry water for chicks at the nest in their crop or regurgitate it along with food. The pigeon family, flamingos and penguins have adaptations to produce a nutritive fluid called crop milk that they provide to their chicks.

Migration

Many bird species migrate to take advantage of global differences of seasonal temperatures, therefore optimising availability of food sources and breeding habitat. These migrations vary among the different groups. Many landbirds, shorebirds, and waterbirds undertake annual long distance migrations, usually triggered by the length of daylight as well as weather conditions. These birds are characterised by a breeding season spent in the temperate or arctic/antarctic regions and a non-breeding season in the tropical regions or opposite hemisphere. Before migration, birds substantially increase body fats and reserves and reduce the size of some of their organs. Migration is highly demanding energetically, particularly as birds need to cross deserts and oceans without refuelling. Landbirds have a flight range of around and shorebirds can fly up to , although the Bar-tailed Godwit is capable of non-stop flights of up to . Seabirds also undertake long migrations, the longest annual migration being those of Sooty Shearwaters, which nest in New Zealand and Chile and spend the northern summer feeding in the North Pacific off Japan, Alaska and California, an annual round trip of . Other seabirds disperse after breeding, travelling widely but having no set migration route. Albatrosses nesting in the Southern Ocean often undertake circumpolar trips between breeding seasons.

Some bird species undertake shorter migrations, travelling only as far as is required to avoid bad weather or obtain food. Irruptive species such as the boreal finches are one such group and can commonly be found at a location in one year and absent the next. This type of migration is normally associated with food availability. Species may also travel shorter distances over part of their range, with individuals from higher latitudes travelling into the existing range of conspecifics; others undertake partial migrations, where only a fraction of the population, usually females and subdominant males, migrates. Partial migration can form a large percentage of the migration behaviour of birds in some regions; in Australia, surveys found that 44% of non-passerine birds and 32% of passerines were partially migratory. Altitudinal migration is a form of short distance migration in which birds spend the breeding season at higher altitudes elevations and move to lower ones during suboptimal conditions. It is most often triggered by temperature changes and usually occurs when the normal territories also become inhospitable due to lack of food. Some species may also be nomadic, holding no fixed territory and moving according to weather and food availability. Parrots as a family are overwhelmingly neither migratory nor sedentary but considered to either be dispersive, irruptive, nomadic or undertake small and irregular migrations.

The ability of birds to return to precise locations across vast distances has been known for some time; in an experiment conducted in the 1950s a Manx Shearwater released in Boston returned to its colony in Skomer, Wales, within 13 days, a distance of . Birds navigate during migration using a variety of methods. For diurnal migrants, the sun is used to navigate by day, and a stellar compass is used at night. Birds that use the sun compensate for the changing position of the sun during the day by the use of an internal clock. Orientation with the stellar compass depends on the position of the constellations surrounding Polaris. These are backed up in some species by their ability to sense the Earth's geomagnetism through specialised photoreceptors.

Communication

Birds communicate using primarily visual and auditory signals. Signals can be interspecific (between species) and intraspecific (within species).

Birds sometimes use plumage to assess and assert social dominance, to display breeding condition in sexually selected species, or to make threatening displays, as in the Sunbittern's mimicry of a large predator to ward off hawks and protect young chicks. Variation in plumage also allows for the identification of birds, particularly between species. Visual communication among birds may also involve ritualised displays, which have developed from non-signalling actions such as preening, the adjustments of feather position, pecking, or other behaviour. These displays may signal aggression or submission or may contribute to the formation of pair-bonds. The most elaborate displays occur during courtship, where "dances" are often formed from complex combinations of many possible component movements; males' breeding success may depend on the quality of such displays.

Bird calls and songs, which are produced in the syrinx, are the major means by which birds communicate with sound. This communication can be very complex; some species can operate the two sides of the syrinx independently, allowing the simultaneous production of two different songs. Calls are used for a variety of purposes, including mate attraction, evaluation of potential mates, bond formation, the claiming and maintenance of territories, the identification of other individuals (such as when parents look for chicks in colonies or when mates reunite at the start of breeding season), and the warning of other birds of potential predators, sometimes with specific information about the nature of the threat. Some birds also use mechanical sounds for auditory communication. The ''Coenocorypha'' snipes of New Zealand drive air through their feathers, woodpeckers drum territorially, and Palm Cockatoos use tools to drum.

Flocking and other associations

While some birds are essentially territorial or live in small family groups, other birds may form large flocks. The principal benefits of flocking are safety in numbers and increased foraging efficiency. Defence against predators is particularly important in closed habitats like forests, where ambush predation is common and multiple eyes can provide a valuable early warning system. This has led to the development of many mixed-species feeding flocks, which are usually composed of small numbers of many species; these flocks provide safety in numbers but reduce potential competition for resources. Costs of flocking include bullying of socially subordinate birds by more dominant birds and the reduction of feeding efficiency in certain cases.

Birds sometimes also form associations with non-avian species. Plunge-diving seabirds associate with dolphins and tuna, which push shoaling fish towards the surface. Hornbills have a mutualistic relationship with Dwarf Mongooses, in which they forage together and warn each other of nearby birds of prey and other predators.

===Resting and roosting===

The high metabolic rates of birds during the active part of the day is supplemented by rest at other times. Sleeping birds often use a type of sleep known as vigilant sleep, where periods of rest are interspersed with quick eye-opening 'peeks', allowing them to be sensitive to disturbances and enable rapid escape from threats. Swifts are believed to be able to sleep in flight and radar observations suggest that they orient themselves to face the wind in their roosting flight. It has been suggested that there may be certain kinds of sleep which are possible even when in flight. Some birds have also demonstrated the capacity to fall into slow-wave sleep one hemisphere of the brain at a time. The birds tend to exercise this ability depending upon its position relative to the outside of the flock. This may allow the eye opposite the sleeping hemisphere to remain vigilant for predators by viewing the outer margins of the flock. This adaptation is also known from marine mammals. Communal roosting is common because it lowers the loss of body heat and decreases the risks associated with predators. Roosting sites are often chosen with regard to thermoregulation and safety.

Many sleeping birds bend their heads over their backs and tuck their bills in their back feathers, although others place their beaks among their breast feathers. Many birds rest on one leg, while some may pull up their legs into their feathers, especially in cold weather. Perching birds have a tendon locking mechanism that helps them hold on to the perch when they are asleep. Many ground birds, such as quails and pheasants, roost in trees. A few parrots of the genus ''Loriculus'' roost hanging upside down. Some hummingbirds go into a nightly state of torpor accompanied with a reduction of their metabolic rates. This physiological adaptation shows in nearly a hundred other species, including owlet-nightjars, nightjars, and woodswallows. One species, the Common Poorwill, even enters a state of hibernation. Birds do not have sweat glands, but they may cool themselves by moving to shade, standing in water, panting, increasing their surface area, fluttering their throat or by using special behaviours like urohidrosis to cool themselves.

Breeding

Social systems

Ninety-five percent of bird species are socially monogamous. These species pair for at least the length of the breeding season or—in some cases—for several years or until the death of one mate. Monogamy allows for biparental care, which is especially important for species in which females require males' assistance for successful brood-rearing. Among many socially monogamous species, extra-pair copulation (infidelity) is common. Such behaviour typically occurs between dominant males and females paired with subordinate males, but may also be the result of forced copulation in ducks and other anatids. For females, possible benefits of extra-pair copulation include getting better genes for her offspring and insuring against the possibility of infertility in her mate. Males of species that engage in extra-pair copulations will closely guard their mates to ensure the parentage of the offspring that they raise.

Other mating systems, including polygyny, polyandry, polygamy, polygynandry, and promiscuity, also occur. Polygamous breeding systems arise when females are able to raise broods without the help of males. Some species may use more than one system depending on the circumstances.

Breeding usually involves some form of courtship display, typically performed by the male. Most displays are rather simple and involve some type of song. Some displays, however, are quite elaborate. Depending on the species, these may include wing or tail drumming, dancing, aerial flights, or communal lekking. Females are generally the ones that drive partner selection, although in the polyandrous phalaropes, this is reversed: plainer males choose brightly coloured females. Courtship feeding, billing and allopreening are commonly performed between partners, generally after the birds have paired and mated.

Homosexual behaviour has been observed in males or females in numerous species of birds, including copulation, pair-bonding, and joint parenting of chicks.

Territories, nesting and incubation

Many birds actively defend a territory from others of the same species during the breeding season; maintenance of territories protects the food source for their chicks. Species that are unable to defend feeding territories, such as seabirds and swifts, often breed in colonies instead; this is thought to offer protection from predators. Colonial breeders defend small nesting sites, and competition between and within species for nesting sites can be intense.

All birds lay amniotic eggs with hard shells made mostly of calcium carbonate. Hole and burrow nesting species tend to lay white or pale eggs, while open nesters lay camouflaged eggs. There are many exceptions to this pattern, however; the ground-nesting nightjars have pale eggs, and camouflage is instead provided by their plumage. Species that are victims of brood parasites have varying egg colours to improve the chances of spotting a parasite's egg, which forces female parasites to match their eggs to those of their hosts. Bird eggs are usually laid in a nest. Most species create somewhat elaborate nests, which can be cups, domes, plates, beds scrapes, mounds, or burrows. Some bird nests, however, are extremely primitive; albatross nests are no more than a scrape on the ground. Most birds build nests in sheltered, hidden areas to avoid predation, but large or colonial birds—which are more capable of defence—may build more open nests. During nest construction, some species seek out plant matter from plants with parasite-reducing toxins to improve chick survival, and feathers are often used for nest insulation. Some bird species have no nests; the cliff-nesting Common Guillemot lays its eggs on bare rock, and male Emperor Penguins keep eggs between their body and feet. The absence of nests is especially prevalent in ground-nesting species where the newly hatched young are precocial.

Incubation, which optimises temperature for chick development, usually begins after the last egg has been laid. In monogamous species incubation duties are often shared, whereas in polygamous species one parent is wholly responsible for incubation. Warmth from parents passes to the eggs through brood patches, areas of bare skin on the abdomen or breast of the incubating birds. Incubation can be an energetically demanding process; adult albatrosses, for instance, lose as much as of body weight per day of incubation. The warmth for the incubation of the eggs of megapodes comes from the sun, decaying vegetation or volcanic sources. Incubation periods range from 10 days (in woodpeckers, cuckoos and passerine birds) to over 80 days (in albatrosses and kiwis).

Parental care and fledging

At the time of their hatching, chicks range in development from helpless to independent, depending on their species. Helpless chicks are termed ''altricial'', and tend to be born small, blind, immobile and naked; chicks that are mobile and feathered upon hatching are termed ''precocial''. Altricial chicks need help thermoregulating and must be brooded for longer than precocial chicks. Chicks at neither of these extremes can be semi-precocial or semi-altricial.

The length and nature of parental care varies widely amongst different orders and species. At one extreme, parental care in megapodes ends at hatching; the newly hatched chick digs itself out of the nest mound without parental assistance and can fend for itself immediately. At the other extreme, many seabirds have extended periods of parental care, the longest being that of the Great Frigatebird, whose chicks take up to six months to fledge and are fed by the parents for up to an additional 14 months.

In some species, both parents care for nestlings and fledglings; in others, such care is the responsibility of only one sex. In some species, other members of the same species—usually close relatives of the breeding pair, such as offspring from previous broods—will help with the raising of the young. Such alloparenting is particularly common among the Corvida, which includes such birds as the true crows, Australian Magpie and Fairy-wrens, but has been observed in species as different as the Rifleman and Red Kite. Among most groups of animals, male parental care is rare. In birds, however, it is quite common—more so than in any other vertebrate class. Though territory and nest site defence, incubation, and chick feeding are often shared tasks, there is sometimes a division of labour in which one mate undertakes all or most of a particular duty.

The point at which chicks fledge varies dramatically. The chicks of the ''Synthliboramphus'' murrelets, like the Ancient Murrelet, leave the nest the night after they hatch, following their parents out to sea, where they are raised away from terrestrial predators. Some other species, such as ducks, move their chicks away from the nest at an early age. In most species, chicks leave the nest just before, or soon after, they are able to fly. The amount of parental care after fledging varies; albatross chicks leave the nest on their own and receive no further help, while other species continue some supplementary feeding after fledging. Chicks may also follow their parents during their first migration.

Brood parasites

Brood parasitism, in which an egg-layer leaves her eggs with another individual's brood, is more common among birds than any other type of organism. After a parasitic bird lays her eggs in another bird's nest, they are often accepted and raised by the host at the expense of the host's own brood. Brood parasites may be either ''obligate brood parasites'', which must lay their eggs in the nests of other species because they are incapable of raising their own young, or ''non-obligate brood parasites'', which sometimes lay eggs in the nests of conspecifics to increase their reproductive output even though they could have raised their own young. One hundred bird species, including honeyguides, icterids, estrildid finches and ducks, are obligate parasites, though the most famous are the cuckoos. Some brood parasites are adapted to hatch before their host's young, which allows them to destroy the host's eggs by pushing them out of the nest or to kill the host's chicks; this ensures that all food brought to the nest will be fed to the parasitic chicks.

Ecology

Birds occupy a wide range of ecological positions. While some birds are generalists, others are highly specialised in their habitat or food requirements. Even within a single habitat, such as a forest, the niches occupied by different species of birds vary, with some species feeding in the forest canopy, others beneath the canopy, and still others on the forest floor. Forest birds may be insectivores, frugivores, and nectarivores. Aquatic birds generally feed by fishing, plant eating, and piracy or kleptoparasitism. Birds of prey specialise in hunting mammals or other birds, while vultures are specialised scavengers. Avivores are animals that are specialized at predating birds.

Some nectar-feeding birds are important pollinators, and many frugivores play a key role in seed dispersal. Plants and pollinating birds often coevolve, and in some cases a flower's primary pollinator is the only species capable of reaching its nectar.

Birds are often important to island ecology. Birds have frequently reached islands that mammals have not; on those islands, birds may fulfill ecological roles typically played by larger animals. For example, in New Zealand the moas were important browsers, as are the Kereru and Kokako today. Today the plants of New Zealand retain the defensive adaptations evolved to protect them from the extinct moa. Nesting seabirds may also affect the ecology of islands and surrounding seas, principally through the concentration of large quantities of guano, which may enrich the local soil and the surrounding seas.

A wide variety of Avian ecology field methods, including counts, nest monitoring, and capturing and marking, are used for researching avian ecology.

Relationship with humans

Since birds are highly visible and common animals, humans have had a relationship with them since the dawn of man. Sometimes, these relationships are mutualistic, like the cooperative honey-gathering among honeyguides and African peoples such as the Borana. Other times, they may be commensal, as when species such as the House Sparrow have benefited from human activities. Several bird species have become commercially significant agricultural pests, and some pose an aviation hazard. Human activities can also be detrimental, and have threatened numerous bird species with extinction (hunting, avian lead poisoning, pesticides, roadkill, and predation by pet cats and dogs are common sources of death for birds).

Birds can act as vectors for spreading diseases such as psittacosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, mycobacteriosis (avian tuberculosis), avian influenza (bird flu), giardiasis, and cryptosporidiosis over long distances. Some of these are zoonotic diseases that can also be transmitted to humans.

Economic importance

Domesticated birds raised for meat and eggs, called poultry, are the largest source of animal protein eaten by humans; in 2003, tons of poultry and tons of eggs were produced worldwide. Chickens account for much of human poultry consumption, though turkeys, ducks, and geese are also relatively common. Many species of birds are also hunted for meat. Bird hunting is primarily a recreational activity except in extremely undeveloped areas. The most important birds hunted in North and South America are waterfowl; other widely hunted birds include pheasants, wild turkeys, quail, doves, partridge, grouse, snipe, and woodcock. Muttonbirding is also popular in Australia and New Zealand. Though some hunting, such as that of muttonbirds, may be sustainable, hunting has led to the extinction or endangerment of dozens of species.

Other commercially valuable products from birds include feathers (especially the down of geese and ducks), which are used as insulation in clothing and bedding, and seabird feces (guano), which is a valuable source of phosphorus and nitrogen. The War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Guano War, was fought in part over the control of guano deposits.

Birds have been domesticated by humans both as pets and for practical purposes. Colourful birds, such as parrots and mynas, are bred in captivity or kept as pets, a practice that has led to the illegal trafficking of some endangered species. Falcons and cormorants have long been used for hunting and fishing, respectively. Messenger pigeons, used since at least 1 AD, remained important as recently as World War II. Today, such activities are more common either as hobbies, for entertainment and tourism, or for sports such as pigeon racing.

Amateur bird enthusiasts (called birdwatchers, twitchers or, more commonly, birders) number in the millions. Many homeowners erect bird feeders near their homes to attract various species. Bird feeding has grown into a multimillion dollar industry; for example, an estimated 75% of households in Britain provide food for birds at some point during the winter.

Religion, folklore and culture

Birds play prominent and diverse roles in folklore, religion, and popular culture. In religion, birds may serve as either messengers or priests and leaders for a deity, such as in the Cult of Makemake, in which the Tangata manu of Easter Island served as chiefs, or as attendants, as in the case of Hugin and Munin, two Common Ravens who whispered news into the ears of the Norse god Odin. Priests were involved in augury, or interpreting the words of birds while the "auspex" (from which the word "auspicious" is derived) watched their activities to foretell events. They may also serve as religious symbols, as when Jonah (Hebrew: יוֹנָה, dove) embodied the fright, passivity, mourning, and beauty traditionally associated with doves. Birds have themselves been deified, as in the case of the Common Peacock, which is perceived as Mother Earth by the Dravidians of India. Some birds have also been perceived as monsters, including the mythological Roc and the Māori's legendary ''Pouākai'', a giant bird capable of snatching humans.

Birds have been featured in culture and art since prehistoric times, when they were represented in early cave paintings. Birds were later used in religious or symbolic art and design, such as the magnificent Peacock Throne of the Mughal and Persian emperors. With the advent of scientific interest in birds, many paintings of birds were commissioned for books. Among the most famous of these bird artists was John James Audubon, whose paintings of North American birds were a great commercial success in Europe and who later lent his name to the National Audubon Society. Birds are also important figures in poetry; for example, Homer incorporated Nightingales into his ''Odyssey'', and Catullus used a sparrow as an erotic symbol in his Catullus 2. The relationship between an albatross and a sailor is the central theme of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which led to the use of the term as a metaphor for a 'burden'. Other English metaphors derive from birds; vulture funds and vulture investors, for instance, take their name from the scavenging vulture.

Perceptions of various bird species often vary across cultures. Owls are associated with bad luck, witchcraft, and death in parts of Africa, but are regarded as wise across much of Europe. Hoopoes were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt and symbols of virtue in Persia, but were thought of as thieves across much of Europe and harbingers of war in Scandinavia.

Conservation

Though human activities have allowed the expansion of a few species, such as the Barn Swallow and European Starling, they have caused population decreases or extinction in many other species. Over a hundred bird species have gone extinct in historical times, although the most dramatic human-caused avian extinctions, eradicating an estimated 750–1800 species, occurred during the human colonisation of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian islands. Many bird populations are declining worldwide, with 1,227 species listed as threatened by Birdlife International and the IUCN in 2009.

The most commonly cited human threat to birds is habitat loss. Other threats include overhunting, accidental mortality due to structural collisions or long-line fishing bycatch, pollution (including oil spills and pesticide use), competition and predation from nonnative invasive species, and climate change.

Governments and conservation groups work to protect birds, either by passing laws that preserve and restore bird habitat or by establishing captive populations for reintroductions. Such projects have produced some successes; one study estimated that conservation efforts saved 16 species of bird that would otherwise have gone extinct between 1994 and 2004, including the California Condor and Norfolk Parakeet.

See also

==Notes==

External links

Avibase—The World Bird Database

Birdlife International—Dedicated to bird conservation worldwide; has a database with about 250,000 records on endangered bird species.

Bird biogeography

Birds and Science from the National Audubon Society

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Essays on bird biology

International Ornithological Committee

North American Birds for Kids

Ornithology

Sora—Searchable online research archive; Archives of the following ornithological journals The Auk, Condor, Journal of Field Ornithology, North American Bird Bander, Studies in Avian Biology, Pacific Coast Avifauna, and the Wilson Bulletin.

The Internet Bird Collection—A free library of videos of the world's birds

The Institute for Bird Populations, California

list of field guides to birds, from the International Field Guides database

RSPB bird identifier—Interactive identification of all UK birds

Category:Animals Category:Biological pest control

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The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL), and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, and Chicago Blackhawks.

, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships (11) of any NHL franchise based in the United States, and are third overall in total NHL championships, behind the Montreal Canadiens (24) and Toronto Maple Leafs (13). They currently play home games in the 20,066 capacity Joe Louis Arena after having spent over 40 years playing in Olympia Stadium. The Red Wings are one of the most popular franchises in the NHL, so much that fans and commentators refer to Detroit and its surrounding areas as "Hockeytown".

Between the 1933–34 and 1965–66 seasons, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only four times. More recently, the Red Wings have made the playoffs in 25 of the last 27 seasons, including the last 20 in a row (1991–2011). This is the longest current streak of post-season appearances in all of North American professional sports.

Franchise history

1926–49: Early years

Following the 1926 Stanley Cup playoffs, during which the Western Hockey League was widely reported to be on the verge of folding, the NHL held a meeting on April 17 to consider applications for expansion franchises, at which it was reported that five different groups sought a team for Detroit. During a subsequent meeting on May 15, the league approved a franchise to the Townsend-Seyburn group of Detroit and named Charles A. Hughes as governor. Frank and Lester Patrick, the owners of the WHL, made a deal to sell the league's players to the NHL and cease league operations. The new Detroit franchise purchased the players of the folded Victoria Cougars WHL club to play for the team. The new Detroit franchise also adopted the Cougars' nickname in honor of the folded franchise.

Since no arena in Detroit was ready at the time, the Cougars played their first season in Windsor, Ontario at the Border Cities Arena. For the 1927–28 season, the Cougars moved into the new Detroit Olympia, which would be their home rink until December 27, 1979. This was also the first season behind the bench for Jack Adams, who would be a part of the franchise for the next 36 years as either coach or general manager.

The Cougars made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 1929 with Carson Cooper leading the team in scoring. The Cougars were outscored 7–2 in the two-game series with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1930, the Cougars were renamed the Falcons, but their woes continued, as they usually finished near the bottom of the standings, even though they made the playoffs again in 1932.

In 1932, the NHL let grain merchant James E. Norris buy the Falcons. Norris had made two previous unsuccessful bids to buy an NHL team. Norris' first act was to choose a new name — the Red Wings. Earlier in the century, Norris had played on one of hockey's early powers, the Montreal HC, nicknamed the "Winged Wheelers." Norris transformed the club's logo into the first version of the Red Wings logo as it is known today.

Norris also placed coach Jack Adams on a one-year probation for the 1932–33 NHL season. Jack Adams managed to pass his probationary period by leading the renamed franchise to winning its first ever playoff series by defeating the Montreal Maroons. Despite the success, the team lost in the semi-finals to the New York Rangers.

In 1934 the Wings made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, with John Sorrell scoring 21 goals over 47 games and Larry Aurie leading the team in scoring. However, the Chicago Black Hawks eliminated Detroit in the finals, winning the best-of-five series in four games and winning their own first title.

The Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup in 1936, defeating Toronto in four games. Detroit repeated its championship season in 1937, winning over the Rangers in the full five games.

In 1938, the Wings and the Montreal Canadiens were the first NHL teams to play in Europe, playing in Paris, France and London, England. The Wings played nine games against the Canadiens and went 3-5-1. The Wings did not play in Europe again until the preseason and start of the 2009-10 NHL season in Sweden against the St. Louis Blues.

They made the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive years during the early 1940s. In 1941 they were swept by the Boston Bruins, in 1942 they lost a seven-game series against Toronto in the finals after winning the first three games, but in 1943, with Syd Howe and Mud Bruneteau scoring 20 goals apiece, Detroit won their third Cup by sweeping the Bruins. Through the rest of the decade, the team made the playoffs every year, and reached the finals three more times.

In 1946, one of the greatest players in hockey history came into the NHL with the Red Wings. Gordie Howe, a right-winger from Floral, Saskatchewan, only scored seven goals and 15 assists in his first season and would not reach his prime for a few more years. It was also the last season as head coach for Adams, who stepped down after the season to concentrate on his duties as general manager. He was succeeded by minor league coach Tommy Ivan.

By his second season, Howe was paired with Sid Abel and Ted Lindsay to form what would become one of the great lines in NHL history—the "Production Line". Lindsay's 33 goals propelled the Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Maple Leafs. Detroit reached the Finals again the following season, only to be swept again by Toronto.

1950–66: The Gordie Howe era

The Wings won the Stanley Cup again in 1950, with Pete Babando scoring the game winner in double overtime of Game 7 to beat the Rangers in the Finals. After the game, Lindsay skated around the Olympia ice with the Cup, beginning a tradition that continues today.

After being upset by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1951 semifinals, Detroit won its fifth Cup in 1952, sweeping both the Leafs and the Canadiens, with the Production Line of Howe, Abel and Lindsay joined by second-year goalie Terry Sawchuk. Detroit would become the first team in 17 years to go undefeated in the playoffs. They also scored 24 playoff goals, compared to Toronto and Montreal's combined total of 5. Abel left the Wings for Chicago following the season, and his spot on the roster was replaced by Alex Delvecchio.

James E. Norris died in December 1952. He was succeeded as team president by his daughter, Marguerite, the first (and as of the 2006–07 season, only) woman to head an NHL franchise. She made no secret of her dislike for Adams. While she could have summarily fired him, since he was still without a contract, she chose not to do so.

Following another playoff upset in 1953 at the hands of the Bruins, the Red Wings won back to back Stanley Cups in 1954 (over Montreal, when Habs defenseman Doug Harvey redirected a Tony Leswick shot into his own net) and 1955 (also over Montreal in the full seven games). The 1954–55 season ended a run of eight straight regular season titles, an NHL record.

Also during the 1955 off-season, Marguerite Norris lost an intra-family power struggle, and was forced to turn over the Wings to her younger brother Bruce, who had inherited his father's grain business. Detroit and Montreal once again met in the 1956 finals, but this time the Canadiens won the Cup, their first of five in a row.

In 1957 Ted Lindsay, who scored 30 goals and led the league in assists with 55, teamed up with Harvey to help start the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) . As a result he, along with outspoken young goaltender Glenn Hall, was promptly traded to Chicago (which was owned by James D. Norris, Bruce's elder brother) after his most productive year.

The Lindsay deal was one of several questionable trades made by Adams in the late 1950s. For example, a year earlier, he had traded Sawchuk to Boston; while he managed to get Sawchuk back two years later, he had to trade up-and-coming Johnny Bucyk to do it. It was one of the most one-sided trades in hockey history – Bucyk went on to play 21 more years with the Bruins. The Wings lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Bruins. In 1959 the Red Wings missed the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.

Within a couple of years, Detroit was rejuvenated and made the Finals for four of the next six years between 1961 and 1966. However, despite having Howe, Delvecchio, Norm Ullman, and Parker MacDonald as consistent goal-scorers, Lindsay's sudden one-year comeback in 1964–65, and Sawchuk and later Roger Crozier between the pipes, the Wings came away empty-handed. Adams was fired as general manager in 1963. He had coached for 15 years and served as general manager for 31 years on a handshake, and his 36–year tenure as general manager is still the longest for any general manager in NHL history.

1967–82: The "Dead Wings" era

Only a year after making the Finals, the Red Wings finished a distant fifth, 24 points out of the playoffs. It was the beginning of a slump from which they would not emerge for almost 20 years. Between 1967 and 1983, Detroit only made the playoffs twice, winning one series. From 1968 to 1982, the Wings had 14 head coaches (not counting interim coaches), with none lasting more than three seasons. In contrast, their first six full-time coaches – Art Duncan, Adams, Ivan, Jimmy Skinner and Abel – covered a 42–year period. During this dark era in franchise history, the team was derisively known as the "Dead Wings" or "Dead Things".

One factor in the Red Wings' decline was the end of the old "development" system, which allowed Adams to get young prospects to commit to playing for Detroit as early as their 16th birthday. Another factor was Ned Harkness, who was hired as coach in 1970 and was promoted to general manager midway through the season. A successful college hockey coach, Harkness tried to force his two-way style of play on a veteran Red Wings team resistant to change. The Wings chafed under his rule in which he demanded short hair, no smoking, and put other rules in place regarding drinking and phone calls. Harkness was forced to resign in 1973.

In the "expansion season" of 1967–68, the Red Wings also acquired longtime star left-winger Frank Mahovlich from the defending Cup champs in Toronto. Mahovlich would go on a line with Howe and Delvecchio, and in 1968–69, he scored a career-high 49 goals and had two All-Star seasons in Detroit.

But this could not last. Mahovlich was traded to Montreal in 1970, and Howe retired after the 1970–71 season. Howe returned to pro hockey shortly after to play with his two sons Mark and Marty Howe (Mark would later join the Red Wings at the end of his career) in the upstart World Hockey Association in 1972. Through the decade, with Mickey Redmond having two 50–goal seasons and Marcel Dionne starting to reach his prime (which he did not attain until he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings), a lack of defensive and goaltending ability continually hampered the Wings.

During 1979–80, the Wings left the Olympia for Joe Louis Arena. In 1982, after 50 years of family ownership, Bruce Norris sold the Red Wings to Mike Ilitch, founder of Little Caesars Pizza.

1983–93: The early Yzerman era

In 1983 the Wings drafted Steve Yzerman, a center from Canada. He led the team in scoring in his rookie year, and started the Wings' climb back to the top. That season, with John Ogrodnick scoring 42 times and Ivan Boldirev and Ron Duguay also with 30–goal seasons, Detroit made the playoffs for the first time in six years. Defenseman Brad Park, acquired from the Boston Bruins in the 1983 free-agent market, also helped the Wings reach the postseason and ended up winning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy the same season.

Later Park was asked to coach the Wings, but was sacked after 45 games in 1985–86. He admitted, “I took over a last-place team, and I kept them there.” They did indeed end up in the basement with a 17–57–6 record for only 40 points. This was the same year that the Wings added enforcer Bob Probert, one of the most familiar faces of the Wings in the 1980s and 1990s.

By 1987, with Yzerman, now the captain following the departure of Danny Gare, joined by Petr Klima, Adam Oates, Gerard Gallant, defenseman Darren Veitch and new head coach Jacques Demers, the Wings won a playoff series for only the second time in the modern era. They made it all the way to the conference finals against the powerful and eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, but lost in five games. In 1988 they won their first division title in 23 years (since 1964–65, when they finished first in a one-division league). They did so, however, in a relatively weak division; no other team in the Norris finished above .500. As was the case in the previous season, they made it to the conference finals only to lose again to the eventual cup champion Oilers in five games.

In 1989, Yzerman scored a career-best 65 goals, but Detroit was upset in the first round by the Chicago Blackhawks. The following season Yzerman scored 62 goals, but the team missed the playoffs (As of 2011, it was the last time that the Red Wings missed the playoffs.). Rumors spread that maybe "Stevie Wonder" should be traded.

But it was Demers, not Yzerman, who got the pink slip. New coach Bryan Murray was unable to get them back over .500, but they returned to the playoffs. Yzerman was joined by Sergei Fedorov, who would be an award-winner and frequent all-star for the team in the 1990s. In 1992, the team acquired Ray Sheppard, who had a career-best 52 goals two years later; and in '93, top defenseman Paul Coffey. Also joining the Red Wings around this time were draft picks like Slava Kozlov, Darren McCarty, Vladimir Konstantinov, and Nicklas Lidstrom.

1994–98: The Russian Five

Former Montreal Canadiens coach Scotty Bowman got behind the Motown bench in 1993. In his second season, the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season. Bowman guided Detroit to its first Finals appearance in 29 years, only to be swept by the New Jersey Devils.

The Wings kept adding more star power, picking up Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, and goaltender Mike Vernon in trades and winning an NHL record 62 games in 1996. After defeating the St. Louis Blues in seven games the Wings would fall in the Western Conference Finals to the eventual champion Colorado Avalanche.

The following year, Detroit, joined by Brendan Shanahan and Larry Murphy during the season, once again reached the Finals in 1997. After defeating the St. Louis Blues, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Colorado Avalanche in the first three rounds, the Wings went on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in four straight games in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was the Wings' first Stanley Cup since 1955, breaking the longest drought (42 years long) in the league at that time. Mike Vernon accepted the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the 1997 playoffs.

Misfortune befell the Wings six days after their championship; defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, one of the Wings' "Russian Five", suffered a brain injury in a limousine accident, and his career came to an abrupt end. The Red Wings dedicated the 1997–98 season, which also ended in a Stanley Cup victory, to Konstantinov, who came out onto the ice in his wheelchair on victory night to touch the Cup. The Wings won the Cup finals in another sweep, this time over the Washington Capitals. Despite his Conn Smythe Trophy in the 1997 playoffs, Mike Vernon had been replaced as the regular Wings goaltender during the season with the younger Chris Osgood. It was Osgood who minded the nets for all four games in the 1998 finals, while Steve Yzerman won the Conn Smythe.

1999–2004: Superstar acquisitions and more success

The following season, the Wings looked poised to "three-peat" for the first time in franchise history, acquiring three-time top blueliner Chris Chelios from his hometown Chicago Blackhawks in March 1999, but they would end up losing the Western Conference Semifinals to Colorado in six games.

The Wings had built up a fierce rivalry with the Avalanche. With Colorado beating Detroit in the third round in 1996, in the second round of both 1999 and 2000, and the Red Wings beating the Avs in the third round in 1997, the battles between these two teams had become one of the fiercest in sports. During a notorious game on March 26, 1997, a brawl ensued between Colorado goalie Patrick Roy and his Detroit counterpart Mike Vernon.

In 2001, Detroit, the league's second-best team in the regular season, were upset in the playoffs by the Los Angeles Kings. During the summer that followed, they acquired goalie Dominik Hasek (the defending Vezina Trophy winner) and forwards Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull. Russian prospect Pavel Datsyuk also joined the team. The Wings posted the league's best record in the 2001-02 regular season and defeated Colorado in seven games in the Western Conference Finals after beating the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues in rounds one and two. The Red Wings went on to capture another Stanley Cup in five games over the Carolina Hurricanes, with Nicklas Lidstrom winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' MVP. Bowman and Hasek both retired after the season.

The 2003 season saw the Red Wings promote associate coach Dave Lewis to the head coach position after Bowman's retirement. Needing a new starting goaltender after Hasek's retirement, the Red wings signed Curtis Joseph from the Toronto Maple Leafs to a three year, $24 million deal. Also new to the lineup was highly touted Swedish prospect Henrik Zetterberg. The Red Wings finished the season second in the Western Conference and third overall in the NHL. The Red Wings were favored in their first round matchup against the 7th seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. But the Ducks shocked the hockey world by sweeping the Red Wings in four games.

Longtime Wing Sergei Fedorov signed with the Mighty Ducks as a free agent during the offseason after a long contract dispute. Furthermore, Dominik Hasek decided to come out of retirement and joined the Wings for the 2003–04 season. Joseph, despite being one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, spent part of the season in the minor leagues, but after Hasek was sidelined for the season with an injury, Joseph led the team to the top of the Central Division and the league standings. The Red Wings eliminated the Nashville Predators in six games in the first round of the playoffs, which led to a second round matchup with the Calgary Flames. The teams split the first four games, and headed to Detroit for a pivotal Game 5. The Red Wings lost that game 1–0, and were eliminated two nights later in Calgary by the same score in overtime.

During the 2004 offseason, the Wings focused on keeping players they already had instead of being active on the free agent market, resigning several players before the 2004–05 NHL lockout canceled the season.

2005–present: New era for Detroit

On July 15, 2005, Mike Babcock, former head coach in Anaheim, became the new head coach for the Wings. During a November 21, 2005, game against the Nashville Predators, defenseman Jiri Fischer suffered a heart arrhythmia and collapsed on the bench. The game was canceled because of his injury, and was made up on January 23, 2006. This was the first time in NHL history a game had been postponed by injury. The game was played for the full 60 minutes; however, the Predators were allowed to maintain their 1–0 lead from the original game and won, 3–2. The Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy with a 58–16–8 record, earning them 124 points.(NHL Standings), and secured home ice advantage for the entire playoffs. The Wings opened the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers with a 3–2 overtime victory at Joe Louis Arena. However, the Oilers won 4 of the next 5 games to take the series.

Continuing the shakeup of the Red Wings roster, the offseason saw the departure of Brendan Shanahan and the return of Dominik Hasek, while Steve Yzerman announced his retirement after a 23-season Hall of Fame career with the Wings, having played the second most games in history (behind fellow Wing Alex Delvecchio) all with a single team. Yzerman further retired with the distinction of having been the longest serving team captain in NHL history.

The Red Wings opened the 2006–07 season with Nicklas Lidstrom as the new captain. The Red Wings retired Steve Yzerman's jersey number 19 on January 2. The Wings finished first in the Western Conference and tied for first in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, but the Sabres were awarded the Presidents' Trophy by virtue of having the greater number of wins. They advanced to the third round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs after defeating the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks both in six games, coming back three straight after the Sharks' 2–1 series lead. The Red Wings lost to the eventual Stanley Cup winning team - the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals four games to two.

To start the 2007–08 campaign, Henrik Zetterberg recorded at least a point in each of Detroit's first 16 games, setting a club record. The Wings cruised to the playoffs, where they faced the Nashville Predators. After goalie Dominik Hasek played poorly in Games 3 and 4 of the series, both losses, head coach Mike Babcock replaced him with Chris Osgood. Osgood had departed the Wings earlier in the decade, only to be re-acquired as a backup in 2005. Osgood never left the net for the remainder of the playoffs, as the Red Wings came back in that series on their way to winning their 11th Stanley Cup. The final victory came on June 4, 2008, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, by a score of 3-2. This was the Wings' fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. Zetterberg scored the winning goal in the decisive Game 6, and was also named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. It was the first time a team captained by a non-North American player (Nicklas Lidstrom) won the Stanley Cup.

On July 2, 2008, the Detroit Red Wings announced the signing of Marian Hossa. From the beginning of the 2008–09 season to New Year's Day, the Wings enjoyed success. Although they finished second in the conference to the San Jose Sharks, the Wings became the first team in NHL history to top 100 points in nine straight seasons. On January 1, 2009, the Red Wings played the Chicago Blackhawks in the third NHL Winter Classic at Chicago's Wrigley Field, beating them 6-4. The Wings entered the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second overall seed in the Western Conference. The Red Wings handily swept the Columbus Blue Jackets, then beat the 8th-seeded Anaheim Ducks in a hard fought seven-game series. They took on the vastly improved Chicago Blackhawks in the Conference Finals, winning in five games. The Red Wings would face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Finals for a second consecutive year, but this series would feature a different outcome. Pittsburgh defeated the Red Wings in seven games, Detroit becoming only the second NHL team to lose the Cup at home in Game 7.

The Red Wings began the 2009-10 NHL Season in Stockholm, Sweden, falling in both games to the St. Louis Blues by scores of 4-3 and 5-3, respectively. They were plagued by injuries throughout the season and lost the second most man-games to injury, with only the last place Edmonton Oilers losing more. The beginning of the season was a struggle for the Wings, with key players out of the lineup including Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Valtteri Filppula, and Niklas Kronwall. After the Olympic break, Detroit posted a record of 13-2-2 and earned 28 points, the most by any team in the NHL in the month of March. This run helped them secure the fifth playoff seed in the Western Conference. Detroit won their first-round playoff series over the Phoenix Coyotes in seven games. In the second round, they fell behind the San Jose Sharks three games to one, before being knocked out of the playoffs in five games. All four games that the Red Wings lost that series were decided by one goal. The lone game that they won ended with a final score of 7-1.

A healthier Red Wings team finished the 2010–11 NHL season with a 47-25-10 record and 104 points to win the Central Division title. They earned the #3 seed in the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup playoffs (extending their professional sports record of post-season appearances to 20 seasons), finishing behind the Vancouver Canucks (117) and San Jose Sharks (105). The Wings again faced the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round of the playoffs, this time sweeping them 4–0—making them the only team in the 2010-2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs to sweep the first round—and again moved on to play the Sharks in Round 2. After losing the first three games of the series against the Sharks, the Red Wings won three consecutive games to force a Game 7, becoming just the eighth team in NHL history to accomplish the feat (the Chicago Blackhawks became the seventh team to do so earlier in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, against the Vancouver Canucks). The Red Wings lost Game 7 to the Sharks by a score of 3-2, and were eliminated.

Team information

Uniforms

The Red Wings, like all NHL teams, updated their jerseys (traditionally known in hockey as "sweaters") to the new Rbk Edge standard for the 2007–08 NHL season. The Red Wings kept their design as close as possible, with a few exceptions: On the road (white) jersey, there is more red on the sleeves as the color panel begins closer to the shoulder. The white sleeve numbers on both jerseys were also moved up a bit, creating more red space between the bottom of the number and the wraparound white trim. The letters of the captain and alternate captains were moved to the player's right shoulder; Detroit is the only team in the league that made this change (the change was necessitated by the stitching of the sweater), although the 2008 NHL All Star jerseys featured this as well. All teams now have an NHL shield panel on the front of the jersey near the collar, and a rounded hemline at the bottom of the jersey which goes up at the hips, providing more mobility.

The Red Wings have not used any alternate logos or uniforms since the trend became popular in the 1990s, the sole exceptions were select games of the 1991–92 season commemorating the league's 75th Anniversary, and for a commemorative game in 1994 at Chicago Stadium. Those jerseys were based on the uniforms worn by the team (then the Detroit Cougars) in 1927–28. The throwbacks are primarily white with five red horizontal stripes on the body, the broadest middle stripe bearing "DETROIT" in bold letters, and three red stripes on the sleeves.

The striped throwbacks have been a popular design, as replicas continue to be marketed by the NHL. This jersey was also a basis for the uniforms worn by Wayne Gretzky's team of NHLPA All-Stars, nicknamed the "99ers", for their exhibition tour in Europe during the 1994–95 NHL lockout; a picture of Gretzky in this jersey was used for the cover art of a video game bearing his name.

Alternate jerseys for the RBK Edge system were made for 2008–2009 and continues today, but Detroit has thus far opted not to use alternates.

The Red Wings wore alternative "Retro" jerseys for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic in Chicago. The one-time jerseys were based on the uniforms worn by the then-Detroit Cougars during their inaugural season of 1926–27. These jerseys were white, with a single bold red stripe on the sleeves and chest, and a uniquely-styled white Old English "D" (a Detroit sports tradition, but formerly used by the Wings, Detroit Lions, and the University of Detroit Titans) centered on the chest stripe, but not to be confused with the Old English "D" used by the Detroit Tigers. These jerseys were also worn for their final 2009 regular season home game, again against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fan traditions

The "Legend of the Octopus" is a sports tradition during Detroit Red Wings playoff games, in which an octopus is thrown onto the ice surface for good luck.

During the playoffs, Joe Louis Arena is generally adorned with a giant octopus with red eyes, nicknamed "Al" after Joe Louis Arena head ice manager Al Sobotka.

The 1952 playoffs featured the start of the tradition—the octopus throw. The owner of a local fish market, Peter Cusimano, threw one from the stands onto the ice. The eight legs were purportedly symbolic of the eight wins it took to win the Stanley Cup at the time. The Red Wings went on to sweep both of their opponents that year en route to a Stanley Cup championship. The NHL has, at various times, tried to eliminate this tradition but it continues to this day.

Al Sobotka is the man responsible for removing the thrown creatures from the ice. He is known for swinging the tossed octopi above his head when walking off the ice. On April 19, 2008, NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell sent a memo to the Detroit Red Wings organization that forbids Zamboni drivers from cleaning up any octopuses thrown onto the ice and that violating the mandate would result in a $10,000 fine. Instead, it will be the linesmen who will perform this duty. In an email to the ''Detroit Free Press'', NHL spokesman Frank Brown justified the ban because "matter flies off the octopus and gets on the ice" when Al Sobotka does it. This ban, however, was later loosened to allow for the octopus twirling to take place at the zamboni entrance.

During the late stages of games, especially around the end of the season and during the playoffs, the fans at Joe Louis Arena are known to start singing along to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". The lines, "born and raised in south Detroit" are the highlight of the song, even though the city is delineated as East and West Detroit and such a location does not exist.

Home attendance at Joe Louis Arena

{| cellpadding="10" |- align="left" style="vertical-align: top" | | {| cellpadding="1" width="300px" style="font-size: 90%; border: 1px solid gray;" |- align="center" style="font-size: larger;" | colspan=5 | Home attendance at Joe Louis Arena''' |- style="background:lightblue;" | Year || Total attendance |- | 2000–2001 | 819,795 |- | 2001–2002 | 822,378 |- | 2002–2003 | 822,378 |- | 2003–2004 | 822,706 |- | 2005–2006 | 822,646 |- | 2006–2007 | 822,706 |- | 2007–2008 | 773,696 |- | 2008–2009 | 814,474 |- | 2009–2010 | 781,847 |- | 2010–2011 | 806,892 |- |} |}

Broadcasters

The Red Wings' flagship radio stations are Detroit sister stations WXYT-AM 1270 and WXYT-FM 97.1. Games are carried on both stations unless there is a conflict with Detroit Lions football, Detroit Pistons basketball or Detroit Tigers baseball. There are several affiliate stations throughout Michigan, Northwestern Ohio, and Southwestern Ontario.

The Red Wings' exclusive local television rights are held by Fox Sports Detroit.

Announcers:

Ken Daniels: Television Play by Play

Mickey Redmond: Television Color Commentator (Home Games and select away games)

John Keating: Television pre-game and post game show host

Larry Murphy: Television Color Commentator / reporter

Ken Kal: Radio Play by Play

Paul Woods: Radio Analyst

Trevor Thompson, Mickey York: TV pre-game and post-game show hosts / reporters

Jeff Riger: Primary radio intermission and post-game host.

During many home games on FS Detroit where Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond are in the booth, Larry Murphy also provides analysis "between the benches" during games. During road games which Mickey Redmond cannot attend, Murphy provides commentary alongside Daniels in the booth.

Hall of Fame broadcasters

Two members of the Red Wings organization have received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award:

Budd Lynch: TV and Radio Play by Play and Color - 1949-1975 (awarded 1985)

Bruce Martyn: Radio Play by Play - 1964-1995 (awarded 1991)

Lynch called the first locally televised game at Olympia for the original WWJ-TV in 1949. He has remained with the organization for over 60 years, serving as Director of Publicity from 1975–1982, and public address announcer since 1982. Since 2008, John Fossen has joined Lynch in performing PA duties.

Season-by-season record

''This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Red Wings. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Detroit Red Wings seasons''

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; Pts = Points; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against''

Records as of April 10, 2011.

GP 82 82 82 82 82

Season	|	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
2006–07 Detroit Red Wings season	2006–07	|	50	19	13	113	254	199	1st, Central	Anaheim Ducks>Ducks)
2007–08 NHL season	2007–08	|	54	21	7	115	257	184	1st, Central	2008 Stanley Cup Finals
[[2008-09 NHL season	2008–09	|	51	21	10	112	295	244	1st, Central	Finals, 3–4 (Pittsburgh Penguins>Penguins)
2009–10 NHL season	2009–10	|	44	24	14	102	229	216	2nd, Central	San Jose Sharks>Sharks)
2010-11 NHL season	2010-11	|	47	25	10	104	261	241	1st, Central	San Jose Sharks>Sharks)

Players

Current roster

Team captains

All the players who have served as team captain with the Detroit franchise.

Honored members

''Hall of Famers'': Players

Builders

Jack Adams, Head coach, 1927–1947, inducted 1959

Al Arbour, played for Detroit 1953–1954 & 1956–1958, inducted 1996

Scotty Bowman, Head coach, 1993–2002, inducted in 1991

Murray Costello, played for Detroit 1955–1956, inducted 2005

Jim Devellano, Executive, 1982–''present'', inducted 2010

Mike Ilitch, Owner, 1982–''present'', inducted 2003

Tommy Ivan, Head coach, 1947–1954, inducted 1974

Bruce Norris, Owner, 1955–1982, inducted 1969

James E. Norris, Owner, 1932–1952, inducted 1958

James D. Norris, Executive, 1932–1966, inducted 1962

Bud Poile, played for Detroit 1948–1949, inducted 1990

Carl Voss, played for Detroit 1932–1933, inducted 1974

John A. Ziegler Jr., Owner, inducted 1987

Numbers out of circulation

''Retired jerseys'':

1 Terry Sawchuk, G, 1949–55, 1957–64 & 1968–69, number retired March 6, 1994

7 Ted Lindsay, LW, 1944–57 & 1964–65, number retired November 10, 1991

9 Gordie Howe, RW, 1946–71, number retired March 12, 1972

10 Alex Delvecchio, C, 1950–73, number retired November 10, 1991

12 Sid Abel, LW, 1938–52, number retired April 29, 1995

19 Steve Yzerman, C, 1983–2006, number retired January 2, 2007 (the banner features the captain "C" to honor his tenure as the longest serving captain in NHL history)

''Not available for issue'': 6 Larry Aurie, RW, 1927–1939, following his retirement from the NHL. This was the first number ever retired by the Detroit Red Wings; however, Aurie does not have a banner hanging in Joe Louis Arena. The NHL's official information publication, the Official NHL Guide And Record Book, listed the number as being retired from 1975 until 2000 when reference to it was removed at the request of the Red Wings organization. The team no longer considers the number to be retired, although it is not available for use.

16 Vladimir Konstantinov, D, 1991–97, following a career-ending vehicular accident.

99 Wayne Gretzky, Although he was never a member of the Red Wings, his number was retired league-wide February 6, 2000

First-round draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

''Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Red Wings player''

{| |- | style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dddddd;" align="center" | Points|| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dddddd;text-align=center;" align="center" |Goals|| style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dddddd;text-align=center;" align="center" |Assists |- |

Pos RW C C D C C LW C LW D

align="left"	Player	|	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
align="left"	Gordie Howe	|	1687	786	1023	1809	1.07
align="left"	Steve Yzerman	|	1514	692	1063	1755	1.16
align="left"	Alex Delvecchio	|	1549	456	825	1281	0.83
align="left"	Nicklas Lidstrom*	|	1494	253	855	1108	0.74
align="left"	Sergei Fedorov	|	908	400	554	954	1.05
align="left"	Norm Ullman	|	875	324	434	758	0.87
align="left"	Ted Lindsay	|	862	335	393	728	0.84
align="left"	Pavel Datsyuk*	|	662	221	430	651	0.98
align="left"	Brendan Shanahan	|	716	309	324	633	0.88
align="left"	Reed Larson	|	708	188	382	570	0.80

||

align="left"	Player	Pos
align="left"	Gordie Howe	RW
align="left"	Steve Yzerman	C
align="left"	Alex Delvecchio	C
align="left"	Sergei Fedorov	C
align="left"	Ted Lindsay	LW
align="left"	Norm Ullman	C
align="left"	Brendan Shanahan	LW
align="left"	John Ogrodnick	RW
align="left"	Nicklas Lidstrom*	D
align="left"	Tomas Holmstrom*	RW

||

align="left"	Player	Pos
align="left"	Steve Yzerman	C
align="left"	Gordie Howe	RW
align="left"	Nicklas Lidstrom*	D
align="left"	Alex Delvecchio	C
align="left"	Sergei Fedorov	C
align="left"	Norm Ullman	C
align="left"	Pavel Datsyuk*	C
align="left"	Ted Lindsay	LW
align="left"	Reed Larson	D
align="left"	Henrik Zetterberg*	C

|}

NHL awards and trophies

Stanley Cup

1935–36, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08

Presidents' Trophy

1994–95, 1995–96, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08

Clarence S. Campbell Bowl

1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2008–09

Prince of Wales Trophy

1935–36, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1964–65

O'Brien Trophy

1940-41, 1941-42, 1944-45, 1947-48, 1948-49

Art Ross Trophy

Ted Lindsay: 1949–50

Gordie Howe: 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1962–63

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Brad Park: 1983–84

Steve Yzerman: 2003–04

Calder Memorial Trophy

Jim McFadden: 1947–48

Terry Sawchuk: 1950–51

Glenn Hall: 1955–56

Roger Crozier: 1964–65

Conn Smythe Trophy

Roger Crozier: 1965–66

Mike Vernon: 1996–97

Steve Yzerman: 1997–98

Nicklas Lidstrom: 2001–02

Henrik Zetterberg: 2007–08

Frank J. Selke Trophy

Sergei Fedorov: 1993–94, 1995–96

Steve Yzerman: 1999–2000

Kris Draper: 2003–04

Pavel Datsyuk: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009-10

Hart Memorial Trophy

Ebbie Goodfellow: 1939–40

Sid Abel: 1948–49

Gordie Howe: 1951–52, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1962–63

Sergei Fedorov: 1993–94

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Red Kelly: 1953–54

Paul Coffey: 1994–95

Nicklas Lidstrom: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11

Jack Adams Award

Bobby Kromm: 1977–78

Jacques Demers: 1986–87, 1987–88

Scotty Bowman: 1995–96

King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Brendan Shanahan: 2002–03

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

Marty Barry: 1936–37

Bill Quackenbush: 1948–49

Red Kelly: 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54

Earl Reibel: 1955–56

Alex Delvecchio: 1958–59, 1965–66, 1968–69

Marcel Dionne: 1974–75

Pavel Datsyuk: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

Lester B. Pearson Award

Steve Yzerman: 1988–89

Sergei Fedorov: 1993–94

Lester Patrick Trophy

Jack Adams: 1965–66

Gordie Howe: 1966–67

Terry Sawchuk: 1970–71

Alex Delvecchio: 1973–74

Tommy Ivan and Bruce Norris: 1974–75

Mike Ilitch: 1990–91

Scotty Bowman: 2000–01

Marcel Dionne: 2006–07

Reed Larson: 2006–07

Steve Yzerman: 2006–07

NHL Plus/Minus Award

Paul Ysebaert: 1991–92

Vladimir Konstantinov: 1995–96

Chris Chelios: 2001–02

Pavel Datsyuk: 2007–08

Vezina Trophy

Normie Smith: 1936–37

Johnny Mowers: 1942–43

Terry Sawchuk: 1951–52, 1952–53, 1954–55

William M. Jennings Trophy

Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon: 1995–96

Chris Osgood and Dominik Hasek: 2007–08

Mark Messier Leadership Award

Chris Chelios: 2006–07

NHL All-Rookie Team

1984: Steve Yzerman

1991: Sergei Fedorov

1992: Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov

2003: Henrik Zetterberg

2010: Jimmy Howard

Franchise individual records

''This is a partial list. For the more franchise records, see List of Detroit Red Wings records''

Most goals in a season: Steve Yzerman, 65 (1988–89)

Most assists in a season: Steve Yzerman, 90 (1988–89)

Most points in a season: Steve Yzerman, 155 (1988–89)

Most penalty minutes in a season: Bob Probert, 398 (1987–88)

Most points in a season, defenseman: Nicklas Lidstrom, 80 (2005–06)

Most points in a season, rookie: Steve Yzerman, 87 (1983–84)

Most wins in a season: Terry Sawchuk, 44 (1950–51 and 1951–52)

Most shutouts in a season: Terry Sawchuk, 12 (1951–52, 1953–54, and 1954–55)

Most shutouts in post-season: Dominik Hasek, 6 (2002)

See also

Russian Five

The Grind Line

Victoria Cougars

List of NHL players

List of NHL seasons

List of Stanley Cup champions

References

External links

The Official website of the Detroit Red Wings

* List of Detroit Red Wings by number

Category:Culture of Detroit, Michigan R Category:Sports clubs established in 1926 Category:Professional ice hockey teams in Michigan Category:Central Division (NHL)

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Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
name	Ben Folds
background	solo_singer
birth name	Benjamin Scott Folds
birth date	September 12, 1966
origin	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, keytar, melodica, Synthesizer
genre	Piano rock, rock
occupation	Musician, composer, arranger, bandleader
years active	1988–present
label	Attacked By Plastic, Epic
associated acts	Ben Folds FiveThe BensFear of PopMajoshaPomplamooseJulia NunesCharlie McDonnellRegina SpektorAmanda PalmerAngela AkiKate Miller-Heidke
spouse	Anna Goodman (1987–1992)Kate Rosen (1995–1996)Frally Hynes (1999–2007(Fleur Folds 2007-present
website	benfolds.com }}

Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and the former frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. He now performs as a solo artist and collaborates with many other musicians such as William Shatner, Regina Spektor and Weird Al Yankovic. Ben has also contributed to the soundtrack of Dreamsworks animated film Over the Hedge.

Early life and career

Folds became attracted to piano at age nine. His father, a carpenter, brought one home through a barter trade with a customer who was unable to pay. During this time, Folds listened to songs by Elton John and Billy Joel on AM radio, and learned them by ear. During his years at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Folds played in several bands as the pianist, bassist, or drummer.

In the late 1980s, Folds (as a bassist) and longtime friend Millard Powers formed the band Majosha. The group released several locally produced records. They played their first gig at Duke University's Battle of the Bands in 1988, and won. They played at bars and fraternity parties, and eventually put out a self-produced EP, which was sold at a few local stores called ''Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus'' (1988). The record featured only four songs, with none of them actually being about Jesus. They recorded ''Shut Up and Listen to Majosha'' in 1989. It contains, among other tracks, the four songs from ''Party Night'' (remixed and/or re-recorded) and what Folds would later record with his own band ("Emaline" and "Video"). At about the same time, they did a dance mix of "Get That Bug" that was released in Japan.

Majosha broke up in early 1990, and Folds formed Pots and Pans with Evan Olson (bass) and Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell (guitar and vocals), where Folds played drums. The newly formed band lasted for only a month, after which Olson and Uzzell went on to form Bus Stop with Folds' brother, Chuck Folds, on bass, and Eddie Walker on drums.

Folds eventually got a music publishing deal with Nashville music executive Scott Siman who saw Folds open for musician Marc Silvey (as well as playing bass for Silvey's band Mass Confusion), and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue it in 1990. He played drums for a short stint in Jody's Power Bill, headed by Millard Powers, Will Owsley, and Jody Spence. Jody's Power Bill was later renamed The Semantics. Folds did not take a creative role in the band. He, again, attracted interest from major labels. He ended up playing drums there as a session musician.

"In Nashville, I was running eight miles a day, hanging out with my friends, walking around eating chocolate-chip cookies and playing a lot of drums, which I enjoyed. Life was easy. I was never frustrated – even though I wasn't fulfilling my contract obligations. If you are failing in Nashville, at least your standard of living is nice. Nashville is a nice way to fail."

Folds attended the University of Miami's Frost School of Music on a percussion scholarship, but dropped out with one credit to go before graduating. He devoted a lot of time to working on piano technique. "I spent maybe six months just running scales with a metronome like a freak," Folds said. "I suppose that did something."

Folds tells audiences about a jury recital when he was a student at the University of Miami’s music school. A jury recital consists of playing a prepared repertoire (and sometimes unprepared pieces from prior years of training) before faculty members who apply a grade for the entire semester. Folds, a drummer, showed up with a broken hand from defending his room mate from bullies the night before, but was required to play anyway. He ended up losing his scholarship and in desperation threw his drumkit into the campus' Lake Osceola.

After leaving Miami, Folds moved to Montclair, New Jersey and began to act in theater troupes in New York City. He enjoyed it in 1993 to the point where he didn't want to keep pursuing a musical career. He also played weekly gigs at Sin-é, famous for being the cafe which had helped start Jeff Buckley's career.

Soon after, Folds moved back to North Carolina. The trio of Folds, bassist Robert Sledge, and drummer Darren Jessee formed Ben Folds Five in 1994 in Chapel Hill. As Folds put it, “Jeff Buckley was being signed at that time by Columbia and I was talking to Steve, his A&R; guy, and somehow we knew the same people or something."

Ben Folds Five

In 1995, Ben Folds Five released their self-titled debut album. The debut was followed by ''Whatever and Ever Amen'' in 1997, and the odds-and-ends compilation ''Naked Baby Photos'' was released in early 1998. ''Whatever and Ever Amen'' spawned many singles such as "Brick", "Song for the Dumped", and "Battle of Who Could Care Less". In 1999, the band released their final album, ''The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner'', which included the hit, "Army".

Folds has described his former band as "punk rock for sissies", and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of , melancholy, self conflict, and humorous sarcasm, often punctuated by profanity.

Despite its presence on multiple ''Billboard'' genre charts, no Ben Folds Five singles reached the US Hot 100, although they did show well on both adult contemporary and modern rock charts. However they gained a strong following in the United Kingdom and Australia early in their career, and like many other 'alternative' American acts this was largely thanks to consistent support from national broadcasters in those countries, the BBC in Britain and the ABC's Triple J youth radio network in Australia (and ABC-TV's music video show ''Rage'').

The group's first chart breakthrough came in the UK, when "Underground" made the lower reaches of the Top 40, peaking at #37. Britain was the Five's strongest territory in terms of chart success, with five singles making the national Top 40 there – "Underground", "Battle of Who Could Care Less", "Kate", "Brick" and "Army" – although none managed to crack the UK Top 20.

In Australia "Underground" likewise broke the band locally and while it did not make the ARIA chart, it came in at #3 the 1998 Triple J Hottest 100 poll. The 1998 single "Brick" became the group's only major chart placing in Australia, reaching #13; it also came in at #53 in the ARIA Australian Top 100 for that year and earned a Gold Record award while its parent album ''Whatever and Ever Amen'' peaked at #9 and charted for 32 weeks. Folds and band mates had been going full force since 2001 while moving album after album and states:"“The songs have been getting a great reaction,it makes me look forward to having a new album out there because it’s been a while. This feels like a really free period in my life and I’m really enjoying it.” Ben Folds Five reunited to perform its first concert appearance in nearly 10 years on September 18, 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Memorial Hall. The one-off gig was part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, in which artists play an entire album live. The band played its final album, ''The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner''. The concert aired during October and can be viewed at Nowwhat.com. All proceeds from ticket sales benefitted the charity Operation Smile, of which Ben's uncle, Jim Folds, is on the board of directors for the North Carolina Chapter.

Solo career

As of 2008, Folds had released six solo LPs, including an experimental side project called ''Fear of Pop'', which was released while Ben Folds Five was still together.

Folds's first solo release after the breakup of the band was ''Rockin' the Suburbs'' in 2001. He played nearly all the instruments, notably guitar (an instrument seldom used during the Ben Folds Five days). ''The Luckiest'' was written for the Amy Heckerling movie ''Loser'', but the scene it was meant for was deleted. Millard Powers, Britt "Snuzz" Uzzell, and Jim Bogios joined him on the promotional tour of the album. "Weird Al" Yankovic directed and appeared in Folds' video for "Rockin' the Suburbs". Folds' friend and fellow musician John McCrea, lead singer of the band Cake, contributed vocals to Folds' song "Fred Jones, Part 2".

A year later, he released ''Ben Folds Live'', a collection of live solo recordings. In late 2003, two solo EPs, ''Speed Graphic'' and ''Sunny 16'', were released. The last EP, ''Super D'', was released in mid-2004.

''Songs for Silverman'' was released in the United States on April 26, 2005. The album featured Jared Reynolds on bass and Lindsay Jamieson on drums, thus returning to the trio format. This album includes the track "Late", a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and also features backup vocals from "Weird Al" Yankovic on "Time" (Folds had played piano for Yankovic's song "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" on his ''Poodle Hat'' album).

Folds contributed to William Shatner's album, ''Has Been'', as producer, arranger, musician, and backup vocalist. Shatner was also involved in Folds' ''Fear of Pop'' project, and contributed vocals to a number of songs on the album.

The soundtrack for the 2006 animated film ''Hoodwinked!'' featured "Red is Blue," performed by Ben Folds.

In May 2006, Folds contributed three original songs to the soundtrack of ''Over the Hedge'', dubbed "Heist," "Family of Me," and "Still." Included with them was a cover of The Clash song "Lost in the Supermarket" and a remix of "Rockin' The Suburbs." "Rockin' the Suburbs" featured new lyrics written to complement the script of the film.

On October 24, 2006, Folds released ''Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP'', a compilation of songs that were originally released on the EPs ''Sunny 16'', ''Speed Graphic'', and ''Super D''. He announced on his MySpace blog that he planned to work on his next studio album in October 2006 (although recording did not actually start until 2007). On that same day, Folds became the first person to broadcast a live concert over MySpace. The concert was complete with pranks staged ahead of time by Folds, including a drunk man falling over the balcony during "Jesusland" and a suicide attempt at the end. The concert is also notable for featuring a "guitorchestra", a group of acoustic guitarists from Nashville who accompanied Folds on some songs, as well as an impromptu ringtone orchestra made up of audience memebers playing their cellphone's ringtones in unison.

Folds produced The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer's first solo album, ''Who Killed Amanda Palmer'' which was released September 16, 2008. He also performs on the album.

During a concert at the National in Richmond, Virginia on April 11, 2008, Folds announced that he had completed his newest album, and played four new tracks from this album. He played the first track, "Hiroshima", at the same show in Richmond on April 11. He also debuted new music at an impromptu gig at the Exit/In on December 19, 2007 and at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on January 25, 2008. Other new songs include "Errant Dog", "Effington", "Bitch Went Nuts", "Free Coffee", and "Kylie From Connecticut". Folds played The 6th annual Langerado on March 8, 2008 and was a part of the lineup for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

On July 16, 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Ben's latest album on a fan site (eventually called ''Way to Normal (Fake)''). The file contained nine tracks along with a PDF of supposed cover art, and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from ''Way to Normal'', pastiches of dry humor and melodramatic pop interwoven with bright, energetic melodies. Folds explained on Triple J radio a few weeks later that in one overnight session in Dublin he and the band had recorded 'fake' versions of songs from the new album. His sources had then leaked them to the public as a light-hearted joke on his fans.

''Way to Normal'' was released on September 30, 2008 in the United States and on September 29, 2008 in the United Kingdom. It became Folds' highest-charting album ever in the US, debuting at #11 on the Billboard 200.

Soon before ''Way to Normal'' was released, Folds announced that he planned to record an album with English author Nick Hornby, with Hornby writing the lyrics and Folds writing the music. The idea of the collaboration came out of the 'fake' leak of the album ''Way to Normal'' released in July 2008. "(We will) write and record it in about three days, just like we did in Dublin with the fake record," Folds said.

In August 2008, Folds played piano for friend and Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki's song "Black Glasses" on her new album ''Answer''.

On April 28, 2009, Folds released ''Ben Folds Presents University A Cappella'', an album consisting of college student's a cappella arrangements of his music performed by some of the country's best college a cappella groups.

Folds' song "Rockin' the Suburbs" has been featured as part of the music for ABC's sitcom ''Surviving Suburbia''.

Folds was also an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists.

From December 14 through 21, 2009, Folds was featured as a judge on NBC's a cappella competition The Sing Off alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman and offered insightful, constructive comments and criticisms to the contestants. On the final show, in a departure from his a cappella purism, showcased his talents and played the roaring, riffing piano background on "Why Can't We Be Friends?" sung by the two finalist groups, The Beelzebubs from Tufts University near Boston and Nota, from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He again returned for the show's second season, and has been confirmed to return for the third season in September 2011 alongside Stockman and Sara Bareilles.

In March 2010, Folds became a YouTube phenomenon in a video titled "Ode To Merton". In the video, Folds improvises several songs about people that he sees on the popular social networking site Chatroulette, in the style of "Merton" another YouTube phenomenon who many thought was Folds himself.

Folds' newest album, a collaboration with English author Nick Hornby, is entitled ''Lonely Avenue'' and was released on September 28, 2010. On June 14, Folds released the official album art via his Twitter account. "From Above", the first single from the album, premiered on Richard Kingsmill's new music show ''2010'' on Triple J in Australia on July 18, 2010. "From Above" features Australian singer Kate Miller Heidke on backing vocals.

Folds has recently recorded a video song with Nick Hornby and Pomplamoose. As well, English YouTuber Charlie McDonnell was commissioned to create the music video for Folds' song "Saskia Hamilton", which was uploaded on October 1, 2010.

Tours

After Ben Folds Five split, Folds' first tour with a full band was to support the album ''Rockin' The Suburbs''. He was accompanied by Britt "Snüzz" Uzzell on guitar and electronic keyboard, Millard Powers on bass and keys, and Jim Bogios on drums. Powers and Bogios later went on to join Counting Crows.

On a tour of Australia, Folds joined with solo artists Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Kweller's official website. The trio also went on to record a four-track EP together.

In the summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow singer-songwriters Rufus Wainwright and Guster. Folds again performed with Wainwright and Lee in the summer of 2005 as part of the "Odd Men Out" tour. In addition, Folds has performed with many other notable musical names, including Weezer and Tori Amos. After seeing The Fray perform with Weezer, Folds asked the band to join him for twelve performances in 2005.

Folds also performed with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) in March 2005, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in November 2005, the North Carolina Symphony in March 2010, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra in July 2010. A DVD of Folds playing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was released in December 2005.

On May 9, 2007, Folds performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra. The orchestra's performance was marred when a fight broke out between two audience members in the balcony, though Folds had not yet taken the stage.

Folds performed with symphony orchestras again in August 2006 during a tour of Australia, which included performances with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and The Queensland Orchestra.

After his MySpace performance on October 24, 2006, Folds's tour performances began to feature a synthesizer, which he uses in many of the songs when played live. The synthesizer is a red Nord Lead II synthesizer. During his concerts, Folds performs two of his concert traditions: palm-smashing and throwing his stool at the piano.

Folds toured with John Mayer as an opening act (though his set typically lasted an hour) in the summer of 2007. During this tour, Mayer sometimes joined Folds on the song "Narcolepsy", playing synth. At various concerts throughout the tour, parents of young children going to see Mayer would file complaints about Folds' lyrics. Folds responded by posting on his website, "We have kids too, but we don't take them out to rock shows that last until 11pm."

On March 29, 2008, Folds played the Cage Center Arena at Berry College in Mt. Berry, GA. During contract negotiations, he was asked by the administration to not play one of his songs due to its explicit lyrics. Folds refused, citing artistic freedom.

On May 9, 2008, Folds played his first completely solo show in years at Western Connecticut State University due to the fact that his bassist Jared Reynolds was with his wife who had just given birth to their first son.

Folds made a brief solo tour of Australia during August 2009; at one of his sold out Sydney Opera House concerts he was joined onstage for several songs by Aimee Mann, who was also touring Australia at the time. At the Palais theatre in Melbourne Missy Higgins joined him for You Don't Know Me.

In 2010, Folds went on a brief tour of North America called "Ben Folds and a Piano" where he played solo other than with Zach Williams or Kate Miller-Heidke and her husband Keir Nuttall as supporting musicians. A small number of copies that were pre-ordered also included signed manuscripts by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby.

In April 2011 Folds collaborated with Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman and Damian Kulash as 8in8 to write, record and produce eight songs in eight hours which were then available online within 24 hours, as well as being performed once on its world tour, as part of the ReThink Music conference.

Personal life

Folds has been married four times. His personal life has inspired several of his songs; the hit single "Brick", co-written with Darren Jessee, was based on the experience of Folds and his girlfriend having an abortion while they were in high school.

Folds met Anna Goodman in first grade at Moore Elementary School, Winston Salem and was married to her from 1987–1992. She co-wrote several Ben Folds Five songs: "Alice Childress", "The Last Polka", "Smoke", "Kate" and "Lullaby." Folds was then briefly married to Kate Rosen in 1996. He met Australian Frally Hynes in January 1998 and they were married in Adelaide, South Australia in May 1999. Two months after their wedding, Frally gave birth to their twins, Louis Francis (July 22, 1999) and Gracie Scott (July 23, 1999), the former inspiring his song "Still Fighting It" and the latter inspiring his song "Gracie." Folds filed for divorce in November 2006.

Ben and Fleur Folds were married on November 17, 2007 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.  They are currently based in Nashville where they live with their three children, Gracie, Louis and Julia-Rose. Folds stated in an online chat on the fan forum thesuburbs.org.uk that he and Hynes share joint custody of their twins. Julia Rose is Ben's stepdaughter.

Ben Folds recently announced in a press conference for The Sing-Off that Ben Folds Five will reunite to record a new album in December. He has not said anything of a Ben Folds Five Tour.

Discography

''Ben Folds Five'' (1995), Passenger/Caroline

''Whatever and Ever Amen'' (1997), 550 #42 US

''Naked Baby Photos'' (1998), Caroline

''Fear of Pop: Volume 1'' (1998), 550

''The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner'' (1999), 550 #35 US

''Rockin' the Suburbs'' (2001), Sony #42 US

''Ben Folds Live'' (2002), Sony #60 US

''Songs for Silverman'' (2005), Epic (Bonus DVD) #13 US

''Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP'' (2006), Epic

''Way to Normal'' (2008), Epic #11 US

''Lonely Avenue '' (2010), Nonesuch

''Nighty Night'' (2011), in collaboration with Amanda Palmer, Damian Kulash, and Neil Gaiman

''The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective'' (2011)

References

External links

Official sites: US/UK Australia Germany Japan

Video of author Nick Hornby performing with Ben Folds and the duo Pomplamoose on "Things You Think"

Ben Folds Talks The Sing-Off to SportsTownChicago.com

Category:1966 births Category:American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American rock pianists Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Keytarists Category:Living people Category:Melodica players Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:People from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Category:University of Miami alumni

de:Ben Folds es:Ben Folds eo:Ben Folds fr:Ben Folds ko:벤 폴즈 it:Ben Folds nl:Ben Folds ja:ベン・フォールズ no:Ben Folds pl:Ben Folds pt:Ben Folds simple:Ben Folds fi:Ben Folds sv:Ben Folds tr:Ben Folds

Coordinates	12°58′0″N77°34′0″N
Name	Elliott Smith
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Steven Paul Smith
Born	August 06, 1969Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	October 21, 2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre	Lo-fi, indie rock, indie folk
Occupation	Musician
Years active	1991–2003
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, piano, clarinet, bass guitar, harmonica, drums. Melodica
Label	Virgin/Caroline, Cavity Search, Kill Rock Stars, Suicide Squeeze, DreamWorks, ANTI-, Domino
Associated acts	Heatmiser, Quasi, Mary Lou Lord, Pete Krebs, No. 2
Website	sweetadeline.net }}

Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity. His primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica. Smith had a distinctive vocal style characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery" and use of multi-tracking to create vocal layers, textures, and harmonies.

After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994 with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars. In 1997 he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records, for which he recorded two albums. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery"—included in the soundtrack for the film ''Good Will Hunting''—was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1998.

Smith suffered from depression, alcoholism, and drug addiction, and these topics often appeared in his lyrics. At age 34, he died in Los Angeles, California from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted. At the time of his death, Smith was working on his sixth studio album, ''From a Basement on the Hill'', which was posthumously released.

Early life

Steven Paul Smith was born at the Clarkson Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, the only child to Gary Smith, a student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Bunny Kay Berryman, an elementary school music teacher. His parents divorced when he was six months old, and Smith moved with his mother to Duncanville, Texas. Much later in his life, Smith got a tattoo of a map of Texas on his upper arm and said, "I didn't get it because I like Texas, kind of the opposite. But I won't forget about it, although I'm tempted to because I don't like it there."

Smith endured a difficult childhood and a troubled relationship with his stepfather Charlie Welch. Later in life, Smith would come to believe that he had been sexually abused by Welch at a young age. He reflected the impact of this part of his life in the lyrics of "Some Song": "Charlie beat you up week after week, and when you grow up you're going to be a freak." The name "Charlie" also appeared in the lyrics for "Flowers for Charlie" and "No Confidence Man". The family was a part of the Community of Christ through much of Smith's childhood, but eventually began attending services at a local Methodist Church. Smith felt that going to church did little for him, except make him "really scared of Hell". In a 2001 interview, he stated, "I don't necessarily buy into any officially structured version of spirituality. But I have my own version of it".

At the age of nine, Smith began playing the piano, and at 10 began learning guitar on a small acoustic guitar bought for him by his father. At this age he also composed an original piano piece, "Fantasy", which won him a prize at an arts festival. Many of the people on his mother's side of the family were non-professional musicians; his grandfather was a Dixieland drummer and his grandmother sang in a glee club.

At 14, Smith moved from Texas to Portland, Oregon, to live with his father, who was then working as a psychiatrist. It was around this time that Smith first began using drugs, including alcohol, with friends as well as experimenting with recording for the first time, borrowing a four-track recorder. During high school, Smith played clarinet in the school band and also played guitar, piano and sang in the bands Stranger Than Fiction and A Murder of Crows, billed as either Steven Smith or "Johnny Panic". He graduated from Lincoln High School as a National Merit Scholar.

After graduation, Smith began calling himself "Elliott", saying that he thought "Steve" sounded too much like a "jock" name, and that "Steven" sounded "too bookish". According to friends, he had also used the pseudonym "Elliott Stillwater-Rotter" during his time in the band Murder of Crows. Biographer S. R. Shutt speculates that it was either inspired by Elliott Avenue, a street that Smith had lived on in Portland, or that it was suggested by his then-girlfriend. A junior high acquaintance of Smith speculates that it was so as not to be confused with Steve Smith, the drummer of Journey.

Career

1991–1993: Heatmiser

Smith graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1991 with a degree in philosophy and political science. "Went straight through in four years," he explained to ''Under the Radar'' in 2003. "I guess it proved to myself that I could do something I really didn't want to for four years. Except I did like what I was studying. At the time it seemed like, 'This is your one and only chance to go to college and you had just better do it because some day you might wish that you did.' Plus, the whole reason I applied in the first place was because of my girlfriend, and I had gotten accepted already even though we had broken up before the first day." After he graduated he "worked in a bakery back in Portland with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and legal theory."

While at Hampshire, Smith formed the band Heatmiser with classmate Neil Gust. After graduating from Hampshire, the band added drummer Tony Lash and bassist Brandt Peterson and began performing around Portland in 1992. The group released the albums ''Dead Air'' (1993) and ''Cop and Speeder'' (1994) as well as the ''Yellow No. 5'' EP (1994) on Frontier Records, and were then signed to Virgin Records to release what became their final album, ''Mic City Sons'' (1996).

Around this time, Smith and Gust worked a number of odd jobs around Portland, including installing drywall, spreading gravel, transplanting bamboo trees and painting the roof of a warehouse with heat reflective paint. The pair were also on unemployment, which they considered an "artist grant".

Smith had begun his solo career while still in Heatmiser, and the success of his first two releases created distance and tension with his band. Heatmiser disbanded prior to ''Mic City Sons''' release, prompting Virgin to put the album out inauspiciously through its independent arm, Caroline Records. A clause in Heatmiser's record contract with Virgin meant that Smith was still bound to it as an individual. The contract was later bought-out by DreamWorks prior to the release of his album, ''XO''.

1994: ''Roman Candle''

His first release, ''Roman Candle'' (1994), came about when Smith's girlfriend at the time convinced him to send a tape of "the most recent eight songs that [he’d] recorded on borrowed four-tracks and borrowed guitar" to Cavity Search Records. Owner Christopher Cooper immediately requested to release the entire album of songs, which surprised Smith, as he was only expecting a deal for a seven-inch record. Regarding the record, Smith said "I thought my head would be chopped off immediately when it came out because at the time it was so opposite to the grunge thing that was popular... The thing is that album was really well-received, which was a total shock, and it immediately eclipsed [Heatmiser] unfortunately."

Smith felt his solo songs were not representative of the music Heatmiser was making: "The idea of playing [my music] for people didn't occur to me... because at the time it was the Northwest—Mudhoney and Nirvana—and going out to play an acoustic show was like crawling out on a limb and begging for it to be sawed off."

The instrumentation of the recordings was primarily acoustic guitar, occasionally accompanied by brief electric guitar riffs or a small drum set played with brushes. Only the final track, an instrumental titled "Kiwi Maddog 20/20" (a reference to the low-end fortified wine), had full band instrumentation.

One of Smith's first solo performances was at the now-defunct Umbra Penumbra on September 17, 1994. Only three songs from ''Roman Candle'' were performed, with the majority of the ten-song set being B-sides, Heatmiser tunes, and unreleased tracks. Soon after this performance, he was asked to open for Mary Lou Lord on a week-long U.S. tour. Several more short tours followed, and Smith helped her record one of his songs "I Figured You Out", which he once called "a stupid pop song [written] in about a minute" that he discarded for sounding "like the fucking Eagles."

1995–1996: ''Elliott Smith'' and ''Either/Or''

In 1995, Smith's self-titled album was released on Kill Rock Stars; the record featured a similar style of recording to ''Roman Candle'', but with hints of growth and experimentation. Though the majority of the album was recorded by Smith alone, friend and The Spinanes vocalist Rebecca Gates sang harmony vocals on "St. Ides Heaven", and Heatmiser guitarist Neil Gust played guitar on "Single File". Several songs made reference to drugs, but Smith explained that he used the theme of drugs as a vehicle for conveying dependence rather than the songs being about drugs specifically. Looking back, Smith felt that the album's pervasive mood gave him "a reputation for being a really dark, depressed person," and said that he later made a conscious move toward more diverse moods in his music. In 1996, filmmaker Jem Cohen recorded Smith playing acoustic songs for the short film ''Lucky Three: An Elliott Smith Portrait''. Two of these songs would appear on his next album, ''Either/Or'', which was another Kill Rock Stars release. ''Either/Or'' came out in 1997 to favorable reviews. The album found Smith venturing further into full instrumentation, with several songs containing bass guitar, drums, keyboards, and electric guitars, all played by Smith. The album title was derived from the two-volume book of the same name by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, whose works generally deal with themes such as existential despair, angst, death, and God.

By this time, Smith's already-heavy drinking was now being compounded with use of anti-depressants. At the end of the ''Either/Or'' tour, some of his close friends staged an intervention in Chicago, but it proved ineffective. Shortly after, he relocated from Portland to Brooklyn.

1997–1998: "Miss Misery" and the Oscars

In 1996, Smith was tapped by director and fellow Portland resident Gus Van Sant to be a part of the soundtrack to his film, ''Good Will Hunting''. Smith recorded an orchestral version of "Between the Bars" with composer Danny Elfman for the movie. Smith also contributed a new song, "Miss Misery," and three previously-released tracks ("No Name #3", from ''Roman Candle'', and "Angeles" and "Say Yes", from ''Either/Or''). The film was a commercial and critical success, and Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for "Miss Misery". Not eager to step into the limelight, he only agreed to perform the song at the ceremony after the producers informed him that his song would be played live that night—either by him or another musician of their choosing. On March 5, 1998, Smith made his network television debut on ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien'' performing "Miss Misery" solo on acoustic guitar. A few days later, wearing a white suit, he played an abridged version of the song at the Oscars, accompanied by the house orchestra. James Horner and Will Jennings won the award that night for best song with "My Heart Will Go On" (sung by Celine Dion) from the film ''Titanic''. Smith did not voice disappointment about not winning the award.

Smith commented on the surrealism of the Oscars experience: "That's exactly what it was, surreal... I enjoy performing almost as much as I enjoy making up songs in the first place. But the Oscars was a very strange show, where the set was only one song cut down to less than two minutes, and the audience was a lot of people who didn't come to hear me play. I wouldn't want to live in that world, but it was fun to walk around on the moon for a day."

1998–2000: ''XO'' and ''Figure 8''

In 1998, after the success of ''Either/Or'' and "Miss Misery", Smith signed to a bigger record label, DreamWorks Records. Around the same time, Smith fell into depression, speaking openly of considering suicide, and on at least one occasion made a serious attempt at ending his own life. While in North Carolina, he became severely intoxicated and ran off a cliff. He landed on a tree, which badly impaled him but broke his fall. When questioned about his suicide attempt, he told an interviewer, "Yeah, I jumped off a cliff, but let's talk about something else."

Christopher Cooper, head of Cavity Search Records (which released ''Roman Candle''), said about this time in Smith's life: "I talked him out of thinking that he wanted to kill himself numerous times when he was in Portland. I kept telling him that he was a brilliant man, and that life was worth living, and that people loved him." Pete Krebs also agreed: "In Portland we got the brunt of Elliott's initial depression... Lots of people have stories of their own experiences of staying up with Elliott 'til five in the morning, holding his hand, telling him not to kill himself."

Smith's first release for DreamWorks was later that year. Titled ''XO'', it was conceived and developed while Smith wrote it out over the winter of 1998, night after night seated at the bar in Luna Lounge, it was produced by the team of Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock. ''XO'' also contained some instrumentation from Los Angeles musicians Joey Waronker and Jon Brion. It contained a more full-sounding, baroque pop sound than any of his previous efforts, with songs featuring a horn section, Chamberlins, elaborate string arrangements, and even a drum loop on the song "Independence Day". His familiar double-tracked vocal and acoustic guitar style were still apparent while his somewhat personal lyrical style survived. The song "Waltz #2" even touches upon the abusive tendencies of his stepfather toward himself and his mother with lines like "XO, mom, it's ok, it's alright, nothing's wrong."The album went on to peak at number 104 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 123 on the UK Album Charts, while selling 400,000 copies (more than double that of each of his two Kill Rock Stars releases), becoming the best-selling release of his career. Smith's backing band during most of this period was the Portland-based group Quasi, consisting of former bandmate Sam Coomes on bass guitar and Coomes's ex-wife Janet Weiss on drums. Quasi also performed as the opening act at many shows on the tour, with Smith sometimes contributing bass guitar, guitar, or backing vocals. On October 17, 1998, Smith appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'' and performed "Waltz #2." His backing band for this appearance was John Moen, Jon Brion, Rob Schnapf, and Sam Coomes.

In response to whether the change to a bigger record label would influence his creative control, Smith said, "[S]ometimes people look at major labels as simply money-making machines, they're actually composed of individuals who are real people, and there's a part of them that needs to feel that part of their job is to put out good music." Smith also claimed in another interview that he never read his reviews for fear that they would interfere with his songwriting.

Smith relocated from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1999, taking up residence at a cabin in the Silver Lake section of town. That fall, his cover of The Beatles' "Because" was featured in the end credits of DreamWorks' Oscar-winning drama ''American Beauty'', and also appeared on the film's soundtrack album.

The final album Smith completed in his lifetime, ''Figure 8'', was released on April 18, 2000. It featured the return of Rothrock, Schnapf, Brion, and Waronker, and was partially recorded at Abbey Road Studios in England, with an obvious Beatles influence in the songwriting and production. The album garnered very favorable reviews, peaking at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and 37 on the UK Album Charts. The album garnered praise for its power pop style and complex arrangements, described as creating a "sweeping kaleidoscope of layered instruments and sonic textures." However, some reviewers felt that Smith's trademark dark and melancholy songwriting had lost some of its subtlety, with one reviewer likening some of the lyrics to "the self-pitying complaints of an adolescent venting in his diary."

Album art and promotional pictures from the period showed Smith looking cleaned-up and put-together. An extensive tour in promotion of the record ensued, bookended by television appearances on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and ''The Late Show with David Letterman''. However, Smith's condition began to deteriorate as he had become addicted to heroin either towards the end of or just after the ''Figure 8'' tour.

2001–2002: Addiction and scrapped recordings

Around the time he began recording his final album, Smith began to display signs of paranoia, often believing that a white van followed him wherever he went. He would have friends drop him off for recording sessions almost a mile away from the studio, and to reach the location he would trudge through hundreds of yards of brush and cliffs. He started telling people that DreamWorks was out to get him: "Not long ago my house was broken into, and songs were stolen off my computer which have wound up in the hands of certain people who work at a certain label. I've also been followed around for months at a time. I wouldn't even want to necessarily say it's the people from that label who are following me around, but it was probably them who broke into my house." During this period, Smith hardly ate, subsisting primarily on ice cream. He would go for several days without sleeping, and then sleep for an entire day.

A follow-up to Smith's 2000 album was originally planned to happen with Rob Schnapf, but their sessions were abandoned. Smith also began distancing himself from manager Margaret Mittleman, who had handled him since the ''Roman Candle'' days. He finally began recording a new album with only himself and Jon Brion as producers sometime during 2001. The pair had recorded a substantial amount of music for the album, when Brion confronted Smith about his drug and alcohol abuse. Their friendship promptly ended, and Smith scrapped all of their work up until that point. He later said: "There was even a little more than half of a record done before this new one that I just scrapped because of a blown friendship with someone that made me so depressed I didn't want to hear any of those songs. He was just helping me record the songs and stuff, and then the friendship kind of fell apart all of a sudden one day. It just made it kind of awkward being alone in the car listening to the songs."

When Brion sent a bill for the abandoned sessions to DreamWorks, executives Lenny Waronker and Luke Wood scheduled a meeting with Smith to determine what went wrong with the sessions. The singer voiced what he believed to be intrusion upon his personal life from the label, as well as poor promotion for the ''Figure 8'' album. The talks proved to be fruitless, and soon after, Smith sent a message to the executives, stating that if they did not release him from his contract, he would take his own life. In May 2001, Smith set out to re-record the album, mostly on his own, but with some help from David McConnell of Goldenboy. McConnell told ''Spin'' that, during this time, Smith would smoke over $1,500 worth of heroin and crack per day, would often talk about suicide, and on numerous occasions tried to give himself an overdose. Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips and Scott McPherson played a few drum tracks, Sam Coomes contributed some bass guitar and backing vocals, but almost every other instrument was recorded by Smith.

One of the few highlights for Smith in 2001 was inclusion of his song "Needle in the Hay" in Wes Anderson's dark comedy ''The Royal Tenenbaums''. The song plays during a suicide attempt. Smith was originally supposed to contribute a cover of The Beatles' "Hey Jude" for the film, but when he failed to do so in time, Anderson had to use The Mutato Muzika Orchestra's version of the track instead. Anderson would later say that Smith "was in a bad state" at the time.

Smith's live performances during 2001 and 2002 were infrequent, typically in the Pacific Northwest or Los Angeles. A review of his December 20, 2001, show at Portland's Crystal Ballroom stated concern over his appearance and performance: his hair was uncharacteristically greasy and long; his face was bearded and gaunt; and during his songs he exhibited alarming signs of "memory-loss and butterfingers". The crowd would often have to shout out the lyrics (and in some cases, guitar chords) when Smith could not think of them.

In the first of only three concerts performed in 2002, Smith co-headlined Northwestern University's A&O; Ball with Wilco on May 2 in Chicago. He was onstage for nearly an hour, but failed to complete a single song. He claimed that his poor performance was due to his left hand having fallen asleep, and told the audience it felt "like having stuff on your hand and you can't get it off." Smith's performance was reviewed as "undoubtedly one of the worst performances ever by a musician" and an "excruciating...nightmare". A reporter for the online magazine ''Glorious Noise'' made the statement, "[I]t would not surprise me at all if Elliott Smith ends up dead within a year."

On November 25, 2002, Smith was involved in a brawl with the Los Angeles Police Department at a Flaming Lips/Beck concert. Smith later said he was defending a man he thought the police were harassing. Assuming that Smith was homeless, the officers allegedly beat and arrested him and his girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba. The two spent the night in jail. Smith's hand and back were injured in the incident, causing him to cancel a number of shows. Wayne Coyne, lead singer of The Flaming Lips and a friend of Smith's, stated concern over Smith's appearance and actions, saying that he "saw a guy who had lost control of himself. He was needy, he was grumpy, he was everything you wouldn't want in a person. It's not like when you think of Keith Richards being pleasantly blissed out in the corner."

2003: Reemergence and ''From a Basement on the Hill''

Smith had attempted to go to rehab several times, but found that he was unable to admit that his addiction was out of control. "I couldn't do the first step...I couldn't say what you were supposed to say and mean it." In 2002, Smith went to the Neurotransmitter Restoration Center in Beverly Hills to start a course of treatment for his drug addiction. In one of his final interviews, he spoke about the center, "What they do is an IV treatment where they put a needle in your arm, and you're on a drip bag, but the only thing that's in the drip bag is amino acids and saline solution. I was coming off of a lot of psych meds and other things. I was even on an antipsychotic, although I'm not psychotic."

Two sold-out solo acoustic concerts at Hollywood's Henry Fonda Theater, on January 31 and February 1, 2003 saw Smith attempting to reestablish his credibility as a live performer, yielding mixed results. Before the show, Smith scrawled "Kali - The Destroyer" (the Hindu goddess associated with time and change) in large block letters with permanent ink on his left arm, which was visible to the crowd during the performance. On several songs he was backed by a stripped-down drum kit played by Robin Peringer (of the band 764-HERO), and on one track, members of opening band Rilo Kiley contributed backing vocals. Smith would play only one more concert in his adopted hometown, three months later at The Derby.

After his 34th birthday on August 6, 2003, he gave up alcohol, caffeine, red meat, refined sugar, and his longtime (sometimes abused) regimen of psychiatric medication. Director Mike Mills had been working with Smith during his final years and described Smith's troubles and apparent recovery: "I gave the script to him, then he dropped off the face of the earth...he went through his whole crazy time, but by the time I was done with the film, he was making ''From a Basement on the Hill'' and I was shocked that he was actually making music." With things improving for Smith after several troubled years, he began experimenting with noise music and worked on his girlfriend Jennifer Chiba's iMac with the intent of learning how to record with computers, noting that it was the only method with which he was still unfamiliar. Smith jokingly labeled his experimental way of recording "The California Frown" (a play on the Beach Boys' "California Sound"). He said of the songs, "They're kind of more noisy with the pitch all distorted. Some are more acoustic, but there aren't too many like that. Lately I've just been making up a lot of noise."

He was also in the process of recording songs for the ''Thumbsucker'' soundtrack, including Big Star's "Thirteen", and Cat Stevens' "Trouble". In August 2003, Suicide Squeeze Records put out a limited-edition vinyl single for "Pretty (Ugly Before)", a song that Smith had been playing since the ''Figure 8'' tour. Steve Hanft described the last six months of Smith's life as being "like the light at the end of the tunnel" and was convinced that Smith was clean and recovered.

Death

Smith died on October 21, 2003, at age 34 from two stab wounds to the chest. At the time of the stabbing, he was at his Lemoyne Street home in Echo Park, California, where he lived with his girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba. According to Chiba, the two were arguing, and she locked herself in the bathroom to take a shower. Chiba heard him scream, and upon opening the door, saw Smith standing with a knife in his chest. She pulled the knife out, after which he collapsed and she called 9-1-1. Smith died in the hospital with the time of death listed as 1:36 p.m. While Smith's death was originally reported as a suicide, the official autopsy report released in December 2003 left open the question of possible homicide. A possible suicide note, written on a Post-it, read, "I'm so sorry—love, Elliott. God forgive me." The coroner's report had the name Elliott misspelled as "Elliot," however "a coroner's official told TSG that Smith's first name was misspelled in the report," not on the Post-it note.

According to Pitchfork Media, record producer Larry Crane reported on his Tape Op message board that he had planned to help Smith mix his album in mid-November. Crane wrote, "I hadn't talked to Elliott in over a year. His girlfriend, Jennifer, called me [last week] and asked if I'd like to come to L.A. and help mix and finish [Smith's album]. I said yes, of course, and chatted with Elliott for the first time in ages. It seems surreal that he would call me to finish an album and then a week later kill himself. I talked to Jennifer this morning, who was obviously shattered and in tears, and she said, 'I don't understand, he was so healthy.'"

The coroner's report revealed that no traces of illegal substances or alcohol were found in his system at the time of his death, but did find prescribed levels of antidepressant, anxiolytic and ADHD medications in his system, including Clonazepam, Mirtazapine, Atomoxetine and Amphetamine. Also, no hesitation wounds were found on Smith, a trait typical of suicide by self infliction. With his death not being officially declared a suicide, a journalist noted that some have suspected foul play, but also that the authorities do not seem to be investigating the case further. Smith's body was cremated. No public burial site or memorial was ever formally announced.

Reaction

Shortly after Smith's death, a fan memorial was initiated outside Solutions Audio (4334 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California), the site at which the cover of the ''Figure 8'' album was shot. Farewell messages to Smith were written on the wall, and flowers, photos, candles, and empty bottles of alcohol mentioned in Smith's songs were left. Since then, the wall has been repeatedly tagged by gang signs, and, despite having been repainted to its original state in February 2008 and promises from Solutions' owner to maintain the site, the wall became largely covered by unrelated graffiti. In August 2011, in honor of Smith's 42nd birthday, members of the music & arts collective FMLY restored the mural, adding a black and white stencil of Smith resembling the photo on the ''Figure 8'' album cover.

Memorial concerts were held in several cities in the United States and the United Kingdom. A petition was soon put forth with intent to make part of the Silver Lake area a memorial park in Smith's honor. It received over 10,000 signatures, but no plans to establish the park have been announced. A memorial plaque located inside Smith's former high school, Lincoln High, was hung in July 2006. The plaque has the line "I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow," from Smith's song "Waltz #2".

Since Smith's death, many musical acts have paid him tribute. Songs in tribute to, or about Smith have been released by Bright Eyes ("Reinvent The Wheel"), Beck ("Broken Drum" on "Guero"), Rilo Kiley ("Ripchord" and "It Just Is" on ''More Adventurous''), Sparta ("Bombs and Us"), Third Eye Blind ("Elliott Smith (There's No Hurry To Eternity)", meant to be on ''Symphony of Decay''), Ben Folds ("Late" on ''Songs for Silverman''), Brad Mehldau ("Sky Turning Grey (for Elliott Smith))" on Highway Rider, Rhett Miller ("The Believer" on ''The Believer''), Earlimart ("Heaven Adores You" on ''Treble and Tremble''), Joan As Police Woman ("We Don't Own It" on ''Real Life''),, Bayside (''Baby Britain'' from the album ''XO'')and Pete Yorn ("Bandstand in the Sky" on ''Nightcrawler'', a song jointly dedicated to Jeff Buckley). Several tribute albums have been released since his death, including Christopher O'Riley's ''Home to Oblivion: An Elliott Smith Tribute''.

On July 30, 2004, Jennifer Chiba filed a lawsuit against the Smith family for 15% of his earnings (over $1 million), claiming that she and Smith lived as "husband and wife", that the singer pledged to take care of her financially for the rest of her life, and that she worked as his manager and agent from around 2000 until his death. A state labor commissioner ruled her claim as manager to be invalid, as she had worked as an "unlicensed talent agent" under California's Talent Agencies Act. The case made it to the California appellate court in October 2007, but was defeated 2–1; Chiba could potentially appeal the case to the Supreme Court of California.

Posthumous releases

''From a Basement on the Hill'', with almost four years in production, was released on October 19, 2004, by ANTI- Records (a part of Epitaph Records). With Smith's family in control of his estate, they chose to bring in Rob Schnapf and Smith's ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme to sort through and mix the album. Although predicted by Smith to be a double album or a regular album with a bonus disc, it was released as a 15-track single album. Many of the darkest songs from the sessions (later leaked onto the Internet) were not included, such as "True Love" (which deals graphically with addiction and rehab), "Abused", "Stickman", "Flowers for Charlie" (which concerns Smith's troubled relationship with his stepfather), and "Suicide Machine" (a reworking of the ''Figure 8''-era unreleased instrumental, "Tiny Time Machine"). It is rumored that the decision not to have these songs on the record was taken by the family, as they had the final say in what should and should not be released, although these rumors are not well founded.,

''Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing'', a biography by Benjamin Nugent, was rushed to publication and hit stores shortly after ''From a Basement on the Hill'', barely beyond the first anniversary of the musician's death. Smith's family, as well as Joanna Bolme, Jennifer Chiba, Neil Gust, Sam Coomes, and Janet Weiss, all declined to be interviewed and did not support the publication of the book. It contained interviews with Rob Schnapf, David McConnell, and Pete Krebs. The book received mixed reviews, with ''Publishers Weekly'' remarking that while "Nugent manages to patch together the major beats of Smith's life, he can offer little meaningful insight" and that Smith's fans "will be disappointed by this short and shallow biography."

On May 8, 2007, a posthumous two-disc compilation album entitled ''New Moon'' was released by Kill Rock Stars. The album contained 24 songs recorded by Smith between 1994 and 1997 during his tenure with the label that were not included on albums, as well as a few early versions and previously released B-sides. In the United States, the album debuted at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week. The record received favorable reviews and was Metacritic's 15th best-reviewed album of 2007. A significant portion of the proceeds from album sales are to go to Outside In, a social service agency for low-income adults and homeless youth in Portland, Oregon.

On October 25, 2007, a book titled ''Elliott Smith'' was released by Autumn de Wilde, which consists of photographs, handwritten lyrics and "revealing talks with Smith's inner circle." De Wilde was responsible for the ''Figure 8'' sleeve art, making a landmark and de facto Smith memorial of the Solutions Audio mural. A five-song CD featuring previously unreleased live recordings of Smith performing acoustically at Club Largo in Los Angeles was included in the release.

Following the singer's death, the Smith estate licensed his songs for use in a number of film and television projects, such as ''One Tree Hill'', ''The Girl Next Door'', ''Georgia Rule'', and ''Paranoid Park''.

In a March 2009 interview, Larry Crane said that the estate of Elliott Smith was now "defunct" and all rights previously held by the singer are now in the control of "his parents." Crane went on to say that his parents own the rights to Smith's high school recordings, some of the Heatmiser material, all solo songs recorded up until his 1998 record deal with DreamWorks Records and ''From a Basement on the Hill.'' DreamWorks Records was acquired by Universal Music Group in 2003, and Interscope Records currently "owns all studio and live recording from Jan 1998 to his passing, except for the songs on ''From a Basement on the Hill''."

In December 2009, Kill Rock Stars announced that it had obtained the rights to re-release ''Roman Candle'' and ''From a Basement on the Hill'', originally released by Cavity Search and Anti-, respectively. ''Roman Candle'' will be remastered by Larry Crane. Along with the press release, Kill Rock Stars posted a previously unreleased track of Smith's, titled "Cecilia/Amanda", as a free download. ''Roman Candle'' and ''From a Basement on the Hill'' were re-released on April 6, 2010 in the US.

A compilation titled ''An Introduction to... Elliott Smith'' was released by Domino Records on November 1, 2010 in the UK and Kill Rock Stars on November 2 in the US.

There remain over a hundred unreleased tracks. Many have leaked and appear on bootleg releases such as ''Elliott Smith Rarities'' and ''Grand Mal: Studio Rarities.''

Musical style and influences

Smith respected and was inspired by many artists and styles, including Big Star, The Clash, The Who, Pink Floyd, Television, Motown and flamenco records, AC/DC, Hank Williams, Scorpions, and Modest Mouse. Smith claimed to listen exclusively to selected albums (such as ''The Marble Index'' by Nico) for months. Sean Croghan, a former roommate of Smith's, said that the singer "listened almost exclusively to slow jams" in his senior year at college. Smith was also known to gain inspiration from novels, religion and philosophy. He liked classic literature, especially Samuel Beckett, T. S. Eliot, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky (and other Russian novelists).

Smith mentioned his admiration for Bob Dylan in several interviews, citing him as an early musical influence. He once commented: "My father taught me how to play "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". I love Dylan's words, but even more than that, I love the fact that he loves words." Smith covered Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece" several times in concert. Smith has also been compared to folk legend Nick Drake, due to his fingerpicking style and vocals. Darryl Cater of Allmusic called references to "the definitive folk loner" Drake, "inevitable", and Smith's lyrics have been compared to those in Drake's minimalist and haunting final album.

Smith was a dedicated fan of The Beatles (as well as their solo projects), once noting that he had been listening to them frequently since he was about "four years old" and also claimed that hearing ''The White Album'' was his original inspiration to become a musician. In 1998, Smith contributed a cover of the Beatles song "Because" to the closing credits and soundtrack of the film ''American Beauty''. Although this was the only Beatles song that Smith ever officially released, he is known to have recorded at least two others ("Revolution" and "I'll Be Back"), and played many songs by both the band and the members' solo projects at live concerts.

Regarding his songwriting, Smith said:

Smith said that transitions were his favorite part of songs and that he preferred to write broader, more impressionistic music closer to pop rather than folk music. Smith compared his songs to stories or dreams, not purely confessional pieces that people could relate to. When asked about the dark nature of his songwriting and the cult following he was gaining, Smith said he felt it was merely a product of him writing songs that were strongly meaningful to him rather than anything contrived. Larry Crane, Smith's posthumous archivist, has said that he was surprised at the amount of "recycling of musical ideas" that he has encountered while cataloging the singer's private tapes: "I found songs recorded in high school reworked 15 years on. Lyrics became more important to him as he became older, and more time was spent working on them."

Selected discography

!Release date	!Album	!Label
July 14, 1994		Cavity Search RecordsDomino Records
July 21, 1995		Kill Rock StarsDomino Records
February 25, 1997		Kill Rock StarsDomino Records
August 25, 1998		DreamWorks Records
April 18, 2000		DreamWorks Records
October 19, 2004	''From a Basement on the Hill''	ANTI-RecordsDomino Records
May 8, 2007		Kill Rock StarsDomino Records
November 2, 2010	''An Introduction to... Elliott Smith''	Kill Rock StarsDomino Records

References

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

External links

;Official sites

SweetAdeline.net – Official Elliott Smith website

Cavity Search Records

Kill Rock Stars

;Others

BBC obituary

Elliott Smith collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Category:1969 births Category:2003 deaths Category:2003 murders in the United States Category:American alternative rock musicians Category:American indie rock musicians Category:American male singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:Deaths by stabbing Category:Hampshire College alumni Category:Kill Rock Stars Category:Musicians from Los Angeles, California Category:Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Category:Musicians from Portland, Oregon Category:People from Duncanville, Texas Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni Category:Live Music Archive artists Category:People from Echo Park, Los Angeles Category:Musicians from New York City

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