Name	Universal Music Group Nashville
Parent	Universal Music Group
Founded	MCA Nashville (1945)Mercury Nashville (1945)Lost Highway (2000)
Genre	Country
Country	United States
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
Url	http://www.umgnashville.com/

Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, and Lost Highway Records. UMG Nashville not only handles these imprints, but also manages the country music catalogues of record labels Universal Music and predecessor companies acquired over the years including ABC Records, Decca Records, Dot Records, DreamWorks Records, Kapp Records, MGM Records and Polydor Records.

MCA Nashville

MCA Nashville started out as the country music division of Decca Records in 1945, founded by Paul Cohen in New York. In 1947, Cohen hired Owen Bradley as his assistant working in Nashville. The country music division moved to Nashville in 1955 as much of the country music recording business was locating there. Bradley succeeded Cohen as head of Decca's Nashville division in 1958 and developed Decca into a country music powerhouse. Decca Nashville was renamed MCA Nashville in 1973.

In 1979, MCA Nashville absorbed the country music roster (including Roy Clark, Barbara Mandrell and The Oak Ridge Boys) and back catalogue of ABC Records including the Dot Records catalogue. In the early 1980s, MCA Nashville signed Reba McEntire (who departed the label in late 2008) and George Strait, two of the greatest selling artists of all time and the mega stars on the record label.

In the 1990s MCA Nashville briefly revived the Decca label for country music releases, but it was shut down after Universal Music absorbed PolyGram and chose to reserve the Decca name for classical music releases. While Decca resumed issuing country music in February 2008, the current Decca country music department has no connection with UMG Nashville. However, MCA Nashville continues to reissue past country releases from Decca, as well as those on the Kapp label.

With the absorption of MCA Records into Geffen Records in 2003, MCA Nashville is now, along with UMG's unit in the Philippines, the only units of Universal Music to still use the MCA name.

Mercury Nashville

The still active Mercury Records was founded in Chicago in 1945 issuing recordings in a variety of genres including country music. The Nashville office of Mercury began as a joint venture between Mercury and "Pappy" Daily's established country music record label Starday Records in January 1957. In July 1958, the Mercury/Starday joint venture was dissolved and Starday record producer Shelby Singleton stayed on with Mercury in Nashville, becoming head of Mercury's Nashville office by 1961. Singleton left Mercury in 1966 to form his own company which bought Sun Records in 1969.

In 1997, PolyGram, which owned Mercury, consolidated all its Nashville operations under the Mercury name.

When PolyGram was purchased by Universal Music Group in 1998, the resulting record label consolidations left Mercury under the The Island Def Jam Music Group umbrella making Mercury in the USA dormant until recently, but still active internationally. The consolidations in Nashville which created UMG Nashville kept the Mercury Nashville imprint active.

Reissues of country music recordings first issued on the MGM, Polydor, and other former PolyGram labels bear the Mercury Nashville imprint (with some exceptions).

Lost Highway Records

Lost Highway Records was formed by Luke Lewis in 2000, Lost Highway Records operates as a country music label, based out of Nashville, but the label also issues music by alternative rock and alternative country artists such as Morrissey and Ryan Adams as well as the Bon Jovi album of the same name. The company's name was inspired by a Hank Williams song. Today the label operates in conjunction with The Island Def Jam Music Group and Universal Music Group Nashville. Lost Highway has distributed the soundtracks for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Deadwood, and Open Season by Paul Westerberg. They have also acted as distributor for albums from Johnny Cash and Hank Williams.

See also

Similar sub-divisions of rival companies:

*Sony Music Nashville

*Warner Music Nashville

Artists

External links

Official UMG Nashville Page

Lost Highway Records

References

Category:American record labels Category:Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Category:American country music record labels

Name	Shania Twain
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Eilleen Regina Edwards
Alias	Eilleen Twain (1967-1992)
Born	August 28, 1965Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Genre	Country, pop, soft rock, dance, rock
Years active	1993–present
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Label	Mercury Nashville
Url	www.shaniatwain.com

Shania Twain, OC (; born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965) is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s with her album The Woman In Me (1995), and achieved worldwide success with her 1997 album Come On Over, which became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician, and the best selling country album of all time. It has sold over 39 million copies worldwide and is the 9th bestselling album in the U.S.

A five-time Grammy Award winner, Twain has also achieved major success as a songwriter, winning 27 BMI Songwriter awards. Twain is one of the first country artists to achieve major crossover success in pop music. She is the only female musician to have three albums certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and is also the second best-selling artist in Canada, behind fellow Canadian Céline Dion, with three of her studio albums being certified double diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Twain has sold over 80 million albums worldwide, including 48 million in the U.S. She is ranked as the 10th best-selling artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, with approximately 33.5 million in sales through April 2008. She was also ranked the 72nd Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard.

Early years

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, daughter of Clarence and Sharon Edwards. Her parents divorced when she was two, and her mother then moved with Eilleen and her sister Jill to Timmins, Ontario, where she married Jerry Twain, an Ojibwa. He adopted the girls, legally changing their last name to Twain. Because of her connection to her stepfather, in the past, people had presumed Twain's ancestry was Ojibwa, but she stated in an interview that her biological father was part Cree. Through her mother she is a descendant of Zacharie Cloutier. Her maternal grandmother, Eileen Pearce, emigrated from Newbridge, Kildare, Ireland.

One of five children, Eilleen Twain had a hard childhood in Timmins. Her parents earned little, and there was often a shortage of food in the household. At one point, while Jerry was at work, her mother drove the rest of the family to a Toronto homeless shelter for assistance. She did not confide her situation to school authorities, fearing they might break up the family. In the remote, rugged community, she learned to hunt and to chop wood. Aside from working at an Ontario McDonald's restaurant, Twain began to earn money by singing in local clubs and bars from a very young age to support her family. She was singing in bars starting at the age of eight to try to make ends meet, often earning twenty dollars between midnight and one in the morning performing for remaining customers after the bar had finished serving. Although she has expressed a dislike for singing in such a smoky atmosphere at such a young age, Shania believes that this was her performing arts school on the road to becoming a successful singer. Twain has said of the ordeal, "My deepest passion was music and it helped. There were moments when I thought 'I hate this'. I hated going into bars and being with drunks. But I loved the music and so I survived".

Twain wrote her first songs at the age of ten, Is Love a Rose and Just Like the Storybooks which were fairy tales in rhyme. As a child, Twain has been described by a close childhood friend Kenny Derasp as "a very serious kid who spent a lot of time in her room." The art of creating, of actually writing songs, "was very different from performing them and became progressively important".

Music career

Career as Eilleen Twain

At 13, Eilleen Twain, the future "Shania" Twain, was invited to perform on CBC television's Tommy Hunter Show. While attending Timmins High and Vocational School in Timmins, she was the singer for a local band called "Longshot" which covered Top 40 music.

After graduating from Timmins High in July 1983, Twain was eager to expand her musical horizons. After the demise of her band Longshot, Twain was approached by a covers band led by Diane Chase called "Flirt" and toured all over Ontario. In the autumn of 1984 Twain's talents were noticed by a Toronto DJ Stan Campbell who wrote about her in a Country Music News article, "Eileen possesses a powerful voice with an impressive range. She has the necessary drive, ambition and positive attitude to achieve her goals". Bailey later said "She sang a few songs that she had written, and I thought to myself, this kid is like nineteen years old, where does she get this? This is from a person who's lived sixty years". where Twain spent much time practicing in 1985.]] Mary Bailey bought the contract from Stan Campbell and Twain moved into Bailey's home on Lake Kenogami where she practiced her music every day for hours. In the fall of 1985, Bailey took Twain down to Nashville to stay with a friend, record producer Tony Migliore, who at the time was producing an album for fellow Canadian singer Kelita Haverland and Twain featured on the backing vocals to the song Too Hot to Handle. She also demoed songs with Cyril Rawson but without success, partly due to Twain's wish to become a rock singer, not a country artist and after five months she returned to Canada and moved in with Bailey in a flat in downtown Kirkland Lake. There she met a rock keyboardist Eric Lambier and drummer Randy Yurko and formed a new band, moving three months later to Bowmanville, near Toronto. In late summer 1986 Mary Bailey had arranged Twain to meet John Kim Bell, a half Mohawk, half American conductor who had close contacts with the directors of the Canadian Country Music Association. Bell recognised Twain's ability as well as looks and the two began secretly dating, despite their clash of backgrounds.

On November 1, 1987, Twain's mother and adoptive father died in a car accident. Twain took care of her siblings, moving with her half-brothers Mark and Darryl and half-sister Carrie Ann to Huntsville, Ontario, where she supported them by earning money performing at the nearby Deerhurst Resort.

1993–1994: Shania Twain

After Twain's siblings moved out on their own, she assembled a demo tape of her songs, and her manager set up a showcase for Twain to present her material to record executives. Twain caught the attention of a few labels, including Mercury Nashville Records, who signed her within a few months. During this time, she changed her name to Shania, an Ojibwa word which means "on my way".

Twain's self-titled debut album was released in 1993 in North America, garnering audiences outside of her own country. The album only reached #67 on the US Country Albums Chart, but it gained many positive reviews from critics. The album yielded two minor hit singles in the United States with "What Made You Say That" and "Dance with the One That Brought You". It was more successful in Europe, where Twain won Country Music Television Europe's "Rising Video Star of the Year" award.

The Woman in Me was released in the spring of 1995. The album's first single, "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" went to #11 on the Billboard Country Chart. This was followed by her first Top 10 and #1 hit single, "Any Man of Mine". Twain had further hits from the album, including the title track which peaked at #14 and three additional #1 hits: "(If You're Not in it for Love) I'm Outta Here!", "You Win My Love", and "No One Needs to Know". The album was a quick breakthrough. Shania performed selected international venues and television shows with Nashville guitarist Randy Thomas (co-writer of the song "Butterfly Kisses") and Stanley T., formerly with the Beach Boys. Mercury Record's promotion of the album was based largely upon a series of sexy music videos. The Woman in Me won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album as well as the Academy of Country Music award for Album of the Year; the latter group also awarded Twain as Best New Female Vocalist.

Worldwide success

1997–2000: Come on Over

In 1997, Twain released her follow-up album, Come on Over. This was the album that would establish her as a successful crossover singer. Slowly, the album started racking up sales. It never hit the top spot, but with the multi-chart hit single "You're Still the One", sales skyrocketed. Other songs like "Don't Be Stupid", "You've Got A Way", "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!", "That Don't Impress Me Much" and "From This Moment On" joined the 12 songs that eventually saw release as singles. "From This Moment On" is a duet with singer Bryan White and even a pop version as well solo.

The album stayed on the charts for the next two years and Come on Over went on to sell 39 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest-selling album of all time by a female musician. It is also the eighth biggest-selling album by any type of artist in the US.

2002–2004: Up!

After a change in management — QPrime replaced Landau — and a two year break, Twain and Lange returned to the studio. Up! was released on November 19, 2002. About a year later, Twain kicked off the Up! Tour in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada on September 25, 2003.

Up! was released as a double album, with three different discs—pop (a red CD), country (a green CD), and international (a blue CD). For North American markets, the pop disc was paired with the country disc and in international markets, the pop disc was paired with the world music disc. Up! was given four out of five stars by Rolling Stone magazine, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart, selling 874,000 in the first week alone. It remained at the top of the charts for five weeks. Up! reached #1 in Germany, #2 in Australia and the Top Five in the UK and France. In Germany, Up! was certified 4x platinum and stayed in the Top 100 for one and a half years.

The international music disc was remixed with Bollywood-style orchestral and percussion parts recorded in Mumbai, India. The new versions were produced by Simon and Diamond Duggal, brothers from Birmingham, England. They were originally invited to contribute parts to the pop version of "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" which retained the Bollywood influence.

Twain's popularity in UK was reflected by numerous appearances on the long-running music show Top of the Pops, performing singles from Come on Over from 1999. In 2002 an entire special show was dedicated to her on sister show TOTP2, in which Twain herself introduced some past performances of her greatest hits and new singles from Up!

The first single from the album, "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" became a top 10 country hit in the US, after debuting at an impressive #24 after only five days of airplay; but only made the Top 40 on the pop charts. It was a much bigger hit on the other side of the Atlantic, released in a pop version, the single hit the Top Five in the UK and Australia as well as the Top 15 in Germany and France. The follow-up single "Up!" reached the Top 15 in the US country charts but failed to reach the pop Top 40.

The second European single became the mid-tempo song "Ka-Ching!" (which was never released as a single in North America) with lyrics where Twain was criticizing unchecked consumerism. The song eventually became another smash hit in the important European markets, reaching #1 in Germany and Austria and other European countries, the UK Top 10 and the Top 15 in France.

The third single from the album would be the most successful in the US. The romantic ballad "Forever and For Always" was released as a single in April 2003 and peaked at #4 on the country chart and #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and made as well the Billboard Top 20. Again success was even bigger on the other side of the Atlantic with "Forever and For Always" again reaching the Top 10 in both, the UK and Germany. Further singles were "She's Not Just a Pretty Face" a country Top 10 hit, while the last US single, "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing", made the Top 20 on both Country and AC.

Due to the enormous European success of Up! and its first three singles, two more singles were released in the second half of 2003 with up-tempo "Thank You Baby" (#11 in the UK, Top 20 in Germany) and just before Christmas the romantic, acoustic ballad "When You Kiss Me", at least a minor hit in both territories. The title track "Up!" also saw a single release in a limited edition of European countries, such as Germany, in early 2004. In January 2008, Up! had sold 5.5 million copies in the U.S. and was certified by the RIAA as 11x platinum (the organization counts double albums as two units).

On November 19, 2004, she appeared on the BBC charity telethon Children in Need. In addition to performing "Up!", she also acted as one of the celebrity assistants in an "all-star" magic act, in an illusion called "Clearly Impossible", in which she was sawed in half inside a clear-sided box.

In August 2005, she released the single "Shoes" from the Desperate Housewives soundtrack.

2006 onwards

At the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 16, 2007, Twain said she was currently writing songs for a new album, and was doing a "lot of soul searching" and "indulging in the writing."

Twain joined Canadian singer Anne Murray on the song "You Needed Me" on Murray's album released November 13, 2007 in Canada, and on January 15, 2008 in the U.S. On November 12, 2008 Twain made her first television appearance since her split from ex-husband Robert "Mutt" Lange, where she appeared as a surprise presenter at the 42nd CMA Awards.

In early January 2009, Internet forums were reporting that Twain was planning to make an announcement regarding her new album on January 26, 2009 but on the 22nd a spokesperson from Mercury Nashville told Country Weekly that no new album would be coming "anytime soon".

In June 2009, Twain released a letter to her fans explaining the delays in the release of her next album. In August 2009, at a conference in Timmins, Ontario, a spokesman for Twain's label said a new record from the singer is still "nowhere in sight". On August 17, 2009, EW announced that Twain would be a guest judge on American Idol in Chicago, for the show's August 30 and 31 episodes. On January 1, 2010, Shania carried the Olympic Torch through her hometown as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay.

In April 2010, Twain announced plans for her own TV show, entitled Why Not? With Shania Twain. The show is scheduled to debut in April 2011 on . Twain returned to American Idol as a guest mentor for a week where the top 6 contestants showcased her songs.

In September 2010, it was confirmed that Twain was to release an as of yet untitled autobiography in Spring 2011.

Endorsements and other ventures

Twain's commercial ventures outside the music industry included a series of cosmetic ads in 1999 based on "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" for Revlon. She also starred in ads for Candie's shoes and Gitano jeans, who also sponsored her 1998-1999 Come On Over Tour.

In January 2005, Twain joined Scentstories by Febreze to create a limited edition scent disc with the proceeds going to America's Second Harvest.

Late in 2005, Twain partnered COTY to produce her namesake fragrance "Shania by Stetson". A second fragrance was released in September 2007, called "Shania Starlight".

Personal life

Twain married music producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange on December 28, 1993, and they have a son, Eja D'Angelo (pronounced "Asia") who was born on August 12, 2001. On May 15, 2008, a spokesperson for Mercury Nashville announced that Twain and Lange were separating after Lange had an affair with Twain's best friend, Marie-Anne Thiebaud. Their divorce was finalized on June 9, 2010. On December 20, 2010, Twain's manager confirmed that Twain was engaged to Swiss business executive Frederic Thiebaud, the ex-husband of Marie-Anne Thiebaud. They married on January 1, 2011 in Rincón, Puerto Rico.

Twain practices Sant Mat, which calls for daily meditation and vegetarianism.

In a 2009 study to determine what measurable parameters create "beauty", scientists correlated a set of measures for the positions of various facial features in women with ratings of attractiveness. According to the study, beauty is a product of having as many features as close to the average measurement for each feature as possible. Shania Twain was noted in a BBC News article concerning the study due to the fact that her face is a close approximation to the ideal measurements found by the study.

One of Twain's practices for her skin is using ointment known as Bag Balm, which is applied to cows' udders during winter months to protect them from harsh weather. Twain says she uses it on her legs and face for softer skin.

Awards and honors

In addition to her various awards for her singles and albums, Twain has received a number of personal honors:

She was named the 1999 Entertainer of the Year by both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association; Twain was the first non-US citizen to win the CMA award.

Twain was ranked #7 in Country Music Television's 40 Greatest Women of Country Music in 2002. In 2003, Twain was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. The city of Timmins (located in Ontario, Canada) renamed a street for her, gave her the key to the city, and built the Shania Twain Centre in her honour. On November 18, 2005, Twain was invested as an Officer in the Order of Canada.

Discography

;Albums

1993: Shania Twain

1995: The Woman in Me

1997: Come On Over

2001: The Complete Limelight Sessions

2002: Up!

2004: Greatest Hits

See also

Music of Canada

List of best-selling music artists

References

Bibliography

External links

Shania Twain official website

Category:1965 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Canadian contraltos Category:Canadian country singer-songwriters Category:Canadian country singers Category:Canadian expatriates in New Zealand Category:Canadian expatriates in Switzerland Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian vegetarians Category:Canadian people of English descent Category:Canadian people of First Nations descent Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Juno Award winners Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:People from Timmins Category:People from Windsor, Ontario Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Kathy Mattea
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kathleen Alice Mattea
Born	June 21, 1959South Charleston, West Virginia, United States
Origin	Cross Lanes, West Virginia, USA
Instrument	VocalsGuitar
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1975–present
Label	Mercury NashvilleMCANarada
Associated acts	Tim O'Brien
Url	mattea.com

Kathleen Alice (Kathy) Mattea (born June 21, 1959, in South Charleston, West Virginia) is an American country music and bluegrass performer who often brings folk, Celtic and traditional country sounds to her music. Active since 1983 as a recording artist, she has recorded seventeen albums and has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. This total includes the number one hits "Goin' Gone", "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses", "Come From the Heart" and "Burnin' Old Memories", as well as twelve additional Top Ten singles.

Life & career

Mattea was born in South Charleston, West Virginia, because it had the nearest hospital to her parents' home in Cross Lanes, where she grew up, graduating from nearby Nitro High School. She discovered her love of singing at Girl Scout camp. In 1976, while attending West Virginia University, she joined the bluegrass band Pennsboro, and two years later dropped out of school to move to Nashville. She worked as a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame, did backup vocal work for Bobby Goldsboro, and sang demos for several Nashville songwriters and publishers including Nashville songwriter/producer Byron Hill who brought her to the attention of Frank Jones (then head of Mercury Records), who signed her to her first record deal in 1983.

Mattea's third album, 1986's folky Walk the Way the Wind Blows, proved to be her breakthrough both critically and commercially. Her cover of Nanci Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime" was her first major hit, reaching #3 (and in addition, earned Griffith notice as a songwriter), and the album produced three other top ten songs: "Walk the Way the Wind Blows" (#10), "You're the Power"(#5), and "Train of Memories" (#6). "Love at the Five and Dime" also drew attention because well-known country singer Don Williams sang harmony vocals on the track.

Further hit songs include her first #1, "Goin' Gone"; the truck-driving song "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" (1988); "Come From the Heart" and "Burnin' Old Memories" (both #1 hits in 1989); "She Came From Fort Worth" (1990); "Lonesome Standard Time" (1992); "Walking Away a Winner" (1994); "Nobody's Gonna Rain on Our Parade" (1994); "Maybe She's Human" (1994); and "455 Rocket" (1997, written by Gillian Welch). "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" in late May 1988, became the first single by a solo female to spend multiple weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country singles chart since Dolly Parton's "You're the Only One" in August 1979; both singles were on top of that chart for two weeks.

The heartrending "Where've You Been," which Mattea's husband Jon Vezner co-wrote with singer/songwriter Don Henry, reached #10 on the country chart and won her a 1990 Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal. Mattea is a repeat winner of the County Music Associations Female Vocalist of the Year, which she won on the success of "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" and "Where've You Been."

Mattea won another Grammy in 1993 for her gospel-oriented Christmas album, Good News. Her first single from the album, "Mary, Did You Know?," went on to be covered by Kenny Rogers with Wynonna Judd, as well as Reba McEntire.

In 1994, Mattea collaborated with Suzy Bogguss, Alison Krauss, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash to contribute "Teach Your Children" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Also on that album, Mattea teamed up with Jackson Browne to contribute "Rock Me on the Water".

Mattea subsequently moved to MCA Nashville and, in 2000, released the ballad-heavy The Innocent Years, a heartfelt tribute to her ailing father. Wanting to explore her taste for Celtic folk, Mattea hopped labels to Narada, for whom she debuted in 2002 with the eclectic Roses.

With her social activism and her taste for songs with introspective lyrics, it has been often said that Mattea owes as much to the traditions of folk music as mainstream country.

Her 2008 release, Coal, combined her social activism with songs about coal-mining. It debuted at #64 on the country albums chart.

Though her recent work has failed to make the country charts, Mattea continued to enjoy a strong following throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s; her albums are critically well-received, and she continues to tour and perform. She continues to have strong support from a very active fan club, whose members refer to themselves as Matteaheads.

Social activism

In 1991, Mattea took part in Voices That Care, a multi-artist project that featured other top names in music for a one-off single to raise money for the allied troops in the Gulf War. The project included Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers and Randy Travis.

She has also been heavily involved in HIV/AIDS-related charities, beginning in the early 1990s, and is often credited with leading the country music community, commonly regarded as the last segment of the entertainment industry to address the AIDS pandemic, to finally do so.

She performed with Mary Chapin Carpenter on VH1's very first Save The Music concert, which also starred Bette Midler.

Mattea currently travels the country presenting Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and speaking to crowds about the importance of fighting global warming and the environmental and physical devastation of coal mining.

Discography

Further reading

Millard, Bob. (1998). "Kathy Mattea". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pages 329–330.

References

External links

Kathy Mattea's Official Website

Category:1959 births Category:American country musicians Category:American country singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:People from South Charleston, West Virginia Category:Musicians from West Virginia Category:Narada Productions artists

Name	Faron Young |
Background	solo_singer |
Birth name	Faron Young |
Alias	The Hillbilly HeartthrobThe Singing Sheriff|
Born	February 25, 1932 |
Died	December 10, 1996 |
Origin	Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
Instrument	guitar
Genre	Country music |
Occupation	singer, songwriter, movie actor
Voice type	Baritenor
Years active	1951–1994 |
Label	Gotham, Capitol, Mercury, MCA, Step One |
Associated acts	|
Url	|
Current members	|
Past members	|
Notable instruments	|

Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most colorful stars. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" marked him as a honky tonk singer in sound and personal style; and his chart-topping singles "Hello Walls" and "It's Four in the Morning" showed his versatility as a vocalist. Known as the Hillbilly Heartthrob, and following a movie role, the Singing Sheriff, Young's singles reliably charted for more than 30 years. He committed suicide in 1996. Young is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 25, 1932, Faron Young was the youngest of six children. He grew up on a dairy farm his family operated outside the city and began singing at an early age. He performed at the local Optimist Club and was discovered by Webb Pierce, who brought him to star on the Louisiana Hayride on KWKH-AM radio in 1951. He graduated from Fair Park High School that year and attended Centenary College of Louisiana.

Recording career

Young recorded in Shreveport, but his first releases were on Philadelphia’s Gotham Records. By February 1952, he was signed to Capitol Records, where he recorded for the next ten years. His first Capitol single appeared that spring.

Young moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and recorded his first chart hit, "Goin’ Steady", in October 1952, but his career was sidetracked when he was drafted into the US Army the following month. The song hit the Billboard country charts while Young was in basic training. It peaked at number two, and the US Army Band took the young singer to replace Eddie Fisher on tours—its first country music singer—just as "If You Ain’t Lovin’" was hitting the charts.

During the mid-1950s, Young starred in four low-budget movies: Hidden Guns, Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer, Raiders of Old California and Country Music Holiday. He appeared as himself in cameo roles and performances in later country music movies and was a frequent guest on television shows throughout his career, including ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. His band, the Country Deputies, was one of country music's top bands and they toured for many years. He invested in real estate along Nashville's Music Row in the 1960s and, in 1963, co-founded, with Preston Temple, the trade magazine, Music City News.

The same year, Young switched to Mercury Records and drifted musically, but by the end of the decade he had recaptured much of his fire with hits including "Wine Me Up". Released in 1971, waltz-time ballad "It's Four In The Morning" written by Jerry Chesnut was one of Young’s finest records and his last number one hit, also becoming his only major success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts. By the mid-1970s his records were becoming overshadowed by his behavior, making headlines in 1972 when he was charged with assault for spanking a girl in the audience at a concert in Clarksburg, West Virginia, who he claimed spat on him, and for other later incidents. In the mid-70s, Young was the spokesman for BC Powder.

Later years

Young signed with MCA Records in 1979 but the association lasted only two years. Nashville independent label Step One signed him in 1988 where he recorded into the early 1990s (including a duet album with Ray Price), then withdrew from public view. Though young country acts like BR5-49 were putting his music before new audiences in the mid-1990s, Young apparently felt the industry had turned its back on him. but made few appearances in the strip.

Discography

Albums

Singles

B-Sides

Movie roles

1956 Hidden Guns

1956 Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer

1957 Raiders of Old California

1958 Country Music Holiday

1966 Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar

1966 Nashville Rebel

1967 What Am I Bid?

1967 The Road to Nashville

1977 That's Country

Notes

References

., p. 606-7.

Diekman, Diane. "Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story." Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2007, p 27.

External links

Faron Young at the Country Music Hall of Fame

Faron Young biography and links

Faron Young biography at CMT.com

Faron Young obituary at CountryStandardTime.com

Category:1932 births Category:1996 deaths Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:People from Shreveport, Louisiana Category:Musicians who committed suicide Category:Suicides by firearm in Tennessee

Name	The Orb
Background	group_or_band
Origin	England, United Kingdom
Genre	Ambient houseAmbientAmbient technoDubChill outIDM
Years active	1988–present
Label	Big LifeIslandBadorb.comKompaktMalicious DamageMercuryMCAColumbia
Associated acts	The KLFSpaceSun ElectricSystem 7FFWDYouthTransit KingsDavid Gilmour
Url	http://www.theorb.com/
Current members	Alex PatersonThomas Fehlmann
Past members	Jimmy CautyKris WestonAndy FalconerAndy HughesSimon Phillips

The Orb are an English electronic music group known for spawning the genre of ambient house. Founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and KLF member Jimmy Cauty, The Orb began as ambient and dub DJs in London. Its early performances were inspired by ambient and electronic artists of the 1970s and 1980s, most notably Brian Eno and Kraftwerk. Because of its trippy sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. The Orb has maintained its drug-related and science fiction themes despite personnel changes including the departure of Cauty and other Orb members Kris Weston, Andy Falconer, Simon Phillips, and Andy Hughes. Paterson has been the only permanent member, continuing to work as the Orb with the Swiss-German producer Thomas Fehlmann and, later, with Killing Joke's Martin "Youth" Glover and Tim Bran of Dreadzone.

Alex Paterson prides the Orb on manipulating obscure samples beyond recognition on its albums and during its concerts; however, his unauthorised use of other artists' works has led to disputes with musicians, most notably with Rickie Lee Jones and Steve Reich. During its live shows of the 1990s, the Orb performed using digital audio tape machines optimised for live mixing and sampling before switching to laptops and digital media. Despite changes in performance method, the Orb maintained its colourful light shows and psychedelic imagery in concert. These visually intensive performances prompted critics to compare the group to Pink Floyd.

The Orb's critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom peaked in the early 1990s with the albums The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld and U.F.Orb, the latter of which reached #1 on the British album charts in 1992. This success led to its infamous appearance on Top of the Pops, where the group showcased its quirky style by playing chess (an interest of Paterson's since his early youth) while the group's single "Blue Room" ran in the background. The Orb's mid-1990s albums were met with mixed reactions from British critics; however, its work received praise from American publications such as Rolling Stone. The group experimented with vocalists on its next two albums, which critics generally described as bland and uninspired. The Orb then shifted gears to a minimal techno style spearheaded by member Thomas Fehlmann, releasing its new material on the record label Kompakt.

History

1988–1990: Paterson & Cauty

Alex Paterson began his music career in the early 1980s as a roadie for the post-punk rock band Killing Joke, for whom his childhood friend Martin "Youth" Glover played bass. After leaving Killing Joke in 1986, Paterson met future KLF member Jimmy Cauty and the duo began DJ-ing and producing music together under the name The Orb. Paterson and Cauty's first release was a 1988 acid house anthem track, "Tripping on Sunshine", released on the German record compilation Eternity Project One. The following year, The Orb released the Kiss EP, a four-track EP based on samples from New York City's KISS FM. Paterson and Cauty began DJ-ing in London and landed a deal for The Orb to play the chill out room at London nightclub Heaven. Resident DJ Paul Oakenfold brought in the duo specifically as ambient DJs for his "The Land of Oz" event at Heaven. Though The Orb's Monday night performances had only several hardcore followers initially, its chill-out room act grew popular over the course of its six-month stay to the point that the small room was often packed with around 100 people. The Orb's performances became most popular among weary DJs and clubbers seeking solace from the loud, rhythmic music of the dancefloor. The Orb would build up melodies using multitrack recordings linked to multiple record decks and a mixer. The group incorporated many CDs, cassettes, and BBC sound effects into the act, often accompanied with pieces of popular dance tracks such as "Sueño Latino."

Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1. The track, then known as "Loving You," was largely improvisational and featured a wealth of sound effects and samples from science fiction radio plays, nature sounds, and Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You." For its release as a single on the record label Big Life, the Orb changed the title to "A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules from the Centre of the Ultraworld." Upon the single's release, Riperton's management forced Big Life to remove the unlicensed Riperton sample, ensuring that only the initial first-week release of the single contained the original vocals of Minnie Riperton; subsequent pressings used vocals from a sound-alike. Because of these issues, Cauty and Paterson split in April 1990, with Paterson keeping the name the Orb. Also out of these sessions came The KLF album Chill Out, on which Paterson appeared in an uncredited role.

Following the split, Paterson began working with Youth on the track "Little Fluffy Clouds". The group incorporated samples from Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint and vocal clips from an interview with Rickie Lee Jones in which she recalls picturesque images from her childhood. While Reich was flattered by the Orb's use of his work, Jones pursued the issue in the legal system. Steve Hillage, whom Patterson had met while DJ-ing in London, also joined as a contributing guitarist. Along with producer Thomas Fehlmann, The Orb completed several additional tracks for its first album, The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. Retrospectively, Adventures is considered ground-breaking for changing the way musicians view sampling and as a seminal work for the genres of ambient and dance music. The completion of Adventures saw the departure of Andy Falconer, whose last contribution was to one of the Orb's Peel Sessions. To promote the release of an edited single-disc version for an American release on Mercury Records, the Orb embarked on their first tour of the United States beginning in Phoenix, Arizona, in October 1991.

In late 1991 and early 1992, Paterson and Weston wrote their next single, "Blue Room". Assisting with the recording was bassist Jah Wobble, keyboardist Miquette Giraudy, and guitarist Hillage. performance on Top of the Pops where Patterson and Weston played a game of chess in space suits while footage of dolphins and an edited version of "Blue Room" ran in the background. In July 1992, U.F.Orb was released featuring "Blue Room" and, in the US release, The Orb's next single, "Assassin". Weston integrated his technical and creative expertise with Paterson's Eno-influenced ambience on U.F.Orb, combining "drum and bass rhythms" with "velvet keyboards" and "rippling synth lines". Because of this partial anonymity and The Orb's rotating membership, they are often recognised as more of a musical collective than a "band".

Over the next year and a half, Paterson and Weston continued to produce new material, but releases stalled when Paterson began to feel that Big Life was trying to dictate the direction of The Orb's music. Their first release on Island Records was the live album Live 93, which gathered highlights from The Orb's recent performances in Europe and Asia. It featured The Orb's live crew of Paterson, Weston, producers Nick Burton and Simon Phillips, as well as audio engineer Andy Hughes, who had stepped in previously when Weston had decided to stop touring. Though Pomme Fritz reached as high as #6 on the British charts, critics panned it as "doodling". Even Island Records "hated it" and "didn't understand it at all", according to Paterson.

1995–2001: Paterson, Fehlmann & Hughes

Following Weston's departure from The Orb, Thomas Fehlmann joined as a full-time studio member, though he would not always participate in live performances. Paterson, Hughes, and Fehlmann then finished producing the album Orbus Terrarum, on which Paterson and Weston had been working. Orbus Terrarum, released in 1995, featured more "earthbound" and "organic" sounds than their previous trippy science fiction themed music. Orbus Terrarum suffered, as Paterson described it, "a good kicking" at the hands of the British press, who described it as "generic" and a low point for Paterson's creativity. Orbus Terrarum alienated many of the group's fans, causing the album to only reach #20 on the British charts. American critics, however, gave it great acclaim including Rolling Stone who made it their album of the month, citing the album's symphonic flow coupled with The Orb's "uniquely British wit". After a long world tour, The Orb, with Andy Hughes and Steve Hillage, settled down to produce their next album, Orblivion—the process of which saw a return to their spacy sounds. Though Orblivion was recorded in May 1996, it was not released until almost a year later, due to Island Records' desire to promote it as a follow up to U2's techno-rock album Pop. Orblivion sold well in Europe as well as the United States, where it reached the Billboard Top 200. The first Orblivion single, "Toxygene", was the highest charting single by The Orb, reaching #4 in the United Kingdom on 8 February 1997. Despite high sales, Orblivion received a lukewarm reception from the British press. As with Orbus Terrarum, Orblivion was better received by American critics, including Rolling Stone, who praised its "contrast of chaos and euphony".

Paterson and Fehlmann, along with usual collaborators Hughes, Burton, and Phillips, wrote and produced Cydonia for a planned 1999 release. As Island Records was in a period of restructuring due to its recent purchase by Universal Music Group, Cydonia was not released until 2001. Upon release, critics noted that Cydonia merged together pop, trance, and ambient-dub music, which they felt to be a conglomeration of bland vocals and uninventive ambience that lacked the appeal of The Orb's earlier work. NME harshly described it as "a stillborn relic, flawed throughout by chronically stunted ambitions" and describing its only appropriate audience to be "old ravers" seeking nostalgia. Not only did the album receive poor reviews, but The Orb was generally regarded by the British press as past their prime and an "ambient dinosaur" out of place in the current dance music environment. NME described The Orb's tour as "charming" and that The Orb was "freed from the Floydian pretensions that dogged the band throughout the mid-'90s.

The Orb, now composed of Paterson, Phillips and Fehlmann, with guest John Roome, accepted an invitation to join the concert tour with Moby, Paul Oakenfold, New Order and other alternative and electronic artists. Though The Orb was paired with more mainstream artists during the tour such as Incubus, Paterson and Fehlmann chose to make their next releases a series of several low-key EPs for German label Kompakt in 2002. The Orb found critical success on Kompakt; however, Badorb.com collapsed soon after releasing the compilation Bless You. Badorb.com had released fourteen records over the course of fourteen months from artists including Guy Pratt (Conduit), Ayumi Hamasaki, and Takayuki Shiraishi, as well as The Orb's three-track Daleth of Elphame EP. Though Badorb.com was an internet-based record label, they only sold vinyl releases (with one exception, the aforementioned Orb EP), which Paterson later remarked was a poor idea because "not many people... have record players".

Though their musical style had changed somewhat since the 1990s, The Orb continued to use their odd synthetic sounds on 2004's Bicycles & Tricycles, to mixed reviews. The Daily Telegraph praised Bicycles & Tricycles as being "inclusive, exploratory, and an enjoyable journey"; however, other publications dismissed it as "stoner dub" and irrelevant to current electronic music. Like Cydonia, Bicycles & Tricycles featured vocals, including female rapper MC Soom-T who added a hip hop twist to the album. The Orb left Island Records and released the album on Cooking Vinyl and Sanctuary Records. To promote the album, the band began a UK tour with dub reggae artist Mad Professor. Though The Orb still pulled in large crowds, The Guardian noted that they lacked the intensity found in their earlier performances.

2004–2007: Paterson & Fehlmann, The Transit Kings

performing at The Fringe Festival in Dublin.]] After two more EPs on Kompakt, The Orb (now composed of only Paterson and Fehlmann) released Okie Dokie It's The Orb on Kompakt, which featured new material in addition to tweaked versions of their previous Kompakt output. Fehlmann's trademark hypnotic loops and delays made him the center of Okie Dokie production and, according to Pitchfork Media, made it "difficult to say where [Paterson] is in the picture". The Orb's releases with Kompakt gained The Orb back much of their musical credibility with the press and showed that The Orb could "age gracefully".

In August 2006, the founders of The Orb - Paterson and Cauty - released Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God, their debut album as the Transit Kings with Guy Pratt and Pratt's associate, Dom Beken. The album featured appearances from The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and comedian Simon Day. Beken described Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God as "self-consciously musically written and less sample-based" compared to the members' previous work. Living had been in production since 2001, but due to members' other obligations, it was delayed for several years. while other publications, such as The Times, called it "Orb-lite" and proclaimed it to be "Deep Forest-style sludge". Soon after the album's release, Cauty left the Transit Kings on "extended leave", leaving the project in indefinite limbo. The Orb also brought in jazz and house music singer Juliet Roberts and guitarist Steve Hillage. A reunification of Paterson and his long-term collaborator Thomas Fehlmann who last worked together on Okie Dokie It's the Orb on Kompakt, the album was promoted with a launch party with Paterson and Fehlmann performing the whole album live at The-Situation Modern in Clapham, England on 10 September. The 11-track album is said to be the third in the Orbsessions series, although unlike the first two outtakes parts composed of brand new material, recorded at Fehlmann's Berlin studio.

Themes and influences

Inspiration

The Orb's members have drawn from an assortment of influences in their music. The Orb's central figure, Alex Paterson, had early musical tastes and influences which included King Tubby, Alice Cooper, Prince, Kraftwerk, and T.Rex. Among these, Paterson cites Kraftwerk as one of the most important, claiming they created the foundation from which all modern dance music has been built. though according to Paterson, Eno resents Paterson's use of his music as an influence. however, Paterson has stated that The Orb's music is more influenced by experimental electronic music more so than progressive rock of the 1970s. however, Paterson has strongly rejected the tag, claiming that even as a youth, he was "one of those punks who hated hippies".

During production of Cydonia and Bicycles & Tricycles, Paterson's biggest influences were drum and bass and trip hop music, as seen on the tracks "Ghostdancing", "Thursday's Keeper", and "Aftermath". The Orb's more recent influences consist largely of German techno producers, such as Triola, who themselves were inspired by The Orb's earlier work.

Drug use

As chill out DJs in the late 1980s, the Orb often played to the needs of the chemical generation (ravers of the 1980s and 1990s), making music to come down from drugs to.

Imagery

Imagery has always been an important part of The Orb's persona. This is most prominent during live performances, where The Orb often projects surreal images against onstage screens. Common images include morphing faces, futuristic cityscapes, and ubiquitous alien references. They have long associated their act with absurd symbology with images such as floating pigs. For their next album, The Orb poked fun at their Pink Floyd comparisons with the cover of Live 93 featuring a floating stuffed sheep over the Battersea Power Station, which had appeared on the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals. The artwork found in Badorb.com releases was similar to The Orb's odd artwork of the mid-1990s, as it was stylistically similar and contained little writing.

Science fiction and space

Some of the more prominent motifs in The Orb's work are outer space and science fiction, including alien visitations, space flight, and mind control. These have included The Orb's use of samples from serious sources such as NASA transmissions to comedic clips from films like Woody Allen's Sleeper. U.F.Orb especially expressed a fascination with alien life with its bizarre sound samples and in the album's title itself. Andy Hughes took Weston's place at live performances after the 1993 tour, though Weston did reappear for The Orb's concert at the rainy Woodstock '94. Though The Orb's performances use much onstage equipment and many props, Paterson prefers to present The Orb as "a non-centralised figure of amusement on stage". They hooked synthesisers, such as the ARP 2600, to MIDI interfaces to recreate specific sounds that appeared on their albums. However, The Orb "obliterated it" and reassembled only a few fragments for their remix, much to the chagrin of Jarre, who reportedly refused to release it;

Other artists have become agitated due to The Orb sampling their work, though Paterson jokingly suggests that "[t]hey don't know the half of it."

The Orb has been a prolific remixing team, having completed over 80 commissioned remixes since 1989. Though Paterson maintains that much of The Orb's remix work is done to support other artists, he admits some of their remixes for major artists were performed so that The Orb could "pay the bills".

2005: Okie Dokie It's the Orb on Kompakt (Kompakt)

2007: The Dream (Traffic Inc., Liquid Sound Design, Six Degrees) (UK #175)

2009: Baghdad Batteries (Orbsessions Volume III) (Malicious Damage)

2010: Metallic Spheres (featuring David Gilmour)(UK #12)

References

External links

Official Website

BadOrb.com label

Area One video

Interview with Alex Paterson and a live performance by The Orb

Category:1990s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:Ambient music groups Category:English electronic music groups Category:British house music groups Category:Remixers Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Island Records artists Category:MCA Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:British techno music groups Category:Musical groups established in 1988 Category:1988 establishments in England

Name	Steve Azar
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stephen Thomas Azar
Born	April 11, 1964
Origin	Greenville, Mississippi, USA
Instrument	Vocals, acoustic guitar
Genre	Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1996, 2001-present
Label	River North Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Midas Nashville, Dang, Ride
Associated acts	A.J. Masters, Bob Regan
Url	http://www.steveazarlive.com

Stephen Thomas "Steve" Azar (born April 11, 1964 in Greenville, Mississippi) is an American country music artist. Azar was signed to River North Nashville in 1995, and he released his debut album on February 27, 1996. After leaving River North, Azar took time away from his music. He returned in 2002 with his biggest hit, the #2 "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)", which was the lead-off single from his second studio album, Waitin' on Joe. In 2006, Azar released the single "You Don't Know a Thing". The single was supposed to be the lead-off to a third studio album, via Midas Records Nashville. When the song failed to make the Top 40, Azar left Midas. In early-2008, he formed his own label, Dang Records, and released Indianola in 2008 and Slide On Over Here in 2009.

Biography

Azar grew up in Greenville, Mississippi. By the time he was 5, he had begun performing at his own house with a toy guitar. In 1982, Azar entered Delta State University, intending to major in pre-med with an emphasis on chemistry. Three years later, however, he switched his major to management, although his interest had shifted to music. Azar formed a band with his brother Joe and developed a following throughout the Southeast. The band logged over 200 shows a year from Florida to Tennessee, including two New Year's performances at Overton Square.

After seven years on the road, Azar decided to find a record deal. He made the move to Nashville in 1993 at the urging of his friend, PGA champ Jim Gallagher, Jr. He signed a publishing deal, then a record deal with River North Records.

Music career

Heartbreak Town

Azar's debut album, Heartbreak Town was released on February 27, 1996, via River North Nashville Records. |- style="font-size:smaller;" ! width="50"| US Country ! width="50"| US Heat |- | 1996 | align="left"| Heartbreak Town

Released: February 27, 1996

Label: River North Nashville

| — | — |- | 2002 | align="left"| Waitin' on Joe

Released: April 16, 2002

Label: Mercury Nashville

| 29 | 31 |- | 2008 | align="left"| Indianola

Released: May 27, 2008

Label: Dang Records

| — | — |- | 2009 | align="left"| Slide On Over Here

Released: August 4, 2009

Label: Ride Records

| 57 | — |- | colspan="4" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |- |}

Singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

References

External links

Official website of Steve Azar

Category:1964 births Category:American country singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:Mercury Records artists

Name	Sammy Kershaw
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Samuel Paul Kershaw
Born	February 24, 1958
Origin	Kaplan, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, USA
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Country
Years active	1991-present
Label	Mercury, Audium/Koch, Category 5, Boomerville/Big Hit
Associated acts	Doug Kershaw, Lorrie Morgan
Url	http://www.sammykershaw.com/

Samuel Paul "Sammy" Kershaw (born February 24, 1958, in Kaplan, Louisiana) is an American country music artist. A third cousin of Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw and ex-husband of Lorrie Morgan, he has been active in country music since 1991. He has released ten studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than twenty-five singles have entered Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One hit "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" and ten more Top Ten hits: "Cadillac Style", "Anywhere but Here", "Haunted Heart", "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", "I Can't Reach Her Anymore", "National Working Woman's Holiday", "Third Rate Romance", "Meant to Be", "Vidalia", and "Love of My Life".

Early life and career

Sammy Kershaw was born in Kaplan in Acadiana in south Louisiana. Kershaw's often honky-tonk material and singing voice led to critical comparisons to George Jones,

Kershaw's second album, Haunted Heart, followed in 1993. Its lead-off single, "She Don't Know She's Beautiful", became his only Number One hit in April of that year. Following it were the title track, the Dennis Linde-penned "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", and "I Can't Reach Her Anymore", all of which hit the Top Ten as well. Although Kershaw had been told by others that radio audiences might not identify with the subject matter on "Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer", Kershaw had wanted to release the song because he had an experience similar to its story line. of the 64 parishes but ran third behind Dardenne and Democrat Caroline Fayard; Kershaw then endorsed fellow Republican Dardenne in the runoff election and joined Dardenne at campaign events, giving Dardenne a "bear hug" at Dardenne's victory celebration.

Discography

References

External links

The Official Sammy Kershaw website

NashvillePost.com story on bankruptcy filing, Feb. 2007

Sammy Kershaw candidate website

Category:1958 births Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Cajun people Category:Living people Category:Louisiana Republicans Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:People from Abbeville, Louisiana Category:People from Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

Name	Lil Wayne
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
Born	September 27, 1982New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Instrument	Vocals, Guitars
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, CEO
Years active	1992–present
Associated acts	Big Tymers, Birdman, Drake, Cash Money Millionaires, Hot Boys, Juelz Santana, Kevin Rudolf, T-Pain, Young Money, Eminem
Label	Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown
Url

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.

Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B; singles.

His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 which went on to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Lil Wayne released his debut rock album, Rebirth, in 2010 to primarily negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8 month prison sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. While in jail he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being in September 2010, featuring Young Money artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist.

Early life

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter was born when his mother, a chef, was 19 years old. His parents were divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School. In the summer of 1991, he met Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of Cash Money Records. Carter recorded freestyle raps on Williams's answering machine, leading him to mentor the young Carter and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs. He also recorded his first ever collaboration album True Story with rapper B.G.. At the time, Carter was 11, and B.G. was 14, and was billed as "The B.G.'z". When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of The Wiz. At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a .44 caliber gun, with the bullet missing his heart by two inches.

Music career

1997–99: The Hot Boys

In 1997, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. At age 15, Carter was the youngest member at that time. Hot Boys' debut album Get It How U Live! was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare, Carter was also featured on Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded. It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.

Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified 2x platinum, climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard album charts. and also became a Top Ten hit. Critics pointed to the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow Hot Boys. The lead single was "Get Off The Corner" which was noticed for an improvement in lyrical content and style, it also received a music video. The second single which received less attention was "Shine" featuring The Hot Boys. Near the release of Lights Out, Lil Wayne was featured on the single, "1# Stunna" with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which rose to 24th place on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.

In 2001, Lil Wayne was shot in the chest in Florida after "some groupies" fired two shots through his tour bus window. He recalled the incident in 2008 interview: 'It [the bullet] 'didn’t go all the way in, ’cause the window slowed it down.' The lead single was "Way Of Life" which like the album failed to match the success of his previous singles. After the release of 500 Degreez, he was featured in the single "Neva Get Enuf" by 3LW.

2004–07: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II and collaborations

In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes. In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks. After the release of Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in Destiny's Child's single "Soldier" with T.I., which peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B; Charts. The song Get Something (featuring Mannie Fresh) was supposed to appear on the album but failed to make the cut, however the music video was released.

Tha Carter II, the follow-up to the original Tha Carter album, was released in December 2005, this time without production by longtime Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh, who had since left the label. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and went on to sell 2,000,000 copies world wide. The lead single, "Fireman," became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "Grown Man", "Hustler Muzik", and "Shooter" (featuring R&B; singer Robin Thicke). Lil Wayne also appeared on a remix of Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me", which rose to No. 13 on the U.S. R&B; Charts.

In 2005, Lil Wayne was named president of Cash Money, and in the same year he founded Young Money Entertainment as an imprint of Cash Money. However, as of late 2007, Lil Wayne reported that he has stepped down from the management of both labels and has handed management of Young Money over to Cortez Bryant.

on July 23, 2007]]

In 2006, Lil Wayne collaborated with rapper Birdman for the album Like Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Instead of a follow-up solo album, Lil Wayne reached his audience through a plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop and hip-hop singles. and Vibe

Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including "Gimme That" by Chris Brown, "Make It Rain" by Fat Joe, "You" by Lloyd, and "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled (also featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman), "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by Wyclef Jean (also featuring Akon), and the remix to "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled (also featuring T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On Birdman's 2007 album 5 * Stunna, Lil Wayne appeared on the singles "100 Million" and "I Run This" among several other tracks. Wayne also appeared on tracks from albums Getback by Little Brother, American Gangster by Jay-Z, and Graduation by Kanye West and Insomniac by Enrique Iglesias. "Make it Rain", a Scott Storch production that peaked at number 13 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.

Vibe magazine ranked a list of 77 of Lil Wayne's songs from 2007 and ranked his verse in DJ Khaled's "We Takin Over" as his best of 2007, with "Dough Is What I Got" (a freestyle over the beat of Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got") from Da Drought 3 the second song. The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year", In 2008 he was named "Best Rock Star Alive" by Blender magazine

2008–09: Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money

Initially planned to be released in 2007, Tha Carter III's largest delay came after the majority of the tracks were leaked and distributed on mixtapes, such as "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Lil Wayne initially decided to use the leaked tracks, plus four new tracks, to make a separate album, titled The Leak. The Leak was to be released December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until March 18, 2008, The release of The Leak in this format never came to fruition, but an official EP titled The Leak and containing five tracks was released digitally on December 25, 2007.

Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release, the first to do so since 50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005. The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static became the rapper's most commercially successful song at that point, topping the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Top 10 single for Lil Wayne as a solo artist, as well as his first No. 1 on the chart. His third single from Carter III', "Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 100. Along with his album singles, Lil Wayne appeared on R&B; singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Love In This Club, Part II" by Usher, "Official Girl" by Cassie, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Turnin' Me On" by Keri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "My Life" by The Game, "Shawty Say" by David Banner, "Swagga Like Us" by T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by Mike Jones, All My Life (In the Ghetto) by Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by Glasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by new Cash Money artist Kevin Rudolf. On July 14, 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Tha Carter III two times platinum. In an October 2008 interview with MTV News, Lil Wayne announced plans to re-release this album with all new tracks, including a duet with Ludacris and remixes of "A Milli". concert in Vancouver in January 2009.]]

The lineup for New Orleans' 2008 Voodoo Experience concert, held in October, featured Lil Wayne. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard magazine reported that the event would mark his biggest hometown headlining set of his career. Lil Wayne stated that he would reunite with Hot Boys alongside Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. They plan to release an album after B.G.'s solo album Too Hood to Be Hollywood was completed. Wayne also performed as the 2008 Virgin Mobile Music Fest with Kanye West, performing the remix of "Lollipop" with West and also lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". Lil Wayne also performed at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards with Kid Rock ("All Summer Long"), Leona Lewis ("DontGetIt (Misunderstood)") and T-Pain ("Got Money"). On the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, he performed "Lollipop" and "Got Money". He later performed at the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University and the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations. He won the "MVP" title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others. It was revealed that M.I.A. dropped out of performing on the tour due to her pregnancy, however Jay-Z is expected to perform with Wayne on the song "Mr. Carter" at select shows.

On November 11, 2008, Wayne became the first hip-hop act to ever perform at the Country Music Association Awards. He played alongside Kid Rock for the song, "All Summer Long", in which Wayne did not rap but instead inaudibly strummed guitar strings alongside the guitarist in Kid Rock's band. Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys – the most for any artist nominated that year. Wayne was then named the first ever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008. He won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "A Milli", Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his appearance in T.I.'s single "Swagga Like Us", and Best Rap Song for "Lollipop". Tha Carter III won the award for Best Rap Album.

DJ Drama stated that there would be a third installation of the Dedication mixtape series with Lil Wayne, who insisted that it will would be a full album under the title. However despite the fact Wayne wanted to release Dedication 3 as an album, it was released as a mixtape on November 14, 2008.

MTV listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs In The Game.

On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl". The second single is "BedRock", featuring Lloyd. The third single is "Roger That". On May 24, 2010, the album was certified gold by the RIAA with over 500,000 copies sold.

Wayne is featured on the song, "Revolver", with Madonna for her 2009 greatest hits album, Celebration. He was also featured on a Weezer song, "Can't Stop Partying", on their 2009 album, Raditude.

2008–present: Rebirth, I Am Not a Human Being, and Tha Carter IV

In late 2008, Wayne stated that he would re-release The Carter III with leftover tracks and call it Rebirth, several months later, however, he announced Rebirth would instead release as his debut rock album, maintaining its title as Rebirth. To support the release of Rebirth and a collaboration album with Young Money Entertainment, Wayne headlined the 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival'... a United States and Canada–only concert tour which started on July 29, 2009. The Rebirth album was originally scheduled for a April 7, 2009 release, however after numerous delays, the album was released on February 2, 2010. For the anticipation of Rebirth, Wayne was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.

"Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27, 2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream of his concert in San Diego. "Prom Queen" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. On December 3, 2009, Lil Wayne's second single from the album, "On Fire", was released on iTunes. "On Fire" was produced by Cool & Dre with Lil Wayne playing the guitar with the aid of Pro Tools. "On Fire" peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Drop the World", which features Eminem, is the third single from the album. Following Tha Carter III's achievement of selling over 2 million copies, becoming 2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal. Wayne said Tha Carter IV will be released in 2009 just before the holidays. Birdman had previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with Rebirth as a double disc album. However, Wayne denied this idea saying that "Tha Carter IV deserves Tha Carter IV". He went on to say that We Are Young Money may be packaged with Rebirth. However, it was later confirmed that Rebirth and We Are Young Money will be released separately and that Tha Carter IV will be released during 2011. He started from scratch on Tha Carter IV since getting released from jail. He recorded his first track since being released from jail and it was described as being "a 2010 version of A Milli'' on steroids." The album is set to feature multiple guests, including Tech N9ne. The album will be released February 2011. The first single "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz was released on December 15, 2010. It was available for digital download on iTunes December 16, 2010. The song is produced by Bangladesh, who also produced Lil Wayne's single A Milli in 2008. Tha Carter IV is expected for release in Winter 2011.

Future projects

He has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face with rapper Juelz Santana that has been in production for several years. He has discussed a possible R&B; album titled Luv Sawngz, for which he will heavily rely on a vocoder. He has also talked with singer Lloyd about doing a collaboration album in the future. On June 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and T-Pain formed a duo called T-Wayne and planned to release an album. On June 8, 2010, Drake confirmed that he and Wayne are planning to release a joint album in the future. Lil Wayne and Baby will release a second Like Father, Like Son album around Fathers Day 2011. Wayne and Drake will release a collaboration album sometime in the near future.

Television and film career

Lil Wayne was a guest debater going up against Skip Bayless on the "1st & 10" segment on the January 6, 2009 edition of ESPN First Take. On February 10, 2009 he also appeared on ESPN's Around the Horn and beat out veterans Woody Paige, Jay Mariotti and fellow New Orleanian Michael Smith to win that show's episode. Wayne is set to produce and compose music for the film Hurricane Season. A documentary of Lil Wayne titled The Carter was released at the Sundance Film Festival. Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with Katie Couric. He then appeared on an April 24 episode of The View – talking about his GED and addictions. In September 2009, Wayne was profiled in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music and was a presenter of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

Personal life

Family

Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15, Internet rumours started circulating in August 2008 that Wayne's daughter had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up as false saying "Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by family who care and love her dearly. The rumors are completely false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of my family has been involved in any car accident." His second child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. His third child, Lennox Samuel Ari, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. He had his fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer Nivea.

In a CBS interview with Katie Couric, Wayne described why he goes by the name of "Wayne" instead of his given name, Dwayne. Carter explained, "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Couric asked Wayne if his father knew of this and Wayne replied with a smile, "He knows now". He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses. An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.

Sports and musical interests

In an interview with Blender magazine, Lil Wayne revealed one of his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group Nirvana, and cites them as a major influence in his music.

On September 24, 2008, Lil Wayne published his first blog for ESPN in their issue, ESPN The Magazine. Wayne revealed he was a fan of tennis, the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Bruins, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Red Sox. Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party.

Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.

Along with Mack Maine, Wayne was in attendance of Game 3 of the opening round NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the home team New Orleans Hornets on April 25, 2009.

Religion

Lil Wayne is a practicing Christian, who takes time to read the Bible regularly. He then asked the Newark crowd if they also believed, and they responded affirmatively with a roar.

According to his Rikers Island inmate ID and prison records, Wayne is specifically a Roman Catholic.

Philanthropy

On February 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and Cortez Bryant revisited their alma mater McMain Secondary School to get students to design an invitation to the gala introducing Lil Wayne's nonprofit One Family Foundation. The website Change.org states: "The mission of One Family Foundation, Inc. is to empower urban youth by engaging them in opportunities to cultivate their talents and skills, educating them to become productive and economically self-sufficient, and motivating them to dream beyond their circumstances."

Drug use and arrests

Wayne told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on her All Access Grammy Special in 2009 that he enjoys smoking marijuana recreationally. He also stated that he is "not addicted" to drinking purple drank (codeine cough syrup) any longer, like some claimed he was. He has been arrested for use or possession of marijuana and other drugs.

Following a performance at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, Lil Wayne was arrested October 5, 2007 on felony fugitive charges after Georgia authorities accused the rapper of possessing a controlled substance. The incident was later described as a "mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.

On January 23, 2008, Lil Wayne was arrested alongside two others. His tour bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents near Yuma, Arizona. A K-9 Unit recovered of marijuana, almost of cocaine, of MDMA, and $22,000 in cash. Lil Wayne was charged with four felonies: possession of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was granted permission to travel outside of the state and remain out of custody on the $10,185 bond he posted. On May 6, 2008, Wayne returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges. A bench warrant was issued on March 17, 2010 when Lil Wayne didn't show for a final trial management conference. However, the rapper was already in prison, serving a year-long sentence in Rikers on weapons charges. On June 22, 2010 Wayne plead guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal he may serve 36 months of probation. On June 30, 2010, he was sentenced to 3 years probation.

On December 18, 2009, Wayne and 11 others were detained at the Falfurrias, Texas border patrol checkpoint after an unknown amount of marijuana was found on two of his tour buses.

New York weapon case

On July 22, 2007, Lil Wayne was arrested in New York City following a performance at the Beacon Theatre; the New York City Police Department discovered Lil Wayne and another man smoking marijuana near a tour bus. After taking Lil Wayne into custody, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol on his person. The gun, which was registered to his manager, was in a bag located near the rapper. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.

On October 22, 2009, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was due for sentencing in February 2010 and was expected to receive a one-year jail sentence, but on February 9, 2010, Lil Wayne's attorney announced that the sentencing was delayed until March 2 due to dental surgery, which was performed on February 16. The surgery included eight root canals, the replacement of several tooth implants, as well as the addition of a few new implants and work on his remaining original teeth.

On March 2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the courthouse reported a fire in the basement.

On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne was sentenced to a year in prison, which he served in Rikers Island. His lawyer said the rapper expected to be held in protective custody, separated from other prisoners. He was released on good behavior. However, in May 2010 Wayne was found by Rikers Island correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3 player, charger, and headphones). However at that time, it was reported by MTV and HipHopDX (and later confirmed) that Lil Wayne was to be released four months early in November.

In April 2010, Lil Wayne's friends created a website called Weezy Thanx You, which publishes letters written by Wayne in prison. In the first letter, titled "Gone 'til November", the rapper described his daily routine, saying he works out a lot, and reads the Bible every day.

Lawsuits

In February 2009, production company RMF Productions filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Wayne, following a $100,000 advance payment for three shows, all of which were cancelled by the artist.

On October 2009, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Cash Money Records and various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims his voice was used without permission. The rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers' collaboration album Like Father, Like Son and Birdman's 5 * Stunna.

Public references by Barack Obama

Lil Wayne has been referenced in public speeches by President Barack Obama on at least two occasions, in mixed contexts. Speaking to a largely African-American audience during a general election campaign town hall speech in Georgia, then-U.S. Senator Obama exhorted children to stay in school and achieve their dreams through education and perseverance instead of hoping for shortcuts to fame and riches, stating: "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school."

After assuming the Presidency, Obama later echoed this theme of personal and familial responsibility—and the difficulty of achieving Lil Wayne's lyrical skills or success—during an address to a meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, telling the audience:}}

Obama also mentioned listening to Lil Wayne on his iPod:

Discography

; Studio albums

1999: Tha Block Is Hot

2000: Lights Out

2002: 500 Degreez

2004: Tha Carter

2005: Tha Carter II

2008: Tha Carter III

2010: Rebirth

2010: I Am Not a Human Being

2011: Tha Carter IV

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

Lil Wayne at MTV

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:21st-century American criminals Category:African-American Catholics Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:American shooting survivors Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop singers Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:University of Houston alumni Category:World Music Awards winners

Name	Laura Bell Bundy
Caption	Bundy in April 2010
Birthname	Laura Ashley Bell Bundy
Birthdate	April 10, 1981
Birthplace	Euclid, Ohio
Othername	Laura Bell,Laura Bundy
Occupation	Film, stage, television actress, singer, dancer, songwriter
Yearsactive	1990–present
Parents	Don Bundy and Lorna Bell Bundy-Jones
Website	http://laurabellbundy.com

Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer who has performed in a number of Broadway roles, both starring and supporting, as well as in television and film. Her best known Broadway roles are the original Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray and the original Elle Woods in the musical version of Legally Blonde. She signed to Mercury Records Nashville and released her first country music single, "Giddy On Up," in early 2010. The album's second single, "Drop on By", was released to country radio on August 9, 2010.

Early life

Bundy was born in Euclid, Ohio. Her mother, Lorna Bundy-Jones, manages a Victoria's Secret. Her father, Don Bundy, is an electrical engineer. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Lexington, Kentucky. She grew up dancing at Town and Village school of Dance, in Paris, Kentucky. Her parents divorced when she was 16 years old; both have since remarried. She made her stage debut in regional theatre when she was nine years old. She graduated from Lexington Catholic High School in 1999.

Bundy was diagnosed with Celiac Disease when she was about 18/19 years old.

Career

Bundy originated the role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless! The Musical. For this part, she was nominated for a 1993 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. In 2002 she made her Broadway debut in the musical Hairspray, originating the role of Amber Von Tussle. Bundy was next a standby for both Kristin Chenoweth and Jennifer Laura Thompson in the role of Galinda in Wicked. From 2007 to 2008 she starred on Broadway in Legally Blonde: The Musical where she originated the lead role of Elle Woods, receiving her first Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. After leaving the show in July 2008 she was succeeded by Bailey Hanks, the winner of .

Credits outside of New York include the national tour of The Sound of Music , with Betty Buckley and Deborah Gibson at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey and the Los Angeles production of Rock of Ages, in which she starred as Sherrie.

Offstage, Bundy has appeared in films including The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993), Life with Mikey (1993), and Jumanji (1995) as Young Sarah Whittle. She appeared in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls as a member of the fictitious pop group "Dave & the Sweethearts". Bundy was also seen on the CBS soap opera The Guiding Light as Marah Lewis for two years, (October 14, 1999 – October 29, 2001) as well as in television shows such as Veronica Mars, Happy Hour, Modern Men, Cold Case, and Strangers with Candy. She also appears in several short web videos as various comedic characters, such as Justice Goode and Shocantelle Brown. (Justice Goode, Shocantelle Brown)

Bundy released her debut country music album titled Longing For a Place Already Gone. After leaving Legally Blonde: The Musical on July 20, 2008, she moved back to Nashville to work on her second album.

On September 27, 2008, she headlined Anaheim, California's the Chance Theater with fellow Wicked alum Eden Espinosa, and with "Spring Awakening" alum Lea Michele for the Broadway Chance Style Up Close and Personal concert.

She guest-starred in the TV series, Cold Case with Adam Pascal and Tracie Thoms in the episode "Willkommen".

Bundy was a judge at the Miss America 2009 pageant.

Bundy reprised the role of Elle Woods in the U.S. national tour of Legally Blonde as a temporary replacement for the injured Becky Gulsvig. She began her brief run on January 13, 2009 and ended it on February 22, 2009. She was to play Elle again during the Nashville engagement of the national tour from June 23-28. However, she fractured her arm during the performance on June 27, and finished the show, and was rushed to the hospital immediately after.

Bundy has landed a recurring role on the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother as Becky, Robin's co-anchor.

Country music career

Her first single, "Giddy On Up", debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at #60 for the chart week of February 20, 2010, and peaked at #31 in May. The single was made into a music video, which was directed by Shane Drake. She also performed the song on the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards, where it was done in the style of the music video. The next single, "Drop On By," was less successful than her debut, only peaking at #48.

Her debut album, Achin' and Shakin' was released on April 13, 2010. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart as well as #28 on the all-genre Billboard 200. As of June 26, 2010, the album has sold over 70,000 copies in the United States.

Bundy also appeared in fellow country artist Miranda Lambert's music video for "Only Prettier", as one of Lambert's friends alongside Kellie Pickler and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

^A To be released.

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

Copley, Rich. Laura Bell Bundy has lead in 'Legally Blonde' on Broadway. Lexington Herald-Leader, October 3, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2006.

External links

Official Website

Category:1981 births Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American television actors Category:Actors from Kentucky Category:Living people Category:People from Lexington, Kentucky Category:Mercury Records artists Category:American country singers Category:American female singers

Name	Floyd Cramer
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Floyd Cramer
Born	October 27, 1933
Died	December 31, 1997
Instrument	Piano
Occupation	Pianist
Associated acts	Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Patsy Cline

Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville Sound." He popularized the 'slip note' piano style where one note slides effortlessly into the next. This was a major departure from the percussive piano style which was popular in the late 1950s.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, teaching himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show. After Cramer relocated permanently to Nashville, Allen "Puddler" Harris, a native of Franklin Parish in northeastern Louisiana, replaced him as the pianist for the Hayride.

Biography

In 1953, Floyd Cramer entered the recording studio and cut his first single, "Dancin' Diane", backed with "Little Brown Jug", for the local Abbott label. He then toured with an emerging talent who would later figure significantly in his career, Elvis Presley.

Cramer moved to Nashville in 1955 where the use of piano accompanists in country music was growing in popularity. By the next year he was, in his words "in day and night doing sessions.” Before long, he was one of the busiest studio musicians in the industry, playing piano for stars such as Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, The Browns, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson, and the Everly Brothers, among others. It was Cramer's piano playing, for instance, on Presley's first national hit, "Heartbreak Hotel." However, Cramer remained strictly a session player, a virtual unknown to anyone outside the music industry.

Cramer had released records under his own name since the early 1950s, and became well known following the release of "Last Date", a 45 rpm single in 1960. The instrumental piece exhibited a relatively new concept for piano playing known as the "slip note" style. The record went to Number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart, and sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

In 1961 Cramer had a hit with "On the Rebound," which went to number three, and number one the UK chart. ("On the Rebound" was later featured during the opening credits of the 2009 Oscar-nominated film An Education, which was set in 1961 England). That same year Cramer also hit with "San Antonio Rose" (number eight).

By the mid-1960s, Cramer had become a respected performer, making numerous record albums and touring with guitar maestro Chet Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph; also performing with them as a member of the Million Dollar Band.

Over the years, Cramer continued to balance session work with his own albums. Many of these featured standards or popular hits of the era and from 1965 to 1974 he annually recorded a disc of the year's biggest hits prefaced "Class of . . ." Other long-players included I Remember Hank Williams (1962), Floyd Cramer Plays the Monkees (1967), Looking For Mr Goodbar (1968) and Sounds of Sunday (1971). In 1977 Floyd Cramer and the Keyboard Kick Band was released, on which he played eight different keyboard instruments.

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

The Nashville A-Team

References

Escott, Colin (1998). "Floyd Cramer". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 117–8.

External links

http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=2028

http://www.spaceagepop.com/cramer.htm

http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=110#

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Category:1933 births Category:1997 deaths Category:American country singers Category:American country pianists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Abbott Records artists Category:RCA Victor artists Category:People from Shreveport, Louisiana Category:People from Union County, Arkansas Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Cancer deaths in Tennessee

Name	Eddie Hill
Pixels	150px
Caption	Hill in 2008
Nationality	United States
Date of birth	March 06, 1936
Education	Texas A&M; University
Retired	1999
Last series	NHRA Top Fuel
Years active	1963–1966, 1985–1999
Teams	self-owned
Wins	13
Best finish	1st
Year	1993
Titles	12 national titles
Awards	ranked 14th on NHRA's Top 50 drivers (2001)inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2002)Drag Racing Hall of Fame (1978)Texas Motor Sports Hall of Fame (2007)

Eddie Hill (born March 6, 1936) is a retired American drag racer who won numerous drag racing championships on land and water. Hill had the first run in the four second range (4.990 seconds), which earned him the nickname "Four Father of Drag Racing." His other nicknames include "The Thrill", In 1960, he set the NHRA record for the largest improvement in the elapsed time (e.t.) when he drove the quarter mile in 8.84 seconds to break the previous 9.40-second record.

Hill raced at open competitions and Top Fuel events from 1955 until he retired in 1966. After opening a motorcycle shop, he returned several years later to race motorcycles. He started racing drag boats after attending a drag boat event in 1974 and he won championships in all of the major boat drag racing sanctioning bodies. Hill set the lowest wet elapsed time (e.t.) record with a 5.16-second run, which was lower than the land drag racing record of 5.39 seconds. He quit water drag racing after he suffered broken bones at a crash in Arizona and returned to land drag racing in 1985. Initially underfunded and unsuccessful, Hill set the all-time speed record at a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) event in 1987, becoming the first person to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously. In 1993, Hill became the NHRA's oldest Top Fuel champion. When Hill retired in 1999, he had won 12 national season point championships on land or water, and had won more than 100 trophies in motorcycles and 86 drag events between his land and water careers. Hill built his first Top Fuel dragster in 1963 using a Pontiac engine. He built two more Top Fuel Hemi-powered dragsters before he had an engine fire at Green Valley Race City in 1966. "It was one of those fireballs that you couldn't see through," Hill said. "I locked up the brakes, and it felt like I needed to turn the wheel to the left, but for some reason, I didn't. I had to do something that was counterintuitive, and it spooked me."

Boat drag racing

Hill attended his first boat drag racing event in 1974 at Austin, Texas. His Texas A&M; ring was torn off his hand; he suffered seven broken bones, a concussion, & eye injuries.

Innovations

In 1960, he became the first driver to heat his rear tires with a burnout and he was the first driver to use smaller front tires on a dragster in 1958. Hill introduced the aerodynamic front wing to dragsters and charcoal masks for driver safety.

Personal life

Hill is married to Ercie Hill. They met at a boat drag racing event and were married on Valentine's Day in 1984. In 2000, he was inducted in Don Garlits' International Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Hill was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2002.

In 1988, Hill was selected by Car Craft magazine, Hot Rod Magazine, and the International Hot Rod Association as the Person of the Year. Car Craft magazine's readers voted him the Top Fuel Driver of the Year after he won the 1993 championship.

References

External links

Eddie Hill's Fun Cycles

Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:People from Texas Category:American racecar drivers Category:Dragster drivers Category:Texas A&M; University alumni Category:American motorboat racers

{{Infobox Musical artist | Name = Easton Corbin | Img = Eastoncorbin.jpg | Img_capt = Easton Corbin being interviewed. | Landscape = yes | Background = solo_singer | Born = April 12 | Origin = Trenton, Florida, USA Joe Fisher, senior director of A&R; at Universal Music Group Nashville, signed Corbin to the Mercury Nashville label in 2009. shortly before the single entered Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Corbin's self-titled debut album was released in March 2010, under the production of Carson Chamberlain. The album had first-week sales of 43,000 copies, making for the highest first-week sales on the Mercury Nashville label in seven years.

"A Little More Country Than That" peaked at Number One on the country charts dated for the week ending April 3, 2010, making Corbin the first solo male country artist to send a debut single to Number One since Dierks Bentley's "What Was I Thinkin'" in 2003. "Roll with It" was released as the album's second single, which hit #1 in October 2010. Corbin has also signed onto Brad Paisley's H20 World Tour, which began in May 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

;Notes

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from Florida Category:People from Gilchrist County, Florida Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Name	Darius Rucker
Background	solo_singer
Born	May 13, 1966
Origin	Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, Rhythm guitar
Genre	Rock, R&B;, Country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1986–present
Label	Atlantic Hidden Beach Capitol Nashville
Associated acts	Hootie & the Blowfish Frank Rogers

Darius Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American musician. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he first gained fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld and Dean Felber. The band has released five studio albums with him as a member, and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote the majority of the band's songs with the other three members.

He released a solo R&B; album, Back to Then, in 2002 on Hidden Beach Recordings but did not chart any singles from it. Six years later, Rucker signed to Capitol Records Nashville as a country music artist, releasing the album Learn to Live that year. Its first single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", made him the first African American to chart a number one on the Hot Country Songs charts since Charley Pride in 1983. It was followed by two more number-one singles, "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Alright" and the number three "History in the Making". In 2009, he became the first African American to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association, and only the second African American to win any award from the association. A second Capitol album, Charleston, SC 1966, was released on October 12, 2010, and was led off by the number-one "Come Back Song".

Early life

Darius Rucker was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, where his family history goes back generations. His single mother, Carolyn, who was a nurse, raised him with his five siblings: three sisters and two brothers. According to Rucker, his father was "never around," and Rucker only saw him before church on Sundays. His father was in a gospel band called The Rolling Stones. All five albums feature songs that Rucker, Bryan and Felber wrote. As the frontman, Rucker began to be called simply "Hootie" in the media, though the band title combines the nicknames of his college friends.

Rucker's signature contribution to the band is his baritone voice which Rolling Stone has called "ingratiating," TIME has called "low, gruff, [and] charismatic," He has brought additional attention as the sole African-American member of a major rock band with otherwise white members. Rucker said they "flipped" the formula of the all black band with a white frontman, like Frank Sinatra performing with Count Basie. He also received death threats for singing the Hootie song "Drowning," a protest song against the flying of the Confederate flag above the South Carolina statehouse.

Shortly after gaining a measure of fame, Felber and Rucker (who consider themselves best friends) moved into an apartment in Columbia, South Carolina. That same week, he made a voice cameo in an episode of the sitcom Friends. and sang backing vocals on Radney Foster's 1999 album See What You Want to See. Rucker encouraged Atlantic Records to agree to a deal with Edwin McCain, and made a guest appearance on McCain's debut album, Honor Among Thieves.

Solo career

In 2001, he made his solo R&B; debut album, The Return of Mongo Slade, for Atlantic Records. Because of contractual changes, it was never released by the label. Hidden Beach Recordings, an independent label, acquired the masters from Atlantic and released the album as Back to Then in July 2002.

Rucker appeared on a pop-star edition of the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in July 2001. He also portrayed a singing cowboy in a television commercial for the fast food chain Burger King, promoting their TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich in 2005. In the commercial, he sang a jingle set to the tune of "Big Rock Candy Mountain."

Country music

Debut album (2008-2009)

In early 2008, Rucker signed to Capitol Records Nashville as the beginning of a career in country music. His first solo single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (which he co-wrote with Clay Mills) debuted at number 51 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts for the week of May 3, 2008. It is the first single from his second album, Learn to Live. For this album, Rucker worked with Frank Rogers, a record producer who has also produced for Brad Paisley and Trace Adkins. Rucker also made his Grand Ole Opry debut in July 2008. "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" became the first top 20 hit for an African American on the country music charts since Charley Pride's last Top 20 hit, which came in 1988. The single reached number one in September, making Rucker the first solo, African-American artist to chart a number one country hit since Pride's "Night Games" in 1983.

Learn to Live was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 6, 2009, and received a platinum certification on August 7, 2009. The album's second single, "It Won't Be Like This for Long", spent three weeks at the top of the country charts in mid-2009. Its follow-up, "Alright", became Rucker's third straight number one hit, making him the first country music singer to have his or her first three singles reach number one since Wynonna achieved that feat in 1992. The album's fourth single, "History in the Making" was released in September and peaked at number three on the country charts. The singles from the album also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, respectively peaking at numbers 35, 36, 30 and 61.

Rucker's entry into the country world was met with some intrigue, largely because of his history as a rock musician and because he is African-American. Billboard magazine said that "there's a sense of purpose that makes Rucker feel like a member of the country family, rather than calculating interloper." Rucker made visits to various country stations around the US, explaining that he was aware that he was the "new kid on the block." Mike Culotta, the program director of the Tampa, Florida radio station WQYK-FM expected that Rucker would be "somebody who would have entitlement," but instead said that "Darius engaged everybody." When Rucker found that "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" went to number one, he cried. On November 11, 2009, Rucker won the Country Music Association New Artist of the Year award (formerly known as the Horizon Award), making him the first African American to do so since the award was introduced in 1981. Only one other African American has won at the CMAs: Charley Pride, who won entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971 and 1972.

Second album (2010-present)

Rucker released his second country album, titled Charleston, SC 1966, on October 12, 2010. The title is inspired by Radney Foster's solo debut album, Del Rio, TX 1959. Its first single was "Come Back Song," which Rucker wrote with Chris Stapleton and Casey Beathard. It was his fourth number one on the country charts as well as a number 37 hit on the Hot 100. Rucker wrote this song with Rogers and Kara DioGuardi.

Personal life

Rucker is a Miami Dolphins fan, and has a tattoo of their logo. He also likes the film Stir Crazy, which he has seen more than 100 times. The Hootie song "Where Were You" is about Rucker's strained relationship with his father, and was only released in Europe, where Rucker thought that his father would be unlikely to hear it.

Rucker is close friends with golfer Tiger Woods, whom he met in a bar when Woods was 18. Rucker sang at the golfer's wedding with Hootie & the Blowfish, and at his father's funeral.

Discography

Albums

Back to Then (2002)

Learn to Live (2008)

Charleston, SC 1966 (2010)

Billboard number-one singles

"Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (2008)

"It Won't Be Like This for Long" (2009)

"Alright" (2009)

"Come Back Song" (2010)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1966 births Category:African American rock musicians Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American male singers Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Hootie & the Blowfish members Category:Living people Category:Musicians from South Carolina Category:People from Charleston, South Carolina Category:University of South Carolina alumni Category:English-language singers

Name	Chet Atkins
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Chester Burton Atkins
Alias	Mr. GuitarThe Country Gentleman
Born	June 20, 1924Luttrell, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	June 30, 2001Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Instrument	Guitar
Genre	Country, classical, folk, jazz
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
Years active	1942–2001
Label	RCA, Columbia
Url	Official Website
Notable instruments	Country GentlemanTennessean6120Gibson Chet Atkins SST

Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), better known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who created, along with Owen Bradley, the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.

Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes and Les Paul, brought him admirers within and outside the country scene, both in the United States and internationally. Atkins produced records for Perry Como, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Jim Reeves, Jerry Reed, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, Waylon Jennings and others.

Among many honors, Atkins received 14 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Biography

Childhood and early life

Chet Atkins was born on June 20, 1924, in Luttrell, Tennessee, near Clinch Mountain, and grew up with his mother, two brothers and a sister—he was the youngest. His parents divorced when he was six. He started out on the ukulele, later moving on to the fiddle, but traded his brother Lowell an old pistol and some chores for a guitar when he was nine. He stated in his 1974 autobiography, "We were so poor and everybody around us was so poor that it was the forties before anyone even knew there had been a depression." Forced to relocate to Fortson, Georgia to live with his father due to a near-fatal asthma condition, Atkins was a sensitive youth who made music his obsession. Because of his illness, he was forced to sleep in a straight-back chair in order to breathe comfortably. On those nights, he would play his guitar until he fell asleep holding it, a habit which lasted his whole life. While living in Fortson, he attended historic Mountain Hill School. He would return in the 1990s to play a series of charity concerts to save the school from demolition.

Stories have been told about the very young Chet who, when a friend or relative would come to visit, and if that person played a guitar, would crowd in and put his ear so very close to the instrument that it became difficult for that person to play. His first guitar had a nail for a nut and was so bowed that only the first few frets could be used. He later purchased a semi-acoustic electric guitar and amp, but he had to travel many miles to find an electrical outlet since his home had no electricity.

Later in life he lightheartedly gave himself (along with John Knowles, Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Wariner and Jerry Reed) the honorary degree CGP, standing for "Certified Guitar Player". This early influence dramatically shaped his unique playing style. Whereas Travis's right hand used his index finger for the melody and thumb for bass notes, Atkins expanded his right hand style to include picking with his first three fingers, with the thumb on bass.

Chet Atkins was a Ham Radio General class licensee. Formerly using the call-sign, WA4CZD, he obtained the vanity call sign W4CGP in 1998 to reflect the C.G.P. name. He was an ARRL member.

Early musical career

After dropping out of high school in 1942, Atkins landed a job at WNOX-AM radio in Knoxville. There he played fiddle and guitar with singer Bill Carlisle and comic Archie Campbell as well as becoming a member of the station's Dixieland Swingsters, a small swing instrumental combo. After three years, he moved to WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Merle Travis had formerly worked.

After six months he moved to Raleigh and worked with Johnnie and Jack before heading for Richmond, Virginia, where he performed with Sunshine Sue Workman. Atkins's shy personality worked against him, as did the fact that his sophisticated style led many to doubt he was truly "country." He was fired often but was soon able to land another job at another radio station due to his unique playing ability. Atkins made his first appearance at the Opry in 1946 as a member of Foley's band. He also recorded a single for Nashville-based Bullet Records that year. That single, "Guitar Blues", was fairly progressive, including as it did, a clarinet solo by Nashville dance band musician Dutch McMillan with Owen Bradley on piano. He had a solo spot on the Opry; but when that was cut, Atkins moved on to KWTO-AM in Springfield, Missouri. Despite the support of executive Si Siman, however, he was soon was fired for not sounding "country enough." and Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me" and "Blue Blue Day". The once rare phenomenon of having a country hit cross over to pop success became more common. He and Bradley had essentially put the producer in the driver's seat, guiding an artist's choice of material and the musical background.

Atkins made his own records, which usually visited pop standards and jazz, in a sophisticated home studio, often recording the rhythm tracks at RCA but adding his solo parts at home, refining it until the result satisfied him. In later years, when Bradley asked how he achieved his sound, Atkins told him "it was Porter." Porter described Atkins as respectful of musicians when recording—if someone were out of tune he would not single that person out by name. Instead, he would say something like, "we got a little tuning problem ... Everybody check and see what's going on." He took a considerable risk during the mid-1960s, when the Civil Rights Movement sparked violence throughout the South by signing country music's first African-American singer Charley Pride, who sang rawer country than the smoother music Atkins had pioneered.

Atkins's own biggest hit single came in 1965, with "Yakety Axe", an adaptation of his friend saxophonist Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax". He rarely performed in those days, and eventually had to hire other RCA producers like Bob Ferguson and Felton Jarvis to alleviate his workload.

In later years he even went back to radio, appearing on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion radio program, on American Public Media radio, even picking up a fiddle from time to time.

Atkins is notable for his broad influence. His love for numerous styles of music can be traced from his early recording of stride-pianist James P. Johnson's "Johnson Rag," all the way to the rock stylings of Eric Johnson, an invited guest on Atkins's recording sessions who, when Chet attempted to copy his influential rocker "Cliffs of Dover", led to Atkins's creation of a unique arrangement of "Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)."

Chet's recordings of "Malaguena" inspired a new generation of Flamenco guitarists; the classical guitar selections included on almost all his albums were, for many American artists working in the field today, the first classical guitar they ever heard. He recorded smooth jazz guitar still played on American airwaves today.

While he did more performing in the 1990s his health grew frail as he was diagnosed with cancer again in 1996. He died on June 30, 2001 at his home in Nashville.

Atkins was laid to rest at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens in Nashville.

Atkins was quoted many times throughout his career, and of his own legacy he once said:

A stretch of Interstate 185 in southwest Georgia (between LaGrange and Columbus) is named "Chet Atkins Parkway". This stretch of interstate runs through Fortson, GA where Atkins spent much of his childhood.

In 2002, Atkins was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Atkins also inspired Drexl Jonez and Tommy Emmanuel.

Clint Black's album "Nothin' but the Taillights" includes the song "Ode to Chet," which includes the lines "'Cause I can win her over like Romeo did Juliet, if I can only show her I can almost pick that legato lick like Chet" and "It'll take more than Mel Bay 1, 2, & 3 if I'm ever gonna play like CGP." Atkins plays guitar on the track. At the end of the song Black and Atkins have a brief conversation.

Discography

Industry Awards

Country Music Association

1967 Instrumentalist of the Year

1968 Instrumentalist of the Year

1969 Instrumentalist of the Year

1981 Instrumentalist of the Year

1982 Instrumentalist of the Year

1983 Instrumentalist of the Year

1984 Instrumentalist of the Year

1985 Instrumentalist of the Year

1988 Instrumentalist of the Year

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Inducted in 1973

Grammy Awards

1971 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Reed - Me and Jerry

1972 Best Country Instrumental Performance - "Snowbird"

1975 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Merle Travis - The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show

1976 Best Country Instrumental Performance - "The Entertainer"

1977 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Les Paul - Chester and Lester

1982 Best Country Instrumental Performance - Country After All These Years

1986 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Mark Knopfler - "Cosmic Square Dance"

1991 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Mark Knopfler - "So Soft, Your Goodbye"

1991 Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Mark Knopfler - "Poor Boy Blues"

1993 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Jerry Reed - Sneakin' Around

1993 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award'

1994 Best Country Instrumental Performance with Asleep at the Wheel, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble, Marty Stuart, Reuben "Lucky Oceans" Gosfield & Vince Gill - "Red Wing"

1995 Best Country Instrumental Performance - "Young Thing"

1997 Best Country Instrumental Performance - "Jam Man"

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Posthumously inducted in 2002

Notes

References

Kienzle, Rich. (1998). "Chet Atkins". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 26–7.

External links

Chet Atkins at the Country Music Hall of Fame

[ Allmusic entry for Chet Atkins]

Chet Atkins Official Web site

Bob Moore's A-Team Musicians Website

Chet Atkins Interview - Vintage Guitar magazine, June 1996

Chet Atkins on the Pop Chronicles

Category:American classical guitarists Category:American country singers Category:American country guitarists Category:American folk guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Fingerstyle guitarists Category:American music industry executives Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee Category:American record producers Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:RCA Victor artists Category:1924 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Cancer deaths in Tennessee Category:Amateur radio people

Anita Kerr (born Anita Jean Grilli; October 31, 1927, Memphis, Tennessee) is an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed successfully with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Europe.

Career

Nashville

In 1948, shortly after moving from Memphis to Nashville, Kerr organized a vocal quintet whose performances attracted the attention of a WSM radio program director. He hired Kerr to become leader of and arranger for an octet choir on the radio station's "Sunday Down South" broadcasts. Joining her were singers Carl Garvin, Jim Hall, Doug Kirkham, Mary Ellen Puckett, Evelyn Wilson, Mildred Kirkham, and Don Fotrell. The group's first recording session was with Red Foley, and their collaboration resulted in a #16 hit on Billboard's Pop chart in 1950: Our Lady of Fatima. The following year, producer Owen Bradley signed them to record for Decca Records. Their talents in demand, Anita's group continued to sing backup for other country artists in Nashville, including Eddy Arnold, Burl Ives, and Ernest Tubb. The group's recording sessions—initially averaging two per week—increased to eight sessions weekly by 1955.

In 1956, Anita Kerr's singers won a contest on the "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" national television program. Now a quartet, the group traveled to New York two weeks out of every six to appear with Godfrey on his daily television and radio broadcasts. A few years later, Kerr and her singers performed five times a week with Jim Reeves on his national radio program at WSM. The quartet's roster at this time featured, definitively, tenor Gil Wright, baritone Louis Nunley, alto Dottie Dilliard, and Kerr herself as both soprano and arranger. Demand for the group's talents exploded. Singers and arranger soon began contributing to between twelve and eighteen recording sessions weekly. Under her RCA contract, Kerr also arranged and produced a series of albums for The Living Voices on the RCA Camden budget label. In 1964, together with Chet Atkins and Jim Reeves, the Anita Kerr Singers toured Europe. [To see a video clip from their performance in Oslo, Norway, please access the first External Link below.]

Los Angeles

In 1965, disbanding the Nashville version of her Anita Kerr Singers, Kerr relocated to Los Angeles "to do more orchestral writing and music that was not just country."

In 1972, Kerr wrote—and MCA Music published—a 103-page book (accompanied by five 45rpm records) called VOICES. With Complete Recorded Examples. That same year, the Anita Kerr Singers recorded two LPs for Philips and Kerr scored and conducted original music for the motion picture soundtrack to Limbo, a drama starring Kate Jackson. During the early 1970s, Kerr also made numerous personal appearances on television in Holland. In 1974, Kerr began a five-year professional relationship with Word Records. In addition to recording four gospel albums with the Singers, Kerr arranged and produced a series of Hallelujah... instrumental albums for Word. She received Grammy nominations twice for her Word inspirational recordings.

During these years, Kerr also wrote choral and instrumental arrangements for Hal Leonard Corporation, the world's largest music print publisher. [To see samples of her published work, please access the fifth External Link below.]

In 1975, Kerr received a special ASCAP Award saluting "[a] lady of class and a first-class musician for her significant contributions to the birth and development of the Nashville Sound." Between 1977 and 1988 she continued to perform and record for a variety of record labels. The following LPs distinguish her work from this period: Anita Kerr Performs Wonders, as singer/arranger; The Sound of Warm, as pianist/arranger; and In The Soul, as composer/arranger.

In 1985, Kerr conducted her own composition of Piano, Piano as the Swiss entry for the 1985 Eurovision Song Contest in Göteborg, Sweden. In 1992, Kerr received a NARAS Governors Award "[in] recognition of [her] outstanding contribution to American Music." [1965/LP RCA CAMDEN CAS-881 (US)] :*The Little Drummer Boy [1965/LP RCA CAMDEN CAS-911 (US)] :*Positively 4th Street and Other Message Folk Songs [1966/LP RCA CAMDEN CAS-947 (US)] :*The Living Voices Sing the Music from the Motion Picture The Singing Nun [1966/LP RCA CAMDEN CAS-974 (US)]

The Mexicali Singers LPs

Featuring The Anita Kerr Singers :*The Mexicali Singers [1966/LP WARNER BROS WS-1641 (US)] :*The Further Adventures of the Mexicali Singers [1966/LP WARNER BROS WS-1651 (US)] :*'The Mexicali Singers Ride Again [1967/LP WARNER BROS WS-1677 (US)]

The San Sebastian Strings LPs

Music and arrangements by Anita Kerr. Words by Rod McKuen. Co-produced by Anita Kerr and Rod McKuen. :*The Sea [1967/LP WARNER BROS WS-1670 (US)] :*The Earth [1967/LP WARNER BROS WS-1705 (US)] :*The Sky [1968/LP WARNER BROS WS-1720 (US)] :*The Sea/The Earth/The Sky [1968/3LP WARNER BROS 3WS-1730 (US)] :*Home to the Sea [1968/LP WARNER BROS WS-1764 (US)] :*For Lovers [1969/LP WARNER BROS WS-1795 (US)] :*The Complete Sea [1969/3LP WARNER BROS 3WS-1827 (US)] :*The Soft Sea [1970/LP WARNER BROS WS-1839 (US)] :*Winter [1972/LP WARNER BROS BS-2622 (US)] :*Spring [197x/LP WARNER BROS (US)] :*Summer [1973/LP WARNER BROS BS-2707 (US)] :*Autumn [197x/LP WARNER BROS (US)] :*The Seasons [1973/4LP WARNER BROS 4WS-2754 (US)] :*Bouquet: The Best of the San Sebastian Strings [1974/LP WARNER BROS BS-2768 (US)] :*With Love [1975/LP WARNER BROS BS-2837 (US)]

Miscellaneous

:*Near the Cross: Sacred Songs sung by Jimmie Davis by Jimmie Davis [1955/LP DECCA DL-8174] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*Hymn Time by Jimmie Davis [1957/LP DECCA DL-8572 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*The Door Is Always Open by Jimmie Davis [1958/LP DECCA DL-8729 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*He Walks With Thee by Red Foley [1958/LP DECCA DL-8767 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*Hail Him With A Song by Jimmie Davis [1958/LP DECCA DL-8786 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*The Versatile Burl Ives! by Burl Ives [1961/LP DECCA DL-74152 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*The Scene Changes by Perry Como [1965/LP RCA VICTOR LPM-3396 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Quartet :*Southland Favorites by George Beverly Shea [1965/LP RCA VICTOR LSP-3440 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Quartet :*George Beverly Shea Sings Southland Songs That Life the Heart by George Beverly Shea [1966/LP RCA VICTOR LPM-3634 (US)] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*It's Real by Dale Evans [1967/LP CAPITOL ST-2772 (US)] chorus and orchestra conducted by Anita Kerr :*Amazing Grace by Jimmie Davis [1968/LP VOCALION VL 73862 (US)], reissue of Jimmie's Hail Him With A Song LP with two songs omitted :*Closing the Gap by the Mystic Monks [1968/LP RANWOOD RLP-8032 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Yestergroovin' by Les Tres Guitars [1969/LP DOT DLP-25916 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Anita Kerr Presents Teresa [1969/LP DOT DLP-25944 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Touchlove [1969/LP DOT DLP-25970 (US)] Anita Kerr as pianist/arranger/producer :*In My Father's House by Jimmie Davis [1969/LP VOCALION VL-73878 (US)], reissue of Jimmie's The Door Is Always Open LP with two songs omitted :*I Believe by Red Foley [1969/LP VOCALION VL-73879 (US)], reissue of Red's He Walks With Thee LP with two songs omitted :*Hallelujah Brass [1975/LP WORD WST 8647 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Hymns [1975/LP WORD WST 8692 (US)] Anita Kerr and Kurt Kaiser :*Hallelujah Guitars [1976/LP WORD WST 8707 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Hallelujah Woodwinds [1977/LP WORD WST 8741 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Anita Kerr and the French Connection [1977/RCA VICTOR APL1-2298 (US)] Anita Kerr as pianist/arranger/producer :*The Sound of Warm [1977/LP MONTE ROSA NN4 (US)] Anita Kerr as pianist/arranger/producer :*Hallelujah Voices [1979/LP WORD WSB 8808 (US)] Anita Kerr as arranger/producer :*Anita Kerr Performs Wonders [1979/LP CENTURY CRD-1160 (US)] Anita Kerr performs the songs of Stevie Wonder :*Together [1979/LP PHILIPS 143 (US)] Anita Kerr, Harry van Hoof, and Pieter van Vollenhoven :*In The Soul [1988/LP GAIA 13 9004 (US)] Anita Kerr performs original music around the poetry of Walt Whitman :*Music is her Name [1992/CD SONY (US)], compilation of songs reissued from Anita's Sentimental Journey and 'Round Midnight LPs, respectively :*Anita Kerr's Christmas Story: The Angel in the Faded Blue Jeans [1993/CD BLACK TULIPS]--reissue of Anita's A Christmas Story LP :*Two Classic Albums from The Anita Kerr Singers [1999/CD COLLECTOR'S CHOICE (US)], reissue of Anita's The Anita Kerr Singers Reflect on the Hits of Burt Bacharach & Hal David and Velvet Voices and Bold Brass LPs, respectively :*The Jim Reeves Radio Show: Monday, February 24, 1958 [2003/CD BEAR FAMILY] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*The Jim Reeves Radio Show: February 25–28, 1958 [2004/CD BEAR FAMILY] as The Anita Kerr Singers :*Mr. Guitar: The Complete Recordings 1955-1960 by Chet Atkins [2004/7CD BEAR FAMILY]--includes 20 SESAC recordings with The Anita Kerr Singers :*Velvet Voices [2007/MP3 AND MORE BEARS] as The Anita Kerr Quartet :*Mansion Over The Hilltop [2007/MP3 AND MORE BEARS] with Faron Young -- as The Anita Kerr Singers :*On This Holy Night [2009/MP3 AND MORE BEARS], reissue of Anita's On This Holy Night LP

Awards and honors

:*1965: The Anita Kerr Singers album We Dig Mancini won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group. :*1965: George Beverly Shea's album Southland Favorites, to which The Anita Kerr Quartet contributed, won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical). :*1966: The Anita Kerr Singers single A Man and A Woman won a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group. :*1970: The Anita Kerr Singers album The Anita Kerr Singers Reflect on the Hits of Burt Bacharach & Hal David won an Edison Award. :*1976: The Anita Kerr Singers album Gentle as Morning was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance. :*1976: The Anita Kerr Singers album Walk a Little Slower won a GMA Dove Award for Best Gospel Record Album of the Year by a Non-Gospel Artist. :*1977: The Anita Kerr Singers album Precious Memories was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance.

References

External links

#The (Nashville) Anita Kerr Singers In Concert: Oslo, Norway, 1964 #The (Los Angeles) Anita Kerr Singers on a Dutch television show

# Audio samples of Anita Kerr's jingles for: ##KMPC AM-710 in Los Angeles, California ##WLS AM-890 in Chicago, Illinois ##WGH AM-1310 in Newport News, Virginia #Anita Kerr Arrangements published by Hal Leonard Corporation #Space Age Pop page entry

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