Maureen ( /mɔːˈriːn/) is a female given name. Anglicized form of Máirín, a pet form of Máire, which is the Irish cognate of Mary, which is in turn derived from the Hebrew Miriam. It may also be a feminine form of Maurice.

Some variant forms are: Maura, Maury, Maurene, Maurianne, Marien, Maurine, Maurisa, Maurise, Maurissa, Marissa, Maurita, Maurizia, Mavra, Moira, Mora, Moreen, Morena, Morene, Moria and Morine.

Alternately, the term Maure derives from the Phoenician term Mahurin (Westerners). From Mahurin, ancient Latin derives Mauri, meaning black African, and modern Greek derives mauro (black). From the same root is derived moor, maroon, Mohr, Moore, Morin, Morisco, Moreto, Mauretania, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maurus, Maurice/Moritz/Maurikos, Meuric/Meurig, Maureta and Maureen.

People with this given name[link]

Television and film

• Maureen Dowd, journalist
• Maureen Lipman, actress
• Maureen McCormick, actress
• Maureen Naylor, television news anchor
• Maureen O'Hara, actress
• Maureen O'Sullivan, actress
• Maureen Stapleton, actress

Literature

• Maureen Duffy, writer

Music

• Maureen Forrester, Canadian opera singer
• Maureen Herman, rock musician
• Maureen McGovern, singer
• Maureen (Moe) Tucker, drummer with The Velvet Underground

Other

• Maureen Connolly (1934–1969), American tennis player

Other[link]

• Maureen, a song by Fountains of Wayne
• Maureen, a song by Sade from the album Promise

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

Nick Lowe
Lowe performing at the Kursaal in November 2008
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas Drain Lowe
Born	(1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 63) Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England
Genres	Rock, pub rock, New Wave,[1] Power Pop[1]
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano/keyboards, bass
Years active	1966–present
Labels	Columbia Records, Demon Records, F-Beat Records, Radar Records, Reprise Records, Upstart Records, Yep Roc Records, Stiff Records, Proper Records (current).
Associated acts	Brinsley Schwarz, Rockpile, Elvis Costello, The Attractions, The Imposters, Huey Lewis and the News, Noise To Go, The Cowboy Outfit, Johnny Cash, Little Village, Bill Kirchen
Website	nicklowe.net

Nicholas Drain "Nick" Lowe (born 24 March 1949), is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.

A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave,^[1][2] Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica. He is best known for his songs "Cruel to Be Kind" (a US Top 40 single), and "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" (a top 10 UK hit), as well as his production work with Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and others. Lowe also wrote "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", a hit for Costello.^[3] He currently lives in Brentford, London, England.

Career history[link]

Songwriter[link]

Nick's best-known songs (mostly known for cover versions) include:

• "(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding"
• "The Beast in Me"
• "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass"
• "All Men Are Liars"
• "Cruel to Be Kind"
• "So It Goes"
• "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)"

Producer[link]

Lowe produced Elvis Costello's first five albums, including My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, and Armed Forces. He also produced The Damned's first single, "New Rose", considered the first English punk single, as well as the group's debut album, Damned Damned Damned.

His early 'rough and ready' production style earned him the nickname Basher (as in 'bash it out now, tart it up later'). Upon moving from Stiff to Jake Riviera's Radar and F-Beat labels, Lowe became selective in his choice of production tasks.

Bands[link]

Influence[link]

A 2011 article in The New York Times starts "The 40-year career of the English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe constitutes a paradox: the songs he has written are better known than he is."^[3]

Some musicians claim to have been influenced by Lowe. Alex Turner, of the Arctic Monkeys, said that he is 'blown away' and 'back to square one' by Lowe's songwriting^[4]

Biography[link]

Lowe attended the independent Woodbridge School in Suffolk^[5] and he began his musical career in 1967, when he joined the band Kippington Lodge, with his school friend Brinsley Schwarz. They released a few singles on the Parlophone record label as Kippington Lodge before they renamed the band Brinsley Schwarz in late 1969, and began performing country and blues-rock. Lowe wrote some of his best-known compositions while a member of Brinsley Schwarz, including "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", a hit for Elvis Costello in 1979, and "Cruel to Be Kind", a solo hit for Lowe in 1979.^[6]

After leaving Brinsley Schwarz in 1975, Lowe began playing in Rockpile with Dave Edmunds. In August 1976, Lowe released "So It Goes" b/w "Heart of the City", the first single on the Stiff Records label where he was an in-house producer.^[6] The single and thus the label was funded by a loan of £400 from Dr. Feelgood's Lee Brilleaux. The label's first EP was Lowe's 1977 four-track release Bowi, apparently named in response to David Bowie's contemporaneous LP Low. (The joke was repeated when Lowe produced The Rumour's album Max as an 'answer' to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours). Lowe continued producing albums on Stiff and other labels. In 1977 he produced Dr. Feelgood's album, Be Seeing You, which included his own song, "That's It, I Quit". The following year's Dr. Feelgood album, Private Practice, contained a song Lowe jointly penned with Gypie Mayo – "Milk and Alcohol". Along with "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass", "Milk and Alcohol" is one of only two Lowe compositions to ever reach the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart.^[7]

Because the two main singers in Rockpile had recording contracts with different record labels and managers, albums were always credited to either Lowe or Edmunds, so there is only one official Rockpile album, which was not released until the waning days of the collaboration: 1980's Seconds of Pleasure, featuring the Lowe songs "When I Write The Book" and "Heart". However, two of the pair's most significant solo albums from the period; Lowe's Labour of Lust and Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary, were effectively Rockpile albums (as was Carlene Carter's Lowe-produced Musical Shapes album).

Lowe was quoted as saying that he had "escaped from the tyranny of the snare drum" in No Depression, (September–October 2001) when explaining his move away from regular pop music that would get played on mainstream radio.^{[citation needed]}

Other well-known Lowe songs include "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass", "All Men Are Liars", and Cruel to Be Kind, co-written with Ian Gomm and originally recorded with Brinsley Schwarz, a re-recording of which was his only US Top 40 hit, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979.^[6]

In 1979, Lowe married country singer Carlene Carter, daughter of fellow country singers Carl Smith and June Carter Cash and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash.^[8] He adopted her daughter, Tiffany Anastasia Lowe. The marriage ended in 1990, but they remained friends, and Lowe remained close to the Carter/Cash family. He played and recorded with Johnny Cash, and Cash recorded several of Lowe's songs.

After the demise of Rockpile, Lowe toured for a period with his band Noise To Go and later with The Cowboy Outfit, which also included the noted keyboard player Paul Carrack. Lowe was also a member of the short-lived mainly studio project Little Village with John Hiatt, Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner, who originally got together to record Hiatt's 1987 album Bring the Family.^[6]

In 1992, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was covered by Curtis Stigers on the soundtrack album to The Bodyguard, an album that sold about 44 million copies world-wide.^[3]

A New York Daily News article^[9] quoted Lowe as saying his greatest fear in recent years was "sticking with what you did when you were famous". "I didn't want to become one of those thinning-haired, jowly old geezers who still does the same shtick they did when they were young, slim and beautiful," he said. "That's revolting and rather tragic." Rock critic Jim Farber observed: "Lowe's recent albums, epitomised by the new At My Age, moved him out of the realms of ironic pop and animated rock and into the role of a worldly balladeer, specialising in grave vocals and graceful tunes. Lowe's four most recent solo albums mine the wealth of American roots music, drawing on vintage country, soul and R&B to create an elegant mix of his own."

In 2008, Yep Roc and Proper Records released a thirtieth anniversary edition of Lowe's first solo album Jesus of Cool (entitled Pure Pop for Now People in the US with a slightly different track listing). The re-issue includes tracks from the British and American releases in addition to several bonus tracks. In March 2009, he released a 49 track CD/DVD compilation of songs which spanned his entire career. Proper Records released it in the UK and Europe, entitled Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe.

In September 2010 Yep Roc issued The Impossible Bird, Dig My Mood and The Convincer on vinyl for the first time, and after a one-night reunion concert with Elvis Costello in October in San Francisco,^[10] Lowe embarked on his first non-solo United States tour "this millennium." His backing band comprised Geraint Watkins (keyboards), Robert Treherne (drums), Johnny Scott (guitar) and Matt Radford (bass). In March 2011, Yep Roc reissued Lowe's 1979 solo album Labour of Lust.^[11]

Lowe played Glastonbury 2011, performing a short solo set of Brinsley Schwarz tracks on The Spirit Of 71 stage, where they played back in 1971, before heading to the Acoustic Stage for a full band show.

Lowe performed as an opening act for Wilco in their North American tour, September 2011. He performed solo with acoustic guitar.

Lowe is married to Peta Waddington, a designer and DJ. The couple have a son, Roy Lowe, who was born in 2005.

Discography[link]

Lowe performing with Rockpile in 1980

Studio albums[link]

• Jesus of Cool (1978, UK) (released in the US as Pure Pop for Now People)
• Labour of Lust (1979)
• Nick the Knife (1982)
• The Abominable Showman (1983)
• Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit (1984)
• The Rose of England (1985)
• Pinker and Prouder than Previous (1988)
• Party of One (1990)
• The Impossible Bird (1994)
• Dig My Mood (1998)
• The Convincer (2001)
• At My Age (2007)^[6]
• The Old Magic (2011) - UK: #66

Live albums[link]

• Untouched Takeaway (2004)

Singles[link]

^[6]

EPs[link]

• Bowi, 7" 45 rpm (Stiff 1977)
• Nick Lowe & Dave Edmunds Sing the Everly Brothers, 7" 33⅓ rpm (F-Beat/Columbia 1980)^[6]

Compilation albums[link]

• A Bunch of Stiff Records (One track, "I Love My Label")
• Live Stiffs Live (1978) (Nick Lowe's Last Chicken In The Shop got two tracks, "I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll)" and "Let's Eat", on this live compilation of the first Stiff Records' tour.)
• 16 All Time Lowes (1984)
• Nick's Knack (1986)
• Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe (1989)
• The Wilderness Years (1991)
• The Doings (1999)
• Quiet Please... The New Best of Nick Lowe (2009)^[6]

Other appearances[link]

• "Baby It’s You," duet with Elvis Costello, on single "The Only Flame In Town" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1984)
• "In The Middle Of It All" on Adios Amigo: A Tribute to Arthur Alexander (1994)
• "I’m Coming Home" on Rig Rock Deluxe: A Musical Tribute to the American Truck Driver (1996)
• "From Now On" on Original Soundtrack: Mumford (1999)
• "Shake That Rat," bass on album Sing Along With Los Straitjackets by Los Straitjackets (2001)
• "Arrête Pas La Musique" on Evangeline Made: A Tribute to Cajun Music (2002)
• "Don’t Let The Cold," backing vocals on album Sentimental by Tanita Tikaram (2004)
• "It’s All In The Game" on Sweetheart: Love Songs (2004)
• "Only A Rose," duet with Geraint Watkins on album In A Bad Mood by Geraint Watkins (2008)
• "A Man In Love," guest vocals on album The Guest List by Martin Belmont (2009)
• "Shelly’s Winter Love," guest vocals, duet with Paul Carrack, on album Word To The Wise by Bill Kirchen (2010)
• "Changing All Those Changes" on Rave On Buddy Holly (2011)

Tributes[link]

• Labour of Love: The Music of Nick Lowe (Telarc, 2001) (features Dar Williams, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello, among others).
• Lowe Profile: A Tribute To Nick Lowe (Brewery, 2005) (two-disc, 30 song collection featuring Dave Alvin, Foster & Lloyd, Ian Gomm, among others).
• 5 songs on "The Stiff Generation: If it Ain't Stiff it Ain't Worth a Tribute" (Groove Disques, 2002).
• 5 songs on "Happy Doing What We're Doing" (Freedom [City Hall], 2005) by Elizabeth McQueen and the Firebrands.

Uses in media[link]

• "Without Love" from the album "Labour of Lust" appeared on the soundtrack of the film "Americathon".
• "(I Love the Sound of) Breaking Glass" was used on the soundtrack album of the film "That Summer".
• His recording of "So It Goes" appeared on the soundtrack of the Roger Corman movie "Rock 'N' Roll High School", which featured the Ramones.
• "We Want Action" from the album "The Abominable Showman" appeared on the soundtrack of the film "Easy Money".
• An original song "Little Cat (You've Never had it So Good)" was written for the British rock opera film "Absolute Beginners", which starred David Bowie and Sade.
• The music video for "All Men Are Liars" was featured in The Brothers Grunt episode "The Ugly Gruntling".
• His recording of "The Beast in Me" was used in the pilot episode of The Sopranos.
• The song "All Men Are Liars" was featured in the Australian film All Men Are Liars written and directed by Gerard Lee and starring Toni Pearen, David Price and John Jarratt.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nick Lowe (musician)

• Official website
• The Old Magic UK page
• Batty for Music podcast
• Allmusic
• Nick Lowe at the Internet Movie Database
• Electronic press kit for "Quiet Please..."
• Return of the Man Who Used to Rock - NY Times 9-13-11

J Mascis
J Mascis at Virgin Festival in 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Donald Mascis
Born	(1965-12-10) December 10, 1965 (age 46)
Origin	Amherst, Massachusetts
Genres	Alternative rock, doom metal, hardcore punk
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards, banjo
Years active	1982–present
Associated acts	Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis + The Fog, Witch, Deep Wound, Upsidedown Cross, Sweet Apple
Website	www.jmascis.com
Notable instruments
Fender Jazzmaster Fender Telecaster Fender Jaguar

J Mascis ( /ˈmæskɪs/ MASS-kiss; born Joseph Donald Mascis on December 10, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.. In 2011, he was ranked 86th in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Biography[link]

Mascis was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the son of an orthodontist. His family name is Italian, from the province of Foggia (region Puglia) in the south of Italy.^[1] His mother is an avid golfer.^[2]

Mascis formed the short-lived hardcore group Deep Wound with Lou Barlow, Scott Helland, and Charlie Nakajima in the early 1980s. ^[3] He started out on drums,^[4] but moved to guitar when he went on to found Dinosaur Jr. with bassist Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson "Patrick" Murphy (aka "Murph") in 1984 and achieved national success. His vocals have been described as "Neil Young-like"^[5] and his guitar riffs as "monolithic." Mascis dismissed Barlow from Dinosaur Jr. in 1989 and over the next eight years recorded several more Dinosaur Jr. albums, including the 1996 acoustic solo album Martin + Me.

The manager for Deep Wound was Gerard Cosloy, who then went on to found Homestead Records. Homestead released Dinosaur Jr.'s first record. Mascis says that the reason why Dinosaur Jr.'s sound is not fully formed on that record is that they were more or less automatically signed to Homestead.^[6]

As a side project, he was the drummer in Boston doom metal group Upsidedown Cross (featuring Seth Putnam of Anal Cunt infamy), who released a self-titled album on Taang! Records in 1991.^[7][8] He wrote songs for the film Gas, Food, Lodging, in which he made a cameo appearance.^[7][8] In 1996, he had a small part in the movie Grace of my Heart and provided a ballad and a Beach Boys-like song for the soundtrack. In 2000 he began producing albums with his new band, J Mascis + The Fog.

In April 2005 Mascis, Barlow, and Murph rejoined for a tour celebrating the rerelease of the group's first three albums. They have since released two new albums: Beyond (released in 2007) and Farm (released in 2009).

In August 2005 Mascis released J and Friends Sing and Chant For Amma, a solo album under the J Mascis and Friends banner. The album consists of devotional songs dedicated to Hindu religious leader Mata Amritanandamayi, or Ammachi, about whom he had written "Ammaring" on the first J Mascis + The Fog album More Light. The proceeds from the album are being donated to tsunami relief efforts Ammachi's organization is spearheading.

In 2006 Mascis returned to drumming with his newly formed heavy metal band Witch for their self-titled debut album.

His wife Luisa is from Berlin, Germany. They reside in Amherst, Massachusetts, and in September 2007 they had a baby boy named Rory. His brother-in-law is German filmmaker Philipp Virus, director of the 2006 Dinosaur Jr. DVD Live in the Middle East. Virus is also known for his work on the music videos of Atari Teenage Riot, who used a sample of Sludgefeast for their song "Riot 1995".

July 2007 saw the release of a signature guitar by Fender, the J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster. The instrument comes in a Purple Sparkle finish and, while otherwise visually similar to a standard Jazzmaster, features a number of modifications J requested: a tune-o-matic bridge (for improved intonation), a reinforced tremolo arm housing (for higher durability when subjected to repeated heavy bending, which the original Jazzmaster was never designed for), vintage-style pickups, jumbo frets, and a satin-finished neck and customized wiring.

In 2010 Mascis joined with John Petkovic and Tim Parnin of Cobra Verde and Dave Sweetapple of Witch to form Sweet Apple. The self-titled debut album was released on Tee Pee Records.^[9] Mascis plays drums, guitar, and sings on the album.

Mascis released a mostly acoustic album in March 2011 titled Several Shades Of Why on Sub Pop Records.^[10] He was joined in the studio by several guest musicians, including Kurt Vile and Sophie Trudeau. Mascis will tour the US with Vile as support act to promote the album.^[11]

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

• Martin + Me (1996)
• The John Peel Sessions (2003)
• J and Friends Sing and Chant for Amma (2005)
• J Mascis Live at CBGB's (2006)
• Several Shades of Why (2011)

Dinosaur Jr.[link]

• Dinosaur (1985)
• You're Living All Over Me (1987)
• Bug (1988)
• Whatever's Cool With Me (1991)
• Green Mind (1991)
• Where You Been (1993)
• Without a Sound (1994)
• Hand It Over (1997)
• Beyond (2007)
• Farm (2009)

J Mascis + The Fog[link]

• More Light (2000)
• Free So Free (2002)

Witch[link]

• Witch - Tee Pee Records (2006)
• Paralyzed - Tee Pee Records (2008)

[edit] Deep Wound

• American Style (1982 - 7” - demo)
• Deep Wound (1983 - 7” - Radiobeat)
• Bands That Could Be God LP
• Discography (2006 - Compilation - Damaged Goods)

Upsidedown Cross[link]

• Upsidedown Cross (1991)
• Evilution (1993)
• Witchcraft (1997)
• Sloth/Updsidedown Cross Split (2002)

Sweet Apple[link]

• Do You Remember 7" - Valley King Records (2010)
• Love & Desperation - Tee Pee Records (2010)

Guest appearances[link]

• In 2012 Mascis contributed lead guitar on the track Edge of the World on the album 'Space Dirt' by HydroElectric.
• In 2011 Mascis featured on the album 'Espero' by Irish musician Mark O'Connor.
• In 2010 Mascis was on Episode 7 of the Australian TV show Spicks and Specks^[12]
• In 2010, Mascis played guitar on Dead Confederate's album Sugar, on the track titled "Giving it All Away."
• In 2009 Mascis is seen playing the guitar and riding a skateboard in Alien Workshop's video "Mind Field".
• In 2008, Mascis contributed to The Hold Steady's album, Stay Positive, playing banjo on the song "Both Crosses".^[13]
• In 2008 Mascis contributed lead guitar, drums and vocals on the album Ocean by Devadas
• In 2007 Mascis made an appearance on Thurston Moore's second solo album, Trees Outside the Academy, which was recorded at Mascis' home studio.
• Also in 2007, Mascis played guitar and sang back-up vocals for Kevin Drew on the song "Backed out on the ...", which appeared on Drew's solo album, Spirit If....
• In 2006 Mascis added guitar tracks to select songs on The Lemonheads' comeback album, The Lemonheads.
• In 2005 Mascis played guitar and drums on the album Shine Shine On by Devadas
• In late summer 2005, Mascis helped Danish band Mew by adding vocals to the song "Why Are You Looking Grave?" and backing vocals on "An Envoy to the Open Fields". Both songs can be found on the album And the Glass Handed Kites.
• In 2002, Mascis appeared on the song "Blinded," by Jeremiah Freed.
• In 2002, Mascis went on tour with Cobra Verde when their lead guitarist Derek DePrator left the band.
• In 1995, J Mascis played guitar and drums on Mike Watt's debut solo album, including lead guitar on a cover of "Maggot Brain" by Funkadelic.
• In 1993, Mascis remixed and added vocals to the Breeders' song "Do You Love Me Now Jr?" released on the Divine Hammer E.P.
• In 1992, Mascis played bass on the Jad Fair album I Like It When You Smile.
• In 1992, Mascis appeared on the Epic Soundtracks' album Rise Above, playing drums on three tracks.
• In 1988, cameo guitar on Ciccone Youth's The Whitey Album.
• Provided the voice of J.J., the pet store employee in the Assy McGee episode "Squirrels" on July 6, 2008.
• In 1987 J Mascis played lead guitar on the GG Allin record Hated in the Nation.

References[link]

In 1988, J. Mascis played the lead guitar on 'Impossible', a track on Buffalo Tom's debut album

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: J Mascis

• JMascis.com
• J Mascis Background file
• FreakScene.net - Online Fan Community

Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her premier renditions of the Oscar-winning songs "The Morning After" from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from The Towering Inferno in 1974.^[1][2]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

McGovern was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the daughter of James Terrence McGovern and Mary Rita (née Welsh).^[3] She has Irish ancestry.^[1] As a child, McGovern would listen to her father's singing quartet rehearse in their home. She was told by her elders that she began singing at the age of three, and would sometimes sing herself to sleep with things she heard on the radio. She decided at age eight that she wanted to be a professional singer. Her influences include Barbra Streisand and Dionne Warwick.

Breakthrough recording[link]

After graduating from Boardman High School in 1967, she worked as a secretary and performed part-time as a singer for a local folk band called Sweet Rain. Her singing caught the attention of Russ Regan (then head of 20th Century Records) in 1972 when he heard a demonstration she had recorded. At the time, Regan was searching for a singer to record "The Morning After" (the theme from The Poseidon Adventure) for release as a record.^[2] He hired McGovern sight unseen to record the song, which resulted in her contracting with 20th Century Records. After it won an Oscar for Best Original Song,^[2] "The Morning After" scored well on the popular music charts, reaching #1 during 1973.^[1] It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in August 1973.^[4] Following the success of "The Morning After," she received a Grammy Award nomination in 1974 for Best New Artist.

During 1974, she recorded two movie themes: "We May Never Love Like This Again" from the disaster film The Towering Inferno,^[2] in which she made a short appearance when she is seen singing the song as the evening's entertainment, and "Wherever Love Takes Me" from the British disaster film Gold. The former won an Oscar^[2] (though it was only a minor pop hit), and the latter received an Oscar nomination.

In 1976, she recorded her cover version of "The Continental", the very first Oscar-winning track for Best Original Song.^[2] It proved to be her only hit in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at #16.^[2]

Challenges[link]

McGovern's contract with 20th Century ended during 1976. Her career declined and so did her finances.^{[citation needed]} In an interview on BBC Woman's Hour on 18 May 2009, McGovern stated that exorbitant fees charged by her manager (40%) together with her band being on a full-time salary, whether she was performing or not, were the cause of her perilous financial state. Ready to begin her life over again, she moved to Marina del Rey and took a secretarial job under an assumed name, Glenda Schwartz. Nevertheless, she was still in demand occasionally for international live concerts. Her career improved when McGovern was asked to record a version of "Can You Read My Mind", the love theme from 1978's Superman, which was not recorded for the film. The single achieved minor success on the Popular charts. Toward the end of the decade, McGovern recorded "Different Worlds," the theme from the ABC-TV sitcom Angie. The song, her only other Top 40 Pop single aside from "The Morning After," soared to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 during 1979 and hit at #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. During 1980, McGovern made a brief appearance as Sister Angelina, the singing nun, in the comedy-disaster movie Airplane!.

Broadway career[link]

At the beginning of the 1980s, McGovern gave up singing movie themes to begin a career on Broadway, despite not having any acting experience. During 1981, she made her Broadway debut as Mabel in a revival of Gilbert & Sullivan's musical The Pirates of Penzance, taking over for fellow 1970s popular singer Linda Ronstadt. She then performed in two productions with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera: The Sound of Music (1981; as Maria) and South Pacific (1982; as Nellie Forbush). She continued her theatrical career throughout the 1980s and originated the role of Mary in the Off-Broadway production of Brownstone in 1985. She also was in Little Women The Musical as Marmee.

Carnegie Hall performance[link]

She slowly returned to music during the mid-1980s, contributing songs to musical soundtracks and recording for various-artist compilations. She also returned to touring and performing in concerts and began establishing herself as a nightclub and cabaret performer. Starting in 1987, she released three albums for CBS in three years - Another Woman in Love (a voice/piano album), State of the Heart (a fully orchestrated album), and Naughty Baby (Recorded LIVE on November 20, 1988, Studio A at Clinton Recording Studios, New York City - it features a very first recording of a lost Gershwin song, "A Corner of Heaven With You" (written ca. 1917). The album was released in 1989 coinciding with McGovern's Gershwin concert at Carnegie Hall). In 1989, she performed her first concert in Carnegie Hall, singing a collection of songs by George Gershwin.

Recent career[link]

From the 1990s into the 21st century, McGovern continued her careers in musical theatre, performing in concerts, and recording albums, and she occasionally made guest appearances on television. Other recordings include Baby I'm Yours (1992), a collection of her favorite songs from 1955 to 1970, and Out of This World (1996), a collection of songs by Harold Arlen. She was nominated twice for a Grammy, for her albums The Music Never Ends (1997), a collection of songs by Alan & Marilyn Bergman, and The Pleasure of His Company (1998), another voice/piano album.

In 2003, Out of This World and The Music Never Ends were re-released by Fynsworth Alley Records; both albums included bonus tracks, the former two, and the latter three.

In 2005, McGovern returned to the Broadway stage as Marmee opposite Sutton Foster's Jo in the musical adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. With negative reviews, it ended quickly, but McGovern reprised her role for the successful subsequent national tour.^[1]

She continues to appear in concert as a headliner and as a guest with symphony orchestras around the country. Her new CD A Long and Winding Road, on the PS Classics label, salutes singer–songwriters of the 1960s like Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Lennon–McCartney and Randy Newman. She performed a concert act based on this material at the Metropolitan Room in New York City, the Rrazz Room in San Francisco and will tour with it throughout the next few years.

McGovern also continues her work with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, where she appears annually on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

She created, along with Philip Himberg, a one woman biographical musical Carry It On which premiered at Geva Theatre Center October 12 - November 14, 2010.^[5][6]

In 2012 she was listed as a guest star with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California.^[7]

Other projects[link]

McGovern voiced the character of Rachel in the animated film Joseph: King of Dreams.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1973: The Morning After
• 1974: Nice to Be Around
• 1975: Academy Award Performance
• 1979: Maureen McGovern
• 1987: Another Woman in Love
• 1988: State of the Heart
• 1990: Christmas With Maureen McGovern
• 1992: Baby I'm Yours
• 1996: Out of This World (reissued in 2003 with two bonus tracks)
• 1997: The Music Never Ends (reissued in 2003 with three bonus tracks)
• 1998: The Pleasure of His Company
• 2008: A Long and Winding Road

Live albums[link]

• 1989: Naughty Baby

Compilations[link]

• 1990: Greatest Hits
• 2005: 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Maureen McGovern

Singles[link]

• "Very Special Love" (1979)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Maureen McGovern Web Site
• Maureen McGovern at Discogs
• Maureen McGovern at the Internet Movie Database
• Maureen McGovern at the Internet Broadway Database

Maureen Forrester photo taken by Carl Van Vechten

Maureen Forrester, Tel Aviv, 1961

Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, CC OQ (25 July 1930 – 16 June 2010) was a Canadian operatic contralto.

Life and career[link]

Maureen Forrester was born and grew up in a poor section of Montreal, Quebec. She was one of four children to Thomas Forrester, a Scottish cabinetmaker, and his Irish-born wife, the former May Arnold. She sang in church and radio choirs. At age 13, she dropped out of school to help support the family, working as a secretary at Bell Telephone.^[1]

When her brother came home from the war he persuaded her to take singing lessons. She paid for voice lessons with Sally Martin, Frank Rowe, and baritone Bernard Diamant. She gave her debut recital at the local YWCA in 1953. Her accompanist was John Newmark, and thus was the start of a life-long collaboration. She made her concert debut in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Otto Klemperer.

She toured extensively in Canada and Europe with Jeunesses Musicales. She made her New York City debut in Town Hall in 1956. Bruno Walter invited her to sing for him; he was looking for the right contralto for a performance and recording of the Mahler Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection". This was the start of a warm relationship with great rapport. Walter had been a student of Mahler, and he trained Forrester in interpretation of his works. She performed at Walter's farewell performances with the New York Philharmonic in 1957.

In 1957, she married the Toronto violinist and conductor Eugene Kash. The couple had five children. Forrester converted to Judaism.^[2] Maureen Forrester was known for her affinity for the music of Mahler and for her great stamina, often giving up to 120 performances a year while raising her five children.

She performed regularly in concert and opera. At the New York City Opera, she sang Cornelia in Handel's Giulio Cesare (1966), opposite Norman Treigle and Beverly Sills, which was recorded by RCA in 1967. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1975 in Das Rheingold, Siegfried, and Un ballo in maschera.^[3] Forrester also provided the voice of the Bianca Castafiore character in the television series The Adventures of Tintin. ^[4][5]

She was a strong champion of Canadian composers, regularly scheduling their works in her programs, especially when she toured abroad. From 1983 to 1988 she served as Chair of the Canada Council.^[6]

In 1986, she co-authored her autobiography, Out of Character (ISBN 0-7710-3228-5), with journalist Marci McDonald.

Death[link]

Maureen Forrester died on 16 June 2010, aged 79, in Toronto, after a long battle with dementia.^[7] She was predeceased by Kash, who she divorced in 1974 and died in 2004.

Honours[link]

The star dedicated to Maureen Forrester,
from 2000, on the Canada's Walk of Fame,
in Toronto.

• In 1967, Forrester was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
• In 1980, Forrester received the diplôme d'honneur from the Canadian Conference of the Arts
• In 1983, Forrester was awarded Yale University's Sanford Medal.^[8][9]
• From 1986 to 1990, Maureen Forrester was Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University; the University's recital hall is named in her honour.
• In 1990, Forrester was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (aka Juno Hall of Fame).
• In 2000, Forrester received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.^[10]
• In 2003, Forrester was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.
• In 2004, Forrester became a MasterWorks honouree by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.

Personal life[link]

Forrester had five children, including actors Linda Kash and Daniel Kash.

See also[link]

• Music of Canada
• Canadian Music Hall of Fame

References[link]

• bio on Mercer

External links[link]

• The Canadian Encyclopedia biography
• AVTrust.ca - Maureen Forrester (video clip)
• Discography