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Armageddon
Armageddon (from Hebrew: הַר מְגִדּוֹ, Har Megiddo, lit. Mount Megiddo; Ancient Greek: Ἁρμαγεδών Harmagedōn,Late Latin: Armagedōn) is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario.
The word Armageddon appears only once in the Greek New Testament, namely in Revelation 16:16. The word may come from Hebrew har məgiddô (הר מגידו), meaning "Mountain of Megiddo". "Mount" Megiddo is a Tell on which ancient forts were built to guard the main highway, the Via Maris, which connected Ancient Egypt with Mesopotamia. Megiddo was the location of various ancient battles, including one in the 15th century BC and one in 609 BC. Modern Megiddo is a town approximately 25 miles (40 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee in the Kishon River area.
According to one premillennial Christian interpretation, the Messiah will return to earth and defeat the Antichrist (the "beast") and Satan the Devil in the Battle of Armageddon. Then Satan will be put into the "bottomless pit" or abyss for 1,000 years, known as the Millennial Age. After being released from the abyss, Satan will gather Gog and Magog (peoples of two specific nations) from the four corners of the earth. They will encamp surrounding the "holy ones" and the "beloved city" (this refers to Jerusalem). Fire will come down from God, out of heaven and devour Gog and Magog after the Millennium. The Devil, death, hell, and those not found written in the Book of Life are then thrown into Gehenna (the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone).
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California
California (pronounced
i/kælɨˈfɔrnjə/) is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third most extensive (after Alaska and Texas). It is home to the nation's second- and sixth-largest census statistical areas (Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and San Francisco Bay Area), and eight of the nation's fifty most populated cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland). The capital city is Sacramento.
California's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast in the west, to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east – from the Redwood–Douglas-fir forests of the northwest, to the Mojave Desert areas in the southeast. The center of the state is dominated by Central Valley, a major agricultural area. California contains both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney and Death Valley), and has the third-longest coastline of all states (after Alaska and Florida). Earthquakes are a common occurrence due to the state's location along the Pacific Ring of Fire: about 37,000 are recorded annually.
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Chicago
Chicago (
i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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Detroit
Detroit (
/diˈtrɔɪt/) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan, and the seat of Wayne County. It is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people, and serves as a major port on the Detroit River connecting the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. It was founded on July 24, 1701, by the French explorer, adventurer, and nobleman Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac.
In 2010, the city had a population of 713,777 and ranked as the 18th most populous city in the United States. The name Detroit sometimes refers to the Metro Detroit area with a population of 4,296,250 for the six-county Metropolitan Statistical Area, the United States' eleventh-largest, and a population of 5,218,852 for the nine-county Combined Statistical Area as of the 2010 Census. The Detroit–Windsor area, a critical commercial link straddling the Canada–U.S. border, has a total population of about 5,700,000.
Known as the world's traditional automotive center, "Detroit" is a metonym for the American automobile industry and an important source of popular music legacies celebrated by the city's two familiar nicknames, the Motor City and Motown. Other nicknames arose in the 20th century, including City of Champions beginning in the 1930s for its successes in individual and team sport,The D, D-Town, Hockeytown (a trademark owned by the city's NHL club, the Red Wings), Rock City (after the Kiss song "Detroit Rock City"), and The 313 (its telephone area code) Detroit became known as the "great arsenal of democracy" for its support of the U.S. role among the Allied powers during World War II.
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Hitsville U.S.A.
"Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname given to Motown's first headquarters. A former photographers' studio located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, it was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959 and converted into both the record label's administrative building and recording studio, which was open 22 hours a day (closing from 8 to 10 AM for maintenance). Following mainstream success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Gordy moved the label to Los Angeles and established the Hitsville West studio there, as a part of his main focus on not only music production, but also television and film production.
In 1959, Gordy formed his first label, Tamla Records, and purchased the property that would become Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio. The photography studio located in the back of the property was modified into a small recording studio and the Gordys moved into the second floor living quarters. Within seven years, Motown would occupy seven additional neighboring houses:
Motown hired over 450 employees and grossed an income of $20 million by the end of 1966.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] (
listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (on the building itself called the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The Center, which opened on September 8, 1971, produces and presents theater, dance, ballet, orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music, in addition to multi-media performances for all ages.
It is the busiest performing arts facility in the United States and annually hosts approximately 2,000 performances for audiences totaling nearly two million; Center-related touring productions, television, and radio broadcasts welcome 20 million more. Now in its 40th season, the Center presents the greatest examples of music, dance and theater; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as a leader in arts education. With its artistic affiliate, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Center's achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in over 200 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works.
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Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington (officially Lexington-Fayette Urban County) is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region. In the 2010 Census the city's population was 295,803, anchoring a metropolitan area of 472,099 people and a Combined Statistical Area of 687,173 people.
Lexington ranks tenth among US cities in college education rate, with 39.5% of residents having at least a bachelor's degree. It is home to the headquarters of Tempur-Pedic, International, Lexmark International, the Kentucky Horse Park, Keeneland race course, Red Mile race course, Transylvania University, the University of Kentucky and Bluegrass Community & Technical College.
Lexington was selected as the site of the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games.
Lexington was founded in June 1775 in what was then Virginia (17 years before Kentucky became a state in 1792). A party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped on the Middle Fork of Elkhorn Creek (today called Town Branch and rerouted under Vine Street) at the location known today as McConnell Springs. Upon hearing of the colonists' victory in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, on April 19, 1775, they named their campsite Lexington after Lexington, Massachusetts. Due to the danger of Indian attacks, permanent settlement was delayed for four years. In 1779, Colonel Robert Patterson and 25 companions came from Fort Harrod and erected a blockhouse. Cabins and a stockade were soon built, making the fort, known as Bryan Station, a place of importance. Colonists defended it against a British and American Indian attack in 1782, during the last part of the American Revolution.
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Los Angeles
Los Angeles (i/lɒs ˈændʒələs/ loss-AN-jə-ləs; Spanish: [los ˈaŋxeles], which is written Los Ángeles; British pronounciation /lɒs ˈændʒəliːz/ loss-AN-jə-leez) with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in the state of California, and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of 468.67 square miles (1,213.8 km2), and is located in Southern California. Often known by its initials L.A., the city is the focal point of the larger Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area and Greater Los Angeles Area region, which contain 12,828,837 and nearly 18 million people respectively as of 2010, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world and the second largest in the United States. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, while the entire Los Angeles area itself has been recognized as the most diverse of the nation's largest cities. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos".
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Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. ( /ˈnaɪkiː/; NYSE: NKE) is a major publicly traded clothing, footwear, sportswear, and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced [nǐːkɛː]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.
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Oakland
Oakland ( /ˈoʊklənd/) is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state and the 47th-largest in the U.S. with a population of 390,724 according to the 2010 census. Incorporated in 1852, Oakland is the county seat of Alameda County and is a central hub city for a region of the San Francisco Bay Area known as the East Bay. The city lies directly across the bay from San Francisco.
Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Oakland served as a rich resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco, and Oakland's fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. During the California Gold Rush, Oakland became the main staging post for passengers and cargo journeying between the Bay Area and the Sierra foothills. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. It continued to grow into the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile industry. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Franciscans left that city's destruction, and a great number of Oakland's homes were built during the 1910s and 1920s. An extensive streetcar network connected most of Oakland's neighbourhoods to inter-city rail lines, most of whose routes continue as bus lines today. Ferry lines connected Oakland to San Francisco and other cities.
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Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( /ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə/) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,526,006 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. Philadelphia is also the commercial, cultural, and educational center of the Delaware Valley, home to 6 million people and the country's fifth-largest metropolitan area. The Philadelphia metropolitan division consists of five counties in Pennsylvania and has a population of 4,008,994. Popular nicknames for Philadelphia are Philly and The City of Brotherly Love, the latter of which comes from the literal meaning of the city's name in Greek (Greek: Φιλαδέλφεια ([pʰilaˈdelpʰeːa], Modern Greek: [filaˈðelfia]) "brotherly love", compounded from philos (φίλος) "loving", and adelphos (ἀδελφός) "brother").
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Topanga, California
Topanga is a census-designated place in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. It is located in the Santa Monica Mountains. Occupying Topanga Canyon, it is often referred to by that name. Topanga is bounded on three sides by State Park or conservancy lands, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean and a small strip of Malibu, which is the main community to the west. On the east is Pacific Palisades. Topanga had a population of 8,289 as of 2010. The ZIP code is 90290 and the area code is primarily 310, with 818 only at the north end of the canyon. It is in the 3rd County Supervisorial district.
Topanga Creek drains Topanga Canyon and is the third largest watershed entering the Santa Monica Bay. The creek is one of the few remaining undammed waterways in the area, and is a spawning ground for steelhead trout. The area typically receives about 22" of rain annually. Topanga State Beach lies on the coast at the outlet of Topanga Creek. Topanga Canyon Boulevard, State Route 27, is the principal thoroughfare, connecting the Ventura Freeway (US 101) with Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1). The southern portion of the boulevard largely follows Topanga Creek. North of the Old Topanga Canyon Road intersection, the boulevard traverses the Santa Monica Mountains.
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Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a federal district to become the national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded in 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. Congress consolidated the City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area within the District under a single municipal government in 1871. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the country's Pacific coast.
Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 617,996 in 2011. The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States as of 2010. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of nearly 5.6 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.
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Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah ( /ɑːˈliːə/), was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah signed with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground Records. Hankerson introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The album sold three million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with R. Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed with Atlantic Records.
Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold 3.7 million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film's soundtrack, which spawned the single "Try Again". The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. "Try Again" earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.
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Alberta Gay
Alberta Cooper Gay (January 1, 1913 – May 9, 1987) was the mother of influential Motown singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye and singer-songwriter Frankie Gaye, wife of minister Marvin Gay, Sr. and the grandmother of singer-actress Nona Gaye. Gay was the only other witness to be present on the day of her son Marvin's sudden death at his father's hands.
Born in North Carolina, Cooper eventually moved to Washington, D.C. with a relative after having a son out of wedlock. Her son, Michael, ended up being raised by relatives in D.C. Around this time she met a young minister from Kentucky named Marvin Pentz Gay. The couple married on July 2, 1935 and Cooper gave birth to her first child with her husband, a daughter named Jeanne, born in 1937. Two years later, on April 2, 1939, son Marvin Gay, Jr. was born. Alberta later gave birth to two more children, son Frances (or Frankie) in 1941 and daughter Zeola (nicknamed "Sweetsie") in 1945. Alberta and the elder Marvin raised their four children under the strict rules governing a Seventh Day Adventist home.
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Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys, including three of the "Big Four": Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
In 2007 she won a Brit Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She won the Ivor Novello Award three times: once in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for "Stronger Than Me", once in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for "Rehab", and once in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Love Is a Losing Game".
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Angela Winbush
Angela Winbush (born January 18, 1955) is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter who rose to fame first in the 1980s R&B duo René & Angela, also scoring hits as a solo artist.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Angela began singing in church. She grew up in a loving and family-oriented household in a nice middle-class area of St. Louis. She did not initially aspire to a career in music, instead studying architecture at Howard University, singing only to earn extra money. She continued to sing in church while at Howard as well as with gospel legend Richard Smallwood. She also performed as a singer with a group called "Hot Tea" while she attended Howard University. They opened for various well-known performers during shows and also did background singing for recording artists. One of the other members of "Hot Tea" was Tawatha Agee, who later did a lot of background singing on the albums of several well-noted recording artists, eventually joining the funk/soul band Mtume. By 1977, Angela had changed her major to music education and recorded a demo. She shopped it to various record labels with no success but, through a personal introduction furnished by respected industry veteran, Wayne K. Garfield, the demo was heard by New York disc jockey Gary Byrd, who made the call that landed Angela a spot in Stevie Wonder's backing vocal group, Wonderlove. Becoming Wonder's protégé, she learned a great deal about writing and arranging songs. While in Los Angeles with Wonder, Angela met singer Rene Moore. The two formed the duo René & Angela later that year. They soon came to the realization that they could be successful as duo music writers and producers for others as well, and began pursuing that goal. René & Angela released their self-titled debut album in 1980, followed by Wall to Wall in 1982 and Rise in 1983. During this period they had two moderate R&B hit singles, "I Love You More" and "My First Love".
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Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and pianist. In a recording career that has spanned over half a century, Franklin's repertoire has included gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, pop, rock and funk. Franklin is known as one of the most important popularizers of the soul music genre and is referred to as the Queen of Soul, a title she was given early in her career. Franklin, the daughter of prominent Baptist minister and activist C. L. Franklin, began her singing career singing in her father's church at the age of ten and started recording four years later. After several years in the gospel circuit and with her father's blessing, she formed a secular pop music career at the age of eighteen, signing with Columbia Records, where she was branded by its CEO John Hammond as his most important act since Billie Holiday. Franklin's Columbia period wasn't as successful as hoped and in late 1966, Franklin switched over to Atlantic Records, where she began recording a string of popular hits including "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Think", "Chain of Fools" and what later became her signature song, "Respect".
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Ashford & Simpson
Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011), and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946), were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists.
Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1963. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Joshie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Good"), Maxine Brown ("One Step At A Time"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs, "Let's Go Get Stoned", gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. That same year Ashford & Simpson joined Motown, where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". Ashford and Simpson wrote many other hit songs including Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" (1978) and Teddy Pendergrass's "Is It Still Good to You?" As performers, Ashford & Simpson's best-known duets are "Solid (As a Rock)" (1984 US and 1985 UK), and "Found a Cure" (1979). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
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B. Dolan
B. Dolan is an American rapper and activist based in Providence, Rhode Island.
Though he has since distanced himself from and frequently criticized Slam Poetry, B. Dolan's first performances took place at New York City's Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he gained respect as part of HBO's Def Poetry in 2002 and won numerous slam titles. In 2011, he told the Boston Phoenix:
Doing spoken word was the first time I ever tried to present my writing on a stage, and that's what it was good for. It taught me some basic stage tricks that I still use — like how to change my voice and talk to a crowd. But once you've picked up those chops, you need to get the hell out before you become some asshole who wins the poetry slam for the 10th year in a row.
After performing at a Def Jam industry party at the Rush Arts Gallery, B. Dolan realized he wouldn't be able to work within the major label structure. Within months, he dropped out of college, bought a drum machine, and began recording the first album The Failure. During this time, he slept on "park benches and subway trains" while working as a doorman at a building in close proximity to the Twin Towers. It was at this time that the September 11 attacks happened, leaving B. Dolan in a "paranoid mental state" which caused him to move back to Rhode Island.
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Barry White
Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter ((1944-09-12)September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003(2003-07-04)), was an American composer and singer-songwriter.
A two-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring soul, funk, and disco songs such as his two biggest hits, "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" and "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe."
Worldwide, White had many gold and platinum albums and singles, with combined sales of over 100 million, according to critics Ed Hogan and Wade Kergan. His influences include southern soul artists like Isaac Hayes, Clarence Carter, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin plus Motown artists The Supremes, The Four Tops and Marvin Gaye. Along with Isaac Hayes, White is considered by Allmusic.com as the first singer who played disco music before the actual period of the late 1970s.
Barry White was born Barry Eugene Carter in Galveston, Texas, and grew up in the high-crime areas of South Central Los Angeles. White was the elder of two brothers; his brother Darryl is 13 months younger. He grew up listening to his mother's classical music collection, and first took to the piano emulating what he heard on the records. His introduction to music later led to him playing piano on Jesse Belvin's hit single, "Goodnight My Love."
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Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents. His albums have been commercially successful in North America, Europe and Oceania. Harper is a two-time Grammy Award winner as well, winning awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, in 2005.
Harper was born in Claremont, in California's Inland Empire. His father, Leonard, was of African-American and Cherokee ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Chase-Verdries, is Jewish. His maternal great-grandmother was a Russian-Lithuanian Jew. His parents divorced when he was age five, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two brothers, Joel and Peter.
Harper began playing guitar as a child. His maternal grandparents' music store The Folk Music Center and Museum laid a foundation of folk and blues for the artist, complemented by regular patrons Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley and quotes of William Shakespeare and Robert Frost made often by his grandfather. At the age of 12, Harper played his first gig. During the '80s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson. Next, Harper refined his style, taking up the Weissenborn slide guitar. Harper broke out of the Inland Empire after being offered an invitation by Taj Mahal to tour with the artist. They recorded Taj Mahal's album Follow the Drinking Gourd, released in November 1990, and toured Hawaii.
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Bernard J. Taylor
Bernard J. Taylor is the writer and composer of ten stage musicals and two stage plays. His musicals have been produced around the world and translated into German, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish and Italian. He is also the writer of 14 novels and three non-fiction books.
Taylor was born and educated in Cape Town, South Africa. His forebears included John Taylor, the first British missionary to southern Africa. He left South Africa for England in 1969 and remained in England until 1998, after which he spent a year in Australia before settling in the United States of America. He currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Taylor has composed numerous musicals.
Taylor's first musical show was Neighbors And Lovers (1987), self-produced at the Oast Theatre, Tonbridge, England. However, Taylor decided to abandon it in favour of creating a musical based on a universally known story.
Taylor selected Emily Brontë's classic Wuthering Heights, composing the music. A concept album was released in 1991 with a cast of West End musical stars including a former "Phantom Of The Opera" Dave Willetts, as Heathcliff, Lesley Garrett (Cathy Earnshaw), Bonnie Langford (Isabella Linton), Clive Carter (Hindley Earnshaw), Sharon Campbell (Ellen "Nelly" Dean) and James Staddon (Edgar Linton). It had its world premier at the Madison Theatre, Illinois, in 1993 and has since been performed in the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Poland and Romania.
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Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy, Jr. (born November 28, 1929) is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.
Berry Gordy, Jr. (born in Detroit, Michigan) was the seventh of eight children (Fuller, Esther, Anna, Loucye, George, Gwen, Berry and Robert), born to the middle-class family of Berry Gordy II (a.k.a. Berry Gordy, Sr.) and Bertha Fuller Gordy (1899–1975), who had relocated to Detroit from Milledgeville, Georgia, in 1922. Gordy was brought up in a tight-knit family with strong morals.[citation needed] Berry Gordy II (1888–1978) was the son of Berry Gordy I and a woman named Lucy Hellum. Berry Gordy I was the son of James Thomas Gordy, a white plantation owner in Georgia, and his female slave Esther Johnson. Berry Gordy, Jr. is distantly related to former president Jimmy Carter through Carter's mother, Bessie Lillian Gordy.
Berry Gordy II was lured to Detroit by the many job opportunities for black people offered by booming automotive businesses.
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Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular music. Eckstine's recording of "I Apologize," MGM Pop Single, (1948) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.
Eckstine's grandparents were William F. Eckstein and Nannie Eckstein, a mixed-race, lawfully married couple who lived in Washington D.C.; both were born in the year 1863. William F. was born in Prussia and Nannie in Virginia. His parents were William Eckstein, a chauffeur and Charlotte Eckstein. He was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania a State Historical Marker is placed at 5913 Bryant St, Highland Park, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to mark the house where he grew up. Later moving to Washington, D.C., Eckstine began singing at the age of seven and entered many amateur talent shows. He attended Armstrong High School, St. Paul Normal and Industrial School, and Howard University. He left Howard in 1933, after winning first place in an amateur talent contest. He married his first wife, June, in 1942; she too was a vocalist. After their divorce he married actress and model Carolle Drake in 1953, and remained married until his death. He was the father of five children and two step children, including Ed Eckstine, who was a president of Mercury Records, Guy Eckstine, who was a Columbia and Verve Records A&R executive and record producer, and singer Gina Eckstine.
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Billy Stewart
Billy Stewart (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American musical artist, with a highly distinctive scat-singing style, who enjoyed popularity in the 1960s.
Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James, and Frank as The 4 Stewart Brothers, and later went on to get their own radio show every Sunday for five years at WUST radio station in Washington, D.C.
Stewart made the transition to secular music by filling in occasionally for The Rainbows, a D.C. area vocal group led by the future soul star, Don Covay. It was also through The Rainbows that Stewart met another aspiring singer, Marvin Gaye. Rock and roller Bo Diddley has been credited with discovering Stewart playing piano in Washington, D.C. in 1956 and inviting him to be one of his backup musicians.[citation needed]
This led to a recording contract with Diddley's label, Chess Records and Diddley played guitar on Stewart's 1956 recording of "Billy's Blues". A strong seller in Los Angeles, "Billy's Blues" reached the sales top 25 in Variety magazine. Stewart then moved to Okeh Records and recorded "Billy's Heartache", backed by the Marquees, another D.C. area group which featured Marvin Gaye.
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Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter (usually as Ellas McDaniel), and rock and roll pioneer. He was also known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from the blues to rock & roll, influencing a host of acts, including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, The Who, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton,The Beatles, and George Michael, among others. He introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged electric guitar sound on a wide-ranging catalog of songs, along with African rhythms and a signature beat (a simple, five-accent rhythm) that remains a cornerstone of rock and pop. Accordingly, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He was known in particular for his technical innovations, including his trademark rectangular guitar.
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Bobby V
Bobby Wilson (born on February 27, 1980), better known by his stage name Bobby V (previously known as Bobby Valentino), is an American recording artist (his nickname being "Valentino" because he was due to be born on Valentine's Day). He is now known as Bobby V due to a lawsuit involving an English singer, song writer and musician who has been recording and performing under the name Bobby Valentino for over 35 years.
Bobby V was born Robert Wilson on February 27, 1980, in Jackson, Mississippi. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he attended North Atlanta High School. Growing up V listened to Michael Jackson, Tony! Toni! Tone!, Marvin Gaye, Jodeci, and The Isley Brothers. Those were the artists that inspired him to become a R&B singer. He later returned to his old high school appearing on the debut episode of MTV's Once Upon A Prom, which aired on May 19, 2007. V entered the music scene in 1996 as a member of the R&B youth quartet Mista, at this time using his real name, Bobby Wilson. Under the production of Organized Noize (TLC’s "Waterfalls"), the group released their self-titled debut album, which produced the chart topping single, "Blackberry Molasses". Unfortunately, the album did not follow in the same success and despite a second album being produced by Tim & Bob, it was never released. Due to management issues the group split in 1997. Bobby later enrolled at Clark Atlanta University majoring in Mass Communications.While in school, Bobby V continued to record in his free time in hopes of one day returning to the stage. In the spring of 2002 he auditioned for season one of American Idol, but did not make the cut.
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Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack ( /ˈwoʊmæk/; born March 4, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 50 years and has spanned a repertoire in the styles of R&B, soul, rock and roll, doo-wop, gospel, and country.
Womack wrote and originally recorded The Rolling Stones' first UK No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now" and New Birth's "I Can Understand It" among other songs. As a singer he is most notable for the hits "Lookin' For a Love", "That's The Way I Feel About Cha", "Woman's Gotta Have It", "Harry Hippie", "Across 110th Street" and his 1980s hit "If You Think You're Lonely Now".
In 2009, Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Born and raised in Cleveland's East 85th & Quincy area to Naomi Womack and Friendly Womack, Womack was the third of five brothers. Raised Baptist, their mother played organ in their church and their father was a minister and musician, often known to play guitar though he advised his sons to not touch the instrument while he was away. One night, eight-year-old Bobby, who was often playing it, broke a guitar string. After Friendly Womack fixed the string, he let Bobby play the guitar for him. According to Bobby later, Friendly was shocked by his son's talents as well as the talents of his other sons. Soon afterwards, he bought Bobby his own guitar and formed The Womack Brothers. The group toured the gospel circuit with their parents accompanying them on organ and guitar respectively. In 1954, the group under the moniker Curtis Womack and the Womack Brothers, the group issued the Pennant single, "Buffalo Bill". Bobby was only ten years old at the time.
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Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.
Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk. Collins is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
With his elder brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins, and Kash Waddy and Philippé Wynne, Collins formed a funk band called The Pacemakers in 1968.
In March 1970, after most of the members of James Brown's band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacemakers were hired as Brown's backing band and they became known as The J.B.'s. (They are often referred to as the "original" J.B.'s to distinguish them from later line-ups that went by the same name.) Although they worked for Brown for only 11 months, the original J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Super Bad", "Soul Power", and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing".
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Cameron Crowe
Cameron Buttboy Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes.
Crowe has made his mark with character-driven, personal films that have been generally hailed as refreshingly original and devoid of cynicism. Michael Walker in The New York Times called Crowe "something of a cinematic spokesman for the post-baby boom generation" because his first few films focused on that specific age group, first as high schoolers and then as young adults making their way in the world.
Crowe's debut screenwriting effort, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, grew out of a book he wrote while posing for one year undercover as a student at Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, where he met Geraldine Edwards, who was a student there while he was visiting mutual friends in 1975. He later based part of his Penny Lane character on her in Almost Famous after discovering that she had been going backstage to Rock and Roll concerts. Later, he wrote and directed one more high school saga, Say Anything, and then Singles, a story of Seattle twentysomethings that was woven together by a soundtrack centering on that city's burgeoning grunge music scene. Crowe landed his biggest hit, though, with Jerry Maguire. After this, he was given a green light to go ahead with a pet project, the autobiographical effort Almost Famous. Centering on a teenage music journalist on tour with an up-and-coming band, it gave insight to his life as a 15-year-old writer for Rolling Stone. Part of the dialogue was inspired by comments that were made by Bebe Buell in certain interviews. Also in late 1999, Crowe released his second book, Conversations with Billy Wilder, a question and answer session with the legendary director.
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Caryl Phillips
Caryl Phillips (born 13 March 1958) is a British writer with a Caribbean background, best known as a novelist. He is now professor at Yale University and a visiting professor at Barnard College of Columbia University.
He was born on St. Kitts. At four months old, his family moved to England and was brought up in Leeds, Yorkshire. He read English at Queen's College, Oxford. He mainly began writing drama scripts.
He has tackled themes on the African slave trade from many angles. His work has been recognised by numerous awards including Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the 1993 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Crossing the River and the 2004 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book award for A Distant Shore. Beside being an accomplished writer, Caryl Phillips is also a noted professor. He has taught at numerous universities in countries including: Barbados, Ghana, India, Singapore, Sweden, and the United States of America.
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Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron (American English pronunciation: /ʃɑrˈliːs ˈθɛrən/; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ʃɐrˈlis tron]; born 7 August 1975) is a South African actress and fashion model. She started her acting career in the United States and rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003), becoming the first African to win an Academy Award in a major acting category. She received another Academy Award nomination for her performance in North Country (2005). Theron became a US citizen in 2007, while retaining her South African citizenship.
Theron was born in Benoni, in the then Transvaal Province of South Africa, the only child of Gerda (née Maritz; who has also called herself Gerta) and Charles Theron (born 27 November 1947).Second Boer War figure Danie Theron was her great-great-uncle. Her ancestry includes French, German, and Dutch; her French forebears were early Huguenot settlers in South Africa. "Theron" is an Occitan surname (originally spelled Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as [tron], although she has said that the way she pronounces it in South Africa is [θron]. She changed the pronunciation when she moved to the U.S. to give it a more "American" sound.
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Cheryl Lynn
Lynda Cheryl Smith (born March 11, 1957), known better by her professional name Cheryl Lynn, is a female African-American disco, R&B and soul singer known best for her 1978 disco song, "Got to Be Real".
Lynn's singing career began when she was a young girl with her church choir. However, her professional singing career started during 1976 when she obtained a job as a backing vocalist for the national touring company of the musical drama The Wiz. Eventually she would obtain the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, during the six month national tour.
Prior to her appearance on The Wiz, Cheryl taped an episode of the Gong Show during the early part of 1976. She won the competition while singing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful". After the episode was broadcast, during the autumn of 1976, record industry executives were calling to contract her.
After her performance on The Gong Show, Ahmed Ertegun of Atlantic Records company couldn't come to an initial meeting with Lynn, with the result that she was contracted with Columbia Records company. Lynn released her first and best-known song, "Got to Be Real," which was composed by keyboardist David Paich (of the band Toto), David Foster and Lynn. The song scored #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart and #1 on the Rhythm & Blues chart. The success of the single album prompted a full scale debut album. Named Cheryl Lynn, it was produced by Paich. The album sold more than a million copies and scored #5 on Billboard magazine's R&B albums chart and #23 on Billboard's top 200 album charts. The next single album, "Star Love"', also became a success.
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Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry (born October 18, 1926) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.
Born into a middle class family in St. Louis, Missouri, Berry had an interest in music from an early age and gave his first public performance at Sumner High School. While still a high school student he served a prison sentence for armed robbery between 1944 and 1947. On his release, Berry settled into married life and worked at an automobile assembly plant. By early 1953, influenced by the guitar riffs and showmanship techniques of blues player T-Bone Walker, he was performing in the evenings with the Johnnie Johnson Trio. His break came when he traveled to Chicago in May 1955, and met Muddy Waters, who suggested he contact Leonard Chess of Chess Records. With Chess he recorded "Maybellene"—Berry's adaptation of the country song "Ida Red"—which sold over a million copies, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart. By the end of the 1950s, Berry was an established star with several hit records and film appearances to his name as well as a lucrative touring career. He had also established his own St. Louis-based nightclub, called Berry's Club Bandstand. But in January 1962, Berry was sentenced to three years in prison for offenses under the Mann Act—he had transported a 14-year-old girl across state lines.
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Common (artist)
Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is an American hip-hop artist and actor.
Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. His first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success His first Grammy award was in 2003 for Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah Badu. Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated in the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007.
Common has also initiated a burgeoning acting career, starring significant roles in such films as Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, and New Year's Eve. He also narrated the award-winning documentary Bouncing Cats, about one man's efforts to improve the lives of children in Uganda through hip-hop/b-boy culture. Common currently appears in Hell on Wheels, a dramatic television series on AMC that debuted in November 2011.
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Cormega
Corey McKay (born April 26, 1970), better known by his stage name Cormega, is an African-American rapper best known for his narratives about inner-city life, having been born in Queensbridge, Queens. McKay is notable for consistently producing as an independent artist, refusing to go mainstream.
Cormega was raised in Long Island City, Queens, forming childhood friendships with future rappers such as Nas, AZ, Nature and Capone-N-Noreaga. When he was 4, he witnessed his mother's murder. After that, he moved in with his father and stepmother who had recently returned from Dallas, Texas and moved back to New York City.
Cormega is known and praised for his intricate, complex, multi-syllabic lyricism and raw, straight delivery. Despite being an underground artist he has gained considerable acknowledgement in the rap community and is regarded as one of the best lyricists to grace the mic. McKay often reflects about the hardships of inner-city life and succeeding in a world where we are very much on our own.
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Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born June 22, 1953 in Queens, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and LGBT rights activist.
She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the debut solo album She's So Unusual in 1983, which spawned four Billboard Hot 100 top-five songs—"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night"—She's So Unusual was the first album in history to have four top five singles by a female. The album earned Lauper Best New Artist at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985.
Her success continued with the follow-up, True Colors in 1986, which spawned two Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"True Colors" and "Change of Heart", and earned two nominations at the 29th Grammy Awards.
Since 1989 released from a nine studio albums acclaimed critical, A Night to Remember (1989), Hat Full of Stars (1993), Sisters of Avalon (1996), Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life (1998),Shine (2001), At Last (2003), The Body Acoustic (2005), Bring Ya to the Brink (2008).
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David Ruffin
Davis Eli "David" Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991) was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations from 1964 to 1968 (or the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known). He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." Known for his unique raspy and anguished tenor vocals, Ruffin was ranked as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 for his work with the Temptations. Fellow Motown recording artist Marvin Gaye once said admiringly of Ruffin that, "I heard in [his voice] a strength my own voice lacked."
Ruffin was born Davis Eli Ruffin on January 18, 1941 in the rural unincorporated community of Whynot, Mississippi, the son of Eli, a Baptist minister, and Ophelia Ruffin (née Davis). His father was strict and at times violently abusive. Ruffin's mother died just months after his birth and his father married a schoolteacher, Earline, in 1942. As a young child, Ruffin, along with his other siblings (older brothers Quincy and Jimmy, and sister Rita Mae), traveled with their father and their stepmother as a family gospel group opening shows for Mahalia Jackson and The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi among others. He also had an older sister Rosetta who died as a child. Ruffin sang in the choir at Mount Salem Methodist Church, talent shows, and wherever else he could. In 1955, at the age of fourteen, he left home under the guardianship of a minister and went to Memphis, Tennessee with the purpose of pursuing the ministry.
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DeBarge
DeBarge was a sibling music group of American origin whose repertoire included R&B, soul, funk, pop, adult contemporary, and gospel. Active as a professional recording group from 1979 and 1989, the group was one of the few recording acts to bring success to the Motown label during the 1980s.
Hailing from Detroit and later from Grand Rapids, Michigan, the group is named for their shared surname, and included sister Bunny and the brothers Mark (or "Marty"), Randy, Eldra (or "El"), and James.Younger siblings Chico, Darell, and Carol "Peaches" DeBarge are also singers (though they were not with the group), with El later becoming a solo star in his own right. Two older brothers, Robert Jr. (Bobby) and Tommy, were members of another popular Motown group named Switch. The DeBarges signed with the Motown record label in the 1970s, and became one of their few successful acts during the 1980s.
The band had a string of R&B and pop hits in the early to mid-1980s, including "All This Love," "I Like It," "Love Me in a Special Way," and "Rhythm of the Night." Many of these hits were ballads, spreading the band's appeal into the adult contemporary market as well. However, in 1986, both El and Bunny DeBarge left for solo careers. The remaining brothers soldiered on with their older brother Bobby (who'd long since left Switch) now joining the band to release the album Bad Boys in 1987, but it didn't achieve nearly the success of previous releases. Meanwhile, El went on to have a moderately successful solo career, and Bunny would score a minor hit with "Save the Best for Me (Best of Your Lovin')" from her only solo album before being abruptly dropped by her label. Overall, DeBarge released nine Top 40 R&B singles, five top 40 pop singles, two pop top ten hits, five top ten R&B singles, two number-one R&B singles, a number-one single on the dance chart and three number-one hits on the adult contemporary chart.
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Denise Gordy
Denise Gordy (born November 11, 1949) is an American film and television actress.
Denise Gordy was born in Detroit, Michigan. She is the daughter of George and Rosemary Gordy and sister of Patrice and George Gordy, Jr., among others. She is the mother of Marvin Gaye III by legendary Motown artist Marvin Gaye, and also of actress Bianca Lawson by actor Richard Lawson (married from 1978 to 1989). Motown founder Berry Gordy is her uncle.
Gordy has appeared in numerous television and theatrical features, beginning in 1974 with Bogard and ending most recently with Toy Soldiers in 1991. She also has contributed vocals for the soundtrack album to the film Bogard, as well as recording the song "Let's Do It Again".
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Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer, record producer, and actress.
Diana Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that has included successful ventures into film and Broadway. She received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues (1972), for which she won a Golden Globe award. She has won seven American Music Awards, was honored with a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, and won a Tony Award for her one-woman show, An Evening with Diana Ross, in 1977.
In 1976, Billboard magazine named her the "Female Entertainer of the Century." In 1993, the Guinness Book of World Records declared Diana Ross the most successful female music artist in history due to her success in the United States and United Kingdom for having more hits than any female artist in the charts with a career total of 18 number one records in the United States. Diana Ross has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
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Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality. She reached the height of her popularity as a recording artist during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s, but achieved even greater success a decade later, in television, mainly as hostess of a series of variety programs for Chevrolet.
After failing singing auditions for the bands of Benny Goodman and both Jimmy Dorsey and his brother Tommy Dorsey, Shore struck out on her own to become the first singer of her era to achieve huge solo success. She had a string of 80 charted popular hits, lasting from 1940 into the late '50s, and after appearing in a handful of films went on to a four-decade career in American television, starring in her own music and variety shows in the '50s and '60s and hosting two talk shows in the '70s. TV Guide magazine ranked her at #16 on their list of the top fifty television stars of all time. Stylistically, Dinah Shore was compared to two singers who followed her in the mid-to-late '40s and early '50s, Doris Day and Patti Page.
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Don Byron
Don Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet, but has also used bass clarinet and saxophones.
Though rooted in jazz, Byron's music is stylistically eclectic. He's worked in many different musical genres, ranging from klezmer music and German lieder, to Raymond Scott's "cartoon-jazz," hard rock/metal, and rap. Most of Byron's albums have been conceptual, devoted to works of a particular musician and/or style of music.
Byron was born in The Bronx, in New York City. Both parents were musicians: his mother a pianist and his father played bass in calypso bands. As well as listening to jazz recordings by Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and others, he was exposed to other styles through trips to the ballet and symphony concerts.
He studied clarinet with Joe Allard and studied music at the New England Conservatory in Boston with George Russell. While in Boston, Byron performed and recorded with the Klezmer Conservatory Band, founded by NEC faculty member Hankus Netsky.
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Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."
His collaborations with Roberta Flack scored high on the charts and won him the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the duet, "Where Is the Love" in 1973.
His body was found outside the luxury hotel Essex House in New York City; his death was ruled a suicide.
Hathaway, the son of Drusella Huntley, was born in Chicago. He lived with his grandmother, Martha Pitts, also known as Martha Crumwell, in the Carr Square housing project, in St Louis. Hathaway began singing in a church choir with his grandmother, a professional gospel singer, at the age of three. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963. He studied music on a fine arts scholarship at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He also formed a jazz trio to work around the local area with drummer Ric Powell while there, but during 1967 left Howard without a degree, after receiving job offers in the music business.
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Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienOBE (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s. With her distinctive sensual sound, she was an important white soul singer, and at her peak was one of the most successful British female performers, with 18 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 from 1964 to 1970. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the U.K. Music Hall of Fame. International polls have named Springfield among the best female rock artists of all time.
Born in West London to an Irish Catholic family that enjoyed music, Springfield learned to sing at home. She joined her first professional group, The Lana Sisters, in 1958, then formed the pop-folk vocal trio The Springfields in 1960 with her brother Dion.
Her solo career began in 1963 with the upbeat pop hit, "I Only Want to Be with You" (1963). Among the hits that followed were "Wishin' and Hopin'" (1964), "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" (1964), "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (1966), and "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968). A fan of American pop music, she was the first public figure to bring little-known soul singers to a wider British audience, when she created and hosted the first British performances of the top-selling Motown artists in 1965. By 1966, she was the best-selling female singer in the world, and topped a number of popularity polls, including Melody Maker's Best International Vocalist. She was the first British singer to top the New Musical Express readers' poll for Female Singer. Her image, supported by a peroxide blonde beehive hairstyle, evening gowns, and heavy make-up, made her an icon of the Swinging Sixties.
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Ed Townsend
Edward Benjamin 'Ed' Townsend (April 16, 1929 - August 13, 2003) was an American attorney, songwriter, and producer. He was best known for performing his composition, "For Your Love," a rhythm and blues doo wop classic, and as the co-writer of "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye.
Although he was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, his family soon moved to Memphis where his father was called to pastor an African Methodist Episcopal church.
The year Townsend graduated from high school, he was elected to the International American Methodist Episcopal Youth Council (IAMEYC). The honor let him travel worldwide before enrolling in college the next year at Arkansas State College. After graduating, he taught for a year. Although he never formally practiced law, he frequently used his law training to assist other entertainers in negotiating their recording and performance contracts.
In 1951, Townsend joined the United States Marine Corps and served in Korea. After his discharge, he recorded a number of singles for various labels, none of which made the charts. Ironically, in 1958 he took his ballad, "For Your Love" to Capitol Records, hoping to interest Nat “King” Cole, but, impressed with his voice, Capitol signed him to record it himself. Dick Clark had just started American Bandstand on television and invited Townsend to sing the very first month the show aired. He was an overnight success and the song shot up the charts, reaching #13 on the US pop chart.
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Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. Known for his powerful vocals, he is widely considered an icon of alternative rock.
He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums by other artists. In 2007, Vedder released his first solo album as a soundtrack for the film Into the Wild (2007). His second album, Ukulele Songs, along with a live DVD titled Water on the Road, was released on 31 May 2011.
Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, son of Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson, Jr. His parents divorced in 1965, when Vedder was one year old. His mother soon remarried a man named Peter Mueller, an attorney, and Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father. His adopted name became Edward Mueller. While living in Evanston, Vedder's family fostered seven younger children in a group home.
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Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003) was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War".
Starr was born Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1942. He and his cousins, soul singers Roger and Willie Hatcher, moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they were raised.
In 1957, Starr formed a doo-wop group, The Future Tones, and began his singing career. Starr lived in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1960s and recorded at first for the small record label Ric-Tic, and later for Motown Records after the latter absorbed Ric-Tic in 1968.
The song which began his career was "Agent Double'O'Soul" (1965), a reference to the James Bond films popular at the time. Other early hits included "Headline News", "Back Street", a cover of The Miracles "Way Over There", and "S.O.S. (Stop Her On Sight)". He recorded more soul music for the next three years before having an international hit in "25 Miles" (1968), which peaked at #6 in the United States the following year.
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Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in Billboard history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Having been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998.
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Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1967, Bay Shore, New York, United States) is an American rapper, musician, and producer.
Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s–1990s hip hop group EPMD and for production work. He currently resides in Islandia, New York.
The Green-Eyed Bandit also made multiple solo recordings and albums. He began recording solo albums for Def Jam in 1993; in 1997, he rejoined EPMD. The following year, Sermon, Murray and Redman recorded a cover version of "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, the first hit hip hop record. EPMD disbanded a second time in 1999.
In 2000, Sermon moved over to J Records, and released the album Music the following year. The title track (a Top 40 pop hit that also made it to #2 on the US Billboard R&B chart), featured guest vocals from Marvin Gaye, culled from unreleased recordings which Sermon reportedly found in a small record shop in London.
Sermon continued working on an album. React was released in 2002. The title track became a major hit song, though the album still had disappointing sales. In 2003, J Records dropped Sermon due to poor record sales. However, he still went on to establish his Def Squad imprint with Motown Records. At this time, he recorded an album, Chilltown, N.Y., which was released a year later in 2004. The album was powered by the single "Feel It" (which contained a sample of reggae/R&B singer Sean Paul), a song which became a success in the United States.
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F. Gary Gray
Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an American music video and film director. He directed cult classics Friday and Set It Off, the critically acclaimed thriller drama The Negotiator as well as the hit action thriller The Italian Job.
Gray began his career in 1989 when he appeared uncredited in the satire comedy film Major League. Three years later, he directed the music video for Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day." The video, a literal adaptation of the lyrics, was critically well received. He would go on to direct subsequent videos for Ice Cube, as well as celebrated artists such as Cypress Hill, Outkast, Dr. Dre, and Queen Latifah.
At 24, Gray directed his first film, the urban comedy Friday with rapper-producer Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Next he directed the heist picture, Set It Off, with Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah. He then went on to direct The Negotiator, which was budgeted at $50 million dollar budget, the highest ever given to an African-American director at that time. The film starred Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey and Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson, and earned Gray both Best Film and Best Director awards at the 1998 Acapulco Film Festival.
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Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra, /sɨˈnɑːtrə/, (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and film actor.
Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the "bobby soxers", he released his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra in 1946. His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1953 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity.
He signed with Capitol Records in 1953 and released several critically lauded albums (such as In the Wee Small Hours, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, Come Fly with Me, Only the Lonely and Nice 'n' Easy). Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records in 1961 (finding success with albums such as Ring-a-Ding-Ding!, Sinatra at the Sands and Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim), toured internationally, was a founding member of the Rat Pack and fraternized with celebrities and statesmen, including John F. Kennedy. Sinatra turned 50 in 1965, recorded the retrospective September of My Years, starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".
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Frankie Beverly
Frankie Beverly (born Howard Beverly, December 6, 1946, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and producer, known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk band, Maze.
Beverly started out singing gospel music in church as a schoolboy in Philadelphia. He has claimed that his first professional concert was a tour with The Silhouettes (famous for their 1958 hit single, "Get a Job") when he was only twelve years old. However, this is disputed by those associated with the group, whose members were never known to mention him while they were alive.
As a teenager he formed The Blenders, a short-lived a cappella, doo-wop group that were influenced by The Dells, The Moonglows, and The Del Vikings. After that outfit dissolved, he founded The Butlers, which would be the first group he recorded with in 1963. As time passed, they caught the attention of the record producer Kenny Gamble, who eventually released recordings by the group.
It turned out that music performed by The Butlers did not fit into the "Philly Sound", and after some heavy touring, the group relocated to California. The unit was re-christened as Raw Soul and caught the attention of a sister-in-law to Marvin Gaye. Gaye featured them as an opening act at his shows, and also convinced Beverly to change the band's name to Maze.
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Frankie Gaye
Frankie Gaye (born Frances Gay, November 15, 1941 – December 30, 2001) was a singer and the younger brother of the more famous singer Marvin Gaye. Born the son of minister Marvin Pentz Gay, Sr. and domestic Alberta Cooper in Washington, D.C., Frances watched as Marvin became a superstar. Frankie's horrific accounts of his service during the Vietnam War (which included being a radio DJ) inspired Marvin's classic 1971 concept album What's Going On.
Frankie began his music career composing the soundtrack to the 1979 film Penitentiary. He would spend time singing on and off for his brother onstage as part of Marvin's touring band. During one of Marvin's first tours back from a six-year hiatus in 1973, Marvin had Frankie come on the stage to fool fans of his that Frankie was actually Marvin. When Marvin showed up, fans were understandably confused about the brothers' eerie similarities to each other. Frankie's most notable moment on any of Marvin's records was singing in the background of Marvin's 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up", featured on Marvin's Live at the London Palladium album. He released two singles, "Extraordinary Girl" in 1989 and "My Brother" in 1990 and released the album of the same name on the latter year for Motorcity Records.
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George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (Greek: Γεώργιος Κυριάκος Παναγιώτου); 25 June 1963) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Michael rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley. His first solo single, "Careless Whisper", was released when he was still in the duo and sold about six million copies worldwide.
As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Michael has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as of 2010. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and made several records and achievements in the United States. Michael has garnered seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Michael the 40th most successful artist on the Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists list.
Michael has won numerous music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.
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Gwen Gordy Fuqua
Gwen Gordy Fuqua (November 26, 1927 – November 8, 1999) was the elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, sister of Motown songwriters Anna Gordy Gaye, Robert Gordy and George Gordy, sister of Motown Museum founder Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Fuller Gordy and also Loucye Gordy, and the former wife of Harvey Fuqua. She was also an important contributor to the early years of the label as a songwriter herself.
Fuqua began her music career in the mid-1950s co-writing hit singles for Jackie Wilson with boyfriend Roquel Billy Davis (who then went by the pseudonym Tyran Carlo) and her brother Berry. As a team, the trio would write twelve songs together. Fuqua and Davis soon departed to form Anna Records (with sister Anna as a limited partner) in 1959, around the same time Fuqua's brother Berry formed Motown's first label, Tamla Records.
That year, when Gordy co-wrote and produce the Barrett Strong single, "Money (That's What I Want)", he asked Fuqua and Davis to distribute the song for national release. Released on Anna Records, the song rose to the top thirty on the pop charts in 1960 and became Anna's biggest hit and Motown's first hit single.
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Harvey Fuqua
Harvey Fuqua (July 27, 1929 – July 6, 2010) was an African-American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.
Fuqua founded the seminal R&B/doo-wop group the Moonglows in the 1950s. He is noted for later having been one of the key figures in the development of the Motown label in Detroit, Michigan: his group gave Marvin Gaye's musical career a start, and Fuqua and his wife at the time, Gwen Gordy, distributed the very first Motown hit single, Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", on their record label, Anna Records. Fuqua later sold Anna Records to Gwen's brother Berry Gordy, and became a songwriter and executive at Motown. He is also the uncle of filmmaker Antoine Fuqua.
Fuqua was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and was the nephew of Charlie Fuqua of The Ink Spots. In 1951, with Bobby Lester, Alexander Graves and Prentiss Barnes, he formed a vocal group, the Crazy Sounds, in Louisville, later moving with other members of the group to Cleveland, Ohio. There, they were taken under the wing of disc jockey Alan Freed, who renamed them "The Moonglows" after his own nickname, 'Moondog'. The Moonglows' first releases were for Freed's Champagne label in 1953. They then recorded for the Chance label in Chicago, before signing for Chess Records in 1954. Their single "Sincerely" reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, and # 20 on the Hot 100, in late 1954.
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Helen Baylor
Helen Baylor (born January 8, 1953 as Helen Lowe) is an American gospel singer.
Baylor was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Los Angeles, where she first performed as a nightclub act. She opened for Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and B.B. King while still in her teens, and performed in the musical Hair. In the 1970s she continued working in musicals and also sang with Captain & Tennille, Side Effect (notably on 'Always There' from What You Need) and Chaka Khan, but struggled with drug abuse in the 1980s as her career soured.
Baylor became sober late in the decade, strengthening her Christian faith and deciding to launch a career in gospel music. She released her first gospel effort on Word Records in 1990. Her first five albums all hit the Top Ten of the U.S. Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, with the most successful being 1994's The Live Experience, which reached #1 on that chart. The track "Oasis" was huge in the UK, via Expansion Records and stayed on the Music Week Dance Chart for 14 weeks. Also, the song "Sold Out" (from the album Start All Over) won a Dove Award for Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year at the 24th GMA Dove Awards in 1993
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Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as class struggle, poverty, religion, government and institutional racism.
Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to retain control over his production, and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 copies of his three official releases.
Coronel is African-Peruvian and was born in 1978 in a military hospital in Lima. His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem. During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students, the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year. After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he go to school. Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Coronel began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose. This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin Rites and others, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.
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Izhar Ashdot
Izhar Ashdot (born 1958, Jerusalem) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a record producer. He is a co-founding member of the Israeli rock band T-Slam.
When he was 11 Ashdot started to play the guitar, two years later he founded his first group, "The Red Dogs".
In 1977 he was recruited to the Israel Defense Forces Radio as a music programming editor, while simultaneously he worked on his own music and recorded the song "Me'uma Lo Kara" (Nothing Happened) which eventually became T-slam's biggest hit, retitled "Lir'ot Ota Haiom" (See Her Today) . While working for the Army Radio he met Yair Nitzani and Dani Bassan, and together they formed a Disco company and played as DJs in parties. After a while they left the Disco style and started to play Rock, founded the band T-Slam, and were joined by Yoshi Sade, Tzuf Philosof and Sami Avzardel.
T-Slam became famous with their single "Radio Hazak" (Loud Radio), and later with the releasing of its album with the same name, which was certified platinum. In March 1981 their first tour began and was very successful. T-Slam won numerous Israeli awards, including "The Band of the Year", and "The Song of the Year" with "See Her Today."
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J. Holiday
Nahum Grymes (born November 29, 1984) better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed" peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at number 5, selling 105,000 copies in its first week. It debuted at #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album debuted in the Top 20 R&B/Hip Hop albums in Canada and charted within the Top 100 albums in Canada. It became a Top 10 R&B/Hip Hop album in the UK and a Top 40 UK album entry peaking at #32. In the U.S it also made it to #8 on the Tastemakers chart and #5 on the Top Digital Albums and Billboard Comprehensive Albums Chart. The promotional single from this album was "Be with Me", which stalled at #83 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.
debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the issue week of July 4, 2007 at number 89 and has peaked at number 5. It was number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for five weeks in a row. The single has also debuted on BET's 106 & Park countdown at number 9 on Tuesday July 31, 2007. On Wednesday, August 15, 2007, "Bed" hit number one on its 11th day on the countdown. J. Holiday also performed "Bed" on 106 & Park on August 17, 2007. "Bed" was also performed on Showtime at the Apollo along with the single "Suffocate". This song was #70 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The video for "Bed" was ranked the #11 video of 2007 on BET: Notarized. His video for the third single, "Suffocate," debuted on BET's 106 & Park on November 7, 2007. The video was shot in Paris, France. "Come Here" was released as a single but was ultimately canceled.
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James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of funk music and is a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance.
In a career that spanned decades, Brown profoundly influenced the development of many different musical genres. Brown moved on a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music making. Brown performed in concerts, first making his rounds across the Chitlin' Circuit, and then across the country and later around the world, along with appearing in shows on television and in movies. Although he contributed much to the music world through his hitmaking, Brown holds the record as the artist who charted the most singles on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever hitting number one on that chart.
For many years, Brown's touring show was one of the most extravagant productions in American popular music. At the time of Brown's death, his band included three guitarists, two bass guitar players, two drummers, three horns and a percussionist. The bands that he maintained during the late 1960s and 1970s were of comparable size, and the bands also included a three-piece amplified string section that played during ballads. Brown employed between 40 and 50 people for the James Brown Revue, and members of the revue traveled with him in a bus to cities and towns all over the country, performing upwards of 330 shows a year with almost all of the shows as one-nighters. In 1986, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1990 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
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James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. (born September 18, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia. For this role, Gandolfini garnered enormous praise, winning both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series three times. Gandolfini's other roles include the woman-beating mob henchman Virgil in True Romance, enforcer/stuntman Bear in Get Shorty, Lt. General Miller in In the Loop, and the impulsive Wild Thing Carol in Where the Wild Things Are. In 2007, Gandolfini produced the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq" in which he interviewed 10 injured veterans from the Iraq War. In 2010, Gandolfini produced another HBO documentary "Wartorn: 1861-2010" in which Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and its impact on soldiers and families is analyzed throughout several wars in American history from 1861 to 2010.
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James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Taylor achieved his major breakthrough in 1970 with the #3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first #1 hit the following year with "You've Got a Friend", a recording of Carole King's classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. His commercial achievements declined slightly until a big resurgence during the late 1990s and 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums (including Hourglass, October Road and Covers) were released.
James Taylor was born at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 12, 1948, where his father, Isaac M. Taylor, was a resident physician. His father was from a well-off family of Southern Scottish ancestry. His mother, the former Gertrude Woodard, had studied singing with Marie Sundelius at the New England Conservatory of Music and was an aspiring opera singer before the couple's marriage in 1946. James was the second of five children, the others being Alex (1947-1993), Kate (born 1949), Livingston (born 1950), and Hugh (born 1952).
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Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years. The youngest child of the Jackson family, she began her career with the variety television series The Jacksons in 1976 and went on to appear in other television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times and Fame.
After signing a recording contract with A&M in 1982, she came to prominence following the release of her third studio album Control (1986). Her collaborations with record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis incorporated elements of rhythm and blues, funk, disco, rap, and industrial beats, which led to crossover appeal in popular music. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her records, choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV, she was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.
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Janis Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye (he added the 'e' as a young man), was an acclaimed American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range, who achieved major success in the 1960s and 1970s as an artist for the Motown Records label. He was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984.
Starting his career as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late 1950s, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960, signing with Motown Records subsidiary, Tamla. He started off as a session drummer, but later ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the 1960s. He was crowned "The Prince of Motown" and "The Prince of Soul". because of solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell.
His work in the early- and mid-1970s included the albums, What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and I Want You, which helped influence the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, and slow jam genres. After a self-imposed European exile in the early 1980s, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death.
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Jeremy Marre
Jeremy Marre is a television director, writer and producer who founded Harcourt Films and has worked extensively around the world. Many of his films are on musical subjects. His reputation was made with the Beats of the Heart series, which introduced elements of what is now called world music, and its performers, to the Western world.The New York Times said of the series: "It can make your jaw drop regularly with astonishment." He has run director courses for the National Film School, sat on the advisory boards for the British Library Sound Archive and the Arts Council of England, has broadcast widely on BBC radio, has written for The Times, The Sunday Telegraph, New York Post and The Independent. In 2000, The Times said of him: "Marre has an extraordinary track record over the years", and in 2011, previewing his latest music films, the Daily Telegraph wrote: "Marre's credentials are impeccable."
There have been retrospectives of his music films at the Florence Film Festival and on Channel 4.
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Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (born October 8, 1941) is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is his eldest son. In an AP-AOL "Black Voices" poll in February 2006, Jackson was voted "the most important black leader".
Jackson was born Jesse Louis Burns in Greenville, South Carolina, to Helen Burns, a 16-year-old single mother. His biological father, Noah Louis Robinson, a former professional boxer and a prominent figure in the community, was married to another woman when Jesse was born. He was not involved in his son's life, and died January 28, 1997 in Greenville, S.C. In 1943, two years after Jesse's birth, his mother married Charles Henry Jackson, who would adopt Jesse 14 years later. Jesse went on to take the surname of his stepfather.
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Jesse L. Martin
Jesse L. Martin (born Jesse Lamont Watkins; January 18, 1969) is an American theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for originating the role of Tom Collins in the Broadway theatrical production of Rent, and for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Ed Green on the NBC drama television series Law & Order.
Martin, the third of five sons, was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. His father, Jesse Reed Watkins, was a truck driver, and his mother, Virginia Price, a college counselor; the two divorced when he was a child. His mother eventually remarried and Martin adopted his stepfather's surname. When Martin was in grade school, the family relocated to Buffalo, New York, and the move was not an immediate success: Martin hated speaking because of his thick Southern accent and was often overcome with shyness. A concerned teacher influenced him to join an after-school drama program and cast him as the pastor in The Golden Goose. Being from Virginia, the young Martin played the character the only way he knew how: as an inspired Southern Baptist preacher. The act was a hit, and Martin emerged from his shell.
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Junior Walker
Junior Walker (born Autry DeWalt Mixon, Jr., June 14, 1931 – November 23, 1995) was an American musician. His group, Junior Walker & the All Stars, were signed to the Motown label in the 1960s, and became one of the label's signature acts.
Walker was born Autry DeWalt Mixon, Jr. in Blytheville, Arkansas and grew up in South Bend, Indiana. His saxophone style was the anchor for the band's overall sound. The other original members of the group were drummer Tony Washington, guitarist Willie Woods, and keyboardist Vic Thomas.
His career started when he developed his own band at the age of 14, in the mid 1950s as the 'Jumping Jacks'. His longtime friend Billy Nix (drummer) started his own group the 'Rhythm Rockers.' Periodically Nix would sit in on Jumping Jack's shows, and Walker would sit in on the Rhythm Rockers shows.
Nix obtained a permanent gig at a local TV station in South Bend, Indiana, and asked Walker to join him and his keyboard player (Fred Patton) permanently. Shortly after, Nix asked Willie Woods, a local singer, to perform with the group; shortly after Woods would learn how to play guitar also. When Nix got drafted into the United States Army, Walker convinced the band to move from South Bend to Battle Creek, Michigan. While performing in Benton Harbor, Walker found a drummer Tony Washington, to replace Nix. Eventually, Fred Patton (piano player) left the group, and Victor Thomas stepped in. The original name the 'Rhythm Rockers' was changed to the 'All Stars'. Walker's squealing gutbucket style was inspired by jump blues and early R&B, particularly players like Louis Jordan, Earl Bostic, and Illinois Jacquet.
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Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, actor, and businessman. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez. Timberlake became famous in the late 1990s as the lead singer and youngest member of the boy band 'N Sync, whose launch was financed by Lou Pearlman.
In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which sold more than seven million copies worldwide. The album was a commercial success, spawning the hits "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body". Timberlake continued his success with his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, and produced the US number-one hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around".
Timberlake has won six Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards. His first two albums made him one of the most commercially successful singers in the world, each selling in excess of 7 million copies. He also has an acting career, having starred in films such as The Social Network, Bad Teacher and Friends with Benefits. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality.
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Kanye West
Kanye Omari West ( /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.
West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time. All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all-time.
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Kate Bush
Catherine "Kate" Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.
In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", becoming the first woman to have a UK number one with a self-written song. She has since released ten albums, three of which topped the UK Albums Chart, and has had 25 UK Top 40 hit singles including the Top 10 hits "Wuthering Heights", "Running Up that Hill", "King of the Mountain", "Babooshka", "The Man with the Child in His Eyes", and "Don't Give Up".
In 1987, she won a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist, and in 2002, her songwriting ability was recognised with an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. During the course of her career, she has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards. After her 1979 tour – the only concert tour of her career – Bush released the 1980 album Never for Ever, which made her the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist ever to enter the album chart at Number 1. She is also the first (and to date only) female artist to have Top 5 albums in the UK charts in 5 successive decades.
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Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs. Among his productions are The Civil War (1990), Baseball (1994), Jazz (2001), The War (2007), The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009) and Prohibition (2011).
Burns' documentaries have been nominated for two Academy Awards, and have won Emmy Awards, among other honors.
Ken Burns was born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, according to his official website, though some sources give Ann Arbor, Michigan, and some, including The New York Times, give both Brooklyn and Ann Arbor. The son of Lyla Smith (née Tupper) Burns, a biotechnician, and Robert Kyle Burns, at the time a graduate student in cultural anthropology at Columbia University, in Manhattan. Ken Burns' brother is the documentary filmmaker Ric Burns.
Burns' academic family moved frequently, and lived in Saint-Véran, France; Newark, Delaware; and Ann Arbor, where his father taught at the University of Michigan. Burns' mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when Burns was 3, and died when he was 11, a circumstance that he said helped shape his career; he credited his father-in-law, a psychologist, with a signal insight: "He told me that my whole work was an attempt to make people long gone come back alive.". Well-read as a child, he absorbed the family encyclopedia, preferring history to fiction. Upon receiving an 8 mm film movie camera for his 17th birthday, he shot a documentary about an Ann Arbor factory. Turning down reduced tuition at the University of Michigan, he attended the new Hampshire College, an alternative school in Amherst, Massachusetts with narrative evaluations rather than letter grades and self-directed academic concentrations instead of traditional majors. He worked in a record store to pay his tuition.
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Kerry Shale
Kerry Shale is an actor, writer and voice-over artist based in the UK. He is married to Suzanne Shale, a former Oxford University law don, now a specialist in the field of medical ethics.
Shale’s theatre credits include six solo shows (five of which he wrote) which he has performed in Edinburgh, London, Berlin, Sydney, Cape Town and Off Broadway. Other stage work includes His Girl Friday at the National Theatre, Aunt Dan and Lemon at the Almeida, Lion In The Streets at Hampstead Theatre, True West for Shared Experience, Henry V at the Bristol Old Vic, The Normal Heart at the Royal Court and in the West End, The Exonerated at the Riverside Studios and Frost/Nixon at the Donmar Warehouse and in the West End. He recently appeared in the Royal Exchange, Manchester Theatre's production of C P Taylor's Good.
Most recently: two episodes of Red Dwarf (Series X). Other television acting work includes Life's Too Short, Doctor Who (2011), The Trip (2010), 10 Days To War (2008), Holby and Not Going Out (2007), the Stephen Poliakoff film Gideon's Daughter (2006) and Love Soup (2005), as well as episodes of Cracker, Joking Apart, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sharpe's Rifles and The Tomorrow People. He played "Mr Beaver" in the BBC TV series The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (1988). He also appeared in "The Comic Strip Presents.... Five Go Mad On Mescalin" (1983) as "Willy", opposite French and Saunders.
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Kim Weston
Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)".
Born Agatha Nathalia Weston in Detroit, Michigan, she was signed to Motown Records in 1961, scoring a minor hit with "Love Me All the Way" (R&B #24, Pop #88). Weston's biggest solo hits with Motown were "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" (R&B #4, Pop #50, 1965, later covered by The Isley Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and The Doobie Brothers, and "Helpless" (R&B #13, Pop #56, 1966, previously recorded by The Four Tops on their Second Album LP). Her biggest claim to fame was singing the classic hit "It Takes Two" with Marvin Gaye in 1966 and her later recording of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing". It was the success of "It Takes Two" that caused Motown to partner Gaye with Tammi Terrell, spawning even more success for the label.
Weston left Motown in 1967 and later sued the label over disputes about royalties. She and her then-husband William "Mickey" Stevenson (former A&R head at Motown) both went to MGM Records. Weston cut a couple of singles for MGM, "I Got What You Need," and "Nobody," which went largely unnoticed due to lack of airplay and promotion. She made an album for the label, This Is America, which included her popular version of the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This was released as a single and featured in the movie Wattstax. All the money from the single was donated to the United Negro College Fund.
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Lady Edith Foxwell
Lady Edith Foxwell (1918-1996) was a colorful eccentric known as "The Queen of London Cafe Society" in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1981, she became an investor in London's famous Embassy Club, where celebrities mixed with the aristocracy.
She was born Edith Sybil Lambart on 11 June 1918, the daughter of Captain Hon. Lionel John Olive Lambart and Adelaide Douglas Randolph. In 1940 she married the film producer Ivan Cottam Foxwell, among whose movies was The Colditz Story (1955). After her uncle, Horace Lambert, inherited the earldom of Cavan, she was granted the rank of a daughter of an earl by Royal Warrant of Precedence in 1947.
In her role as a producer's wife she began meeting many celebrities and showed the forcefulness of her personality when she locked the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in a room for five days, forcing him to remain sober long enough to complete a film script that her husband was producing. She also used to lunch regularly with Noël Coward when he was in London.
She was one of the few members of London society who remained close friends with Margaret, Duchess of Argyll after the "headless man" scandal which, combined with the John Profumo affair involving Christine Keeler, threatened to topple the Government of the day.
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Larry Bishop
Larry Bishop (born November 30, 1948) is an American actor, screenwriter and movie director. He is the son of Sylvia Ruzga and comedian Joey Bishop. He has been featured in many Hollywood movies including Hell Ride.
His television credits include writing for (and appearances on) The Hollywood Palace (with then-partner Rob Reiner), and appearances on I Dream of Jeannie, Love, American Style, Laverne and Shirley and Kung Fu.
His movie credits include roles in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Big Fix, The Savage Seven, and as the hook-handed musician Abraham "The Hook" Salteen in Wild in the Streets. He wrote, directed and appeared in Mad Dog Time in 1996, reuniting him with Streets costar Christopher Jones. His most recent movies are 2008's Hell Ride, in collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, and 2010's Forgotten Pills.
Bishop attended Beverly Hills High School. His fellow alumni Reiner and Richard Dreyfuss appear with him in Mad Dog Time, as does Joey Bishop.
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Lem Barney
Lemuel Joseph "Lem" Barney (born September 8, 1945 in Gulfport, Mississippi) is a former American Football cornerback who played for the Detroit Lions. He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Barney attended Jackson State University where he was a three-time All-Southwestern Conference star with 26 career interceptions. Barney is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Barney was a second round draft choice in 1967. He was named 1967's defensive rookie of the year, and went on to be selected to seven Pro Bowls. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive backs in Detroit Lions history. During his time in the NFL (all of which were in Detroit), Barney had 56 career interceptions, and also gained over 1000 yards returning kickoffs and punts. In Barney's first pro start, he intercepted the first pass in his direction from Green Bay's Bart Starr and ran for a touchdown. Lem Barney and the rest of the Lions defense were coached by six-time Pro Bowl defensive back Jim David. Lem credits Jim David as a mentor and teacher of the highest order. Jim David made the induction speech at the Pro Football Hall Of Fame induction ceremony for Lem. They remained great friends until David's death.
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Leon Ware
Leon Ware is a soul music singer, songwriter and producer. Best known for crafting the hit album, I Want You, originally recorded for Ware, until friend and Motown icon Marvin Gaye was assigned to the album in 1976. Ware also is notable for writing the Top 5 R&B single, "I Wanna Be Where You Are", for a young Michael Jackson in 1972, and creating the Body Heat album along with Quincy Jones. He also collaborated with Maxwell on his debut album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite.
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Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times. He won four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the track "Dance with My Father", co-written with Richard Marx.
Luther Vandross was born on April 20, 1951 at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York City, United States. He was the fourth child and second son to Mary Ida Vandross and Luther Vandross, Sr.
Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City in the NYCHA Alfred E. Smith Houses public housing development, Vandross began playing the piano at the age of three. He grew up in a musical family that moved to the Bronx when he was thirteen. His sister, Patricia, sang with the vocal group The Crests, who had a number two hit in 1958 with "16 Candles", though she left the group before the recording. Vandross's father died of diabetes when Vandross was eight years old. Luther Vandross was in a high school group, Shades of Jade, that once played at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He was also a member of a theater workshop, "Listen My Brother" who released the singles "Only Love Can Make a Better World" and "Listen My Brother", and appeared on the second and fifth episodes of Sesame Street in November 1969.
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Marvin Gay, Sr.
The Reverend Marvin Pentz Gaye Sr. (October 1, 1914 – October 10, 1998) was an American minister of the House of God. He was the father of musician Marvin Gaye and gained notoriety after shooting and killing him on April 1, 1984 following an argument at their Los Angeles home.
Gay was born on a farm on along Catnip Hill Pike in Jessamine County, Kentucky to George and Mamie Gay, and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Gay's childhood was reportedly difficult with accounts of his father George Gay's physical abuse towards him and twelve of his other siblings. Gay entered ministry in his late teens, joining a Pentecostal church as a pastor in a church in Washington, D.C. where he and wife, Alberta Cooper from North Carolina, raised their family of four children: daughters Jeanne (b. 1937) and Zeola (b. 1945) and sons Marvin, Jr. (1939–1984) and Frankie (1941–2001). After leaving his church, he formed a religious group called the House of God and spent most of his time as a storefront preacher taking his sermons to different churches where he often took his eldest son to sing gospel songs.
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Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye (he added the 'e' as a young man), was an acclaimed American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range, who achieved major success in the 1960s and 1970s as an artist for the Motown Records label. He was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984.
Starting his career as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late 1950s, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960, signing with Motown Records subsidiary, Tamla. He started off as a session drummer, but later ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the 1960s. He was crowned "The Prince of Motown" and "The Prince of Soul". because of solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell.
His work in the early- and mid-1970s included the albums, What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and I Want You, which helped influence the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, and slow jam genres. After a self-imposed European exile in the early 1980s, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death.
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Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige ( /ˈblaɪʒ/; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and occasional rapper and actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B.
Blige started her musical career in 1992, releasing her debut album, What's the 411? on MCA Records and Uptown. With her tenth album, My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (2011), she had ten consecutive albums debut in the top 10 on the Billboard 200. Blige's work has defined the course of R&B/Hip-Hop music. My Life, in particular, is considered among the greatest albums ever recorded according to Rolling Stone (279/500),Time, and Vibe. For her part in combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s and its subsequent commercial success, Blige received the World Music Awards "Legends Award". In 2007 the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awarded her its "Voice of Music" Award. ASCAP official Jeanie Weems stated that "[Blige's] music has been the voice of inspiration to women worldwide in both struggle and triumph." That same year, Time included her in its "Time 100" list, a collection of the year's 100 most influential individuals around the world. In a documentary by BET television, Mary J. Blige said that when she hears music, she sees colors. In other words she has Synesthesia.
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Mary Wells
Mary Esther Wells (May 13, 1943 – July 26, 1992) was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Miracles, The Temptations, The Supremes, and the Four Tops, Wells was said to have been part of the charge in black music onto radio stations and record shelves of mainstream America, "bridging the color lines in music at the time."
With a string of hit singles composed mainly by Smokey Robinson, including "Two Lovers" (1962), the Grammy-nominated "You Beat Me to the Punch" (1962) and her signature hit, "My Guy" (1964), she became recognized as "The Queen of Motown" until her departure from the company in 1964, at the height of her popularity. She was one of Motown's first singing superstars.
Mary Esther Wells was born near Detroit's Wayne State University on May 13, 1943, to a mother who worked as a domestic and an absentee father. One of three children, she contracted spinal meningitis at the age of two and struggled with partial blindness, deafness in one ear and temporary paralysis. During her early years, Wells lived in a poor residential Detroit district. By age 12, she was helping her mother with house cleaning work. She described the ordeal years later:
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Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.
Mavis Staples began her career with her family group in 1950. Initially singing locally at churches and appearing on a weekly radio show, the Staples scored a hit in 1956 with "Uncloudy Day" for the Vee-Jay label. When Mavis graduated from what is now Paul Robeson High School in 1957, The Staple Singers took their music on the road. Led by family patriarch Roebuck "Pops" Staples on guitar and including the voices of Mavis and her siblings Cleotha, Yvonne, and Purvis, the Staples were called "God's Greatest Hitmakers."
With Mavis' voice and Pops' songs, singing, and guitar playing, the Staples evolved from enormously popular gospel singers (with recordings on United and Riverside as well as Vee-Jay) to become the most spectacular and influential spirituality-based group in America. By the mid-1960s The Staple Singers, inspired by Pops' close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., became the spiritual and musical voices of the civil rights movement. They covered contemporary pop hits with positive messages, including Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and a version of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth."
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Max-A-Million
Durand Maxamillian Estev`ez [es te be] was born on April 1 in the Black Woods of Clarendon in May Pen Jamaica, West Indies. As a youth, Max lived not only in the Yard but also in the Brixton community of Birmingham, London, England. As a teen, he lived between New York’s Bedfordsty community in Brooklyn and Derbytown in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended school at the Youth Performing Arts School in New York and studied in the advanced program at Juilliard School of Music. The ethnic and cultural diversity that surrounded him greatly influenced what would become his future international signature sound and musical talent. Being surrounded by the social elite and the creators of a new sound called Hip Hop also gave Max-A-Million the vehicle he needed to take that new sound around the world.
His father, Roman Estevez was one of New York City’s top import and exporter and club owners. As owner of Roxy NYC, a roller rink turned club in the late 80’s, Roman gave many of Hip Hop’s and Reggae’s up and coming artists a chance to be heard by the international elite. One of the Roxy’s many claims to fame is the filming of Hip Hop’s cult classics Beat Street and Krush Groove1. This exposure allowed Max, known in the underground Hip Hop and Dancehall mixtape scene as Madd Max or Max-A-Million, to open up many shows for the music industry’s top Hip Hop and Reggae artists of the time.
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Maxwell (singer)
Gerald Maxwell Rivera (born May 23, 1973), better known by his stage name Maxwell, is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.
Maxwell was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father was Pentecostal and raised in Vieques, Puerto Rico. His mother grew up in a devout Baptist household in Haiti.
Maxwell began working with songwriter Leon Ware and noted guitarist Wah Wah Watson to record his debut Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite in the early 1990s. When the album was finished Columbia had doubts about its potential and shelved it for two years. The album was finally issued in 1996.
Heavily inspired by the sound of classic soul music, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite did not catch on with audiences until the release of its second single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)," which became a hit. BET's groundbreaking show, In Your Ear would introduce him to more than 58 million homes and Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite would go on to sell over 2,000,000 copies, earning 2X platinum status, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
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Mel Farr
Melvin Farr (born November 3, 1944 in Beaumont, Texas) is a former American football player.
As a youth, Farr played football, baseball, track and basketball. He graduated from Hebert High School in 1963, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was named All-State in football and track and All-District in basketball.
Farr played football for the UCLA Bruins, where he was a halfback. He started on the 1965 and 1966 varsity teams, part of UCLA's famous Sports Illustrated dubbed "dream backfield" along with eventual Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Gary Beban. Had a 50 yard touchdown run in UCLA's upset of Southern Cal in 1965, securing a berth in the 1966 Rose Bowl, a stunning UCLA upset over #1 ranked Michigan State. UCLA's final rankings were #4 and #5 in the AP his two starting years. He finished seventh in the balloting for the 1966 Heisman Trophy (Beban #4 that year). He was a consensus All-American at the school in 1966. He was named to the all AAWU conference team and named All Coast in 1965 and 1966. 1988 Inductee into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.
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Method Man
Clifford Smith (born April 1, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Mary J. Blige. In 2007, the writers of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).
Method Man appeared in the motion pictures Belly, How High, Garden State as well as a minor role in The Wackness. More recently, he appeared as a crewman in George Lucas' film Red Tails. On television, he and hip-hop collaborator Redman co-starred on the short-lived Fox sitcom Method & Red, and he had a recurring role on HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels and as Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff on the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire.
Born in Staten Island, New York, on April 1 , 1971, Clifford Smith divided his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's home in the Park Hill section of Staten Island aka Killa Hill. He has two sisters, Terri and Missy.
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Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.
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Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. (born October 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head, and signing a recording contract.
In 2006, he released his debut album, In My Own Words, which contained the US number one hit "So Sick", as well as the top 10 hit "Sexy Love". Then in 2007, he released his second album, Because of You, which contained the US top 3 hit, "Because of You". In 2008, he released his third album, Year of the Gentleman, which contained the top 10 hits "Closer","Mad" and "Miss Independent". His fourth studio album, Libra Scale, was released on November 22, 2010.
In 2009, Billboard ranked him as the 57th Artist of the 2000s decade. In addition to a successful recording career, Ne-Yo has amassed a catalog of chart-topping songs that he has written for other artists.
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Neil Finn
Neil Mullane Finn OBE (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand recording artist. Along with his brother Tim Finn, he was the co-frontman for Split Enz and is now frontman for Crowded House. He has also recorded several successful solo albums and assembled diverse musicians for the 7 Worlds Collide projects.
Finn rose to prominence in the late 1970s after replacing singer songwriter Phil Judd in his brother Tim Finn's band Split Enz. With the group, Finn wrote the hits "One Step Ahead", "History Never Repeats", "I Got You" and "Message to My Girl", among others. Finn rose from prominence to international fame after Split Enz broke up in 1984. While his brother Tim Finn left for England, Neil was the founder of Crowded House with Split Enz's final drummer Paul Hester in 1985. The group achieved international success in 1987 when they released the single "Don't Dream It's Over" written by Neil.
He ended Crowded House in 1996 to embark upon what was to become a moderately successful solo career, and has released two albums with his brother Tim under the title the Finn Brothers. In 2006, following the death of Hester, Finn reformed Crowded House (adding Beck's former drummer Matt Sherrod) and released their first studio album in over 13 years, Time on Earth, and the band began a world tour. In 2010, Finn commenced another world tour with Crowded House in support of their 2010 release, Intriguer.
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Nona Gaye
Nona Marvisa Gaye (born September 4, 1974) is an American singer, former fashion model, and screen actress. The daughter of soul music legend Marvin Gaye and granddaughter of jazz great Slim Gaillard, she began her career as a vocalist in the early 1990s. As an actress, she is best known for her portrayal of Zee in the science fiction films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
Gaye is the only daughter of singer Marvin Gaye and wife Janis Gaye. She is Marvin's second child – her brother Marvin III (sometimes referred to as Marvin Gaye, Jr.) was from Gaye's first marriage while her younger brother Frankie was born within a year after her. As a baby, Nona was brought out on stage by her father during a concert. At eight, she formally introduced her father on Soul Train during a tribute episode to the singer.
Gaye released her first album, Love for the Future, on Atlantic Records in 1992, a month after her 18th birthday. The album featured the top 20 hit "I'm Overjoyed" as well as "The Things That We All Do For Love". The following year, Gaye was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. She signed to Ford Modeling Agency in 1994, and became the new face of Armani.
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Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s. He has been credited as one of the creators of the Motown Sound and as an instrumental figure in the development of the late-60s sub-genre of psychedelic soul.
During his 25-year career, Whitfield co-wrote and produced many enduring hits for various Motown artists, including "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", "(I Know) I'm Losing You", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Cloud Nine", "I Can't Get Next to You", "War", "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", "Smiling Faces Sometimes", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and "Car Wash". Whitfield worked extensively with The Temptations as a producer and songwriter; he solely produced eight of their albums between 1969 and 1973. Alongside his Motown lyrical collaborator Barrett Strong, he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2004.
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O. T. Fagbenle
O. T. Fagbenle (also known as O-T and OT) is a British actor. He has appeared in several films, stage and television productions.
Born in London to a Nigerian father and a British mother, Fagbenle moved to Spain as a child and started learning the alto saxophone. Within a year he was playing for the South Coast Jazz Band and toured the Edinburgh Festival. He moved back to England where he continued to perform as a musician in big bands at the Wembley Arena and the Royal Albert Hall.
He started acting at the age of 14 for the Ritual Theatre Arts and was given the lead role in an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, performing at international venues and at central London's Bloomsbury Theatre. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and graduated early to make his graduate debut at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Les Blancs in 2001.
Fagbenle continued his Shakespearean roles performing in Romeo and Juliet as Mercutio in a national tour culminating at the Hong Kong Arts Festival 2004 the evening telegraph said of his performance 'O T Fagbenle achieves the impossible by almost overshadowing the young lovers with his inspired performance of Mercutio'.
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People (magazine)
People (originally called People Weekly) is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial, circulation and advertising.People ranked #6 on Advertising Age's annual "A-list" and #3 on Adweek's "Brand Blazers" list in October 2006.
The magazine runs a roughly 50/50 mix of celebrity and human-interest articles. People's editors claim to refrain from printing pure celebrity gossip, enough so to lead celebrity publicists to propose exclusives to the magazine, evidence of what one staffer calls a "publicist-friendly strategy".
People's website, People.com, focuses exclusively on celebrity news. In February 2007, the website drew 39.6 million page views "within a day" of the Golden Globes. However "the mother ship of Oscar coverage" broke a site record with 51.7 million page views on the day after the Oscars, beating the previous record set just a month before from the Golden Globes.[not in citation given]
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Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector (born Harvey Phillip Spector on December 26, 1939) is an American record producer and songwriter.
The originator of the "Wall of Sound" production technique, Spector was a pioneer of the 1960s girl-group sound and produced over 25 Top 40 hits in 1960–1965. Some of his famous girl groups are The Ronettes and The Crystals. After this initial success, Spector later worked with artists including Ike and Tina Turner, John Lennon, George Harrison, and the Ramones with similar acclaim. He produced The Beatles' Academy Award winning album Let It Be, and the Grammy Award–winning Concert for Bangladesh by former Beatle George Harrison. In 1989, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. The 1965 song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", produced and co-written by Spector for The Righteous Brothers, is listed by BMI as the song with the most U.S. airplay in the 20th century.
In 2009 Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home. He is serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life.
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Prince (musician)
Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson; June 7, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of the instruments on his recordings. In addition, Prince has been a "talent promoter" for the careers of Sheila E., Carmen Electra, The Time and Vanity 6, and his songs have been recorded by these artists and others (including Chaka Khan, The Bangles, Sinéad O'Connor, and even Kim Basinger). He also has several hundred unreleased songs in his "vault".
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince developed an interest in music at an early age, writing his first song at age seven. After recording songs with his cousin's band 94 East, seventeen-year-old Prince recorded several unsuccessful demo tapes before releasing his debut album, For You, in 1978. His 1979 album, Prince, went platinum due to the success of the singles "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover". His next three records, Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982) continued his success, showcasing Prince's trademark of prominently sexual lyrics and incorporation of elements of funk, dance and rock music. In 1984, he began referring to his backup band as The Revolution and released the album Purple Rain, which served as the soundtrack to his film debut of the same name.
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R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Often referred to as the King of R&B, Kelly is recognized as one of the most successful R&B artists of all-time. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump n' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".
Kelly has written, produced, and remixed songs for many artists including The Winans, The Isley Brothers, Charlie Wilson, Quincy Jones, K-Ci & JoJo, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Hi-Five, Nivea, Ciara, Mary J. Blige, Luther Vandross, Gerald LeVert, Raheem DeVaughn, Ruben Studdard, Jaheim, Kelly Price, Tamia, Maxwell, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Usher, B2K, Twista, Tyrese, Jennifer Lopez, Trey Songz, and others in the U.S. and abroad.
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Raheem DeVaughn
Raheem DeVaughn (born May 5, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Love Experience (2005), reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His second album Love Behind the Melody was released in January 2008. It features the singles "Woman", and "Customer".
DeVaughn was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards for the single "Woman".
DeVaughn was born in Newark, New Jersey on May 5, 1975, the son of jazz cellist Abdul Wadud. He was raised in Maryland (Montgomery and Prince George's counties) by his mother, Imani Smith, a now retired federal worker. He is a cousin of singer Chrisette Michele. His mother states that her son first expressed an affinity towards music in preschool, recalling how whenever the class had musical events, he would conduct them. DeVaughn's love for music solidified during his early teens, when he began to envision his career path. One of his favorite artists was Babyface, and Smith recalls that her son once begged her to visit the Waxie Maxie's record store in the District to buy a promotional picture of the singer. DeVaughn visited his father during the summer, mainly in New Jersey. With his father, DeVaughn attended gigs and experienced his first taste of the life of a working musician.
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Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company.Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.”
The influences upon his music were mainly jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and country artists of the day such as Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Charles Brown, Louis Armstrong. His playing reflected influences from country blues and barrelhouse, and stride piano styles.
Rolling Stone ranked Charles number ten on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In honoring Charles, Billy Joel noted: "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?"
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Rhea Bailey
Rhea Bailey is an English actress. She is the younger sister of singer Corinne Bailey Rae. Her father is Black-Kittitian and her mother is White English.
Her television roles include Chloe Simms on the soap opera Crossroads, former student Yasmin Deardon in BBC school drama Waterloo Road, Jade in the Torchwood episode "Out of Time", and Jazz in the movie Credo (also known as The Devil's Curse).
Between June 2008 and August 2010 she appeared as Police Constable Mel Ryder in the ITV police drama The Bill. Bailey has previously played a police officer in her role as DC Lisa Goodall in the ITV series Blue Murder.
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Rick James
James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B. Among his well known songs are "Super Freak", "Mary Jane" and "You and I".
In addition to his music, James gained notoriety for his wild lifestyle, which led to widely publicized legal problems, and which was famously satirized by Chappelle's Show in 2004.
Rick James was born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. in Buffalo, New York. He attended Orchard Park High School and Bennett High School before dropping out at the age of 15. One of eight children, his father, an autoworker, abandoned him and his siblings when Rick was a child. His mother, a former vaudeville dancer, later reportedly ran errands for a Mafia family to make ends meet.[citation needed]
James grew up singing on street corners with fellow neighborhood boys. James' early idols included Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and The Temptations (particularly his uncle, Melvin Franklin). After briefly being involved in street crime, James dropped out of high school at 15 to avoid a possible draft and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve. A year later, James left the Reserve after he began to miss weekend training, because it interfered with his music career.[not in citation given]
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Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter, born and raised in North London, England, and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry.
With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album). His work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces influenced heavy metal genres.
With his career in its fifth decade, Stewart has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling artists of all time. In the UK, he has had six consecutive number one albums, and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. He has had 16 top ten singles in the U.S, with four of these reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists". He was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time, and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and was inducted a second time, as a member of Faces, in April 2012.
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Roger Troutman
Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999) was the lead singer of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the Funk movement and heavily influenced West Coast hip hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music over the years. Troutman was well known for his use of the talk box, a device that is connected to an instrument (frequently a keyboard) to create different vocal effects. Roger used a custom-made talkbox—the Electro Harmonix "Golden Throat," as well as a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer. As both lead singer of Zapp and in his subsequent solo releases, he scored a bevy of funk and R&B hits throughout the 1980s. In his later years, he was mostly known for singing the chorus to the hip-hop classic by Tupac Shakur, "California Love".
Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Roger was the fourth of ten children. He was a late-arriving member of Parliament-Funkadelic and played on the band's final Warner Brothers' album The Electric Spanking of War Babies. Beforehand, Troutman had formed various bands with his four brothers, including Little Roger and the Vels and Roger and the Human Body. In 1977, he and the Human Body issued their first single, "Freedom". Within two years, Roger and his brothers were discovered by George Clinton, who signed the newly-christened Zapp to his Uncle Jam Records label in 1979. Zapp made their professional television debut on the first and only Funk Music Awards show. A year later, as Uncle Jam Records was forced to close, Zapp signed to Warner Bros. Records and released their self-titled debut, which yielded the Bootsy Collins produced & Troutman-composed hit, "More Bounce to the Ounce." The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Soul Singles chart in the fall of 1980. The debut album reached the top 20 of the Billboard 200 and firmly launched Zapp and Roger into the national spotlight.
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Roscoe Dash
Jeffery Johnson Jr. (born April 2, 1990), better known by his stage name Roscoe Dash, is an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia.
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Rubin Carter
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (born May 6, 1937) fought professionally as a middleweight boxer from 1961 to 1966. In 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey. He and another man, John Artis, were tried and convicted twice (1967 and 1976) for the murders, but after the second conviction was overturned in 1985, prosecutors chose not to try the case for a third time. From 1993 to 2005 Carter served as executive director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
Carter grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, the fourth of seven children. He acquired a record and was sentenced to a juvenile reformatory for assault and robbery shortly after his 14th birthday. Carter escaped from the reformatory in 1954 and joined the Army. A few months after completing infantry basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he was sent to West Germany. In his first year, Carter compiled a 35-5 record and won the European Lightweight Championship. He began going to classes—including a Dale Carnegie class, which helped him to conquer his stuttering problem. He even adopted Islam and changed his name for a while. Carter performed poorly as a soldier, and was court-martialed four times for charges from being AWOL.[citation needed] In May 1956, he received an "Undesirable" discharge, having served 21 months of his three-year term of enlistment.
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Salaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs, better known as Salaam Remi, is a hip hop producer and keyboard player, known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Fergie, and his reggae-tinged (often referred to as "broken-bottle") approach to production. A good example of this unique style can be found in the production on the Nas record "Made You Look", off his 2002 release God's Son.
The son of studio musician Van Gibbs, Salaam first appeared on record as the keyboardist for Kurtis Blow's 1986 release Kingdom Blow. In the late 1980s Salaam began mixing records. His first full production was in 1992, for the hip-hop group Zhigge. He has also worked with such luminaries as the Fugees and Black Sheep.
Salaam Remi has been associated with releases like Lil' Flip's "I Need Mine", Ini Kamoze's "Here Comes the Hotstepper", The Fugees' multi-platinum The Score LP, and Toni Braxton's "You're Makin Me High." He also produced 10 tracks on the 2002 UK sensation Ms. Dynamite's album titled A Little Deeper, including the hugely successful lead single "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee", which had moderate crossover success in the U.S. market[citation needed]. Salaam contributed tracks to Jurassic 5's 2006 LP Feedback and Nas' 2006 album Hip Hop is Dead and, more recently, racked up production credits on Frank, the platinum debut from North London soul-jazz singer Amy Winehouse. He also worked on her follow up, Back to Black, and was producing her third album that was to be released in 2011 up until her death. Remi also worked with Nelly Furtado on her first Spanish language album, Mi Plan. Remi's active projects in late 2008 include Jazmine Sullivan, Nas, Free, Nick Harrison, Lemar, Noel Gourdin, Julian Perretta, Leona Lewis, Corrine Bailey Rae, and Craig David, as well as many film and TV projects.
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Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and influence on the modern world of music. His contribution in pioneering soul music led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and popularized the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown.
Cooke had 29 top-40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1964. Major hits like "You Send Me", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Cupid", "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World", and "Twistin' the Night Away" are some of his most popular songs. Cooke was also among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the American Civil Rights Movement.
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Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 4, 1916 – February 26, 1991) was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout". (In addition to speaking 8 other languages, Gaillard wrote a dictionary for his own constructed language.)
Along with Gaillard's date of birth, his family lineage and place of birth are disputed. One account is that he was born in Santa Clara, Cuba of a Greek father and an Afro-Cuban mother; another is that he was born in Pensacola, Florida to a German father and an African-American mother. Adding to the confusion, the 1920 U.S. Census lists a 19-month-old boy named "Beuler Gillard" in Pensacola, but born in Alabama. He grew up in Detroit and moved to New York City in the 1930s.
According to the obituaries in leading newspapers, Gaillard's childhood in Cuba was spent cutting sugar-cane and picking bananas, as well as occasionally going to sea with his father. However, at the age of 12, he accompanied his father on a world voyage and was accidentally left behind on the island of Crete. After working on the island for a while, he made his home in Detroit. In America, Gaillard worked in an abattoir, trained as a mortician and also had been employed at Ford's Motor Works.[citation needed]
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Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is most notable for being the founder and front man of the popular Motown vocal group, The Miracles, for which he also served as the group's chief songwriter and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as The Five Chimes until 1972 when he announced a retirement from the stage to focus on his role as Motown's vice president.
However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year, later having solo hits such as "Baby That's Backatcha", "Quiet Storm", "The Agony and the Ecstasy", "Cruisin'", "Being With You" and "Just to See Her". Following the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left Motown in 1990. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Robinson was born in Detroit and raised in the city's North End section. At one point, he and Diana Ross were next-door neighbors; he said he has known Ross since she was eight. Robinson later told reporters when he was a child, his uncle christened him "Smokey Joe", which Robinson assumed was a "cowboy name for me" until he was later told that smokey was a pejorative term for dark-skinned Blacks. Robinson, who is mainly of African American descent and is light-skinned, remembers his uncle saying to him, "I'm doing this so you won't ever forget that you're black." Robinson grew up as a fan of Western films.
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Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw (born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.
When she was a teenager in the early 1980s, Lattisaw had a string of Top 40 R&B hits, with several songs — "Let Me Be Your Angel", "Jump to the Beat", "Love on a Two-Way Street", and "Miracles" — crossing over to the pop mainstream. Lattisaw recorded her first album for Cotillion Records at the age of 12 in 1979, under the direction of record producer Van McCoy. However it was not until she affiliated with Narada Michael Walden, a former drummer with the Mahavishnu Orchestra who was just beginning a career as a producer, that she became a star. Under Walden's direction, she had five hit albums between 1981 and 1986. She also opened for the Jacksons Triumph Tour in 1981. From Lattisaw's 1982 album "Sneakin' Out", Mariah Carey used a sample of the song "Attack Of The Name Game" (R&B #14) for her 1999 track "Heartbreaker".
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Steampacket
The Steampacket was a British blues band of the 1960s, notable mainly for the fact that so many of its members already were, or subsequently became, famous as individual musicians. It was, arguably, the UK's first "supergroup".
The group was formed in 1965 by Long John Baldry after the break-up of his previous group the Hoochie Coochie Men. It included Hoochie Coochie Men vocalists Rod Stewart and Julie Driscoll, organist Brian Auger and guitarist Vic Briggs. They were managed by Giorgio Gomelsky, who had previously been involved with The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds.
Steampacket played at various clubs, theatres and student unions around the country, including supporting the Rolling Stones on their 1965 British tour. Because of contractual difficulties, however, they never formally recorded a studio or live album. Tracks from tapes made at a rehearsal in the Marquee Club in London were released after the band split as an album, The First Supergroup, and some were later released by Charley Records as The Steampacket - Featuring Rod Stewart.
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Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris (born May 13, 1950 as Stevland Hardaway Judkins), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, a child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Blind since shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.
Among Wonder's best known works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "I Wish" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Well known albums also include Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and received twenty-two Grammy Awards, the most ever awarded to a male solo artist. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with Wonder at number five.
wn.com/Stevie_Wonder -
Tammi Terrell
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, known as Tammi Terrell (April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970) was an American recording artist and songwriter most notable for her association with Motown Records and her duets with Marvin Gaye. As a teenager she recorded for the Scepter–Wand, Try Me and Checker record labels. She signed with Motown in April 1965 and enjoyed modest success as a solo singer. Once she was paired with Gaye in 1967, her stardom grew, but on October 14 of that year she collapsed on stage into Gaye's arms during a performance. She was soon thereafter diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor which eventually led to her death at age 24.
Tammi Terrell was born Thomasina Winifred Montgomery in Philadelphia. Members of her family have said her parents figured their eldest child would be a son and had settled on "Thomas". After Terrell's birth, they added in "-ina". Terrell was called "Tommie" by family. Terrell has a younger sister, Ludie (born 1949). Terrell began singing in church at an early age. Terrell developed a rebellious, free-spirited streak and changed her name to "Tammy" after seeing the film Tammy and the Bachelor in the summer of 1957 and hearing its theme song "Tammy". Around this time, Terrell began complaining of migraines and headaches. Terrell's family said that this foreshadowed her later struggle with brain cancer but that at the time they did not regard it as a major issue.
wn.com/Tammi_Terrell -
Teena Marie
Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer. She was known as Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie, then she later acquired the nickname of Lady Tee (sometimes spelled as Lady T), given to her by collaborator and friend, Rick James.
She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals which initially caused many listeners to believe she was African-American. Her success in R&B and soul and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas. She also wrote, produced, sang, and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release, Irons in the Fire, which she later said was her favorite album.
Mary Christine, or Teena as she was called, was the fourth of five children born in Santa Monica, California[citation needed] to construction worker Thomas Leslie Brockert and his wife, home renovator Mary Anne. She spent her early childhood in Mission Hills. Her ethnic heritage was Portuguese, Italian, Irish and Native American.[citation needed] In 2005, while visiting Louisiana, she had discovered that her paternal ancestors once lived in New Orleans. Brockert took to singing naturally, performing Harry Belafonte's Banana Boat Song by age two. She also developed a fondness for singing the songs of Motown, and her self-professed “gift from God” would become fine-tuned as the years progressed.
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The Capris
The Capris are an Italian-American Doo Wop group originating in the Ozone Park section of Queens, New York in the late 1950s.
The group originated in Ozone Park, Queens in 1957 when they were teenagers. The original members were Rosario Morice (aka Sonny Boy, Lead), though he left the group before recording he has always been recognized by the group when attending a performance. Nick Santamaria (aka Nick Santo, lead), Mike Mincieli (first tenor), Frank Reina (second tenor), Vinnie Naccarato,(baritone), and John Cassese (bass). They were all around 15 years of age at the time and still in school. Rosario, Vinnie, Mike, Tony, and John all went to John Adams High School, while Nick was a student at Woodrow Wilson and Frank attended Franklin K. Lane. Mike Mincieli, started the group and recruited the members. In the spring/summer of 1958 the final member was recruited and really got things together. They originally called themselves "the Supremes" but soon changed to "The Capris." It is often thought their name came from the island of Capri, since the boys were all Italian, but Nick confirmed in a 1993 interview with Greg Milewski, that they named themselves after the 1957 Lincoln Capri.
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The Commodores
The Commodores are an American funk/soul band of the 1970s and 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour.
This group is best known for their ballads, such as "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady", but, for the most part, the group mainly recorded funky, driven dance-floor hits which include "Brick House", "The Bump", "Fancy Dancer", and "Too Hot ta Trot". The Commodores originally called themselves the Mystics, but wanted to change the name. To choose a new name William King opened a dictionary and randomly picked a word. "We lucked out," he remarked with a laugh when telling this story to People magazine. "We almost became The Commodes!"[citation needed]
wn.com/The_Commodores -
The Impressions
The Impressions are an American music group from Chicago, originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes doo-wop, gospel, soul, and R&B.
The group was founded as The Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks, and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago and added Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield to their line-up to become Jerry Butler & the Impressions. By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed, and after switching to ABC-Paramount Records, Mayfield, Gooden, and new Impression Fred Cash collectively became a top-selling soul act. Mayfield left the group for a solo career in 1970; Leroy Hutson, Ralph Johnson, Reggie Torian, Sammy Fender, and Nate Evans were among the replacements who joined Gooden and Cash. Inductees into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Impressions are best known for their 1960s string of hits, many of which were heavily influenced by gospel music and served as inspirational anthems for the Civil Rights Movement.They are also 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Inductees for their hit, People Get Ready, and are winners of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award (in 2000) .
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Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings as solo artist, and during the seventies and eighties with the band Utopia. He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren engineered and/or produced many notable albums for other acts, including Straight Up by Badfinger, Stage Fright by The Band, We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf, and Skylarking by XTC. In the 1980s and 1990s his interest in video and computers led to Rundgren's "Time Heals" being the eighth video played on MTV, and "Change Myself" was animated by Rundgren on commercially available Amiga Computers.
His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" which have heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations, and "Bang the Drum All Day" featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers. Although lesser known, "Couldn't I Just Tell You" has had a major influence on artists in the power pop musical genre.
wn.com/Todd_Rundgren -
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos' creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the show's six seasons. Bobby Boriello portrayed Tony Soprano as a child in one episode and Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes. The character is loosely based on real-life New Jersey mobster Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (born 1944), who is a former caporegime (capo) and de facto street boss of the DeCavalcante crime family of New Jersey. The DeCavalante Family is widely considered to be the model for the Soprano family; some incidents that the DeCavalcantes were involved in have been incorporated into Sopranos scripts.
In the series, Tony begins as a capo in the DiMeo crime family during the first season. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to acting boss, a title he retains until the sixth season (his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the official boss up until early on in season 6, but has little or no actual power). Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting requirements of his "two families": his actual family—wife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son Anthony "A.J." Soprano, Jr., and mother Livia — and the criminal organization he heads. He is shown to be a short-tempered, violent sociopath, but also struggles with depression and is prone to panic attacks. Because of this, he seeks treatment from Dr. Jennifer Melfi in the show's first episode, and remains in therapy on and off up until the penultimate episode of the series.
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Trey Songz
Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007. His third album, Ready, was released in 2009 while his fourth studio album, Passion, Pain & Pleasure, was released on September 14, 2010.
Songz was born Tremaine Aldon Neverson on November 28, 1984, in Petersburg, Virginia. Raised as a military brat, Songz did not have aspirations to have a musical career as a child due to his shyness, saying "Singing wasn't a reality for me, until other people started noticing I sounded good." He recognized his vocal abilities at the age of 14. Reluctant to sing, he began performing with encouragement by friends and family in high school. Record producer Troy Taylor discovered Songz during a talent show in 2000, which led him to signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 2002. After graduating from high school in 2002, Songz moved to New Jersey to begin recording his debut album, though recording didn't actually begin until 2003.
wn.com/Trey_Songz -
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac, Pac, and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.
Both of his parents and several other family members were members of the Black Panthers, and Tupac made reference to the organization in the song "Changes". Shakur was involved in a West-coast East-coast rivalry after a major feud with East-coast rappers, producers and record-label members of staff.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died six days later.
wn.com/Tupac_Shakur -
Uncle Junior
Corrado John Soprano, Jr., played by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun'", he is the mentor and surrogate father for his nephew and DiMeo crime family capo Tony Soprano, and for most of the series the nominal boss of the family. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco Sisto.
Junior is portrayed as an arrogant, selfish, misanthropic and impulsive character. In Mafia jargon, he "ate alone." Junior was very envious of others who held an advantage or position of superiority over him (especially towards his own family). He had an uneasy relationship with his nephew Tony Soprano, for his fast ascendancy as a star of the family and their often conflicting business interests. Although Junior never directly murders anyone on the show, in Season One, he orders the murders of six people, including Brendan Filone and the unsuccessful hit on Tony after he believed Tony was conspiring against him. He also ordered a mock execution on Christopher Moltisanti for hijacking one of his trucks.
wn.com/Uncle_Junior -
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978), who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, "Nice & Slow". The album has been certified 6-times platinum by the RIAA. His follow-up album, 8701, produced the Billboard Hot 100 number one hits "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". The album has been certified 4-times platinum by the RIAA.
Usher's 2004 album Confessions sold over 10 million copies in the United States, and been certified diamond by the RIAA. Confessions has the highest first week sales for an R&B artist in history. It spawned four consecutive Billboard number-one hits—"Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo". Usher's 2008 album Here I Stand sold over 5 million copies worldwide, and its lead single "Love In This Club" peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100.
On March 30, 2010, Usher released his sixth studio album Raymond v. Raymond, which became his third consecutive album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA, and spawned another Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "OMG". The song became his ninth number one in the United States, making him the first 2010s artist to collect number one singles in three consecutive decades. He later released an extended play and deluxe edition of "Raymond v. Raymond", entitled Versus, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
wn.com/Usher_(entertainer) -
Valerie Simpson
Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011), and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946), were a husband and wife songwriting/production team and recording artists.
Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1963. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Joshie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Good"), Maxine Brown ("One Step At A Time"), as well as the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson. Another of the trio's songs, "Let's Go Get Stoned", gave Ray Charles a number one U.S. R&B hit in 1966. That same year Ashford & Simpson joined Motown, where their best-known songs included "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", and "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". Ashford and Simpson wrote many other hit songs including Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" (1978) and Teddy Pendergrass's "Is It Still Good to You?" As performers, Ashford & Simpson's best-known duets are "Solid (As a Rock)" (1984 US and 1985 UK), and "Found a Cure" (1979). The duo was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
wn.com/Valerie_Simpson -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist countries. The Viet Cong (also known as the National Liberation Front, or NLF), a lightly armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front, largely fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region. The Vietnam People's Army (North Vietnamese Army) engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large units into battle. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes.
The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. The North Vietnamese government and Viet Cong viewed the conflict as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S., and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a U.S. puppet state. American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962. U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned international borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. American involvement in the war peaked in 1968, at the time of the Tet Offensive. After this, U.S. ground forces were gradually withdrawn as part of a policy known as Vietnamization. Despite the Paris Peace Accords, signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued.
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Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009. The band performed as a trio, including: singer, guitarist and songwriter Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie, and two drummers, Victor DeLorenzo (1980–1993 and 2002–2009) and Guy Hoffman (1993–2002).
The Violent Femmes released eight studio albums and fifteen singles during the course of their career. The band found immediate success with the release of their self-titled debut album in early 1983. Featuring many of their well-known songs, including "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up" and "Gone Daddy Gone", Violent Femmes became the band's biggest-selling album and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. Violent Femmes went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, selling over 9 million albums by 2005. After the release of their third album The Blind Leading the Naked (1986), the band's future was uncertain and they split up in 1987, when Gano and Ritchie went solo. However, they regrouped a year later, releasing the album 3 (1989). Since then, Violent Femmes' popularity continued to grow, especially in the United States where the songs "Nightmares" and "American Music" cracked the top five on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
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Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood. Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.
In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.
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Willie Hutch
William McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch (December 6, 1944 — September 19, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s.
Born William McKinley Hutchinson in 1944 in Los Angeles, California, Hutch was raised in Dallas, Texas and joined a doo-wop group, The Ambassadors, as a teenager. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High, Hutch shortened his last name as he started his music career in 1964 on the Soul City label with the song, "Love Has Put Me Down."
Moving to Los Angeles, his music eventually caught the eye of the mentor for pop/soul quintet The 5th Dimension, and Hutch was soon writing, producing, and arranging songs for the group. In 1969, he signed with RCA Records and put out two albums before he was spotted by Motown producer Hal Davis, who wanted lyrics to his musical composition "I'll Be There," which was to be for The Jackson 5. The song was recorded by the group the next morning after Hutch received the call. Motown CEO Berry Gordy signed Hutch to be a staff writer, arranger, producer, and musician shortly there afterward.
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Yvonne Fair
Yvonne Fair (October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994) was an African American singer, best known for her 1976 recording of "It Should Have Been Me".
Born as Flora Yvonne Coleman in Richmond, Virginia, Fair got her start as a latter-day member of the re-formulated Chantels and the James Brown Revue. While performing with Brown, she recorded the song "I Found You", which he later re-worked into his own signature hit "I Got You (I Feel Good)".
She signed to Motown Records in the early 1970s as a result of her work with Chuck Jackson and she appeared in a minor role as a chanteuse in the film, Lady Sings the Blues. Fair then joined up with producer Norman Whitfield for a series of singles in a hard funk vein: "Love Ain't No Toy", "Walk Out the Door If You Wanna", and her cover version of "Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me On". All these featured on her only album for Motown in 1975 called The Bitch Is Black, which was re-released on CD for the first time more than 30 years later.
Her remake of the Kim Weston/Gladys Knight semi-standard "It Should Have Been Me" dented the lower end of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976. The track proved a big hit in the UK, where it climbed to number 5 in February 1976, Fair's only UK hit record. In addition, the song featured in a special episode of BBC TV programme The Vicar of Dibley, entitled "The Handsome Stranger", originally broadcast on 25 December 2006.
wn.com/Yvonne_Fair
Gaye, Marvin Filmography
- My Brother Marvin (2012)
- Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)
- Motown Gold from 'The Ed Sullivan Show' (2011)
- My Music: Motown Memories (2009)
- Duet Impossible (2006)
- Be My Baby: The Girl Group Story (2006)
- The Secret Map of Hollywood (2005)
- TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004)
- Soulful Sixties (2004)
- Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)
- Marvin Gaye: Behind the Legend (2002)
- Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America (2001)
- Motown 40: The Music Is Forever (1998)
- Soul Train's 25th Anniversary (1995)
- Rock & Roll (1995)
- The History of Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 5 (1995)
- Apollo Theatre Hall of Fame (1994)
- Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I (1994)
- Shindig! Presents Motor City Magic (1991)
- Shindig! Presents Soul (1991)
- Smokey Robinson: The Quiet Legend (1990)
- Marvin Gaye (1987)
- Ready Steady Go, Volume 2 (1985)
- DTV: Rock, Rhythm & Blues (1984)
- DTV: Golden Oldies (1984)
- 1983 NBA All-Star Game (1983)
- The 10th Annual American Music Awards (1983)
- The 25th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)
- Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1983)
- The 6th Annual American Music Awards (1979)
- The Day the Music Died (1977)
- Marvin Gaye: Greatest Hits Live 76 (1976)
- Save the Children (1973)
- Trouble Man (1972)
- Chrome and Hot Leather (1971)
- The Ballad of Andy Crocker (1969)
- It's What's Happening, Baby! (1965)
- The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
Gay, Marvin Filmography
- Process of Elimination (2011)
- Hopeless Romantic (2010)
- Le canario (2010)
- Black Men Can Swim (2008)
- I'm in the Band (2006)
- Unforgiven Sins: The Case of the Faceless Murders (2006)
karaoke
Is it in your hair
Or your camera starin'
Is it
physical
There's no way to know
Could I be
that strong
Open up your heart
Let the sun shine in
Well who really cares
And who really cares
all the promises that you wore
They've all been swept
under the door
And all the people inside your dreams
They've become reality
And you are a star
And you are a star
Yeah you
Is it natural
With your head down low
Could you bear the cost
That
you can't afford
Could I be that strong
Open up those scars
Let the world fall in
Oh and you
really did
Did you come back kid
And all the
promises that you wore
They've all been swept under
the door
And all the people inside your dreams
They've become reality
And you are a star
And you are a star
And you are a star
And you are a
star
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Sexual Healing
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:05
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
MArvin Gaye Sing the famous sensual song -= Sexual Healing =- original video from '80's... rip Marvin..
http://wn.com/Sexual_Healing
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:18
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
My Own Video Of The Marvin Gaye Classic 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine'
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_I_Heard_It_Through_The_Grapevine
MARVIN GAYE & TAMMI TERRELL "Ain't no Mountain High Enough"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:23
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
A great Duet and a superb song
http://wn.com/MARVIN_GAYE_TAMMI_TERRELL_Ain't_no_Mountain_High_Enough
Marvin Gaye - Lets get it on
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:48
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Music and pictures of Marvin Gaye ~ Lets get it on / Heaven must have sent you
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Lets_get_it_on
WHATS GOING ON /MARVIN GAYE
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:59
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
WAR,DISTRUCTION
http://wn.com/WHATS_GOING_ON_MARVIN_GAYE
Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine (Live at Montreux)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:20
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
For more info - www.eagle-rock.com smarturl.it Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was signed to the fledgling Motown label in 1961 by label founder Berry Gordy and scored a total of 39 US Top 40 singles for the label. This was recorded at the Montreux jazz festival in 1980; the full concert is available on the Eagle Vision DVD "Live at Montreux".
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Heard_It_Through_The_Grapevine_Live_at_Montreux
Marvin Gaye Lets Get It On
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:30
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
In 1976 Marvin Gayes marriage was about to collapse. He was also just about to be imprisoned because of non-paid child-support to his wife Anna. Reputedly Motown bailed Marvin out and he was suggested to leave US for a some time. Promoter Jeffrey Kruger arranged a European tour to start up in September 1976 and it also included a long waited visit to England for the first time in ten years. This concert in question was held in 10th October before sell-out audience in Edenhall concert hall Amsterdam. The track listing is pretty much identical compared to the Album "Marvin Gaye - Live At The London Palladium!" which was recorded on the same tour seven days earlier. Only songs missing are "Trouble Man" and "God is Love". All the other tracks are exactly (although in different order) the same as on this DVD, even including the content of medleys. These Medleys are actually one of the biggest problems in this concert. In a way the whole concert is one gigantic medley, while atleast what I was expecting, were the full versions of the songs. If compared to the performances in the "Live in Montreux" DVD this concert feels pretty boring. Marvin himself explained the reason for these medleys in Sharon Davis´ biography book like this; "I got a list of songs from my promoter. He told me all the tracks that were popular in England and I just put them into medley form for few minutes because I hadn´t done them in years. In fact, when I sing them in the States people go for popcorn and ...
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Lets_Get_It_On
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing - Extended Version
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:55
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
This version isn't here and since I have it I might as well share this beautiful song. Update: This is the comment that was made about this version when I received it: Includes extended instrumental break from Side B of the original 45RPM single.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Sexual_Healing_Extended_Version
Marvin Gaye sings American National Anthem
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:54
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye sings the american national anthem at 1983 NBA All Star Game. Enjoy.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_sings_American_National_Anthem
MARVIN GAYE -"WHAT'S GOING ON" FULL LP 36 min.(original motown detroit mix) 1971
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 36:11
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
HERES THE FULL (REJECTED BY BERRY GORDY MIX), 5th april 1971 THE VERSION EVERYONE IS FAMILIAR WITH WAS DONE IN LOS ANGELES MONTHS LATER AND WAS RELEASED THIS HOWEVER IS THE ORIGINAL,
http://wn.com/MARVIN_GAYE_-WHAT'S_GOING_ON_FULL_LP_36_minoriginal_motown_detroit_mix_1971
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On live in Montreux 1980
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:27
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
The fabulous Marvin Gaye singing a great version of his classic "Let's Get It On" in Montreux Jazz Festival.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Let's_Get_It_On_live_in_Montreux_1980
Marvin Gaye "Whats Going On" (1971)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:50
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
From the brilliant album "What's Going On" this song was written by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye. It was the title track of Gaye's groundbreaking 1971 Motown album, and it became a crossover hit single that reached #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B; charts. A meditation on the troubles and problems of the world, the song proved a timely and relatable release, and it marked Gaye's departure from the pop stylings of 1960s-era Motown towards more personal material. The song topped a Metro Times list of the 100 Greatest Detroit Songs Of All Time, and in 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the fourth greatest song of all time. Much of Gaye's music encompassed spirituality, sexuality, and vulnerability. The song has been covered by multiple artists, notably Cyndi Lauper, whose version reached #12 on the pop singles charts in 1987. Lead and background vocals by Marvin Gaye Additional vocals by Mel Farr and Lem Barney Written by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye Produced by Marvin Gaye Instruments by The Funk Brothers
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Whats_Going_On_1971
Trouble Man by Marvin Gaye
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:13
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
An icon of a generation. I love this smooth, smooth song...
http://wn.com/Trouble_Man_by_Marvin_Gaye
Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy me
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:25
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
lyrics Oh, mercy mercy me Oh, things ain't what they used to be No, no Where did all the blue sky go? Poison is the wind that blows From the north, east, south, and sea Oh, mercy mercy me Oh, things ain't what they used to be No, no Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas Fish full of mercury Oh, mercy mercy me Oh, things ain't what they used to be No, no Radiation in the ground and in the sky Animals and birds who live nearby are dying Oh, mercy mercy me Oh, things ain't what they used to be What about this overcrowded land? How much more abuse from man can you stand? My sweet Lord My sweet Lord My sweet Lord
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Mercy_Mercy_me
Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:11
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me (the ecology)
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Mercy,_Mercy_Me
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:32
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Music video by Marvin Gaye performing Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler). (C) 1971 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Inner_City_Blues_Make_Me_Wanna_Holler
Marvin Gaye - Sunny (1966)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:01
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
MARVIN GAYE SUNNY Sunny, yesterday my heart was filled with rain. Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain. Oh, the dark days are done, and the bright days are here, My sunny one shines so sincere, Oh, Sunny one so true, I love you. Sunny, thank you for the sunshine bouquet. Sunny, thank you for the love you've brought my way. You gave to me your all and all, Now I feel ten feet tall, Oh, Sunny one so true, I love you. Sunny, thank you for the truth you've let me see. Sunny, thank you for the facts from A to Z. My life was torn like wind blown sand, Then a rock was formed when we held hands. Sunny one so true, I love you. Sunny, thank you for that smile upon your face. Sunny, thank you for that gleam that flows with grace. You're my spark of nature's fire, You're my sweet complete desire. Sunny one so true, I love you.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Sunny_1966
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On + What's Happening Brother
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:06
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
An excerpt from the recently released DVD of some of Marvin's greatest live performances on TV and film, "Real Thing: In Performance 1964-1981," This live performance comes from the long out-of-circulation 1973 film, "Save The Children" with James Jamerson on bass.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_What's_Going_On_+_What's_Happening_Brother
Marvin Gaye~Got to give it up
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:28
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
not much to say
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye~Got_to_give_it_up
Marvin Gaye - Lets Get It On
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:01
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye - Lets Get It On
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Lets_Get_It_On
Marvin Gaye "I Want You" (1976)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:34
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
"I Want You" is Marvin Gaye's 1976 hit song released on the Tamla Motown label. The album was his first recorded studio material released in three years and marked a change in direction for Gaye, leaving his trademark Motown soul for funky, light-disco soul. Much of Gaye's music encompassed spirituality, sexuality, and vulnerability. Originally conceived by Motown songwriter Leon Ware and his songwriting partner "T-Boy" Ross, it was originally intended to be included in Ware's Musical Massage album. When Ware, who was also signed to the label as a solo artist, presented the rough draft of his album to Motown-CEO Berry Gordy, the mogul was appreciative of the songs, including a rough version of "I Want You". But after hearing it, he convinced Ware to give some of the songs to Marvin Gaye, who was coming off the release of his acclaimed 1973 record, Let's Get It On, his final duet recording with Diana Ross and a commercially successful live album and was coming off a US tour at the time. Marvin, who called himself a perfectionist, had struggled with creating a follow-up album to Let's Get It On. When Ware played Gaye the rough draft of "I Want You", Marvin, then inspired by his relationship with his nineteen-year-old girlfriend Janis Hunter, was motivated to record a convincing performance of the song, which was about a man trying to convince a wayward lover that he wanted the woman to love him as deeply as he loved her. Purportedly recorded at Marvin's Room, the singer's ...
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_I_Want_You_1976
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:52
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (Album Version) Couldn't find this anywhere on here, thought I'd do this a little justice.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_What's_Going_On
Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up (Pt.1)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:19
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up (Pt.1)
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Got_To_Give_It_Up_Pt1
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Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine (Live at Montreux)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:20
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
For more info - www.eagle-rock.com smarturl.it Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was signed to the fledgling Motown label in 1961 by label founder Berry Gordy and scored a total of 39 US Top 40 singles for the label. This was recorded at the Montreux jazz festival in 1980; the full concert is available on the Eagle Vision DVD "Live at Montreux".
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Heard_It_Through_The_Grapevine_Live_at_Montreux
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On live in Montreux 1980
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:27
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
The fabulous Marvin Gaye singing a great version of his classic "Let's Get It On" in Montreux Jazz Festival.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Let's_Get_It_On_live_in_Montreux_1980
What's Going On Marvin Gaye - HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:01
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
If you'd like to learn more about this classic record, check out my article www.beabetterproducer.com This is truly one of the great performances of all time. RIP Marvin! This video even has one of the two rare videos of legendary bassist James Jamerson doing his thing (check the video response for the other)! Funk Brothers Earl VanDyke and Eddie "Bongo" Brown are on the organ and congas respectively. tags: funk brothers james jamerson marvin gaye live marvin gaye live in marvin gaye love marvin what's going on the funk brothers what's going on gaye what's going on marvin gaye motown marvin gaye Motown Sound
http://wn.com/What's_Going_On_Marvin_Gaye_HD
Marvin Gaye "LIVE"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:02
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye speaking about soul music's heritage and performing "What's Going On?" on the "Motown 25 Anniversary Special"
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_LIVE
Marvin Gaye I Want You Live 1981
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:29
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_I_Want_You_Live_1981
1 Marvin Gaye Live In Montreux 1980
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 98:41
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
1 Marvin Gaye Live In Montreux 1980
http://wn.com/1_Marvin_Gaye_Live_In_Montreux_1980
"Distant Lover"(Live) Marvin Gaye
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:09
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
A video of the one & only Mr. Marvin Gaye singing "Distant Lover" live recorded on July 7th, 1980 at the "14th Montreux Jazz Festival" in Switzerland.
http://wn.com/Distant_LoverLive_Marvin_Gaye
Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (From "Live at Montreux 1980" DVD)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:01
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
www.eagle-rock.com This is a fantastic live DVD from Marvin Gaye recorded at the Montreux Casino on July 7 1980, as part of that year's 14th Montreux Jazz Festival. Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was signed to the fledgling Motown label in 1961 by label founder Berry Gordy and later that year he married Gordy's sister. He scored a total of 39 US Top 40 singles for the label including such classics as "Let's Get It On", "Ain't That Peculiar", "Inner City Blues", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "What's Going On" and of course "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", all of which are included on this DVD. Marvin Gaye died in 1984, shot by his father following an argument, and was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987. With a running time of around 100 minutes, this DVD captures Marvin Gaye at the very height of his powers and combines outstanding music with a scintillating live performance. Tracklisting: 1) Got To Give It Up 2) Funky Space (Reincarnation) 3) Come Get To This 4) Let's Get It On 5) After The Dance 6) If This World Was Mine / Ain't Nothing But The Real Thing / Ain't No Mountain High Enough 7) How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 8) Ain't That Peculiar 9) I'll Be Doggone 10) I Heard It Through The Grapevine 11) Trouble Man 12) Distant Lover 13) Inner City Blues 14) Mercy Mercy Me 15) What's Going On
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Mercy_Mercy_Me_From_Live_at_Montreux_1980_DVD
Marvin Gaye Lets Get It On
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:30
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
In 1976 Marvin Gayes marriage was about to collapse. He was also just about to be imprisoned because of non-paid child-support to his wife Anna. Reputedly Motown bailed Marvin out and he was suggested to leave US for a some time. Promoter Jeffrey Kruger arranged a European tour to start up in September 1976 and it also included a long waited visit to England for the first time in ten years. This concert in question was held in 10th October before sell-out audience in Edenhall concert hall Amsterdam. The track listing is pretty much identical compared to the Album "Marvin Gaye - Live At The London Palladium!" which was recorded on the same tour seven days earlier. Only songs missing are "Trouble Man" and "God is Love". All the other tracks are exactly (although in different order) the same as on this DVD, even including the content of medleys. These Medleys are actually one of the biggest problems in this concert. In a way the whole concert is one gigantic medley, while atleast what I was expecting, were the full versions of the songs. If compared to the performances in the "Live in Montreux" DVD this concert feels pretty boring. Marvin himself explained the reason for these medleys in Sharon Davis´ biography book like this; "I got a list of songs from my promoter. He told me all the tracks that were popular in England and I just put them into medley form for few minutes because I hadn´t done them in years. In fact, when I sing them in the States people go for popcorn and ...
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Lets_Get_It_On
Marvin Gaye - Got to give it up
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:36
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Live in Montreux 1980
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Got_to_give_it_up
MARVIN GAYE | Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland, 1980)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 96:55
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Tracklist: 1 - Got To Give It Up 2 - Funky Space Reincarnation 3 - Come Get To This 4 - Let's Get It On 5 - After the Dance 6 - If This World Were Mine 7 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing 8 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough 9 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 10 - Ain't That Peculiar 11 - I'll Be Doggone 12 - I Heard It Through the Grapevine 13 - Trouble Man 14 - Distant Lover 15 - Inner City Blues 16 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) 17 - What's Going On
http://wn.com/MARVIN_GAYE_|_Live_at_Montreux_Jazz_Festival_Switzerland,_1980
Marvin Gaye Live - If this world were mine
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:05
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye Live in Belgium
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Live_If_this_world_were_mine
Marvin Gaye - After The Dance (Live In Ostend, 1981)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:59
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye Live @ Casino Oostende, Belgium [Zomerhappening 1981] One of his best songs, in my opinion.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_After_The_Dance_Live_In_Ostend,_1981
Marvin Gaye Distant Lover Live Video
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:12
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Distant_Lover_Live_Video
Gaye, Marvin - What's Goin' On (LIVE - Midnight Special - 19
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:26
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Gaye, Marvin - What's Goin' On (LIVE - Midnight Special - 1977)
http://wn.com/Gaye,_Marvin_What's_Goin'_On_LIVE_Midnight_Special_19
Marvin Gaye Live at - Montreux Jazz Festival 1980 - How Sweet it is
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:14
- Updated: 11 Nov 2012
How Sweet it is( to be loved by you) From DVD "Marvin Gaye Live in Montreux 1980 " all rights reserved Eagle Rock Entertainment ltd.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Live_at_Montreux_Jazz_Festival_1980_How_Sweet_it_is
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On + Save the Children LIVE
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:16
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
Not owned by me, I just wanted to share Marvin's greatness with everybody. From his Live in Amsterdam in '76 concert.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_What's_Going_On_+_Save_the_Children_LIVE
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (live)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:56
- Updated: 05 Nov 2012
The late Great Marvin Gaye. If for those that have never seen him live or playing the keyboard, this is a real treat. A must watch.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Inner_City_Blues_live
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (live)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:42
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Great live performance!
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_What's_Going_On_live
Marvin Gaye - Come Live With Me Angel
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:31
- Updated: 13 Nov 2012
sampled by G-Unit. 1976
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Come_Live_With_Me_Angel
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (Greatest Hits - Live In Amsterdam)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:18
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
For more info - www.eagle-rock.com smarturl.it Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was signed to the fledgling Motown label in 1961 by label founder Berry Gordy and scored a total of 39 US Top 40 singles for the label. This song is taken from the full concert, available on the Eagle Vision DVD "Amsterdam 1976".
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_What's_Going_On_Greatest_Hits_Live_In_Amsterdam
![Marvin Gaye - Live! [Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (California)] (1974) [Full Album] (HD 1080p)](http://web.archive.org./web/20121119140645im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uq-ZdkKi6VY/default.jpg "Marvin Gaye - Live! [Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (California)] (1974) [Full Album] (HD 1080p)")
Marvin Gaye - Live! [Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (California)] (1974) [Full Album] (HD 1080p)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 57:30
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Marvin Gaye - Live! [Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (California)] [Full Album] - 1974 (Tamia) Track 1 (Beginning: Overture): 0:00 Track 2 (Beginning: Introduction): 0:36 Track 3 (Trouble Man): 3:06 Track 4 (Medley: Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)/Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)): 9:59 Track 5 (Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)): 14:37 Track 6 (Distant Lover): 18:42 Track 7 (Jan): 25:13 Track 8 (Keep Gettin' It On): 28:17 Track 9 (Fossil Medley: I'll Be Doggone/Try It Baby/Can I Get a Witness/You're a Wonderful One/Stubborn Kind of Fellow/How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)): 31:32 Track 10 (Let's Get It On): 44:35 Track 11 (What's Going On): 49:31 Track 12 (Come Get to This): 54:25 Suscribe!!!
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_Live!_Oakland-Alameda_Coliseum_California_1974_Full_Album_HD_1080p
Marvin Gaye - I Live for You
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:47
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
There's just no quick fix for a broken heart. Thanks to Happyshooter (et.al) on Flickr for the nice neon cocktail signs.
http://wn.com/Marvin_Gaye_I_Live_for_You
6:20
Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine (Live at Montreux)
For more info - www.eagle-rock.com smarturl.it Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was s...
published: 11 Jun 2008
author: eaglerocktv
Marvin Gaye - Heard It Through The Grapevine (Live at Montreux)
For more info - www.eagle-rock.com smarturl.it Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was signed to the fledgling Motown label in 1961 by label founder Berry Gordy and scored a total of 39 US Top 40 singles for the label. This was recorded at the Montreux jazz festival in 1980; the full concert is available on the Eagle Vision DVD "Live at Montreux".
published: 11 Jun 2008
views: 5174381
author:
eaglerocktv
6:27
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On live in Montreux 1980
The fabulous Marvin Gaye singing a great version of his classic "Let's Get It On" in Montr...
published: 29 May 2007
author: rduplessis
Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On live in Montreux 1980
The fabulous Marvin Gaye singing a great version of his classic "Let's Get It On" in Montreux Jazz Festival.
published: 29 May 2007
views: 3548093
author:
rduplessis
9:01
What's Going On Marvin Gaye - HD
If you'd like to learn more about this classic record, check out my article www.beabetterp...
published: 15 Apr 2009
author: JIM BOND
What's Going On Marvin Gaye - HD
If you'd like to learn more about this classic record, check out my article www.beabetterproducer.com This is truly one of the great performances of all time. RIP Marvin! This video even has one of the two rare videos of legendary bassist James Jamerson doing his thing (check the video response for the other)! Funk Brothers Earl VanDyke and Eddie "Bongo" Brown are on the organ and congas respectively. tags: funk brothers james jamerson marvin gaye live marvin gaye live in marvin gaye love marvin what's going on the funk brothers what's going on gaye what's going on marvin gaye motown marvin gaye Motown Sound
published: 15 Apr 2009
views: 138638
author:
JIM BOND
7:02
Marvin Gaye "LIVE"
Marvin Gaye speaking about soul music's heritage and performing "What's Going On?" on the ...
published: 18 Oct 2009
author: apavelch
Marvin Gaye "LIVE"
Marvin Gaye speaking about soul music's heritage and performing "What's Going On?" on the "Motown 25 Anniversary Special"
published: 18 Oct 2009
views: 112998
author:
apavelch
7:09
"Distant Lover"(Live) Marvin Gaye
A video of the one & only Mr. Marvin Gaye singing "Distant Lover" live recorded on July 7t...
published: 13 Oct 2008
author: djglimpsemusic
"Distant Lover"(Live) Marvin Gaye
A video of the one & only Mr. Marvin Gaye singing "Distant Lover" live recorded on July 7th, 1980 at the "14th Montreux Jazz Festival" in Switzerland.
published: 13 Oct 2008
views: 168013
author:
djglimpsemusic
2:01
Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (From "Live at Montreux 1980" DVD)
www.eagle-rock.com This is a fantastic live DVD from Marvin Gaye recorded at the Montreux ...
published: 29 Mar 2011
author: eaglerocktv
Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me (From "Live at Montreux 1980" DVD)
www.eagle-rock.com This is a fantastic live DVD from Marvin Gaye recorded at the Montreux Casino on July 7 1980, as part of that year's 14th Montreux Jazz Festival. Marvin Gaye is an American legend. He was signed to the fledgling Motown label in 1961 by label founder Berry Gordy and later that year he married Gordy's sister. He scored a total of 39 US Top 40 singles for the label including such classics as "Let's Get It On", "Ain't That Peculiar", "Inner City Blues", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "What's Going On" and of course "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", all of which are included on this DVD. Marvin Gaye died in 1984, shot by his father following an argument, and was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame in 1987. With a running time of around 100 minutes, this DVD captures Marvin Gaye at the very height of his powers and combines outstanding music with a scintillating live performance. Tracklisting: 1) Got To Give It Up 2) Funky Space (Reincarnation) 3) Come Get To This 4) Let's Get It On 5) After The Dance 6) If This World Was Mine / Ain't Nothing But The Real Thing / Ain't No Mountain High Enough 7) How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 8) Ain't That Peculiar 9) I'll Be Doggone 10) I Heard It Through The Grapevine 11) Trouble Man 12) Distant Lover 13) Inner City Blues 14) Mercy Mercy Me 15) What's Going On
published: 29 Mar 2011
views: 337911
author:
eaglerocktv
6:30
Marvin Gaye Lets Get It On
In 1976 Marvin Gayes marriage was about to collapse. He was also just about to be imprison...
published: 23 Mar 2008
author: Regis Augusto
Marvin Gaye Lets Get It On
In 1976 Marvin Gayes marriage was about to collapse. He was also just about to be imprisoned because of non-paid child-support to his wife Anna. Reputedly Motown bailed Marvin out and he was suggested to leave US for a some time. Promoter Jeffrey Kruger arranged a European tour to start up in September 1976 and it also included a long waited visit to England for the first time in ten years. This concert in question was held in 10th October before sell-out audience in Edenhall concert hall Amsterdam. The track listing is pretty much identical compared to the Album "Marvin Gaye - Live At The London Palladium!" which was recorded on the same tour seven days earlier. Only songs missing are "Trouble Man" and "God is Love". All the other tracks are exactly (although in different order) the same as on this DVD, even including the content of medleys. These Medleys are actually one of the biggest problems in this concert. In a way the whole concert is one gigantic medley, while atleast what I was expecting, were the full versions of the songs. If compared to the performances in the "Live in Montreux" DVD this concert feels pretty boring. Marvin himself explained the reason for these medleys in Sharon Davis´ biography book like this; "I got a list of songs from my promoter. He told me all the tracks that were popular in England and I just put them into medley form for few minutes because I hadn´t done them in years. In fact, when I sing them in the States people go for popcorn and ...
published: 23 Mar 2008
views: 14795131
author:
Regis Augusto
96:55
MARVIN GAYE | Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland, 1980)
Tracklist: 1 - Got To Give It Up 2 - Funky Space Reincarnation 3 - Come Get To This 4 - Le...
published: 01 Jul 2012
author: MrSameEverynight
MARVIN GAYE | Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland, 1980)
Tracklist: 1 - Got To Give It Up 2 - Funky Space Reincarnation 3 - Come Get To This 4 - Let's Get It On 5 - After the Dance 6 - If This World Were Mine 7 - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing 8 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough 9 - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) 10 - Ain't That Peculiar 11 - I'll Be Doggone 12 - I Heard It Through the Grapevine 13 - Trouble Man 14 - Distant Lover 15 - Inner City Blues 16 - Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) 17 - What's Going On
published: 01 Jul 2012
views: 6323
author:
MrSameEverynight
5:59
Marvin Gaye - After The Dance (Live In Ostend, 1981)
Marvin Gaye Live @ Casino Oostende, Belgium [Zomerhappening 1981] One of his best songs, i...
published: 07 Dec 2009
author: GaelDT
Marvin Gaye - After The Dance (Live In Ostend, 1981)
Marvin Gaye Live @ Casino Oostende, Belgium [Zomerhappening 1981] One of his best songs, in my opinion.
published: 07 Dec 2009
views: 86458
author:
GaelDT
5:12
Marvin Gaye Distant Lover Live Video
...
published: 14 Sep 2009
author: raymondbarber1001
Marvin Gaye Distant Lover Live Video
Vimeo results:
2:40
Jay Z - "Hello Brooklyn"
Jay-Z - "Hello Brooklyn" (Marvin Gaye sample).
A tribute to New York, Brooklyn and Jay-Z....
published: 11 Mar 2010
author: Greg Solenström
Jay Z - "Hello Brooklyn"
Jay-Z - "Hello Brooklyn" (Marvin Gaye sample).
A tribute to New York, Brooklyn and Jay-Z.
Music video based on typography and still images of Brooklyn.
Production, SFX, animation and edit by Greg Solenström.
Starring: Akzidenz Grotesk & Brooklyn.
Music creds: Shuko & The Gunna available on jayandmarvin.com
Also watch the "Making of" video here: http://vimeo.com/10900459
7:17
Bboy Portfolio 2011
compiled & edited by Daniel Zhu. STRIFE.TV
Montage of my favorite bboy video moments of ...
published: 16 Jan 2012
author: Daniel Zhu
Bboy Portfolio 2011
compiled & edited by Daniel Zhu. STRIFE.TV
Montage of my favorite bboy video moments of 2011. Footage compiled from other sites is for documentary purposes only.
videos included come from Notorious IBE, Bboyworld, World Bboy Classic, TheBboySpot, YAK Films, Juba Films, BboyNetwork Channel, Cloud, Venum, Naytron, SevenShadows, Tomson, Navator, Culture Shock, SPTV, R16, Cypher, Famous Circle, Cypher For Change, Battle of the Year, Strife.tv, Circle Kingz, Focus, Timber, Maroc, Morocco, Havikoro, Spring, TIP, Eyes, Machine, Wing, El Nino, Lil G, Carlo Cruz, Kujo, Nasty Ray, Puzzles, Neguin, Menno, Paranoid Android, Show Me Stylez, Josh Perkins, Dyzee, Marlon, InTact, AlienNess, Thesis, Red Bull, Teknyc, Skill Methodz, Floor Gangz, Gamblerz, Rivers Crew, Just Jam, Zeshen, Lionz of Zion, Pac Rim, Roxrite, Poe One, Nadia, Jinjo, Korea, Bucho Bros, Thesis, Cico, Lil Ceng, Morris, Luigi, Pockemon, Vagabonds, Outbreak, Breakin' The Law, Freestyle Session, FSS, Braun, Abide, La Hiba King Zoo, Bad Taste Cru, Doy, Airdit, German TV, Roger, Crumbles, Battle Born, Dyzee, Storm, Ken Swift, Asia One, Flea Rock, Drifterz, Born, Abstrak, Mex One, Neguin, Cico, Teknyc, Profo Won, Amjad, Yukon, War Machine, Fluido, Fresh and Fly Productions
TRACKLIST
- Iggy Pop - Passenger
- Marvin Gaye - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
- Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph
- Skrillex - Summit
5:20
Kanye West and Big Sean at SXSW
Kanye West and Big Sean make a surprise appearance at SOB's showcase in Austin, for SXSW d...
published: 15 Mar 2012
author: Cam Be
Kanye West and Big Sean at SXSW
Kanye West and Big Sean make a surprise appearance at SOB's showcase in Austin, for SXSW during 2 Chainz performance.
a Camovement by Cam Be & Josh Free
Gowhere Hip-Hop Presents.
Songs performed Dance (A$$), Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay, Can't Tell Me Nothing
Youtube results:
4:26
Gaye, Marvin - What's Goin' On (LIVE - Midnight Special - 19
Gaye, Marvin - What's Goin' On (LIVE - Midnight Special - 1977)...
published: 08 Apr 2008
author: HuntMac21
Gaye, Marvin - What's Goin' On (LIVE - Midnight Special - 19
Gaye, Marvin - What's Goin' On (LIVE - Midnight Special - 1977)
published: 08 Apr 2008
views: 227669
author:
HuntMac21
9:14
Marvin Gaye Live at - Montreux Jazz Festival 1980 - How Sweet it is
How Sweet it is( to be loved by you) From DVD "Marvin Gaye Live in Montreux 1980 " all rig...
published: 07 Nov 2010
author: Umbero Labase
Marvin Gaye Live at - Montreux Jazz Festival 1980 - How Sweet it is
How Sweet it is( to be loved by you) From DVD "Marvin Gaye Live in Montreux 1980 " all rights reserved Eagle Rock Entertainment ltd.
published: 07 Nov 2010
views: 7011
author:
Umbero Labase
6:16
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On + Save the Children LIVE
Not owned by me, I just wanted to share Marvin's greatness with everybody. From his Live i...
published: 29 Sep 2009
author: rareformulamusic
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On + Save the Children LIVE
Not owned by me, I just wanted to share Marvin's greatness with everybody. From his Live in Amsterdam in '76 concert.
published: 29 Sep 2009
views: 104358
author:
rareformulamusic
7:56
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (live)
The late Great Marvin Gaye. If for those that have never seen him live or playing the keyb...
published: 05 Jul 2008
author: tonchi2a
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (live)
The late Great Marvin Gaye. If for those that have never seen him live or playing the keyboard, this is a real treat. A must watch.
published: 05 Jul 2008
views: 73190
author:
tonchi2a
Photo: AP / Hatem Moussa
18 Nov 2012
Israeli air strikes killed 16 Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday, prompting the Arab League to announce a visit to the battered enclave and a review of its Middle East peace policy. Egypt’s President...
Photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb
18 Nov 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling Israel's ongoing uprooting of hundreds of Palestinian olive trees in the West Bank, including possibly sabotaging Palestine's recent bid for state...
Photo: UN / UN
17 Nov 2012
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel's new offensive against the Gaza Strip has turned into a political bonanza for the territory's Hamas rulers, while sidelining Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,...
Photo: AP / Eyad Baba
17 Nov 2012
Israel's defence minister Ehud Barak more than doubled his call-up of army reservists last night (Friday night) as its cabinet and military chiefs convened to discuss a ground invasion of Gaza. With...
Photo: AP / Vahid Salemi
17 Nov 2012
Iran is set to double its uranium enrichment after completing a second underground facility, according to UN report. The move is likely to increase concern from Western nations over Iranian nuclear...
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| Marvin Gaye | |
|---|---|
| Marvin Gaye in 1973 Marvin Gaye in 1973 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.[1] |
| Also known as | Prince of Soul, Prince of Motown |
| Born | (1939-04-02)April 2, 1939 Washington, D.C. |
| Died | April 1, 1984(1984-04-01) (aged 44) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | R&B, soul, smooth soul, doo-wop, funk, quiet storm |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, composer, musician, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, clavinet, synthesizers, piano |
| Years active | 1958–1984 |
| Labels | Motown (Tamla-Motown), Columbia |
| Associated acts | The Moonglows, The Originals, Martha and the Vandellas, Tammi Terrell, Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross, Harvey Fuqua, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy, Don Hussein |
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye (he added the 'e' as a young man), was an acclaimed American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range,[2] who achieved major success in the 1960s and 1970s as an artist for the Motown Records label. He was shot dead by his father on April 1, 1984.
Starting his career as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late 1950s, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960, signing with Motown Records subsidiary, Tamla. He started off as a session drummer, but later ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the 1960s. He was crowned "The Prince of Motown"[3] and "The Prince of Soul".[4] because of solo hits such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", "Ain't That Peculiar", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," and his duet singles with singers such as Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell.
His work in the early- and mid-1970s included the albums, What's Going On, Let's Get It On, and I Want You, which helped influence the quiet storm, urban adult contemporary, and slow jam genres. After a self-imposed European exile in the early 1980s, Gaye returned on the 1982 Grammy-Award winning hit, "Sexual Healing" and the Midnight Love album before his death.
In 2008, the American music magazine Rolling Stone ranked Gaye at number 6 on its list of the Greatest Singers of All Time,[5] and ranked at number 18 on 100 Greatest Artists of All Time,[6] and he ranked number 20 on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[7] Gaye was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.[8]
Biography[link]
Early life (1939–1957)[link]
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr.[1] was born on April 2, 1939 at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C.. His father, Marvin Gay, Sr., was a storefront minister at the House of God (the House of God headquarters is located in Marvin's father's hometown of Lexington, Kentucky), a Hebrew Pentecostal sect which advocated strict conduct and taught and believed in both the Old and New Testament. His mother, Alberta Gay (née Cooper), was a domestic and schoolteacher. As a child, Gaye was raised in the Benning Terrace projects in southeast D.C.[9]
By the time Marvin was four, his father was bringing Gaye with him to sing for church congregations. It would be during these trips that he would meet future friends and contemporaries including Bobby Womack and Aretha Franklin. Gaye's early home life was marked by domestic violence as his father would use any excuse to beat him. As a result of his father's temperament, Gaye and his three siblings were bed-wetters as children.[10] Gaye described his father a "tyrannical and powerful king" and even told a biographer he would've ended up a "child suicide statistic" had it not been for his mother's love.[10] By age fourteen, Gaye's parents moved to the Deanwood neighborhood of northeast D.C. The following year, Gaye's father quit the ministry after he was denied a position as the Chief Apostle (head overseer) of the House of God Inc. Unlike his mother, Marvin's father never could keep a job. Overtime, he developed alcoholism which increased the difficulty in Marvin's home. As a child, Marvin was forbidden to listen to secular music and was also forbidden to participate in sports and other secular activities deemed "sinful" by his father.
As a child, Marvin learned how to play piano by ear. He later learned to play drums before reaching his teens. In middle school, Marvin discovered doo-wop and developed an addiction to the musical style that would later influence much of his own career. By the time he entered D.C.'s Cardozo High School, Marvin became a fan of artists such as Little Willie John, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles as well as pop singers Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine and Nat "King" Cole. To escape his father's punishment, Marvin and his brother Frankie would leave the house without suspicion and attend dances where some of the performers they admired would show up to perform. Influenced heavily by doo-wop groups such as The Moonglows and The Capris, Gaye began joining several doo-wop groups in the D.C. area including the Dippers with his best friend, Johnny Stewart, brother of R&B singer Billy Stewart. He then joined the D.C. Tones, whose members included Reese Palmer, who was another close friend, and Sondra Lattisaw, mother of R&B singer Stacy Lattisaw.[10] Gaye's relationship with his father led him to run away from home and join the United States Air Force in the hope of becoming an aviator. However, discovering his growing hatred for authority, he began defying orders and skipped practices. Faking mental illness, he was discharged.[10] His sergeant stated that Gaye refused to follow orders.[11] Upon returning to his hometown, he and former D.C. Tones member Reese Palmer formed a singing group they named the Marquees.
Early career (1958–1962)[link]
Main article: The Moonglows
File:41GimE+AHbL. SL600 .jpg
A 1959 promotional picture of Harvey and the Moonglows. Gaye is located in the right of a seated Fuqua.
In 1958, the Marquees were discovered singing at a D.C. club by Bo Diddley, who signed them to Okeh Records, where they recorded "Wyatt Earp," with "Hey Little Schoolgirl" as its B-side. It received moderate success, but not the success Gaye and his band mates had hoped for. Later that year Harvey Fuqua, founder and co-lead singer of the landmark doo-wop group The Moonglows, recruited them, after the breakup of the original members, to be "The New Moonglows" which moved the formerly-named Marquees from Okeh to Chess Records. While there, the "new Moonglows" recorded background vocals for Chess recording stars Chuck Berry and Etta James. After "The Twelve Months of the Year", which featured a spoken monologue by Gaye, became a regional hit, the group issued "Mama Loochie", which was the first time Gaye sang lead on a record. The record was issued in late 1959 and became a hit in Detroit. Following a concert performance there, Gaye and other band members were arrested for small possession of marijuana. Afterwards, Fuqua decided to disband the group, keeping Gaye with him, as he favored him over the other members. In 1960, Harvey Fuqua had met Gwen Gordy and the couple embarked on both a personal and professional relationship. That year, the couple formed two record labels, the self-named Harvey Records, and Tri-Phi Records. Gaye was signed to the former label, whose other members included a young David Ruffin and Junior Walker. He provided drums for The Spinners' first hit, "That's What Girls Are Made For", which was released on Tri-Phi. Stories on how Gaye eventually met Berry Gordy and how he signed to Motown Records vary. One early story stated that Gordy discovered Gaye singing at a local bar in Detroit and that Gordy offered to sign Gaye on the spot. Gaye's recollection, and a story Gordy later reiterated, was that Gaye invited himself to Motown's annual Christmas party inside the label's Hitsville USA studios and played on the piano, singing "Mr. Sandman". Gordy saw Gaye from afar and, noting that Gaye was connected with Fuqua, began to make arrangements to absorb Fuqua's labels and bring all of the label's acts to Motown. Gordy said he immediately wanted to bring Gaye to Motown after seeing him perform, impressed by his vocals and piano playing. While working out negotiations, Fuqua would sell a 50 percent interest in Gaye to Gordy, as Gaye would find out later.[12] After Gordy absorbed Anna and Harvey in March 1961, Gaye was assigned to Motown's Tamla division.
Gaye and Motown immediately clashed over material. While Motown was yet a musical force, Gaye set on singing standards and jazz rather than the usual rhythm and blues that fellow label mates were recording. Struggling to come to terms with what to do with his career, Gaye worked mainly behind the scenes, becoming a janitor, and also settled for session work playing drums on several recordings, which continued for several years. One of Gaye's first professional gigs for Motown was as a road drummer for The Miracles. Gaye developed a close friendship with the label's lead singer Smokey Robinson and they'd later work together. Though already a seasoned veteran of the road and almost exempt from Gordy's Artist Development, which began operating in 1961, Gaye was still required to attend schooling, which he refused. He eventually took advice from grooming director Maxine Powell to keep his eyes open while performing because "it looks like you're sleeping when you're performing".[10] Gaye would later regret skipping the school saying he could've benefited more from it.[10] Before releasing his first single in May 1961, he altered his last name to "Gaye", later stating that he added the "e" because "it sounded more professional" and to emulate what Sam Cooke had done before releasing his first secular record following his split from the Soul Stirrers. A famous story about the name change came from author David Ritz, Gaye's confidant in later years, who said Gaye had said that he wanted to "quiet the gossip" of his last name and to distance himself from his father.[13]
In May 1961, Tamla released Gaye's first single, "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide". The single flopped as a national release but was a regional hit in the Midwest, as was a follow-up single, the cover of "Mr. Sandman" (titled as just "Sandman" in Gaye's release in early 1962). In June 1961, Motown issued Gaye's first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye compromising Gaye's jazz interests with a couple of R&B songs. The album tanked and no hit single came of it. A third regional hit, "Soldier's Plea", an answer to The Supremes' "Your Heart Belongs to Me", was the next release in the spring of 1962. Gaye had more success behind the scenes than in front. Gaye applied drumming on several Motown records for artists such as the Miracles, Mary Wells, The Contours and The Marvelettes. Gaye was also a drummer for early recordings by The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and Little Stevie Wonder. Gaye drummed on the Marvelettes hits, "Please Mr. Postman", "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789" (a song he co-wrote). Later on, Gaye would be noted as the drummer in both the studio and live recordings of Wonder's "Fingertips" and as one of two drummers behind Martha and the Vandellas' landmark hit, "Dancing in the Street", another composition by Gaye, originally intended for Kim Weston. Gaye said he continued to play drums for Motown acts even after gaining fame on his own merit. For Gaye's fourth single, the singer was inspired to write lyrics to a song after an argument with his wife, Anna Gordy Gaye (née Anna Gordy). While working out the song, Gaye mentioned he had his first "major" power struggle with Motown head Berry Gordy over its composition. Gordy insisted on a chord change though Gaye was comfortable with how he wrote it, eventually Gaye changed the chord and the song was issued as "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" in September 1962. The song became a hit on the Hot Rhythm and Blues Sides chart reaching number 8 and eventually peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1963. A parent album, That Stubborn Kinda Fellow, was released in December 1962, the same month that Gaye's fifth single, "Hitch Hike", was released. That song reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, bringing Gaye his first top 40 single. His early success confirmed his arrival as a hit maker, and he landed on his first major tour as a performer on Motown's Motortown Revue.
Early success (1963–66)[link]
Gaye's career following his performances with the Motortown Revue assured him success. Gaye's next single, "Pride & Joy", became a major hit in the spring of 1963, reaching number-ten on the Billboard Hot 100, selling nearly one million copies. Later that year, Gaye repeated the success with the top 30 hit, "Can I Get a Witness", which found some leverage in the United Kingdom upon its release on Motown's UK label Stateside Records. Many of Gaye's early hits would later be heavily covered by acts such as The Rolling Stones, Dusty Springfield and The Who, performers who admired Gaye and American R&B music in general. Gaye's hits also was a big influence on the UK's mod scene with several mod groups including the future Elton John's Bluesology and Rod Stewart's Steampacket covering Gaye's hits there. Gaye's early hits were also a big influence on American producers, including Phil Spector, who nearly had a car accident while pulling over upon hearing "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" for the first time.
Gaye's hits continued throughout 1964. Several top 20 pop hits from this period included "You Are a Wonderful One", "Try It Baby" and "Baby Don't You Do It" kept Gaye's momentum building. Gaye made his first public TV performance on American Bandstand in 1964 and later became a fixture on the show and on other programs such as Shindig! and Hullaballoo. His popularity further increased after Motown released his first duet project, an album with Mary Wells entitled Together. The duo had two hit singles, "Once Upon a Time" and "What's the Matter with You Baby". In late 1964, Gaye also appeared in the concert film The T.A.M.I. Show, where he performed his hits to an enthusiastic audience (with backing vocals by The Blossoms). Gaye reached the top 10 in early 1965 with "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which sold close to a million copies. Gaye eventually scored his first immediate million-sellers in 1965 with the Smokey Robinson compositions, "Ain't That Peculiar" and "I'll Be Doggone". These songs and other singles released during the 1965–66 period would be the result of Gaye's next release, Moods of Marvin Gaye.
Gaye struggled with his success. While deemed a "smooth song-and-dance ladies' man", he still aspired to perform more jazz work in his catalog. Because of his success, Motown allowed him to work on such recordings including When I'm Alone I Cry, Hello Broadway and a Nat King Cole tribute album, A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole. All three albums flopped. Gaye tried performing the songs onstage but soon stopped once he discovered that the crowds weren't too appreciative of the material. One proposed standards project, which took over two years to record, was shelved due to session problems. Gaye's performances at the Copacabana in 1966 also led to conflict between Gaye and Gordy as Motown had recorded the album for purposes of releasing it in early 1967. However due to a struggle, Motown eventually shelved it until it was later released three decades later. In early 1967, Gaye scored his first international hit with the duet, "It Takes Two", with Kim Weston, who coincidentally had already left the label when it became a hit. Only one televised performance of the song showed Gaye singing the song to a puppet. That year, Motown hooked Gaye up with veteran Philadelphia-based singer Tammi Terrell, who had an early stint with James Brown. Gaye would later say of Terrell that she was his "perfect partner" musically.
File:Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell2.jpg
A screenshot of a 1967 performance by Gaye and Terrell during taping of the Today Show.
[edit] Tammi Terrell and I Heard It Through the Grapevine (1967–69)
Main articles: Tammi Terrell and I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Terrell and Gaye's first major hit was the Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson composition, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The duo quickly followed up with the top five hit ballad, "Your Precious Love". Despite rumors of a romantic relationship – Gaye was married to Anna Gordy and Terrell was dating Temptations lead vocalist David Ruffin – both singers denied such a relationship with Gaye saying later that they had a brother-and-sister relationship, a statement reiterated by Ashford & Simpson. Other hit singles the duo scored within an eighteen-month period included "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "You're All I Need to Get By". Other hits such as "You Ain't Livin' till You're Lovin'" and "The Onion Song" found success in Europe. The duo's recording of "If This World Were Mine", the b-side of "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You", found modest success on the charts, the first sole Gaye composition to do so. The song later found major R&B success when Luther Vandross covered it with Cheryl Lynn over a decade later.
The duo was also a success together onstage, Terrell's easy-going nature with the audience contrasting from Gaye's laid-back approach. However, that success was short-lived. On October 14, 1967, while performing at Virginia's Hampden-Sydney College, Terrell collapsed in Marvin's arms. She had been complaining of headaches in the weeks leading up to the concert, but had insisted she was all right. However, after she was rushed to Southside Community Hospital, doctors found that Terrell had a malignant brain tumor.[14]
The diagnosis ended her performing career, though she still occasionally recorded, often with guidance and assistance. Terrell ceased recordings in 1969 and Motown struggled with recording of a planned third Gaye and Terrell album. Gaye initially had refused to go along with it saying that he felt Motown was taking unnecessary advantage of Terrell's illness. Gaye only reluctantly agreed because Motown assured him recordings would go to insure Terrell's health as she continued to have operations to remove the tumor, all of which were unsuccessful. In September 1969, the third Gaye and Terrell duet album, Easy was released, with many of the songs said to have been subbed by Valerie Simpson, while solo songs recorded years earlier by Terrell, had overdubbed vocals by Gaye.
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"I Heard It through the Grapevine" was recorded by Gaye in April 1967, several months before Gladys Knight and the Pips recorded it. The song features an horror-based Wurlitzer piano solo, percussion and horns. Gaye's recording of it paved the way for what later became "psychedelic soul".
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Terrell's illness put Gaye in a depression; at one point he attempted suicide but was stopped by Berry Gordy's father.[citation needed] He refused to acknowledge the success of his song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", released in 1967 by Gladys Knight & The Pips (his version was recorded before, but released after theirs), his first number-one hit and the biggest selling single in Motown history to that point, with four million copies sold.[citation needed] His work with producer Norman Whitfield, who produced "Grapevine", resulted in similar success with the singles "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is". Meanwhile, Gaye's marriage was crumbling and he was bored with his music. Wanting creative control, he sought to produce singles for Motown session band The Originals, whose Gaye-produced hits, "Baby, I'm for Real" and "The Bells", brought success.
[edit] What's Going On (1970–72)
Main article: What's Going On
Tammi Terrell died of a brain tumor on March 16, 1970. Gaye was so emotional at her funeral that he talked to her lying in state as if she was going to respond. Gaye insisted, following Terrell's death, that he would no longer record duets with any other female performer, nor was he ever going to perform on stage again since Terrell's collapse and subsequent death had spooked him. He already had apprehensions about performing, suffering bouts of stage fright throughout his performing career. Prior to Terrell's death, he had withdrawn from a scheduled performance citing an illness and was later sued for failure to appear. After Terrell's death he stopped doing any more live gigs and never really recovered completely from her death. He had an inspiration, dating back to 1968, to try out for the Detroit Lions football team.[15] After he gained friendships with two of the Lions' players, Mel Farr and Lem Barney they encouraged him to get in shape and tryout, although the team ultimately wouldn't let him because they feared injuring one of the city's greatest singers.[16] After helping to collaborate what became "What's Going On", he returned to Hitsville on June 1, 1970 to record the song, which was inspired by Gaye's brother's accounts of his experience in the Vietnam War and co-writer Renaldo "Obie" Benson of the Four Tops' disgust of police brutality after seeing anti-war protesters attacked in San Francisco.
Despite releases of several anti-war songs by The Temptations and Edwin Starr, Motown CEO Berry Gordy prevented Gaye from releasing the song, fearing a backlash against the singer's image as a sex symbol and openly telling him and others that the song "was the worst record I ever heard". Gaye, however, refused to record anything that was Motown's or Gordy's version of him. He later said that recording the song and its parent album "led to semi-violent disagreements between Berry and myself, politically speaking." Eventually the song was released with little promotion on January 17, 1971. The song soon shot up the charts topping the R&B chart for five weeks.[17][18] Eventually selling more than two million copies, an album was requested, and Gaye again defied Gordy by producing an album featuring lengthy singles that talked of other issues such as poverty, taxes, drug abuse and pollution. Released on May 21, 1971, the What's Going On album instantly became a million-seller crossing him over to young white rock audiences while also maintaining his strong R&B fan base. Because of its lyrical content and its mixture of funk, jazz, classical and Latin soul arrangements which departed from the then renowned "Motown Sound", it became one of Motown's first autonomous works, without help of Motown's staff producers. Based upon its themes and a segue flow into each of the songs sans the title track, the concept album became the new template for soul music.
Other hit singles that came out of the album included "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", making Gaye the first male solo artist to have three top ten singles off one album on the Billboard Hot 100. All three singles sold over a million copies and were all number-one on the R&B chart. International recognition of the album was slow to come at first though eventually the album would be revered overseas as a "landmark pop record". It has been called "the most important and passionate record to come out of soul music, delivered by one of its finest voices".[19] The success of the title track influenced Stevie Wonder to release an album with similar themes, Where I'm Coming From, in April that year. Following the release of the album and its subsequent success, Wonder rejected a renewing offer with Motown unless he was allowed creative control on his recordings, which was granted a year later. Gaye's independent success not only related to Motown recording artists, other R&B artists of the era also began to rebel against labels to produce their own conceptual albums. The Jackson 5, one of Motown's final acts to benefit from the label's "glory years" (1959–72), tried unsuccessfully to get creative control for their own recordings and as a result left in 1975 for CBS Records.
Gaye's success was nationally recognized: Billboard magazine awarded him the Trendsetter of the Year award, while he won several NAACP Image Awards including Favorite Male Singer. Rolling Stone named it Album of the Year, and was nominated for a couple of Grammy Awards though inexplicably wasn't nominated for Album of the Year. In 1972, Gaye reluctantly stepped out of his stage retirement to perform selected concerts, including one at his hometown of Washington, D.C. performing at the famed Kennedy Center, a recording of the performance was issued on a deluxe edition re-release of the What's Going On album. Also in 1972, Gaye performed for Jesse Jackson's PUSH organization and also for a Chicago-based benefit concert titled Save the Children aimed at removing the plight of urban violence in Chicago's inner city. The latter performance was issued as part of a concert film released in early 1973, also titled Save the Children. Following its success, Gaye signed a new contract with Motown Records for a then record-setting $1 million, then the most lucrative deal by a black recording artist.[10] With creative control, Gaye attempted to produce several albums throughout 1972 and early 1973 including an instrumental album, a jazz album, another conceptually-produced album of social affairs (the canceled You're the Man project) and an album with Willie Hutch co-producing. In late 1972, Gaye produced the score for the Trouble Man film and later produced the soundtrack of the same name. The title track was the only full vocal work of the album and was released as a single in the fall of 1972 eventually reaching number seven on the pop chart in the spring of 1973.
[edit] Let's Get It On and continued success in music (1973–77)
Main articles: Let's Get It On and I Want You (Marvin Gaye album)
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"Let's Get It On" was written by Gaye and producer Ed Townsend, originally as a gospel song, and later as a protest song before eventually turning into a funk-oriented love anthem. It became Gaye's second number-one hit in 1973.
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File:Gaye live1974.jpg
Gaye performing live at the Oakland Coliseum on January 4, 1974 during his 1973–74 tour
In late 1972, Gaye left Detroit and moved to Los Angeles but relocated to an area where he was far away from Motown, purchasing a house at the so-called "bohemian hippie" enclave of Topanga Canyon, which was a hotbed for musicians looking to get away from the trappings of the music industry and Hollywood itself. He continued to record music at Los Angeles' Motown studios (Hitsville West) and on March 18, 1973, recorded "Let's Get It On", reputedly inspired by Gaye's new-found independence, after separating from Anna Gordy the previous year. The single was released as a single in June of the year and became Gaye's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. It also was a modest success internationally reaching number 31 in the United Kingdom. With the success of its recording, Gaye decided to switch completely from the social topics that were on What's Going On to songs with sensual appeal.
Released in August 1973, Let's Get It On consisted of material Gaye had initially recorded during the sessions of What's Going On. It was hailed as "a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy."[20] Other singles from the album included "Come Get to This", which recalled Gaye's early Motown soul sound of the previous decade, while the then-controversial "You Sure Love to Ball" reached modest success but was kept from being promoted by Motown due to its sexually explicit nature. With the success of What's Going On and Let's Get It On, Motown demanded a tour. Gaye only reluctantly agreed when demand from fans reached a fever pitch. After a delay, Gaye made his official return to touring on January 4, 1974 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The recording of the performance, held by several music executives as "an event", was later issued as the live album, Marvin Gaye Live!. Due to Gaye's growing popularity with his increasing crossover audience and the reaction of the performance of "Distant Lover", which Motown later released as a single in late 1974, the album sold over a million copies. Gaye's subsequent 10-city tour, which took off that August, was sold out and demand for more dates continued into 1975 while Gaye had struggled with subsequent recordings. A renewed contract with Motown in 1975 gave Gaye his own custom-made recording studio.
To keep up with demand and hype, Motown released Gaye's final duet project, Diana & Marvin, an album with Diana Ross, which helped to increase Gaye's audience overseas with the duo's recording of "You Are Everything" reaching number-five in the UK, number-thirteen on the Dutch chart, and number 20 in Ireland, while the album itself sold over a million copies overseas with major success in the UK. The recording of Diana & Marvin had started in late 1971 and overdubbed sessions took place in 1972 but was shelved from a release until late 1973 following the release of Let's Get It On. Gaye toured throughout 1975 without new releases and collaborated in the studio producing songs for the likes of The Miracles (now without Smokey Robinson) and Yvonne Fair, helping to produce her version of Norman Whitfield's "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On", featured on Fair's The Bitch is Black, while also assisting her in the background with his vocals. Later in 1975, Gaye shaved his head bald in protest to Rubin Carter's prison sentence. Gaye initially insisted he would remain bald until Carter's release though Gaye's hair and beard returned within a few months.
In 1976, Gaye released his first solo album in three years with I Want You. The title track became a number-one R&B hit, also reaching the top 20 of the national pop chart. The first of his albums to embrace the then popular disco sound of the time, Motown released a double-A 12' of "I Want You" alongside another smooth dancer, "After the Dance". The songs found success as a unit on the Billboard Hot Disco chart, reaching number-ten. By itself "After the Dance", which wasn't intended as a second single, eventually reached number fourteen on the R&B chart with minor pop traction, eventually reaching number 74. That year, Gaye faced several lawsuits with former musicians and also faced prison time for falling behind on alimony payments ordered by law following his first wife Anna Gordy filing legal separation after a 15-year marriage. Gaye avoided imprisonment after agreeing to do a tour of Europe, his first tour of such in little over a decade. His first stop was at London's Royal Albert Hall and then at the city's London Palladium, where a recording was later released in early 1977 as Live at the London Palladium. Gaye performed in France, Holland, Switzerland and Italy to packed audiences and then returned for several US tour dates though he often suffered from exhaustion from some of the US dates. Between 1975 and 1976, Gaye was recognized by major corporations including the United Nations for charitable work dedicated to children and to affairs related to black culture.
In the spring of 1977, Gaye released "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1", which gave him his third number-one US pop hit, the final one Gaye released in his lifetime. The song also topped the R&B and dance singles chart and also found some international success reaching the top ten in England. Released as the only studio track from the Palladium album, its success kept Palladium on the charts for a year eventually selling over two million copies. It was recognized by Billboard as one of the top-ten selling albums of all time that year.
[edit] Here, My Dear and his final days at Motown (1978–81)
Main article: Here, My Dear
In March 1977, his long, drawn-out court battle with former wife Anna Gordy ended. As a compromise to settle matters between the ex-couple over issues of alimony payments for their adopted son, Gaye's attorney until his death, Curtis Shaw, advised Gaye to remit a portion of the revenue that he was to get for his next studio album. Gaye entered the recording studio intending to produce a "lazy" album, but ended up with the sprawling double-album set, Here, My Dear, which was held up from release for over a year. Finally released after Motown's demand for new product in late 1978, the album was initially a flop, tanking after only a couple months on the charts. Its only single, "A Funky Space Reincarnation", peaked at number 23 on the R&B chart, in early 1979, becoming Gaye's first single since "Soldier's Plea" 17 years earlier to not hit the Billboard Hot 100.
Gaye became a figure on talk show circuits for most of 1979, mostly appearing on Dinah Shore's Dinah & Friends. He also toured in 1979, first in the United States, then in England and in Japan, the latter being the first time (and, as it turned out, the only time) he ever toured that country. As the year continued, Gaye found himself in trouble financially, and at home with second wife, Janis Hunter. The couple split up in 1979, nearly eighteen months after marrying, and by that fall, following a performance in Hawaii, Gaye decided to remain in the state, fearing he might be imprisoned for failing to pay the IRS millions in back taxes; in court, his attorney claimed that several items within the singer's luggage, including tax returns, were stolen from him while at an airport. Meanwhile, Gaye, now heavily in the throes of drug addiction, struggled to record. Reports stated that while in Hawaii, Gaye lived inside a bread truck. He initially had planned to release a standards album titled The Ballads but discarded it, fearing fans would be disappointed by no recognizable hits on it. The singer then intended to release an album of love songs aimed for the disco audience titled Love Man, but within a year, however, Gaye thought of expressing his feelings about a possible Armageddon, as well as his battles of the heart. Gaye changed the titles of all the songs, rewrote lyrics, and retitled the album, In Our Lifetime, recording the album tracks while living in London in the middle of his exile.
A 1980 European tour followed, after Gaye made a deal with British promoter Jeffrey Kruger, who had looked after Gaye's 1976–77 European tour and his Japanese engagement in 1979. Almost immediately, controversy arose, after Gaye failed to make the stage for Princess Margaret at the Royal Gala Charity Show. While Kruger recalls that Gaye showed up just as audiences were leaving, Gaye's musicians recalled that Gaye performed to the few that stayed for the performance though Princess Margaret had already left. Though Princess Margaret denied it, the international press printed the news as an "embarrassing snub", claiming that Gaye had deliberately arrived late. This led to a lawsuit between Gaye and Kruger that eventually settled out of court. While still in London, Gaye ran into problems when recordings of In Our Lifetime? were sent to Motown's offices back in Los Angeles, initially as rough mixes, to get Motown's response rather than intending to release it. However, desperate to release Marvin Gaye product, the label rushed the album out on January 15, 1981. Gaye was upset at the news, and accused the label of editing and remixing the album without his consent, putting out an unfinished song ("Far Cry"), altering the album art he requested, and removing the question mark from the title, muting its irony. Gaye vowed to never record another record for Motown. That summer, negotiations began to be made to release Gaye from the label. After several offers landed, Gaye accepted a deal for CBS Records, a deal that was finalized in March 1982.
Comeback and sudden death (1982–84)[link]
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"Sexual Healing" was written by Gaye alongside Odell Brown and David Ritz. Ritz said Gaye advised him to write a poem after telling the singer he needed "sexual healing" while living in Europe. The song became an international hit after its release in 1982.
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On the advice of Belgian concert promoter Freddy Cousaert, Gaye moved to Ostend, Belgium, in February 1981 where for a time he cut down on drugs and began to get back in shape both physically and emotionally. While in Belgium, Gaye began to make plans to renew his declining fortunes in his professional career, starting with a tour he titled "The Heavy Love Affair Tour" in England where he was greeted more warmly by the same London press that had criticized him of the Princess Margaret snub the previous year. The tour ended with two concert dates in Ostend. A documentary leading up to his Belgian concert performances titled Transit Ostend was initially released to just Belgian fans, and was later issued on VHS in bootleg copies following Gaye's death.
After signing with CBS' Columbia Records division in 1982, Gaye worked on what became the Midnight Love album. Gaye reconnected with Harvey Fuqua while recording the album and Fuqua served as a production adviser on the album, which was released in October 1982. The parent single, "Sexual Healing", was released to receptive audiences globally, reaching number-one in Canada, New Zealand and the US R&B singles chart, while becoming a top ten US pop hit and hitting the top ten in three other selected countries including the UK. The single became the fastest-selling and fastest-rising single in five years on the R&B chart staying at number-one for a record-setting ten weeks. Gaye wrote "Sexual Healing" while in Ostend. Curtis Shaw later said that Gaye's Ostend period was "the best thing that ever happened to Marvin." The now-famous video of "Sexual Healing" was shot at the Casino-Kursaal in Ostend.[21] "Sexual Healing" won Gaye his first two Grammy Awards including Best Male Vocal Performance, in February 1983, and also won Gaye an American Music Award for Favorite Soul Single. It was called by People magazine "America's hottest musical turn-on since Olivia Newton John demanded we get "Physical".
NME – December 1982[22]
“ I don't make records for pleasure. I did when I was a younger artist, but I don't today. I record so that I can feed people what they need, what they feel. Hopefully, I record so that I can help someone overcome a bad time. ”
The following year, he was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance again for the Midnight Love album. In February 1983, Gaye performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the NBA All-Star Game, held at The Forum in Inglewood, California, accompanied by Gordon Banks who played the studio tape from stands.[23] In March 1983, he gave his final television performance for Motown 25, reciting the history of black music and performed "What's Going On". He then embarked on a US tour in April to support his album. The tour, ending in August 1983, was plagued by Gaye's re-emerging cocaine addiction, increased cocaine-triggered paranoia and a bout with depression.
When the tour ended, he attempted to isolate himself by moving into his parents' house in Los Angeles. As documented in the PBS "American Masters" 2008 exposé, several witnesses claimed Marvin's mental and physical condition spiraled out of control. Groupies and drug dealers would show up every day, which according to his brother Frankie's wife Irene Gaye, "hounded" him. Some close to Marvin said he threatened to commit suicide several times. After his father returned from D.C. in October 1983, their arguments grew more contentious. On April 1, 1984, Gaye's father fatally shot him when Gaye intervened in an argument between his parents over misplaced business documents. Coincidentally, the gun had been given to his father by Marvin four months previously. Doctors discovered Marvin's father had a brain tumor but he was deemed fit for trial. Charges for first-degree murder dropped when doctors revealed that Marvin's father had suffered bruises from his final fight with his son and was sentenced to five years of probation after accepting a plea bargain pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Marvin died a day before turning 45.[24] Spending his final years in a retirement home, Marvin's father died of pneumonia in October 1998.
In 1987, Marvin was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also honored by Hollywood's Rock Walk in 1989 and was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990. In 2005, the former D.C. native was inducted to the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.[25] In 2007, two of Gaye's most important recordings, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "What's Going On", were voted Legendary Michigan Songs. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", his hit duet with Tammi Terrell, was also voted a Legendary Michigan Song in 2011.[26]
Personal life[link]
Gaye married twice. His first marriage was to Berry Gordy Jr.'s sister, Anna Gordy, who was 17 years his senior. Marvin and Anna were married on January 8, 1964 when Gaye was 24 and Gordy was 42. The marriage imploded after Marvin began courting Janis Hunter, the daughter of Slim Gaillard, in 1973. Anna filed for divorce in 1975; the divorce was finalized in March 1977. Gaye's erotic and disco-tinged studio album I Want You was based on his relationship with Hunter. In his book Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye, author and music writer Michael Eric Dyson elaborated on the relationship between I Want You and the relationship Gaye had with Hunter, which influenced his music:
"I Want You" is unmistakably a work of romantic and erotic tribute to the woman he deeply loved and would marry shortly, Janis Hunter (Janis Gaye). Gaye's obsession with the woman in her late teens is nearly palpable in the sensual textures that are the album's aural and lyrical signature. Their relationship was relentlessly passionate and emotionally rough-hewn; they played up each other's strengths, and played off each other's weaknesses.[27]
In October 1976, he married Janis, who was 17 years old when they met. However, the marriage dissolved within a year. After attempts at reconciliation, Janis filed for divorce in 1979. The divorce was finalized in February 1981. During this time, Marvin began dating a model from the Netherlands named Eugenie Vis.[28] In 1982 Gaye became involved with Lady Edith Foxwell, former wife of the British movie director Ivan Foxwell, and spent time with her at Sherston, her Wiltshire estate. Foxwell ran the fashionable Embassy Club and was referred to in the media as "the queen of London cafe society." The story of their affair was told by Stan Hey in the April 2004 issue of GQ. The report quoted writer/composer Bernard J. Taylor as saying he was told by Foxwell that she and Gaye had discussed marriage.
Marvin Gaye was killed by his father on April 1, 1984, during an argument.[29]
Gaye had three children. Marvin Pentz Gaye III (born 1965), by Denise Gordy, the niece of his first wife Anna Gordy. Marvin III was also adopted by his first wife Anna. The singer disclosed this in David Ritz's biography on Gaye, Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, saying he was afraid of being criticized for not producing a child. Later, Gaye had two children with Janis Hunter, Nona Marvisa, nicknamed "Pie" by her dad (born September 4, 1974) and Frankie "Bubby" Christian Gaye (born November 16, 1975). Gaye introduced his daughter to a national audience during a show in 1975. Nona would do the same eight years later when her father was given a tribute by Soul Train. Nona has gone on to find success as a singer and actress. Gaye's eldest son was a music producer. Frankie is said to have taken work as an artist. Gaye also has two grandchildren: Marvin Pentz Gaye IV (born 1995), born on the anniversary of his grandfather's death;[30] and Nolan Pentz Gaye (born 1997).
Musicianship[link]
Marvin Gaye's musical style changed in various ways throughout his 26-year career. Upon his early recordings as member of The Marquees and Harvey & the New Moonglows in the late 1950s, Marvin recorded in a doo-wop vocal style. After signing his first solo recording contract with Motown, Marvin persuaded Motown executives to allow him to record an adult album of standards and jazz covers. His first album, The Soulful Moods of Marvin Gaye, conveyed those genres including several doo-wop and blues songs.
The Motown Sound and psychedelic soul[link]
Starting with his first charted hit, 1962's "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" through 1967's "Your Unchanging Love", Marvin's music featured a blend of black rhythm and blues and white pop music that came to be later identified as the "Motown Sound". Marvin's 1962–64 hits reflected a dance-pop/rock and roll approach while his 1965–69 recordings reflected a pop-soul style. Backed by Motown's in-house band The Funk Brothers, pre-1970 Marvin Gaye recordings were built around songs with simple, direct lyrics supported by an R&B rhythm section with orchestral strings and horns added for pop appeal. Marvin's early hits were conceived by Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Mickey Stevenson and Holland–Dozier–Holland.
Marvin's sound started to change slightly in 1967 after he began working with producers Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson and Frank Wilson. Whereas Marvin's early sound reflected a youthful exterior, later songs during that period including "You", "Chained", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "That's the Way Love Is" were all recorded under the psychedelic soul sound of the late sixties and early seventies. "Psychedelic soul" mixed guitar-driven rock with soul-based grooves. Marvin's vocal style also changed during that period where he began singing in a gospel texture that had been only hinted at in previous recordings.
Social commentary and conceptual albums[link]
In 1971, Marvin issued his landmark album, What's Going On. The album and its tracks were responsible in the changing landscape of rhythm and blues music as the album presented a full view of social ills in America, including war, police brutality, racism, drug addiction, environmentalism, and urban decay. Beforehand, recordings of social unrest had been recorded by the likes of (Curtis Mayfield &) The Impressions, The Temptations, Sam Cooke, Sly and the Family Stone and James Brown, but this was the first album fully devoted to those issues. The album was produced under what is called a song cycle and because of its theme of "what's going on" was considered one of the first concept albums to be released in soul music. Marvin's 1972 soundtrack Trouble Man, based on the blaxploitation film of the same name, mainly featured instrumentals with a few vocal runs, including songs with social commentary. Marvin's 1972 recordings outside that album – including "Where Are We Going", "Piece of Clay", "You're the Man" and "The World Is Rated X" – also raised social issues and was personal in nature. The songs were to be included in the unreleased 1972 album, You're the Man, which was canceled after the modest reception of the title single. Marvin issued his next "concept album" with 1973's Let's Get It On, based on the spiritual and erotic side of love and sex. Marvin released a similarly themed funk album in 1976, I Want You, before switching to personal issues with the albums Here, My Dear (1978) and In Our Lifetime (1981). The former album focused on Marvin's problems in his first marriage, while the latter focused on his own life struggles. Marvin's albums between 1971 and 1981 reflected a period where, as an Allmusic writer said, his music "not only redefined soul music as a creative force but also expanded its impact as an agent for social change".[31]
From funk to disco to contemporary R&B[link]
Starting in the early-seventies, Marvin's sound began to reflect the emerging sounds of funk and the later disco movement of the late 1970s. Marvin's double-sided 1976 single, "I Want You/After the Dance" and his 1977 hit, "Got to Give It Up" were his only successful attempts at recording disco-styled dance music whereas the 1978 single "A Funky Space Reincarnation", 1979's "Ego Tripping Out" and the 1981 singles "Praise" and "Heavy Love Affair" aimed at the funk-based urban audience. By itself, "I Want You", mixed funk with disco, soul and lite rock elements. With the release of 1982's triple-platinum Midnight Love and the massive platinum selling smash hit, "Sexual Healing", Marvin mixed the styles of funk and post disco with Caribbean and European-flavored pop music creating a mix that influenced the modern R&B sound. "Sexual Healing" was the biggest R&B hit of the 1980s – No.1 for 10 consecutive weeks. Some of Marvin's posthumous releases have been varied in nature: 1985's Dream of a Lifetime was produced mostly in an electro funk sound mostly in the first half of the album, while his posthumous "featuring" on rapper Erick Sermon's 2001 hit, "Music" brought him to a younger hip-hop audience.
Legacy and influence[link]
According to several historians, Marvin Gaye's career "spanned the entire history of rhythm and blues from fifties doo-wop to eighties contemporary soul."[32] Critics stated that Gaye's music "signified the development of black music from raw rhythm and blues, through sophisticated soul to the political awareness of the 1970s and increased concentration on personal and sexual politics thereafter."[33] Marvin's usage of multi-tracked vocalizing, recording songs of social, political and sexual issues, and producing albums of autobiographical nature have influenced a generation of recording artists of various genres. As an artist who broke away from the controlled atmosphere of Motown Records in the 1970s, he influenced the careers of label mates such as Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers and, later in Epic Records, Michael Jackson to gain creative control and produce/co-produce their own albums. The careers of later R&B stars such as Rick James, Prince, R. Kelly, D'Angelo, Raheem DeVaughn, Maxwell, Janet Jackson, George Michael, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Bobby V, Trey Songz and J. Holiday also were influenced by the music of Marvin Gaye. Marvin's erotically concept albums such as Let's Get It On and I Want You inspired similar albums released by Smokey Robinson, Barry White and his co-producer on I Want You, Leon Ware. Modern-day artists such as Teena Marie and Mary J. Blige have also referenced Marvin in their own songs. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him No.18 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[34]
Tributes and covers[link]
In 1983, Spandau Ballet recorded the single "True" as a tribute to Marvin and the Motown sound he helped established. That same year, electro-funk group R. J.'s Latest Arrival mentioned him with their dance hit, "Shackles on My Feet". DeBarge's 1983 hit, "All This Love" was musically influenced by Marvin's sound and was rumored that they had wanted Marvin to record the song himself. However, Marvin had left the label before they could approach him.
On April 2, 1984, the day after Marvin's death, Duran Duran dedicated their live performance of "Save a Prayer" while on their Sing Blue Silver tour and appearing on their Arena album to him. Tribute songs to the singer included Diana Ross' "Missing You" and The Commodores' "Nightshift" became hits with each song reaching number-one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Other artists who have either paid tribute to Marvin in a song or referenced him have included close friend and former Motown label-mate Edwin Starr, who released "Marvin" the month after his death, Teena Marie's "My Dear Mr. Gaye", Todd Rundgren's "Lost Horizon", the Violent Femmes' 1988 single "See My Ships", Maze featuring Frankie Beverly's 1989 R&B hit, "Silky Soul", ABC's 1987 single "When Smokey Sings" (Gaye's "What's Going On (song)" is sampled for the Miami Mix) and George Michael's "John and Elvis Are Dead" where Marvin is mentioned in one the final lines from the repeated chorus. Stevie Wonder wrote the song "Lighting Up the Candles" as a tribute to Gaye following his death and performed the song originally at Gaye's funeral service. Wonder later recorded the song for the Jungle Fever soundtrack.
In 1992, Israeli artist Izhar Ashdot dedicated his song "Eesh Hashokolad" to Gaye. Two tribute albums, 1995's Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye (which featured Nona's version of "Inner City Blues") and 1999's Marvin Is 60 featured covers of Marvin's most famous material. Since the 1960s, Marvin's songs have been covered by a variety of artists. The Rolling Stones and The Who recorded "Baby Don't You Do It" early in their careers. The Band also recorded "Baby Don't You Do It" numerous times under the title "Don't Do It"; the different versions, both studio and live, appear on several of their albums and box sets (the only one to be released as a single came from Rock of Ages), as well as in their 1976 concert film The Last Waltz. Rod Stewart during his early tenure with Steampacket covered "Can I Get a Witness". His 1965 hit, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" was covered three times by Junior Walker in 1966, again in 1975 by James Taylor, and again in 2002 by gospel singer Helen Baylor. In Baylor's version she substituted the word "baby" for Jesus.
Gaye's 1968 hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" has been frequently covered with versions recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Roger Troutman, Edwin Starr and The California Raisins. Donny Hathaway performed a live version of "What's Going On" for his 1972 Live album while Cyndi Lauper recorded a top forty version of "What's Going On" in 1987, the song was re-recorded by a variety of contemporary pop, R&B and rap artists in 2001(again, including Nona) for AIDS benefit and was later dedicated to the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks. A few years after that, rock band A Perfect Circle covered the song in their own hard rock version. The singer's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was covered by rock band The Strokes which featured Eddie Vedder on lead vocals. R&B singer Angela Winbush covered "Inner City Blues" in 1994 and was recorded in a slightly different version by Gil-Scott Heron in the 1970s. Aaliyah covered "Got to Give It Up" on her album One in a Million.
Gospel–soul legends Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin have each covered "Wholy Holy" from the What's Going On album while "Let's Get It On" was famously sampled by Shaggy on his breakthrough single, 1994's "Boombastic". Versions of "Sexual Healing" have been recorded by Soul Asylum, Ben Harper, Max-A-Million, Kate Bush, Neil Finn, Sarah Connor and Ne-Yo. Michael McDonald, Diana Ross and Amy Winehouse have all covered or redone their own versions of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", Marvin's 1967 hit with Tammi Terrell while Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn reinterpreted the Marvin/Tammi single, "If This World Were Mine" in 1982. Mary J. Blige and Method Man, with permission, sampled an interpolation of "You're All I Need to Get By" for their 1995 hit, "You're All I Need/I'll Be There for You". In June 2008, D'Angelo alongside Erykah Badu recorded Gaye's hit duo with Terrell, "Your Precious Love" for his "The Best So Far"...compilation album.
On April 2, 2006, on what would have been the singer's 67th birthday, a park near the neighborhood where Marvin grew up at in Washington, D.C. was renamed after him after a discussion with the City Council. "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" was covered by John Mayer in his Album As/Is, released in 2004. The cover also featured DJ Logic. Elton John's song "Club at the End of the Street" also mentions Marvin Gaye. On the 25th anniversary of Marvin Gaye's death, the singer's hometown of Washington, D.C. again honored the singer by renaming a street he grew up on called "Marvin Gaye Way".
Musical achievements and posthumous releases[link]
Gaye scored 41 Top 40 hit singles on Billboard's Pop Singles chart between 1963 and 2001, 60 Top 40 R&B singles chart hits from 1962 to 2001, 18 Top Ten pop singles on the pop chart, 38 Top 10 singles on the R&B chart,[35] three number-one pop hits and thirteen number-one R&B hits and tied with Michael Jackson in total as well as the fourth biggest artist of all-time to spend the most weeks at the number-one spot on the R&B singles chart (52 weeks). In all, Gaye produced a total of 67 singles on the Billboard charts in total, spanning five decades, including five posthumous releases.
The year a remix of "Let's Get It On" was released to urban adult contemporary radio, "Let's Get It On" was certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000, making it the best-selling single on Motown in the United States. Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is the best-selling international Motown single, explained by a re-release in Europe following a Levi 501 Jeans commercial in 1986.
On June 19, 2007, Hip-O Records reissued Gaye's final Motown album, In Our Lifetime as an expanded two-disc edition titled In Our Lifetime?: The Love Man Sessions, bringing back the original title with the question mark and included a different mix of the album, which was recorded in London and also including the original songs from the Love Man album, which were songs later edited lyrically for the songs that made the In Our Lifetime album. The same label released a deluxe edition of Gaye's Here, My Dear album, which included a re-sequencing of tracks from the album from producers such as Salaam Remi and Bootsy Collins.
His 1983 NBA All-Star performance[36] of the national anthem was used in a Nike commercial featuring the 2008 US Olympic basketball team. Also, on CBS Sports' final NBA telecast to date (before the contract moved to NBC) at the conclusion of Game 5 of the 1990 Finals, they used Gaye's 1983 All-Star Game performance over the closing credits. When VH1 launched on January 1, 1985, Gaye's 1983 rendition of the national anthem was the very first video to be aired. Most recently, it was used in the intro to Ken Burns' Tenth Inning documentary on the game of baseball.
In 2008, Gaye earned $3.5 million, and took 13th place in 'Top-Earning Dead Celebrities' in Forbes Magazine.[37]
In a MusicRadar.com poll, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", one of his most famous songs, was voted No.1 and greatest Motown song and his "What's Going On" made the top five.[38]
Documentaries and movies[link]
A documentary about Gaye – What's Going On: The Marvin Gaye Story – was a UK/PBS co-production, directed by Jeremy Marre and was first broadcast in 2006; two years later, the special re-aired with a different production and newer interviews after it was re-broadcast as an American Masters special. Gaye is referenced as one of the supernatural acts to appear in the short story and later television version of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes in "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band".
A play by Caryl Phillips called A Long Way from Home, focusing on Gaye's relationship with his father and his last years in Ostend, was broadcast by BBC Radio 3 in March 2008. It featured O. T. Fagbenle as Gaye and Kerry Shale as Marvin Gay Sr., with Rhea Bailey, Rachel Atkins, Damian Lynch, Alibe Parsons, Ben Onwukwe and Major Wiley. It was directed by Ned Chaillet and produced by Chris Wallis.
So far, three movies are currently being planned on Marvin Gaye's life. One movie, Sexual Healing, is based on the post-Motown career of his later years, with Jesse L. Martin playing Marvin and James Gandolfini playing Marvin's Belgium-based mentor, concert promoter Freddy Cousaert.[39] Another film, simply titled, Marvin, is also in plans for production with F. Gary Gray in helm to direct the film.[40] This film, unlike Sexual Healing, will focus on Marvin's entire life story because unlike Sexual Healing, the second film was allowed rights to Marvin's Motown catalog. Musicians Common and Usher and actor Will Smith have either been rumored to or have aspired to play the singer possibly in the second film. A third film on Gaye is reportedly being produced by Motown with director Cameron Crowe.[41]
Discography[link]
Main article: Marvin Gaye discography
Filmography[link]
 |
Book: Marvin Gaye |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
- 1965: T.A.M.I. Show (documentary)
- 1969: The Ballad of Andy Crocker (television movie)
- 1971: Chrome & Hot Leather (television movie)
- 1972: Trouble Man (cameo; soundtrack)
- 1973: Save the Children (documentary)
Videography[link]
Marvin Gaye in popular culture[link]
In advertising[link]
- During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Nike ran ads focused on the United States' Men's Basketball Team featuring Marvin Gaye's 1983 performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the NBA All-Star Game. The message is: the team found inspiration in the way Marvin Gaye performed the song.
- "A Funky Space Reincarnation," from his 1978 album "Here, My Dear," was used in the Dior J'Adore perfume commercial that features Charlize Theron.
In music[link]
- Singer Diana Ross honors Marvin Gaye in the 1984 song titled "Missing You."
- Singer Teena Marie pays tribute to Marvin Gaye with her song titled "My Dear Mr. Gaye."
- In 1997, R&B singer Aaliyah did a cover to Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up" which featured Slick Rick.
- In the song "Hörst Du mich?" by German Hip Hop band Fettes Brot, the first verse is dedicated to Marvin Gaye.[43]
- The Commodores paid tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson on their hit "Nightshift" in 1985.
- The Prefab Sprout song "When the angels", from their 1985 album Steve McQueen, is a tribute to Marvin Gaye.[44]
- "See My Ships", a song from 3 (the 1989 Violent Femmes album), the shooting of Marvin Gaye is used in a double-entendre to express anxiety about a final judgement by God (the 'father'): "Mercy mercy me, Marvin Gaye, he was shot by his father, O my father have mercy on me"[45]
- The Avett Brothers reference Marvin Gaye in their song "The Day Marvin Gaye Died"
- Rapper Tupac Shakur referenced Gaye in his song "Keep Ya Head Up".
- Rapper Big Sean recorded a song used on his Finally Famous album titled "Marvin & Chardonnay" featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash.
- Rapper Drake recorded "Marvin's Room" in reference to producing the song in Marvin Gaye's studio.
- Rapper Charles Hamilton referenced Marvin in his song "Stay On Your Level":
- Rapper Tyler, The Creator referenced Marvin in his song "Yonkers".
- Rapper Immortal Technique referenced Marvin and "What's Going On" in his song "Crossing the Boundary".
- Rapper B. Dolan referenced Marvin in his song "Marvin (Can't Remember)".
- Rapper Cormega referenced Marvin in his song "Journey".
- R&B singer R. Kelly mentions Gaye at the end of "If I Could Make The World Dance" on his 2004 "Happy People/U Saved Me" album. Kelly states "Marvin Gaye inspired me to write that one y'all".
- Jazz composer & multi-instrumentalist Don Byron's String Quartet No. 2; Four Thoughts on Marvin Gaye, I-IV, a tribute to the life of Marvin Gaye, was released by the string quartet ETHEL on the album Heavy (Innova, 2012).
Onscreen[link]
- Film
- He played "Jim" in the 1971 biker film Chrome and Hot Leather, which also featured Larry Bishop.
- Television
- In The Sopranos season 6, episode 1 ("Members Only"), Uncle Junior shoots Tony Soprano and Vito Spatafore later remarks: "He Marvin Gaye'd his own nephew”.
In poetry[link]
- On multi-genre performer B. Dolan's 2010 album, Fallen House Sunken City (Strange Famous Records), "Marvin" is a poem about the last days of Marvin Gaye.
References[link]
- ^ a b Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. Chicago Review Press. p. 190. ISBN 1-55652-754-3.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye Studio Vocal Range &" (video). World News Network. http://wn.com/marvin_gaye_studio_vocal_range_%5Bd2-eb6%5D%5Bnote_by_note]. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ Edmonds, Ben (2003). What's Going On?: Marvin Gaye and the Last Days of the Motown Sound. Canongate U.S.. p. 12. ISBN 1-84195-314-8.
- ^ Ritz, David (1985, rev. 1991). Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80443-4.
- ^ "Rolling Stone: 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time". p. 6. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/6. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ "Rolling Stone: The Immortals, The first 50". http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty/. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ "VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.". http://stereogum.com/495331/vh1-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time/list/.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye Timeline". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 21, 1987. http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/timelines/marvin-gaye/. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ Gaye, Frankie; Basten, Fred E. (2003). Marvin Gaye, My Brother. Backbeat Books. p. 4. ISBN 0-87930-742-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Marvin Gaye – Singer/Songwriter". BBC – h2g2. June 5, 2007. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23192868. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye No Military Hit". September 13, 2005. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0913051_marvin_gaye_1.html. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ Edmonds, Ben (2003). What's Going On?: Marvin Gaye and the Last Days of the Motown Sound. Canongate U.S.. p. 22. ISBN 1-84195-314-8.
- ^ "The Stars of Motown". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hg2g/A10508384. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: Perfect Together". http://www.tammiterrell.com/perfect_together.html. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- ^ Jason Plautz (June 30, 2011). "Marvin Gaye, Detroit Lions Wide Receiver?". Mental Floss. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/92596. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ Music Urban Legends Revealed #16. Legendsrevealed.com (2009-07-29). Retrieved on 2012-05-14.
- ^ Vincent, Rickey; Clinton, George (1996). Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One. Macmillan. p. 129. ISBN 0-312-13499-1.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Complete Chart Information About America's Most Popular Songs and Artists, 1955–2003. Billboard Books. p. 250. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
- ^ John Bush. It also was sixth greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine. What's Going On remains one of the few examples in modern music where critical acclaim and immediate commercial success occurred simultaneously. What's Going On was the first in a series of Motown albums in which albums overtook singles in commercial importance as well as cultural significance.review of What's Going On, by Marvin Gaye, allmusic.com (accessed June 10, 2005).
- ^ Jason Ankeny, review of Let's Get It On, by Marvin Gaye, allmusic.com (accessed June 10, 2005).
- ^ "What's On in Ostend". http://blog.ramada-ostend.com/ostendblog/. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 373. CN 5585.
- ^ Batchelor, Bob (2005). Basketball in America: From the Playgrounds to Jordan's Game and Beyond. Haworth Press. pp. 41–43. ISBN 0-7890-1613-3.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye's father and killer dies". news.bbc.co.uk. October 25, 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/200833.stm. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ [http:www.michiganrockandrolllegends.com/mrrl-hall-of-fame/84-marvin-gaye
- ^ Legendary Michigan Songs. Michigan Rock and Roll Legends. Retrieved on 2012-05-14.
- ^ Michael Eric Dyson (2005). Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye. Basic Civitas Books. p. 164. http://books.google.com/books?id=EL5_I4Dkx7IC&pg=RA1-PA164&dq=marvin+gaye+janis&sig=ACfU3U2q-LTCmmmZSpFPM21J8woC-eE8Og. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ "The Life and Tragic Death of Motown's - Crime Library — To Europe — Crime Library on". Trutv.com. February 15, 2012. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/marvin_gaye/10b.html. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ "The Domestic Dispute that ended the life of Marvin Gaye - Crime Library — The Final Fight — Crime Library on". Trutv.com. March 31, 1984. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/marvin_gaye/13.html. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- ^ Brozan, Nadine (April 1, 1995). "Chronicle: New York Times". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3DD173FF937A35757C0A963958260. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
- ^ "Allmusic (((Marvin Gaye – Overview)))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4344/biography. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye". History-of-Rock. http://www.history-of-rock.com/marvin_gaye.htm. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye". Classic Bands. http://www.classicbands.com/gaye.html. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty.
- ^ Joel Whitburns Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004, 2004
- ^ "Marvin Gaye's 'National Anthem'". Npr.org. February 7, 2003. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=985241. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ "Elvis, Marvin Gaye shake moneymakers in afterlife". CNN. October 29, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/29/dead.celebrities/index.html. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ Music Radar: Marvin Gaye's Grapevine voted greatest Motown song
- ^ Sexual Healing (2010)
- ^ Marvin: The Life Story of Marvin Gaye (2009)
- ^ "Legends come together to celebrate 50th anniversary". http://www.macombdaily.com/articles/2009/11/20/entertainment/srv0000006871169.txt. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
- ^ "Marvin Gaye – Live in Montreux 1980: Marvin Gaye: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Marvin-Gaye-Live-Montreux-1980/dp/B000094J89. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ "Songtext: Fettes Brot 1 – Hörst Du Mich?". Magistrix.de. http://www.magistrix.de/lyrics/Fettes%20Brot%201/Hoerst-Du-Mich-257532.html. Retrieved July 8, 2011.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (2003). The rough guide to rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6.
- ^ "Violent Femmes:See My Ships Lyrics". Wikia.com. http://lyrics.wikia.com/Violent_Femmes:See_My_Ships. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
Further reading[link]
- Davis, Sharon (1991). Marvin Gaye: I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Croydon, Surrey: Bookmarque Ltd. ISBN 1-84018-320-9
- Dyson, Michael Eric (2004). Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves, and Demons of Marvin Gaye. New York/Philadelphia: Basic Civitas. ISBN 0-465-01769-X.
- Gambaccini, Paul (1987). The Top 100 Rock 'n' Roll Albums of All Time. New York: Harmony Books.
- Garofalo, Reebee (1997). Rockin' Out: Popular Music in the USA. Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-205-13703-2.
- Gaye, Frankie with Basten, Fred E. (2003). Marvin Gaye: My Brother. Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-742-0
- Heron, W. Kim (April 8, 1984). Marvin Gaye: A Life Marked by Complexity. Detroit Free Press.
- Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.
- Ritz, David (1986). Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81191-X
- Turner, Steve (1998). Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye. London: Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-4112-1
- Ward, Ed, Geoffrey Stokes and Ken Tucker (1986). Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. Rolling Stone Press. ISBN 0-671-54438-1.
- White, Adam (1985). The Motown Story. London: Orbis. ISBN 0-85613-626-3
External links[link]
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Marvin Gaye |
- Marvin Gaye at AllRovi
- Marvin Gaye at Allmusic
- Marvin Gaye at the Internet Movie Database
- Marvin Gaye Biography
- Marvin Gaye Life & Legacy
- Additional archives
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gaye, Marvin |
| Alternative names | Gay, Marvin Pentz, Jr. |
| Short description | American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist |
| Date of birth | April 2, 1939 |
| Place of birth | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Date of death | April 1, 1984 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles, United States |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
