Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Christmas Song
- Order:
- Duration: 2:43
- Published: 03 Jun 2007
- Uploaded: 17 May 2011
- Author: gerardfantasy
☺ Just a fun little thing i did.
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Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville (born January 24, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American soul and R&B; singer and musician. He made his debut in 1966 with the hit single "Tell It Like It Is", a Number One hit on the Billboard R&B; charts. Neville did not chart again, however, until 1989, when he collaborated with Linda Ronstadt on three consecutive duets: "Don't Know Much", "All My Life", and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", the first two reached Number One on the Adult Contemporary charts. Neville has released more than 20 singles, including three Number Ones on the Adult Contemporary format, and a fourth on the R&B; format.
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Aimee Mann
Aimee Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American rock guitarist, bassist, singer, and noted songwriter.
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Al Jarreau
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Alwyn "Al" Jarreau (born March 12, 1940, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States) is an American singer. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, and is the second artist in history (Michael Jackson being the first) to win in the three separate categories: Jazz, Pop, and R&B.; He also won the Grammys within a span of four consecutive decades — the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
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Alan Jackson
Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958, in Newnan, Georgia) is an American country music singer, known for blending honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 12 studio albums and several compilations, all on the Arista Nashville label. More than 50 of his singles have appeared on ''Billboard's'' list of the "Top 30 Country Songs". Of Jackson's entries, 25 were number-one hits. He is the recipient and nominee of multiple awards. Jackson is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
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Alexander O'Neal
'''Alexander O'Neal''' (born November 15, 1953 in Natchez, Mississippi) is an American R&B; singer. Some of his best-known songs are "Fake", Criticize, "Saturday Love" and "Never Knew Love Like This".
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Amy Grant
Amy Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and occasional actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop". As of 2009, Grant remains the best-selling contemporary Christian music singer ever, having sold over 30 million units worldwide.
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Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams (born December 3, 1927) is an American pop singer. Andy Williams has recorded 18 Gold and three Platinum certified albums. He had his own TV variety show from 1962–71 in which he performed with Michael Jackson, Bobby Darin, Ray Charles, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Simon & Garfunkel, Mama Cass, Shirley Bassey, Bing Crosby, The Osmonds, Dusty Springfield, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, The Carpenters, Jack Benny, Bette Davis, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan and many other superstars. He also owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri.
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Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as The Queen of Soul. Although renowned for her soul recordings, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B; and gospel music. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Franklin No. 1 on its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time.
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Aska (singer)
Aska, past stage name; (born on February 24, 1958, Ono, now part of Onojō, Fukuoka) is a Japanese singer-songwriter.
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Babyface
Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
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Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. His career stretched more than half a century from 1926 until his death in 1977. Crosby's unique bass-baritone voice made him the best-selling recording artist until well into the rock era, with over half a billion records in circulation.
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Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman; May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has been a major figure in music for six decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was at first an informal chronicler, and later an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest. A number of his songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" became anthems for the American civil rights and anti-war movements. His early lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social and philosophical, as well as literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed hugely to the then burgeoning counterculture. Initially inspired by the songs of Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, and the performance style of Little Richard, Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.
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Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers is a well known American rock and roll radio on air personality in the Pacific Northwest as well as a prolific producer of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies.
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Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight (born June 5, 1969 in Buffalo, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B; musician, as well as currently hosting his own evening talk show. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, French horn and trumpet.
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CeCe Peniston
CeCe Peniston (born Cecilia V. Peniston; September 6, 1969) is a female, Afro-American R&B; singer, and one of the most successful dance club artists in the history of the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, scoring numerous major No.1 hits in the chart. Her signature song “Finally” became one of the biggest dance singles ever, selling 3 million copies worldwide.
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Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC, OQ (; born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian pop singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
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Charice
http://wn.com/Charice -
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed; 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 11,000,000 albums worldwide and in 2010 was said to be worth as much as £11m (though one 2003 report had her worth £25m). She recently hosted the third series of her Channel 4 chat show The Charlotte Church Show.
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Chicago (band)
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Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The band began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in terms of singles and albums, Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful U.S. pop/rock and roll groups.
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Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera ( in English; born December 18, 1980) is an American pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection" for the film Mulan.
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Clay Aiken
Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken (né Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer, and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released in October 2003. He released four more albums on the RCA label: Merry Christmas with Love (2004), A Thousand Different Ways (2006), and the Christmas EP, All is Well (2006). His fourth studio album (the first album of original material since 2003's Measure of a Man), On My Way Here was released on May 6, 2008.
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Connie Francis
Connie Francis (born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero; December 12, 1938) is an American pop singer, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. She is best known for her downbeat ballads delivered in her trademark sobbing, emotive style. In addition to her signature song, "Who's Sorry Now?", her many hits include "Lipstick on Your Collar", "Where the Boys Are", and "Stupid Cupid". She topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on three occasions with "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You". She also was known for her early relationship with the singer and teen heart-throb Bobby Darin.
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Damien Leith
Damien Leo Leith (born 18 January 1976, Dublin, Republic of Ireland) is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006.
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Des O'Connor
'''Des O'Connor, CBE (born Desmond Bernard O'Connor' on 12 January 1932) is an English broadcaster and singer. A former talkshow host, he was the presenter of the long running Channel 4 gameshow Countdown for two years. He has also recorded thirty six albums and has had four top ten singles, including a number one with I Pretend''.
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Diane Schuur
Diane Schuur (b. December 10, 1953 in Tacoma, Washington) is an American jazz singer and pianist. Schuur was blinded at birth due to a hospital accident. Schuur, nicknamed "Deedles," has won two Grammy Awards. Schuur has headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Stan Getz, B. B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Quincy Jones.
http://wn.com/Diane_Schuur -
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (born December 31, 1948), known by her stage name, Donna Summer is an American singer who gained prominence and notoriety during the disco era of the seventies with the majority of her early work produced by the team of Giorgio Moroder and Pete Belotte.
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Doris Day
Doris Day (born April 3, 1922) is an American actress and singer, and has been an outspoken animal rights activist since her retirement from show business. Day's entertainment career began in her late teens as a big band singer. In 1945 she had her first hit recording , "Sentimental Journey", and, in 1948, appeared in her first film, Romance on the High Seas. During her entertainment career, she has appeared in thirty-nine films, recorded more than six-hundred-fifty songs, received an Academy Award nomination, won a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award, and, in 1989, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures.
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Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music. Popular since the early 1980s, he has recorded more than twenty-one albums and compilations, has charted more than thirty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and sold more than 25 million records.
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Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor.
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Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962), best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon.. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at #2 in the US country album chart while climbing to #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks' integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances has earned him immense popularity. This progressive approach allowed him to dominate the country single and album charts while quickly crossing over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.
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Gavin Degraw
http://wn.com/Gavin_Degraw -
George Strait
George Harvey Strait (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer,actor and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional country western music. George Strait holds the world record for more #1 hit singles than any other artist in the history of music on any chart or in any genre. As of 2010 he has recorded 57 #1 hit singles.
http://wn.com/George_Strait -
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan (born September 1, 1957) is a Cuban American singer, songwriter and actress. She is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 90 million albums sold worldwide, 26.5 million of those in the United States alone. She has won seven Grammy Awards, she is the most successful crossover performer in Latin music to date.
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Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, '''Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass or TJB'''. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M; Records (a recording label he and business partner Jerry Moss founded and eventually sold).
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India.Arie
India.Arie (born India Arie Simpson; October 3, 1975) is an American soul, R&B;, and neo soul singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and flautist.
http://wn.com/IndiaArie -
James Brown
James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer and entertainer. Eventually referred to as "The Godfather of Soul", Brown started singing in church groups and worked his way up. He has been recognized as one of the most influential figures in the 20th century popular music and was renowned for his vocals and feverish dancing. He was also called "the hardest working man in show business".cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/25/AR2006122500049.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Hardworking Godfather of Soul | first=
http://wn.com/James_Brown -
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, television personality and fashion designer who rose to fame in 1999. She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, and five studio albums of which four have been positioned in the top 10 on Billboard 200 and besides that have been certified by the RIAA, three gold and two Multi- Platinum. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show . She ventured into the country music market in 2008 and released Do You Know. She has sold 20 million records worldwide. Simpson has a total of records sales in Australia of more than 426,000 copies and was ranked in the # 113 on the 1000 artists chart of ARIA Music Decade Charts (1980–2010). In 2009, Billboard named Simpson as the 95th overall best Artists of the Decade. Also was ranked at number 86 on Billboard 200 Artists, solely based on album sales.
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Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, percussionist, actor, comedian, and producer who has sold close to 20 million albums in the United States. He is known for his unique vocal quality and pop style with classical and world music influences. Each of his four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and, in 2007, was charted as the number one best selling artist in the United States.
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Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl "Kenny" Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is grounded in bebop and blues; he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians.
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Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)—known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was certainly not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.
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Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt (b. July 15, 1946) is an American popular music recording artist. Her many vocal styles and performances in a variety of genres have resonated with the general public over the decades. She has earned ten Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden Globe nominations.
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Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American R&B; and soul 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.
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Martina McBride
Martina McBride (born Martina Mariea Schiff on July 29, 1966, in Sharon, Kansas) is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range.
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Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He co-wrote the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song" (also known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") with Bob Wells.
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Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton (born Michael Bolotin; February 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a former rock singer. He is best known for his soft rock ballads and tenor vocals.
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Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé (; born 9 September 1975) is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including two Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in the UK and Canada. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album ''It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible'' was an even bigger success, reaching number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and the European charts. Bublé has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide.
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Nat King Cole
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Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat "King" Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his untimely death; he is widely considered one of the most important musical personalities in United States history.
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Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole (born February 6, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and performer. She achieved success in her early career as an R&B; star, but smoothly changed her repertoire toward a more pop and jazz oriented musical style in the early 1990s. She has won nine Grammy Awards. Cole has been singing since she was 5 years old.
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Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career spanned from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s. It was his signature sound and iconic arrangements that defined a generation and his work for Capitol Records kept such vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney and Keely Smith household names. His multi-Grammy award winning albums with Linda Ronstadt proved that the Riddle sound transcended the generation gap. Nelson Riddle died shortly before the release of his third album with Linda in 1985.
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Oscar Moore
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Oscar Moore (December 25, 1916 – October 8, 1981) was an American swing jazz guitarist.
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Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002) was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress in a career spanning nearly seven decades. From her beginnings as a vocalist on local radio, to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she was forging her own sophisticated persona, Lee evolved into a multi-faceted artist and performer. She wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums—encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, art songs, and other genres.
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Pete Rugolo
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Pete Rugolo (born December 25, 1915) is a Sicilian-born jazz composer and arranger.
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Polly Bergen
Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930) is an American actress, singer, and entrepreneur.
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Ralph Carmichael
Ralph Carmichael (born 28 May 1927, Quincy, Illinois) is a composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music, being regarded as one of the pioneers of the latter genre. Married to Marvella and father to composer and artist Carol Parks.
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Raven-Symoné
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman (born December 10, 1985), known professionally as Raven-Symoné or Raven, is an American actress, singer-songwriter, comedienne, dancer, television producer, and model. She is best known for her television roles as Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show, Galleria Garibaldi in The Cheetah Girls and The Cheetah Girls 2, and as Raven Baxter in the Emmy Award nominated series, ''That's So Raven''.
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Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955) is an American country music artist. She began her career in the music industry singing with her siblings on local radio shows and rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma City, which caught the attention of country artist Red Steagall. He brought her to Nashville, Tennessee, where she eventually signed a contract with Mercury Records in 1975. She released her first solo album in 1977 and released five additional studio albums under the label until 1983.
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Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson, or Rick Nelson (born Eric Hilliard Nelson; May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed fifty-three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973, including nineteen top-ten hits, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.
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Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B; and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy. Robinson's consistent commercial success and creative contributions to the label have earned him the title "King of Motown."
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Stan Freberg
Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg (born August 7, 1926) is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director.
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Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Judkins (born May 13, 1950), name later changed to Stevland Hardaway Morris, known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist. Blind from shortly after birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records' Tamla label at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day.
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Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American R&B; singer-songwriter. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards in her career and has sold 40 million records worldwide. She has a contralto vocal range.
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Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett (born Anthony Dominick Benedetto; August 3, 1926) is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz.
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Trace Adkins
Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins (born January 13, 1962) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud, released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since then, Adkins has released seven more studio albums and two Greatest Hits compilations. In addition, he has charted more than twenty singles on the Billboard'' country music charts, including the Number One hits "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing", "Ladies Love Country Boys", and "You're Gonna Miss This", which peaked in 1997, 2007, and 2008, respectively. "I Left Something Turned on at Home" went to #1 on Canada's country chart. All but one of his studio albums have received gold or platinum certification in the United States; his highest-selling to date is 2005's Songs About Me, which has been certified 2× Multi-Platinum for shipping two million copies.
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Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American R&B;/Pop singer, actress, and former fashion model. A relative of several soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and close family friend Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age eleven. After she began performing alongside her mother at night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston has released studio albums and movie soundtrack albums throughout her career, all of which have had diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.
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Wynonna Judd
Wynonna Ellen Judd (born Christina Claire Ciminella, May 30, 1964, in Ashland, Kentucky) is an American country music singer. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the singular name Wynonna (). Wynonna first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother, Naomi, in the country music duo The Judds. The duo released seven albums on Curb Records, in addition to charting twenty-six singles, of which fourteen were Number One hits.
http://wn.com/Wynonna_Judd
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Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but currently operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EMI.
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Tesco
Tesco plc () is a global grocery and general merchandising retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second largest measured by profits. It has stores in 14 countries across Asia, Europe and North America and is the grocery market leader in the UK (where it has a market share of around 30%), Malaysia and Thailand.
http://wn.com/Tesco
- A Twisted Christmas
- Aaron Neville
- Aimee Mann
- Al Jarreau
- Alan Jackson
- Alexander O'Neal
- Amy Grant
- Andy Williams
- Aretha Franklin
- Aska (singer)
- Babyface
- Big Bird
- Bing Crosby
- Bob Dylan
- Bob Rivers
- Brian McKnight
- Capitol Records
- CeCe Peniston
- Celine Dion
- Celtic Woman
- Charice
- Charlotte Church
- Chicago (band)
- Christina Aguilera
- Christmas
- Christmas Portrait
- Christmas song
- Christmas Who?
- Clay Aiken
- Connie Francis
- Damien Leith
- Des O'Connor
- Diane Schuur
- Donna Summer
- Doris Day
- Dwight Yoakam
- Flyleaf
- Frank Sinatra
- Garth Brooks
- Gavin Degraw
- George Strait
- Gloria Estefan
- Green Chri$tma$
- Herb Alpert
- India.Arie
- James Brown
- Jessica Simpson
- Joe
- Josh Groban
- Kenny Burrell
- Les Brown
- Les Paul
- Let It Be Christmas
- Linda Ronstadt
- Lovedrug
- Luther Vandross
- magnetic tape
- Mannheim Steamroller
- Martina McBride
- Mel Tormé
- Michael Bolton
- Michael Bublé
- Mosaic Records
- My Kind of Christmas
- Nat King Cole
- Natalie Cole
- NBC
- Nelson Riddle
- orchestra
- Oscar Moore
- Peggy Lee
- Pete Rugolo
- Polly Bergen
- R&B;
- Ralph Carmichael
- Raven-Symoné
- Reba McEntire
- Rhino Records
- Ricky Nelson
- Smokey Robinson
- Someday at Christmas
- Stan Freberg
- stereophonic
- Stevie Wonder
- string section
- SWV
- Tesco
- The Carpenters
- The Jackson 5
- The Lettermen
- The Miracles
- The Simpsons
- The Supremes
- The Temptations
- Toni Braxton
- Tony Bennett
- Trace Adkins
- Twisted Sister
- variety show
- vocalist
- WCBS-FM
- Where We Land
- Whitney Houston
- Wynonna Judd
The Christmas Song - Mel Torme and Judy Garland
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:00
- Published: 17 Dec 2008
- Uploaded: 17 May 2011
- Author: BestArtsJudy
Mel Torme and Judy Garland sing a wonderful rendition of "The Christmas Song." Amazingly, Mel wrote this classic carol at the age of 19. Mel and Judy performed this duet on the Judy Garland Show in December, 1963. It's available for purchase or rent on several different DVD sets. Browse our website at www.theBestArts.com for more great dance, music and musical theatre performances.
The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song HQ/HD +lyrics
The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song Lyrics: All the lights are coming on now How I wish that it would snow now I don't feel like going home now I wish that I could stay All the trees are on display now And it's cold now I don't feel like going home now I wish that I...
Diana Krall - The Christmas Song
THE CHRISTMAS SONG - Nat King Cole ft Natalie Cole
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:44
- Published: 20 Nov 2008
- Uploaded: 14 May 2011
- Author: WhiteOceanflower
THE CHRISTMAS SONG - Nat King Cole ft Natalie Cole lyrics: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, And folks dressed up like Eskimos. Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe, Help to make the season bright, Tiny tots with their eyes all a-glow, Will find it hard to sleep tonight. They know that Santa's on his way He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh, And ev'ry mother's child is gonna spy, To see if reindeer really know how to fly. And so I'm offering this simple phrase, To kids from one to ninety-two, Although it's been said Many times, Many ways Merry Christmas to you. [musical interlude] And so I'm offering this simple phrase, To kids from one to ninety-two, Although it's been said Many times, Many ways Merry Christmas to you.
Weezer - The Christmas Song
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:08
- Published: 03 Jul 2009
- Uploaded: 15 May 2011
- Author: Sandrova92
Weezer - The Christmas Song (The green album)
Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:58
- Published: 17 Dec 2010
- Uploaded: 16 May 2011
- Author: NatKingColeVEVO
Music video by Nat King Cole performing The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire). King Cole Productions, LLC under license to Beach Road Music, LLC
Frank Sinatra - The Christmas Song
From: The Sinatra Christmas Album Track: 2 Chorus And Orchestra Conducted By: Gordon Jenkins Year: 1957 Merry Christmas Everyone!!!! - MJM1799 -
Toni Braxton - The Christmas Song
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:29
- Published: 21 Dec 2007
- Uploaded: 13 May 2011
- Author: mydestiny16
The Christmas Song by Toni Braxton album: Snowflakes (2001) Chestnuts roasting on an open fire Jack Frost nipping at your nose Yuletide carols being sung by a choir And folks dressed up like Eskimos Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe Helps to make the season bright Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow Will find it hard to sleep tonight They know that Santa's on his way And he's got lots of toys and many goodies on his sleigh And every mother's child is gonna spy To see if reindeer really know how to fly And so, I'm offering this simple phrase To kids from one to ninety-two Although it's been said many times, many ways Merry Christmas to you...
Achmed the Dead Terrorist Christmas Song
Little bit late for Christmas wishes but this is funny like Hell! Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year ...
Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:55
- Published: 24 Nov 2009
- Uploaded: 17 May 2011
- Author: MariahCareyVEVO
Music video by Mariah Carey performing All I Want For Christmas Is You. YouTube view counts pre-VEVO: 61153 (C) 1994 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas Don't Be Late (original TV)
- http://wn.com/Alvin_the_Chipmunks_Christmas_Don't_Be_Late_original_TV
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LYRICS INCLUDED!!! Alvin & the Chipmunks sing "Christmas Don't Be Late" All right you Chipmunks! Ready to sing your song? -I'll say we are! -Yeah! -Let's sing it now! Okay, Simon? -Okay! Okay, Theodore? -Okay! Okay, Alvin? Alvin? ALVIN! -OKAY!!!) Christmas, Christmas time is near Time for toys and time for cheer We've been good, but we can't last Hurry Christmas, hurry fast Want a plane that loops the loop Me, I want a hula hoop We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late. Okay fellas get ready That was very good, Simon. -Naturally. Very good Theodore. -Ahhh. Ah, Alvin, you were a little flat, watch it. Ah, Alvin. Alvin. ALVIN! -OKAY. Want a plane that loops the loop I still want a hula hoop We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late. We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late. Very good, boys -Lets sing it again! Yeah, lets sing it again! No, That's enough, lets not overdo it -What do you mean overdo it? -We want to sing it again! Now wait a minute, boys -Why can't we sing it again? -[chipmunk chatter] Alvin, cut that out..Theodore, just a minute. Simon will you cut that out? Boys...
Christina Aguilera - The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:01
- Published: 25 Dec 2007
- Uploaded: 14 May 2011
- Author: normisnorppa
I made this little video with Christina's pictures in it. I tried not to put too old pictures there. I hope you enjoy this :)
The Christmas Song - Owl City *with lyrics*
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:54
- Published: 01 Dec 2008
- Uploaded: 17 May 2011
- Author: Heatherlee211
healthy-pups-and-kittys.webs.com The Christmas Song by Owl City. It's Christmas and we walk alone Two strangers with no one to miss us On our own Out in the cold Trudging onward Braving a harsh winter storm You and I met passing by And now our spirits feel warm I don't have anyone at home to talk to And you don't have anything to do So I'll spend my Christmas with you I'll spend my Christmas with you It's Christmas and we are in love With the way that the soft snowflakes kiss us From far above The blustery breeze Trudging onward Braving a harsh winter storm You and I met passing by And now our spirits feel warm I believe that Jesus is truly the only way I celebrate Christmas because it's his birthday I don't have anyone at home to talk to And you don't have anything to do So I'll spend my Christmas with you I'll spend my Christmas with you I'll spend my Christmas with you I'll spend my Christmas with you
The Christmas Song - Jessica Simpson
I think Jessica's version of this song is the best among others. Plain simple and sincere.
dogs singing christmas song
dogs singing christmas song...
Ricky Nelson - The Christmas Song
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:33
- Published: 06 Dec 2006
- Uploaded: 17 May 2011
- Author: usernametaken31313
Merry Christmas!
Ella Fitzgerald - The Christmas Song
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:04
- Published: 06 Oct 2009
- Uploaded: 02 May 2011
- Author: Praguedive
Ella Fitzgerald - The Christmas Song. 1960. With Frank DeVol's Orchestra
![Alvin and the Chipmunks- Christmas Song- Hula Hoop [+Lyrics]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110601091641im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KFea32vuRhQ/0.jpg "Alvin and the Chipmunks- Christmas Song- Hula Hoop [+Lyrics]")
Alvin and the Chipmunks- Christmas Song- Hula Hoop [+Lyrics]
- http://wn.com/Alvin_and_the_Chipmunks_Christmas_Song_Hula_Hoop_[+Lyrics]
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Perfekt zur Weihnachtszeit Lyrics (all right you Chipmunks! Ready to sing your song? -I'll say we are! -Yeah! -Let's sing it now! Okay, Simon? -Okay! Okay, Theodore? -Okay! Okay, Alvin? Alvin? ALVIN! -OKAY!!!) Christmas, Christmas time is near Time for toys and time for cheer We've been good, but we can't last Hurry Christmas, hurry fast Want a plane that loops the loop Me, I want a hula hoop We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late. Okay fellas get ready That was very good, Simon. -Naturally. Very good Theodore. -Ahhh. Ah, Alvin, you were a little flat, watch it. Ah, Alvin. Alvin. ALVIN! -OKAY. Want a plane that loops the loop I still want a hula hoop We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late. We can hardly stand the wait Please Christmas, don't be late. Very good, boys -Lets sing it again! Yeah, lets sing it again! No, That's enough, lets not overdo it -What do you mean overdo it? -We want to sing it again! Now wait a minute, boys -Why can't we sing it again? -[chipmunk chatter] Alvin, cut that out..Theodore, just a minute. Simon will you cut that out? Boys...
Christina Aguilera - The Christmas Song LIVE
Xmas In Washington (1999)
Christmas Song - Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
- http://wn.com/Christmas_Song__Brenda_Lee__Rockin'_Around_the_Christmas_Tree
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textsanta.net Let Santa send a personal text message right to the cell phone of your kid Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Bing Crosby - The Christmas Song
Bing Crosby - The Christmas Song
Gunther - Christmast Song
Gunther and the sunshine girls
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Felicito Rustique Jr.
Musician 2nd Class Garrett Stephan plays a Christmas song with his trombone during an impromptu performance at Naval Support Activity Naples.
photo: Creative Commons / Aka
Germany Christmas
photo: Creative Commons / James Somers
The downtown area, showing Main Street A popular but unproven belief in Yarmouth holds that the American composer Meredith Wilson wrote his well-known song "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" while staying in Yarmouth's Grand Hotel
photo: US Navy / U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Andrew Smith
A saxophone quartet from the U.S. 7th Fleet Band plays Christmas songs in the lobby of Naval Hospital Yokosuka.
photo: US Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Barry Hirayama
Children from Seika Kindergarten sing traditional Christmas songs during Fleet Activities Yokosuka's (CFAY) Grand Illumination open base event.
photo: White House /Paul Morse
President Bush Lights National Christmas Tree at Pageant of Peace.
photo: Creative Commons / Man vyi
Christmas carolers in Jersey
photo: Creative Commons / Kanonkas
Jonas Brothers
photo: Creative Commons
Colbie Caillat
photo: US Navy / Photographers Mate 1st Class Richard Kiroy.
A local Italian choir filled the Naples support site chapel with the sounds of a Christmas Cantata
photo: WN/Hend Fawzi
Christmas - Celebrity - Europe - Songs - Entertainment WN/Hend Fawzi
photo: Creative Commons
Aiken at a 2006 Christmas tour appearance in Waukegan, Illinois
photo: Creative Commons / Allan warren
Eartha Kitt.
photo: Creative Commons / Aruba
Ornate buildings in Oranjestad, Aruba
photo: Creative Commons / Mad Maste
Schuke organ in Varna
photo: Creative Commons / Billy Hathorn
The Holly mural on 19th Street in Lubbock. Keith Richards attended one of Holly's performances, where he heard "Not Fade Away" for the first time. The Rolling Stones had an early hit covering the song. In an August 24, 1978 Rolling Stone interview, Bruce Springsteen told Dave Marsh,
photo: Creative Commons / Aaron Fulkerson
The Pogues
photo: Malacañang
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sings religious songs with thousands of El Shaddai members who trooped to Amvel Land, Paranaque City, Saturday evening (December 27), to attend the celebration with the groups 20th Christmas Overnight Prayer Rally. With
photo: Creative Commons / The Wiki ghost
The Pogues in De Melkweg in Amsterdam, August 1 2010
photo: Creative Commons / Rubenfh
Duke Erikson performing live with Shirley Manson at Street Scene in 2005.
photo: Creative Commons
Bublé frequently walks through the crowd at his concerts, as shown here in Philadelphia on 8 August 2007.
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: Creative Commons / Allan warren
Rosemary Clooney Allan Warren.
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
photo: WN
Sammi Cheng - China Movie - pr1
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Part 95: Christmas songs
20 Apr 2011
The Examiner
"IN DULCI JUBILO" In dulci jubilo My heart's joy reclineth In praesepio And like a bright star shineth Matris in gremio Alpha es et Omega Alpha es et Omega O Patris caritas O Filii lenitas Alpha es et Omega Alpha es et Omega Ubi sunt gaudia There are angels singing Nova cantica There the bells are...
Part 94: Christmas songs
19 Apr 2011
The Examiner
"THE GREAT CHILD OF HEAVEN" The great Child of heaven Is come down to Earth His Mother was a Virgin And sinless was his birth The Father Eternal sits high above The Father's own Image The beam of his Light To save us from evil He came from above A Babe on the...
Part 93: Christmas songs
17 Apr 2011
The Examiner
"IM HIMMEL GEBOREN" Im Himmel ist geboren Ein Kindelein Dies war auserkoren Sein eigen will ich sein Eia, Eia, sein eigen will ich sein In seine Liebe versenken will ich mich ganz hinab Mein Herz will ich ihm schenken und alles was ich habe Eia,...
Part 92: Christmas songs
14 Apr 2011
The Examiner
“UNE TORCHE L’ANGE” Un torche l’Ange, une torche l’Ange C'est Jésus qui est né La Mère s’appelle Marie Ah! ah! que la Mère est belle! Ah! ah! ah! que l'Enfant est beau! C'est un tort quand l'Enfant sommeille C'est un tort de crier si fort Taisez-vous, l'un et l'autre...
Part 91: Christmas songs
13 Apr 2011
The Examiner
"EMMANUEL" Joy fills my inmost heart today The Royal Child is born The Angel hosts in glad array His advent keep this morn The Holy One is Mary's Son God comes on Earth to dwell With joy proclaim his name Emmanuel, Emmanuel For me the world must lose its charms...
Part 90: Christmas songs
12 Apr 2011
The Examiner
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Part 89: Christmas songs
07 Apr 2011
The Examiner
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Part 88: Christmas songs
06 Apr 2011
The Examiner
"A BABE IS BORN" A Babe is born all of a Maid Who heard an Angel cry A merry song that night sang he Veni Creator Spiritus [Come, Maker and Ghost] In Holy Land, that blessèd place The Child of bliss now born He was And the Maid served God with her grace O Lux...
Part 87: Christmas songs
03 Apr 2011
The Examiner
"WHEN THE SUN OF GOLD HAD SET" When the sun of gold had set Low behind the wintry sea On the clear and cold night Burst a sound of heav'nly glee Gloria in Excelsis Deo Gloria in Excelsis Deo When the sun of gold had set The world in solemn silence lay Where the crib...
Part 86: Christmas songs
31 Mar 2011
The Examiner
“ADESTE FIDELES” Adeste fideles laeti triumphantes Venite, venite in Bethlehem Natum videte Regem angelorum Venite adoremus, venite adoremus Venite adoremus Dominum Cantet nunc Io chorus angelorum Cantet nunc aula caelestis Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo...
The Christmas Song
| Name | The Christmas Song |
|---|---|
| Type | Christmas song |
| Artist | Mel Tormé |
| Released | 1944 |
| Writer | Mel Tormé,Bob Wells |
“The Christmas Song”, commonly subtitled “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire“ or, as it was originally subtitled, “Merry Christmas to You”, is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by vocalist Mel Tormé and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to “stay cool by thinking cool,” the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born.
“I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil,” Tormé recalled. “They started, ‘Chestnuts roasting ... Jack Frost nipping ... Yuletide carols ... Folks dressed up like Eskimos.’ Bob (Wells, co-writer) didn’t think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics.”
The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole’s behest — and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records — a second recording was made the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B; charts. Cole re-recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Nat King Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and is the most loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while Cole’s original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. Mel Tormé recorded the song himself in 1954, and again in 1965 and 1992.
The Nat King Cole recordings
First recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, June 14, 1946. Not issued until 1989 on the various-artists compilation Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1935–1954) Rhino R1 70637(LP) / R2 70637(CD). The King Cole Trio: Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist; Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist.Second recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, August 19, 1946. First record issue. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist, Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist; Charlie Grean, conductor of 4 string players, a harpist and a drummer) Lacquer disc master #981. Issued November 1946 as Capitol 311(78rpm). This is featured on a CD called The Holiday Album which has 1940s Christmas songs recorded by Cole and Bing Crosby. In 2005 Capitol restored and re-released it for the 25 bit re-mastered Cole album "The Christmas Song" which also contains tracks from his 1960 and 1963 holiday albums.
Third recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 24, 1952. This was the song’s first magnetic tape recording. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Actual artists: Nat King Cole, vocal; Nelson Riddle, orchestra conductor) Master #11726, take 11. Issued November 1953 as the “new” Capitol 90036(78rpm) / F90036(45rpm) (Capitol first issued 90036 in 1950 with the second recording). Correct label credit issued on October 18, 1954 as Capitol 2955(78rpm) / F2955(45rpm). Label credit: Nat “King” Cole with Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle. This recording is available on the 1990 CD Cole, Christmas and Kids, as well as the various-artists compilation Casey Kasem Presents All Time Christmas Favorites. It was also included, along with both 1946 recordings, on the 1991 Mosaic Records box set The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio.
Fourth recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, March 29, 1961. This rendition, the first recorded in stereo, is widely played on radio stations during the Christmas season, and is probably the most famous version of this song. Label credit: Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole, vocal; Charles Grean & Pete Rugolo, orchestration; Ralph Carmichael, orchestra conductor). The instrumental arrangement is nearly identical with the 1953 version, but the vocals are much deeper and more focused. Originally done for The Nat King Cole Story (a 1961 LP devoted to stereo re-recordings of Cole’s earlier hits), this recording was later appended to a reissue of Cole’s 1960 holiday album The Magic of Christmas. Retitled The Christmas Song, the album was issued in 1963 as Capitol W-1967(mono) / SW-1967(stereo) and today is in print on compact disc. This recording of “The Christmas Song” is also available on half a dozen compilation albums. Some are Capitol pop standards Christmas compilations while others are broader-based. It’s available on WCBS-FM’s Ultimate Christmas Album Volume 3, for example.
There were several covers of Nat Cole's record in the 1940s. The first of these was said to be by Dick Haymes on Decca, but his was released first--not recorded first. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Eddy was a big King Cole fan, and also covered Nat's versions of "I Want To Thank Your Folks" and "I Love You For Sentimental Reasons" among others.
Selective list of notable recordings
"The Christmas Song" has been covered by numerous artists from a wide variety of genres, including:
Parodies
Footnotes
External links
Category:Christmas songs Category:1946 songs Category:1961 singles Category:1999 singles Category:2009 singles Category:Nat King Cole songs Category:Amy Grant songs Category:Christina Aguilera songs Category:Toby Keith songs Category:Martina McBride songs Category:Joe Nichols songs Category:George Strait songs Category:Kenny Loggins songs Category:Trisha Yearwood songs Category:Vocal duets Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:Barbra Streisand songs Category:Bob Dylan songs Category:Sheryl Crow songs Category:CeCe Peniston songs
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Christina Aguilera
| Name | Christina Aguilera |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Christina María Aguilera |
| Alias | Xtina |
| Born | December 18, 1980Staten Island, New York United States |
| Origin | Wexford, Pennsylvania United States |
| Genre | Pop, R&B;, soul, dance-pop, hip hop |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress |
| Instrument | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Label | RCA |
| Url |
Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994. Aguilera signed to RCA Records after recording "Reflection", the theme song for the animated film Mulan (1998).
In 1999, Aguilera came to prominence following her debut album Christina Aguilera, which was a commercial success spawning three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)." A Latin pop album, Mi Reflejo (2001), and several collaborations followed which garnered Aguilera worldwide success, though she was displeased with her lack of input in her music and image. After parting from her management, Aguilera took creative control over her second studio album, Stripped (2002). The album's second single, "Beautiful," was a commercial success and helped the album's commercial performance amidst controversy over Aguilera's image. Aguilera followed up Stripped with Back to Basics (2006), which was released to positive critical acclaim and included elements of soul, jazz, and blues music. Aguilera's fourth studio album Bionic (2010), which incorporated aspects of R&B;, electropop, and synthpop, was met with mixed reviews and poor sales.
Aside from being known for her vocal ability, music videos and image, musically, she includes themes of dealing with public scrutiny, her childhood, and female empowerment in her music. Apart from her work in music, she has also dedicated much of her time as a philanthropist for charities, human rights and world issues. She made her feature film debut in the musical Burlesque (2010), earning Aguilera a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song. Aguilera's work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, four Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy Award, amongst fifteen and three nominations respectively. Rolling Stone ranked her number fifty-eight on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, ranking as the youngest and only artist on the list under the age of thirty. She was ranked the 20th Artist of the 2000–09 decade by Billboard and is the second top selling single artist of the 2000's behind Madonna. Aguilera has sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Life and career
1980–1998: Early life and career beginnings
Aguilera was born in Staten Island, New York, to Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera, a sergeant in the US Army at the time, and Shelly Loraine (née Fidler), a teacher of Spanish. Aguilera's father was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and her mother is of German, Irish, Welsh, and Dutch ancestry. Her father was stationed at Earnest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador and Japan. Aguilera lived with both her father and mother, up until their divorce when she was seven years old. Aguilera then lived with her mother, and her younger sister Rachel, at her grandmother's home in Rochester, Pennsylvania, a town outside of Pittsburgh. According to both Aguilera and her mother, her father was very controlling, as well as physically and emotionally abusive. She later sang about her difficult childhood in the songs "I'm OK" on Stripped, and "Oh Mother" on Back to Basics. Although her father has written to Aguilera, she has ruled out any chance of reuniting with him. Since then, her mother has married a paramedic named Jim Kearns, and has changed her name.As a child, Aguilera aspired to be a singer. She was known locally as "the little girl with the big voice", singing in local talent shows and competitions. She attended Marshall Middle School near Wexford and North Allegheny Intermediate High School until she was later home schooled. On March 15, 1990, she appeared on Star Search singing "A Sunday Kind of Love", but lost the competition at number 2. Soon after losing on Star Search, she returned home and appeared on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's Wake Up With Larry Richert to perform the same song. Throughout her youth in Pittsburgh, Aguilera sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games, including during the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals. Following her television appearances Aguilera experienced resentment and bullying from her peers including an incident in which her peers slashed the tires on her family's car. Aguilera recalls, "doing what I did and maybe being a little smaller, I was definitely picked on and bullied for the attention that I got. It was definitely unwanted attention and there was a lot of unfairness about it."
In 1991 Aguilera auditioned for a role on The Mickey Mouse Club, however, she did not meet the age requirements. Two years later, she joined the cast performing musical numbers and sketch comedy, until the show's cancellation in 1994. Her co-stars included Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell where they nicknamed her "the Diva" for her performance style and voice. At the age of fourteen, Aguilera recorded her first song, "All I Wanna Do", a hit duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi. In 1997, she represented the United States at the international Golden Stag Festival with a two-song set. Aguilera entered talent contests on "teen night" at the Pegasus Lounge, a gay and lesbian nightclub in Pittsburgh and later at Lilith Fair. In 1998, Aguilera sent in a demo of her singing Whitney Houston's "Run to You" to Disney who were looking for a singer to record the song "Reflection" for their animated feature film Mulan (1998). The demo caught the attention of producer and label executive Ron Fair who would later mentor her throughout her career and led to Aguilera earning a contract with RCA Records the same week. The album is also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list of The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. Released during the teen pop era of 1999 the album was well received by several critics, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that Aguilera's debut "remains firmly within the teen-oriented dance-pop genre, but done right." Concluding that the album is "lightweight in the best possible sense -- breezy, fun, engaging, and enjoyable on each repeated listen. Out of the deluge of teen-pop albums in 1999, this feels like the best of the lot." Her debut single, "Genie in a Bottle" was an instant hit reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in several countries worldwide. Her follow-up singles "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)" topped the Hot 100 as well during 1999 and 2000 while "I Turn to You" reached number three. She is one of the few artists to have multiple #1 singles from a debut album in Billboard's history. She made a cameo appearance on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, performed on MTV's New Year's Special as MTV's first artist of the millennium, and the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show. At the 42nd Grammy Awards Aguilera received a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy nomination for "Genie in a Bottle" and despite earlier predictions, she won the award Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
In 2000, Aguilera began recording her first Spanish-language album with producer Rudy Pérez in Miami. Later in 2000, Aguilera, first emphasized her Latin heritage by releasing her first Spanish album, Mi Reflejo on September 12, 2000. This album contained Spanish versions of songs from her English debut as well as new Spanish tracks. Though some criticized Aguilera for trying to cash in on the Latin music boom at the time. According to Pérez, Aguilera was only semi-fluent, while recording. She understood the language, because she has grown up with her father, who is a native of Ecuador. He added "Her Latin roots are undeniable".
in 2000.]] Aguilera's first concert tour, (also known as "Christina Aguilera: In Concert") began in the summer of 2000 in the US and ended early 2001 where she toured South America and Asia. A concert special aired on ABC titled My Reflection and was released to DVD and certified Gold in the US. Aguilera was rumored to have dated MTV VJ Carson Daly. Rumors of their relationship were fueled after the release of Eminem's song, "The Real Slim Shady" in which he also insinuated a romance between her and rocker Fred Durst. Aguilera responded saying the lyrics were "disgusting, offensive and, above all, not true." Their feud ended two years later backstage at the Video Music Awards after Aguilera presented the rapper an award onstage. She dated Puerto Rican dancer Jorge Santos. Santos appeared on her tour and music videos throughout 2000. They dated for nearly two years until the relationship ended on September 11, 2001. He remained her dancer well into 2002.
Ricky Martin asked Aguilera to duet with him on the track "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" from his album Sound Loaded; released in 2001 as the album's second single. The single reached number one on the World Chart and top ten in several countries. In 2001, Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink were chosen to remake Labelle's 1975 single "Lady Marmalade" for the film Moulin Rouge! and its soundtrack. The song peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks and was the most successful airplay-only single in history. It also reached number one in eleven other countries and earned all four performers a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Aguilera's appearance in the music video was compared to that of Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. The video won two MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year in 2001, where Aguilera accepted the award saying, "I guess the big hair paid off."
That same year, the single "Just Be Free" emerged into record stores which was one of the demos Aguilera recorded when she was around fifteen years old. When RCA Records discovered the single, they advised fans not to purchase it. Months later, Warlock Records was set to release Just Be Free, an album which contains the demo tracks. Aguilera filed a breach of contract and unfair competition suit against Warlock and the album's producers to block the release. Instead, the two parties came to a settlement to release the album. Aguilera lent out her name, likeness and image for an unspecified amount of damages. Many of the details of the lawsuit remain confidential. When the album was released in August 2001, it had a photograph of Aguilera when she was fifteen years old.
Although Aguilera's debut album was commercially successful, she was dissatisfied with the music and image her management had created for her. Aguilera was marketed as a bubblegum pop singer because of the genre's upward financial trend. She mentioned plans of her next album to have much more depth, both musically and lyrically. Aguilera's views of Steve Kurtz's influence in matters of the singer's creative direction, the role of being her exclusive personal manager and overscheduling had in part caused her to seek legal means of terminating their management contract. In October 2000, Aguilera filed a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit against her manager Kurtz for improper, undue and inappropriate influence over her professional activities, as well as fraud. According to legal documents, Kurtz did not protect her rights and interests. Instead, he took action that was for his own interest, at the cost of hers. The lawsuit came about when Aguilera discovered Kurtz used more of her commissionable income than he was allotted, and had paid other managers to assist him. She also petitioned the California State Labor Commission to nullify the contract. She revealed while recording her then upcoming album, "I was being overworked. You find out that someone you thought was a friend is stealing money behind your back, and it's heartbreaking. I put faith in the people around me, and unfortunately, it bit me in the butt." Kurtz was terminated as her manager. After terminating Kurtz's services, Irving Azoff was hired as her new manager.
2002–04: New image, Stripped and musical hiatus
On October 29, 2002, Aguilera's second English studio album, Stripped, was released. The album sold more than 330,000 copies in the first week and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Unlike her previous work, the album showcased Aguilera's raunchier side. The majority of Stripped was co-written by Aguilera (who had recently signed a global music publishing contract with BMG Music Publishing), and was influenced by many different subjects and music styles, including contemporary R&B;, gospel, soul, balladry, pop rock, and hip hop. The majority of the album was produced by Scott Storch and singer-songwriter Linda Perry who produced her more personal records. Rockwilder and singer Alicia Keys also contributed a track each. Upon initial release, the album was very well-received by critics, although Aguilera's vocals were overlooked as she began to cultivate a more sexually provocative image. After the release of the album, she took part in photoshoots for magazines, many of these photographs featured her nude or semi-nude. Her cover for Rolling Stone, featured the singer only wearing boots and a well-placed electric guitar. It was during this time Aguilera referred to herself as "Xtina", even getting a tattoo of her nickname on the back of her neck and several piercings.in 2003.]] Initially, the raunchy image had a negative effect on Aguilera in the U.S., especially after the release of her controversial "Dirrty" music video. It appeared at number ten on Billboard's year-end album chart and she was Billboard's top female artist for 2003. Kelly Clarkson's second single "Miss Independent" was co-written by Aguilera, having been half-finished for Stripped.
Aguilera joined Justin Timberlake that June on the final leg of his international Justified tour, held in the U.S. This portion of the tour became a co-headliner called the Justified/Stripped Tour. In August, an overhead lighting grid collapsed from the ceiling of the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, causing major damage to the sound and video equipment below. Because the collapse occurred hours before the show, only a few stagehands were injured, but a few shows were cancelled or postponed. In the fourth quarter of that year, Aguilera continued to tour internationally without Timberlake, and changed the name of the tour to the Stripped World Tour. She also dyed her hair black. It was one of the top-grossing tours of that year, and sold out most of its venues. Rolling Stone readers named it the best tour of the year. That same year she hosted the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards and was a special guest performer with the Pussycat Dolls' dance troupe performing at the Roxy Theatre and Viper Room in Los Angeles. She also appeared on a Maxim spread alongside them, her second Maxim cover that year set record sales for the issue making it the top selling issue to date. By the end of the year she topped the annual Hot 100 list later saying, "We had fun working with certain clothes, or the lack thereof."
Aguilera's first DVD live-recording from a concert tour, Stripped Live in the U.K., was released in November 2004. In light of the tour's success, another U.S. tour was scheduled to begin in mid-2004 with a new theme. The tour however was scrapped because of the vocal cord injuries Aguilera suffered shortly before the tour's opening date. In a tribute to Madonna's performance at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards, Aguilera performed a kiss with the singer-actress at the 2003 edition of the ceremony in August. The incident occurred during the opening performance of Madonna's songs "Like a Virgin" and "Hollywood" with fellow popstar Britney Spears.
Aguilera later decided to embrace a more mature image; this move was met with more praise than criticism, with articles using punch lines such as "From Crass to Class." She eventually dyed her hair cherry blonde and recorded a jingle, "Hello", for a Mercedes-Benz ad. Shortly after, she dyed her hair flaxen blonde and cut it short, and took on a Marilyn Monroe look; she is one of the main proponents (along with Dita Von Teese, Gwen Stefani, and Ashley Judd) in bringing back the 1920s–1940s Hollywood glamour look. In late summer 2004, Aguilera released two singles. The first, "Car Wash", was a remake of the Rose Royce disco song recorded as a collaboration with rapper Missy Elliott for the soundtrack to the film Shark Tale. She voiced a small singing part in the film playing a Rastafarian jellyfish in the film's closing musical number. The second song was also a collaboration, but this time as a second single from one of Nelly's double-release albums, Sweat'', titled "Tilt Ya Head Back". Both singles failed commercially in the U.S., but did considerably better in other parts of the world.
2005–07: Marriage, Back to Basics and motherhood
Aguilera began dating music marketing executive Jordan Bratman in 2002. Their engagement was announced in February 2005, and they married on November 19, 2005, in a Napa Valley estate. Aguilera collaborated with jazz artist Herbie Hancock on a cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" recorded for Hancock's album Possibilities, released in August 2005. Aguilera and Hancock were later nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. She helped open the 50th Anniversary for Disneyland performing "When You Wish upon a Star", and she also collaborated with Andrea Bocelli on the song "Somos Novios" for his album Amore.Story festival in 2006.]] Aguilera's third English studio album, Back to Basics was released August 15, 2006. The album debuted at #1 in the US, the UK and eleven other countries. Aguilera described the double CD as "a throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues, and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist." The album received generally positive reviews, although many critics commented on the album's length saying, "At one disc, this would have been nothing short of masterful." A review in AllMusic adds, "Back to Basics also makes clear that Stripped was a necessary artistic move for Christina: she needed to get that out of her system in order to create her own style, one that is self-consciously stylized, stylish, and sexy." The critically acclaimed lead single "Ain't No Other Man" was a substantial success, reaching #2 on the World Chart, #6 in the U.S., and #2 in the UK. Producers on the album included DJ Premier, Kwamé, Linda Perry, and Mark Ronson. The follow-up singles did very well in different regions, "Hurt" in Europe and "Candyman" in the Pacific. She co-directed both music videos, the former with Floria Sigismondi who directed her "Fighter" video, and the latter, "Candyman", with director/photographer Matthew Rolston which was inspired by The Andrews Sisters. Back to Basics'' has sold 4.5 million units worldwide, with over 1.7 million sold in the US.
In late 2006 Aguilera collaborated with Sean "Diddy" Combs on a track, titled "Tell Me", from his album Press Play. She also began the Back to Basics Tour in Europe followed by a 41-date North American tour in early 2007. After this, she toured Asia and Australia, where it was supposed to end on August 3, however she canceled her dates in Melbourne and her final two in Auckland due to an illness. Her extravagant arena tour included cabaret, three-ring circus and juke joint sets and 10 piece costumes designed by Roberto Cavalli. She released her concert DVD the following year. The tour grossed nearly 50 million by the end of the year in North America and an additional 40 million worldwide in her Europe and Australia dates, grossing almost 90 million by the end of the tour. It was the most successful US tour by a female in 2007.
At the 49th Grammy Awards, Aguilera again won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ain't No Other Man". She made a noteworthy performance at the ceremony paying tribute to James Brown with her rendition of his song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". In January 2007, she was named the 19th richest woman in entertainment by Forbes, with a net worth of US$60 million. Aguilera performed "Steppin' Out With My Baby" with Tony Bennett on his NBC special Tony Bennett: An American Classic and on Saturday Night Live. They performed at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards where both specials received Emmys. "Steppin' Out" was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
Aguilera confirmed she was pregnant on November 4, 2007, though Paris Hilton accidentally revealed her pregnancy several weeks prior during a party Aguilera hosted. She gave birth to her son, Max Liron Bratman, in Los Angeles, California early the following year and held a bris for Max Liron with Bratman, who is of Jewish descent, where he was circumcised in accordance with Jewish ritual. Aguilera was reportedly paid $1.5 million by People magazine for her baby pictures, which according to Forbes places fifth on the list of the most expensive celebrity baby photos.
2008–10: Greatest hits album, Bionic and Burlesque
In 2008 Aguilera appeared in the Martin Scorsese documentary Shine a Light which chronicles a two day Rolling Stones concert in New York City's Beacon Theatre. The film features Aguilera performing "Live With Me" alongside Mick Jagger. Shine a Light premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was released worldwide on April 4, 2008. She also had brief cameo in the comedy film Get Him to the Greek, and appeared as a guest judge on the sixth season of Project Runway on Lifetime Television. She and designer Bob Mackie were the inspiration for the challenge in which they had to design a stage outfit for Aguilera.To commemorate Aguilera's ten years in the music industry, RCA Records released, on November 11, 2008 exclusively at Target stores in the U.S. The greatest hits included her first three number one singles, and other songs released from her previous three albums. "Lady Marmalade" and several Spanish singles from Mi Reflejo were included in the worldwide releases. The album's only single, "Keeps Gettin' Better", was premiered at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, and debuted and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, her highest debut on the chart. Aguilera was one of Billboard's Top 20 Artists of the Decade in their year-end charts.
Aguilera's fourth English studio album, Bionic, was released on June 8, 2010. The album's producers included Tricky Stewart, Samuel Dixon, Polow da Don, Le Tigre, Switch, Ester Dean, songwriters Sam Endicott, Sia Furler, Claude Kelly, Linda Perry and collaborations with M.I.A., Santigold, Nicki Minaj, and Peaches. The album's only two singles, "Not Myself Tonight" and "You Lost Me" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts but were unsuccessful elsewhere. Bionic's material consisted of many mainstream and pop records along with electronic and dance music. The album was released to mixed reviews from music critics, with Jon Pareles of The New York Times writing that the singer's new music direction "makes her sound as peer-pressured as a pop singer can be." Allison Stewart of The Washington Post described the album as being "noisy, robotic and overstuffed" and felt that one of the disc's "greatest disappointments" is its "virtual abandonment" of Aguilera's voice. She concluded that Aguilera attempts "to do it all," which was to try to "revel in her newfound domesticity, to wrest her crown from Gaga and to reestablish her sex kitten bona fides," but overall thought that the plan backfired on Bionic. The album has sold 260,000 units in the US to date. Shortly after the album's release, further promotion ended and a scheduled summer tour for the album was cancelled due to "inadequate rehearsal time". "You Lost Me" was her first single to not chart the Hot 100 while Bionic was her first English studio album not to receive a Grammy nomination. Aguilera responded to the album's performance in an interview saying, "I was really proud of that record. I think there was a lot of promotion issues, coming from a standpoint of how everything resulted. Nothing is ever a setback. If anything, it just motivates you for what’s next."
Aguilera confirmed news reports that she and Bratman had separated, saying in a statement, "Although Jordan and I are separated, our commitment to our son Max remains as strong as ever." Aguilera filed for divorce from Bratman on October 14, 2010, seeking joint legal and physical custody of their son, and specifying September 11, 2010 as the date of separation. The following month she appeared as herself on the Entourage season seven finale as a client/friend of Ari Gold. On November 15, 2010, Aguilera received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It was confirmed in 2009 that Aguilera would appear in her first feature film, the musical Burlesque, released in November 2010. She portrayed a small town girl, Ali Rose, who finds love and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club. Aguilera performed eight of the ten tracks on the film's soundtrack released on November 22, 2010. Aguilera co-wrote a number of the tracks working with producers and writers including Tricky Stewart, Sia Furler, Samuel Dixon, Linda Perry, Claude Kelly, Danja, and Ron Fair. The remaining two tracks were sung by Cher, who co-starred in the film. The film, distributed by Screen Gems, was directed by actor and director Steve Antin who also wrote the script. Antin wrote the role of Ali specifically for Aguilera. The film also featured Cam Gigandet as her love interest, Eric Dane, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci. Several critics praised Aguilera's performance. A review in TIME states, "Aguilera might not be to your taste, or mine, but in terms of sheer power, she's impressive. If Ali were real, she'd have already been discovered on American Idol." While Variety wrote, "Aguilera, while undeniably entertaining when her character is onstage, cannot spin the slight backstory into anything resembling a full-blooded person." Though Burlesque was released to mixed reviews from critics, the film received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy and earned Aguilera, alongside co-writer Sia Furler and producer Samuel Dixon, a nomination for Best Original Song for the track "Bound to You".
2011-present: Current projects
Aguilera collaborated with rapper T.I. on the track, "Castle Walls" which is included on his album No Mercy. There are currently no plans or a tenative release date for Aguilera's fifth English studio album. She will perform the national anthem during the Super Bowl XLV.
Artistry
Vocal ability
in 2006.]] Aguilera has been referred to as the "voice of her generation" and a blue eyed soul singer. Aguilera also topped COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 50/50 and came fifth in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music. Her rendition of "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" at the 49th Grammy Awards ranked third in the Grammy's Greatest Moments List behind Celine Dion's performance of "My Heart Will Go On" and Green Day's performance of "American Idiot". In an interview, Dion described Aguilera as "probably the best vocalist in the world." Rolling Stone ranked Aguilera at 58 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, the youngest singer on the list. Los Angeles Times writer Margaret Wappler adds Aguilera can deliver "a well-executed legato."Since her debut in 1999 Aguilera has been compared to the likes of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. David Browne of The New York Times writes, "Aguilera has been one of the foremost practitioners of the overpowering, Category 5 vocal style known as melisma. Ms. Carey, Ms. Houston and Ms. Aguilera, to name its three main champions, are most associated with the period from the late ’80s through the late ’90s." A review in the Los Angeles Times compared Aguilera's vocal stylings to Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, and Aretha Franklin adding, "Aguilera's Streisand-esque tendencies are a good thing; they're helping her figure out how to become the "great singer" she's been dubbed since she released her first single, the wise-beyond-its-years "Genie in a Bottle", at 18." Although praised for her vocals, Aguilera has been labeled for oversinging in her songs and concerts. Longtime producer and writer, Linda Perry, commented on working on the record, "Beautiful", saying, "I tried to keep it straight. I told her to get rid of the finger waves. Every time she'd start going into "hoo-ha", I'd stop the tape. I'm like, 'You're doing it again.'" Perry ended up using the first take saying, "She had a hard time accepting that as the final track. It's not a perfect vocal – it's very raw. She knows her voice really well, and she knows what's going on. She can hear things that nobody else would catch."
Themes and musical style
" in her Back To Basics Tour in 2006.]] The constant theme in Aguilera's music and lyrics is love, although she has written on other subjects including spirituality, female empowerment, and grief. Aguilera has also written about her childhood in two of her records which dealt with domestic abuse. In an interview Aguilera admitted she feels responsible to reveal her most vulnerable feelings and to share the darker sides of her life adding "People that can relate might not feel as alone in the circumstance." She has been noted to constantly changing her sound in her music and lyrical content. Originally marketed as a bubblegum pop singer during the late 90's pop scene, she quickly departed into a broad range of musical genres for her follow-up album Stripped. A review states, "Clearly afflicted with Premature Serious Artist Syndrome, Aguilera wants to demonstrate the range of her interests – vampy soul, quasi-metal, piano-bar intimacy, quiet-storm R&B;, bounce-bounce hip-hop, and semi-exotic rock, all of it dutifully accomplished."The majority of the songs are characterized by Aguilera's loud vocals, though she has used breathy and soft vocals. Her 2006 release, Back to Basics included producer DJ Premier. The New York Times exclaims, "Her decision to work with the low-key DJ Premier was also a decision to snub some of the big-name producers on whom pop stars often rely." Aguilera has often cited that she prefers working with producers that aren't in popular demand, saying "I don't necessarily go to the main people that are the No. 1 chart-toppers in music." The album included live instrumentation and samples of past jazz and soul records. Some tracks on the album included non-traditional forms of pop music such as swing jazz and big band, drawing comparisons to Madonna's I'm Breathless and the musical film Cabaret. Her first feature film, Burlesque, influenced by Cabaret, featured mainstream producers Tricky Stewart and Danja on the soundtrack where several established songs were updated and worked into dance numbers, a style similar to 2001's Moulin Rouge! "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" was performed by Aguilera in the film, a musical number also performed by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!
Influences
One of Aguilera's major influences and idol is blues singer Etta James, whose classic song "At Last" has been covered by Aguilera throughout her career. Aguilera says, "Etta is my all-time favorite singer. I've said it for the last seven years — since I had my first debut record out — in every interview. I mean, all of Etta's old songs, countless songs I could name, I grew up listening to." The majority of her album, Back to Basics, pays tribute to James and other pop standard singers who many originated from the 1950s. In her early years she listened to vintage jazz, blues, and soul music. The album included an unreleased song, "Slow Down Baby", which sampled a Gladys Knight & the Pips song. A review in The Guardian declared, "Practically everything recorded before Aguilera was born blurs into one amorphous genre, which she categorises, somewhat inadequately, as "fun music". Aguilera has also named Madonna and Janet Jackson as two of her biggest influences "for being re-inventive and being brave as strong females, to explore whatever, even if they do get bad press. It's just like they were fearless." Her other musical influences include Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Nina Simone.Aguilera cites the musical The Sound of Music and its lead actress, Julie Andrews as an early inspiration for singing and performing. She mentioned the "Golden age of Hollywood" as another inspiration in which she says, "I'm referencing Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Carole Lombard, Greta Garbo, Veronica Lake". In her music video for "Ain't No Other Man" she plays her alter ego, "Baby Jane" in reference to the film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. The film's stars included actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The third single off Back to Basics, "Candyman" was inspired by the 1941 song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters which was played during World War II. She was also inspired by pin-up girls and several paintings by Alberto Vargas. Aguilera has expressed interest in cultural icons Nico, Blondie and artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. She has often worked with photographer and close friend, David LaChapelle who once worked with Warhol. Chapelle has shot many of Aguilera's music videos, magazine shoots and advertisements. She is also a fan of graffiti artist Banksy. In 2006 she purchased three of Banksy's works during a private art exhibition, one of them included a pornographic picture of Queen Victoria in a lesbian pose with a prostitute. She has mentioned in several interviews that she is a fan of actress Angelina Jolie, and her Burlesque co-star, Cher.
Other ventures
In 2000, Aguilera was the face for make-up line Fetish where she worked in choosing colors and packaging for the line. She ended her contract the following year. Throughout her career Aguilera has endorsed several brands, including Skechers, Mercedes-Benz, Verizon Wireless, and soft drink giants Coca-Cola in 2001, and Pepsi in 2006. She became the muse and model for fashion house Versace appearing in a campaign for the 2003 fall line. In 2004 Aguilera earned £200,000GBP (about $300,000USD) for opening the summer sale at London's Harrods store which took in record breaking profits during the four week period. In 2005 she was reportedly paid $3.6 million to sing a three song set for Russian billionare Andrey Melnichenko's wedding. Aguilera signed a contract with European cell phone operator Orange to promote the new Sony Ericsson Walkman phone during the 2006 World Cup.In 2008 jewelry designer Stephen Webster and close friend of Aguilera released "Shattered", a collection of sterling silver pieces, through Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Aguilera, who inspired the collection, was featured as a Hitchcock heroine saying, "Working together on this campaign and collection has been an incredible experience. I am honored to be a part of it all." They reprised their work together for Webster's 2009 spring line.
Aguilera released two fragrances throughout Europe, the first one Xpose, was released in late 2004 and sold relatively well. Through Procter and Gamble Aguilera released her signature fragrance, Simply Christina in 2007. In Christmas 2007, the fragrance became the number one perfume in the UK, and later in 2009 it became the 4th best selling perfume in the UK, and Germany where it topped sales for the year. The perfume won as the people's choice for favorite celebrity fragrance at the annual UK Fifi Awards 2008. She released her third fragrance, Inspire, accompanied with a body care collection, on September 1, 2008. The perfume hit shelves in the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Northern and Eastern Europe. It is Aguilera's first fragrance released outside of Europe. Her worldwide ad campaign included a television ad shot by David LaChapelle and was released in the US through Macy's department stores. The release coincided with Macy's 150th anniversary which featured Aguilera in commemorative photos. She released her fourth fragrance By Night in October, which became the third best selling fragrance in the UK in 2009. During her 2007 tour she unknowingly wore a fur stole during the beginning of her tour, which designer Roberto Cavalli provided without informing Aguilera. After receiving a video from PETA Vice President Dan Mathews on the treatment of foxes, she replaced the stole with faux fur for the remainder of her tour. Aguilera was reportedly upset adding, "I only ever wear fake fur". In 2010 Aguilera auctioned off tickets for her upcoming tour for Christie's A Bid to Save the Earth. Proceeds benefit nonprofit environmental groups Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, and The Central Park Conservancy. Aguilera also supports Defenders of Wildlife, Missing Kids, National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations, Women's Cancer Research Fund, and Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute. She has also worked alongside nonprofit organization Do Something saying, "Every individual has the power to inspire young people across the country." In 2010 she was nominated for a VH1 Do Something Award for her work with the organization and her efforts in the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She was featured in the campaign for photographer, Brie Childers with the goal of helping women of all ages, races and lifestyles feel beautiful and confident about themselves and the body and skin they were born with. Proceeds from benefit several women's charities nationwide.
Aguilera is still a major contributor in her hometown of Pittsburgh contributing regularly to the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. According to her official website, she toured the center and donated $200,000 to the shelter. She also has auctioned off front row seats and back stage passes for the Pittsburgh-based charity. She has continued her donations and visits to the shelter, and plans to open an additional one. She also supports the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Refuge UK.
Aguilera is a supporter of the LGBT community and is considered a gay icon by many. She was honored at the GLAAD Awards for using gay and transgender images in her music video for "Beautiful". When accepting the award Aguilera said, "My video captures the reality that gay and transgender people are beautiful, even though prejudice and discrimination against them still exists." In 2005 she appeared on a compilation album titled, Love Rocks, proceeds benefit the Human Rights Campaign, an organization dedicated to fighting for equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. In 2008 she publicly spoke out against California's Proposition 8 which eliminates same-sex marriage in California saying, "Why you would put so much money behind something [aimed at] stopping from people loving each other and bonding together? I just don't understand it. It's hard for me to grasp. But I would've been out there with my rally sign as well."
Aguilera contributes in the fight against AIDS, by participating in AIDS Project Los Angeles' Artists Against AIDS "What's Going On?" cover project. In 2004, Aguilera became the new face for cosmetic company M·A·C and spokesperson for M·A·C AIDS Fund. Aguilera appeared in advertisements of the M·A·C's Viva Glam V lipstick and lipgloss, and was featured on Vanity Fair in recognition of her campaign work. In addition, Aguilera contributed to YouthAIDS by posing for a joint YouthAIDS and Aldo Shoes campaign for "Empowerment Tags" in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. She was featured with one of three ubiquitous slogans, "Speak No Evil?" and stated, "HIV is something that people don’t want to talk about, hear about, or face." Singer Elton John featured Aguilera in his charity book titled "Four Inches" benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Elton also hand-picked Aguilera, for his annual "Fashion Rocks" charity concert which accompanies music and fashion to benefit the fight against AIDS/HIV.
.]] In the run-up to the 2004 United States presidential election, Aguilera was featured on billboards for the "Only You Can Silence Yourself" online voter registration drive run by the nonpartisan, non-profit campaign "Declare Yourself". In these political advertisements, shot by David LaChapelle, Aguilera was shown with her mouth sewn shut, to symbolize the effects of not voting. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the importance of voting. In late 2007 Aguilera became the spokesperson for "Rock the Vote" where she urged young people to vote in the 2008 presidential election. In partnership with "Rock the Vote", she appeared in a public service announcement which aired in summer 2008. The advert showed Aguilera with her son, Max Bratman, wrapped in an American flag, while singing "America the Beautiful".
In November 2005, all of her wedding gifts were submitted to various charities around the nation in support of Hurricane Katrina victims. That year she also performed at "Unite of the Stars" concert in aid of Unite Against Hunger in Johannesburg, South Africa and at the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund at the Coca-Cola Dome. In March 2007 Aguilera took part in a charity album (remaking Lennon's "Mother"), proceeds benefit Amnesty International's efforts to end genocide in Darfur. The album titled, , was released June 12, 2007 and featured various artists. In 2008 she headlined London's Africa Rising charity concert at Royal Albert Hall which raises awareness for finding substantial issues facing the continent. Later that year she appeared on the Turkish version of Deal or No Deal "Var mısın? Yok musun?" , where she won $180,000. Proceeds were donated to a charity program for orphans.
In 2009 Aguilera became the global spokesperson for World Hunger Relief appearing in advertisements, online campaigns and a public service announcement. Aguilera and her husband traveled to Guatemala with the World Food Programme to bring awareness to issues such as the high malnutrition rate in that country. She met with families of the villages and some of the beneficiaries of WFP's nutrition programs. Aguilera adds, "The people of WFP do such a great job helping hungry children and mothers. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful project." Since becoming a global spokeswoman Aguilera has helped raise over $22 million which helped provide over 90 million meals. She was honored at Variety's annual "Power of Women" luncheon in late 2009 alongside other women in entertainment for her contribution to philanthropic and charitable causes. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Aguilera donated a signed Chrysler 300 which was auctioned for relief efforts. She was one of the many artists who appeared on the telethon on January 22, 2010, donations directly benefited Oxfam America, Partners In Health, Red Cross and UNICEF. She later appeared on a second public service announcement alongside sports icon Muhammad Ali to raise funds for the World Food Programme's efforts to bring food to survivors of the earthquake. Later that year Aguilera made her first visit to Haiti as an ambassador against hunger where she visited two schools in the town of Léogâne. During her time there she assisted in the ongoing efforts to help the badly damaged town where she served meals and highlighted reconstruction efforts in the country.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+Films ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2004 || Shark Tale || Herself || Voice role |- | 2008 || Shine a Light || Herself || Cameo appearance |- | 2010 || Get Him to the Greek || Herself || Cameo appearance |- | 2010 || Burlesque || Ali Rose || Nominated — Golden Globe for Best Original Song |- |}{| class="wikitable sortable" |+Television ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1993–1995 || The Mickey Mouse Club || Herself || 3 episodes |- | 1999 || Beverly Hills, 90210 || Herself || "Let's Eat Cake" |- | 2000–2006 || Saturday Night Live || Herself || Host, musical guest, 4 episodes |- | 2009 || Project Runway || Herself || Guest Judge, "Sequins, Feathers and Fur, Oh My!" |- | 2010 || Entourage || Herself || "Lose Yourself" |}
Discography
See also
References
External links
Category:1980 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American music video directors Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American people of Ecuadorian descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:Military brats Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Staten Island Category:RCA Records artists Category:Sony BMG artists Category:Spanish-language singers Category:World Music Awards winners
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Toni Braxton
| Name | Toni Braxton |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Toni Michelle Braxton |
| Born | October 07, 1967 Severn, Maryland, U.S. |
| Genre | R&B;, soul, pop |
| Occupation | Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress |
| Instrument | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Label | LaFace (1991–2000)Arista (2001–2003)Blackground (2003–2007)Atlantic (2008–present) |
| Associated acts | The Braxtons |
| Url | www.tonibraxton.com |
Toni Michelle Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B; singer, songwriter and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards in her career and has sold 40 million records worldwide. She has a contralto vocal range.
Braxton topped the Billboard 200 with her 1993 self-titled debut album and continued that streak with her second studio album Secrets, which spawned the number-one hits "You're Makin' Me High" and "Un-Break My Heart". Although she had successful albums and singles, Braxton shortly filed for bankruptcy, but then returned with her chart-topping third album, The Heat. In 2009, she returned to the spotlight with "Yesterday", a #12 R&B; hit which serves as the first single off her new album Pulse, released on May 4, 2010, which debuted at #1 on Billboard R&B; Album Chart. Braxton was involved in the 7th season of the reality show Dancing with the Stars. Her professional partner was Alec Mazo. She was voted off in week five of the competition. It was announced on October 6, 2010 that Braxton once again had filed for bankruptcy.
Life and career
Early life and education
Toni's father was a Methodist clergyman, and the Braxton children were raised in a strict religious household. Braxton's first performing experience was singing in her church choir. but decided to sing professionally after she was discovered by William E. Pettaway Jr., who heard her singing to herself while pumping gas.
1989–92: The Braxtons
Braxton and her four sisters (Traci, Trina, Towanda, and Tamar) began performing as The Braxtons in the late 1980s and were signed to Arista Records in 1989. Their first single, "Good Life", was released in 1990. Though the song was not successful, it attracted the attention of Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. did not record the song but suggested that Braxton record it. Her recording was later included on the soundtrack along with "Give U My Heart", a duet by Braxton and Babyface. Braxton, meanwhile, was signed to Reid and Edmonds' Arista-distributed imprint, LaFace Records, and immediately began recording her solo debut album.
1993–95: Toni Braxton
On July 13, 1993, LaFace Records released Braxton's self-titled debut album, Toni Braxton. The album, which was primarily produced by Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons, peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. The first single, "Another Sad Love Song", peaked at number seven and number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B; Singles charts respectively. The album's second single, "Breathe Again" peaked in the top five of both the Hot 100 and R&B; singles charts More singles from Toni Braxton were released in 1994, including "You Mean the World to Me", "Seven Whole Days", "I Belong To You", and "How Many Ways". She also won two American Music Awards (for Favorite Soul/R&B; New Artist and Favorite New Adult Contemporary Artist)
1996–98: Secrets
In June 1996, Braxton released her second and most successful album, Secrets. Braxton has said about the album: "The motivation for this album was to include a little bit of everything. Our aim was to come up with material that would have a familiar 'feel' to the people who bought the first album without being musically redundant." Along with Babyface, Braxton also worked with R. Kelly, Tony Rich, and David Foster on the album. Braxton was the co-executive producer of the album and co-wrote two of its songs, including the 1997 single "How Could an Angel Break My Heart", which was also later included on Diana Princess of Wales Tribute, a Princess Diana memorial album.With help from the album's first single, "You're Makin' Me High" (which became Braxton's first number-one hit on the Hot 100 singles chart), "You're Makin' Me High" also topped the R&B; singles chart for two weeks—became the biggest hit of her career spending eleven weeks at number one on the Hot 100 as well as reaching no 2 in the UK The song is the second biggest selling single by a female singer in Billboard history behind Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You. Other singles from the album included the double A-side "I Don't Want To"/"I Love Me Some Him" (which peaked at number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart) After 92 weeks in the charts, Secrets is certified 8x platinum, becoming Braxton's second straight 8 million seller. Internationally, Secrets sold more than 15 million copies, concreting Braxton's superstar status. Top R&B; Artist — Female (singles and albums), it remained in the top 20 for fifteen consecutive weeks. Braxton again worked with producers Babyface and Foster; also included in the staple were Rodney Jerkins, and new beau musician Keri Lewis. Braxton herself also took a more hands-on approach, co-writing and co-producing a handful of the tracks. "Gimme Some", a track on "The Heat", featured a rap verse from TLC star Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes.
The albums second single, "Just Be a Man About It", peaked at number 32 on the Hot 100 and number six on the R&B; Charts. The third single, "Spanish Guitar", peaked at number 98 on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Dance & Club charts. The fourth single, "Maybe", peaked at 74 on the R&B; charts.
The Heat was certified double platinum in the US with over 3 million copies sold worldwide.
Prior to the release of the album, a dispute erupted between Braxton and Irv Gotti when he played a rough cut of "No More Love", a song that he produced for the album that was to be the first single. Disapproving of Gotti broadcasting the unfinished track, Braxton withheld it from being released. The same year, Braxton was further annoyed when Jay-Z used the same sample of 2Pac's "Me And My Girlfriend" that she had already used on her track "Me & My Boyfriend" for his and Beyoncé's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde". Furious, Braxton lashed out in a radio interview, accusing Jay-Z and producer Kanye West of taking money out of her children's college fund.
2003–06: Libra
In April 2003, Braxton abruptly left Arista Records, having been there for fourteen years, and immediately signed with Blackground Records—headed by Barry Hankerson, her manager at the time. The change of scenery, however, did not ultimately help her recording career. As had been the case during her final years at Arista—Braxton's fifth album, and first release on Blackground, Libra was released with scant promotion and accumulated poor sales.In April 2005, Braxton's new label, Blackground/Universal, released "Please"—the first single from her fifth album, Libra. The album was originally planned for a June release, but it was pushed back several times and was finally issued on September 27. Unfortunately for Braxton, her troubles with weak album promotion and lack of label commitment weren't over. "Please" peaked at number 36 on Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs, while altogether missing the Hot 100. The album lacked promotion by Blackground, causing it to go under the radar of many.
Despite this, Libra still managed to debut at number four on the Billboard 200 selling 114,593 copies in the first week. Libra also peaked at number two on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums. Although that is strong for an album with little to no promotion, it became yet another commercial disappointment for Braxton. The album's second single, "Trippin' (That's the Way Love Works)" received less airplay and peaked at number 67 on the R&B; chart. The failure was ascribed to the non-video presence of the single and lack of label support. The album was certified gold in late 2005 and has since sold 679,000 copies worldwide. The song peaked at number seventeen in Germany. As a result Edel Records decided to re-release Libra in Germany, including a new album cover, artwork, and the new anthem.
Braxton made an appearance on the season finale of American Idol 5 where she performed Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto" with soon-to-be winner Taylor Hicks.
2006–08: Toni Braxton: Revealed
at night featuring Braxton, January 2007.]] On May 19, 2006, the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas announced that Braxton would replace Wayne Newton as the casino's new headlining act on August 3, 2006. The show, entitled Toni Braxton: Revealed, was to be performed six nights a week and was scheduled to run through March 2007. Braxton Later confirmed that she was extending her show through August 2007. The show became the first headlining show from an African American performer in Las Vegas to enter the top ten Vegas shows charting. Due to the success of the show, it was reported that Braxton would extend her show through August 2008. The singer subsequently took time off after being hospitalized for chest pains in April 2008. The show was later cancelled, and it was announced that the show was officially shut down in order for the singer to focus on her health.Braxton has been released from her contract with Blackground after a number of disputes with former manager Barry Hankerson.
On January 12, 2007, Braxton filed a lawsuit in the U.S District Court in Manhattan against Hankerson for $10 million, alleging "fraud, deception and double dealing," in addition to mismanaging her relationship with Arista Records. According to Braxton, Hankerson placed his own personal financial interests ahead of hers by using "double-talk" to compromise the relationship between Braxton and her former recording label, Arista Records, with Hankerson allegedly telling Arista that "Braxton no longer wanted to record for Arista" and telling Braxton that "Arista was not interested in working with her anymore".
In early August, various internet websites including TMZ.com and In Touch Weekly magazine began announcing that Braxton would be appearing on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. The full cast of the next season of the show was confirmed on August 25, 2008 on Good Morning America, which confirmed Braxton as a contestant in the season with her partner being Alec Mazo.
Braxton, Lance Bass, Maurice Greene and Marlee Matlin headlined Dancing with the Stars winter tour starting in December 2008 and finishing in February 2009.
{| class="wikitable" style="float:left;" |- style="text-align:Center; background:#ccc;" | rowspan="2"|Week # | rowspan="2"|Dance/Song | colspan="3"|Judges' score | rowspan="2"|Result |- style="text-align:center; background:#ccc;" | style="width:10%; "|Inaba | style="width:10%; "|Goodman | style="width:10%; "|Tonioli |- | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|1A | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Smooth" | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|7 | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|7 | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|8 | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|Safe |- | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|1B | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|Quickstep/ "Blue Skies" | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|8 | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|7 | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|8 | style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;"|Last to Be Called Safe |- style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;" ||2 ||Rumba/ "I Can't Make You Love Me" ||7 ||8 ||8 ||Safe |- style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;" ||3 ||Viennese Waltz/ "Für Elise" ||8 ||7 ||7 ||Safe |- style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;" ||4 ||Samba/ "De Donde Soy" ||7 ||7 ||8 ||Safe |- style="text-align:center; background:#faf6f6;" ||5 ||West Coast Swing/ "The Way You Make Me Feel" ||7 ||7 ||8 ||Eliminated |}
2009–10: Pulse
press conference, Toni Braxton with Gee Money, May 2010.]] In October 2008, it was announced that Braxton signed to Atlantic Records. In the November 2008 issue of Jet, Braxton discussed her time spent on Dancing with the Stars as well as dealing with her son's autism. Braxton also talked about being signed to Atlantic Records and the debut of her upcoming single. She added that the complete CD is scheduled to come out in some time in 2009. She also hinted at a cooking show with fellow Dancing with the Stars competitor, Rocco DiSpirito.The DJ Frank E produced song "Yesterday" premiered on September 11, 2009 and features Trey Songz. It was released as the lead single from her sixth studio album Pulse. "Yesterday" peaked at #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart making it her highest chart performance since her 2000's single "Just Be a Man About It", which peaked at #6. The single has been released worldwide on May 3, 2010. In the UK, "Yesterday" became Braxton's first hit single since the release of "Hit the Freeway", peaking at #50 on the UK Singles Chart and at #17 on the UK R&B; Singles Chart. The song also became a moderate hit in Europe, peaking at #20 on the German Singles Chart, at #17 on the Swiss Singles Chart and charting at #50 on the European Hot 100.
On January 29, Braxton's official website posted two new songs from the upcoming album, "Hands Tied" and "Make My Heart". The former peaked at #29 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs, the latter was sent to dance/club radio. She performed Make My Heart on The Wendy Williams Show. Videos for both songs "Make My Heart" and "Hands Tied" have been shot.
Braxton released her sixth studio album Pulse on May 4, 2010 in the US and on May 10, 2010 in the UK.
Toni Braxton was included as part of the "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" remake of the 1985 hit "We Are the World" to help benefit the people of Haiti following the January 12, 2010 magnitude 7.0 MW earthquake in Haiti. The new version of the song was recorded on February 1, 2010. Music legends Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie act as Executive Producers as well as Wyclef Jean. Artists involved included Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Janet Jackson, Tony Bennett, Wyclef Jean, Josh Groban, Pink, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine, Justin Bieber, LL Cool J, among others.
2011-Present: "Braxton Family Values"
In January, 2011, WE tv Network confirmed that it had signed Braxton for a reality series, entitled "Braxton Family Values", which will be marketed as one of the the network's flagship shows. To prepare for the networks heavily anticipated new show lineup, WE tv has also given the network a new logo and marketing tagline: WE tv, “Life As WE Know It.” The show, Braxton Family Values, series debuts April 12, 2011, and looks at the relationship between the singer/songwriter Braxton, her mom, and her four sisters; Trina, Tamar, Traci and Towanda— all aspiring singers themselves, along with the interpersonal relationships of each family member. The show will also look at Braxton's heavily publicized separation from estranged husband, singer Keri Lewis.
Personal life
Braxton met musician Keri Lewis when his group, Mint Condition, opened for her on tour. On April 21, 2001, they were married. a son named Denham Cole Braxton-Lewis. The couple's second son, Diesel Ky Braxton-Lewis, was born on March 31, 2003. Braxton has been outspoken regarding her doctor's failure to diagnose Diesel's condition earlier, contending that if he had been diagnosed earlier, he could have been helped.As well as becoming a spokeswoman for Autism Speaks, she is also a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.
In November 2009, through Attorney, Antavius Weems, Braxton announced that she and Lewis had separated.
Health problems
As of August 2007, rumors surfaced that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Toni stated to Access Hollywood that the breast cancer rumors were false and that her health is in great condition. However, in 2008, she had a benign lump removed from her breast.On April 8, 2008, near the end of her two-year run at the Flamingo Hotel, Braxton was briefly hospitalized and the remaining dates on the show, which was scheduled to end on August 23, 2008, were canceled. Later, while appearing on Season 7 of Dancing with the Stars, she stated that she has been diagnosed with microvascular angina (small vessel disease).
Acting career
Braxton has appeared on two Disney Broadway shows: She made her Broadway debut as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" beginning September 9, 1998 where she replaced Kim Huber. During her run in the show Alan Menken wrote a new song for the musical called "A Change in Me," which was especially written for Braxton and was used in the musical ever since. She left the production on February 28, 1999 and was succeeded by Andrea McArdle. Her role in "Beauty and the Beast" marked the first (and only) time a black woman commanded the leading role of Belle on Broadway. (In the UK, Michelle Gayle played the role in the West End.) It also marked the first time a black woman would star in a Disney musical on Broadway. She then starred in "Aida" as Aida beginning June 30, 2003 where she replaced Simone and left the cast on November 16, 2003 where she was replaced by Michelle Williams. In 2001, she made her acting debut in the feature film Kingdom Come. In 2004, Braxton appeared as herself, voicing a singing character named Toni, in a special episode and DVD release of the children's television show Blue's Clues. In August 2005, Braxton announced that she would be shooting a sitcom pilot for The WB's fall 2006 line-up, though plans to put the show into full-production fell through when The WB announced it would cease to exist in fall 2006 (as part of a merger with UPN to form The CW), She has also starred in the TV sitcom, Kevin Hill. Braxton has recently completed filming of "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure" alongside Jaime Pressly and Cloris Leachman due to be released 2010. Her character - Rosalie Rosebud - is a singer, whose over-the-top personality was apparently inspired by Mariah Carey.
Discography
Awards and nominations
Filmography
References
External links
Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American health activists Category:American contraltos Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:African American pianists Category:Arista Records artists Category:Bowie State University alumni Category:Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Actors from Maryland Category:Musicians from Maryland Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from the Las Vegas metropolitan area Category:The Braxtons members Category:Atlantic Records artists
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
The Raveonettes
| Name | The Raveonettes |
|---|---|
| Landscape | yes |
| Background | group_or_band |
| Origin | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Genre | Alternative rock, shoegaze, surf rock, indie rock, noise pop, garage rock |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Label | Sony RecordsFierce Panda RecordsVice Records |
| Url | http://www.theraveonettes.com/ |
| Current members | Sune Rose WagnerSharin Foo |
| Past members | Manoj RamdasJakob HoyerAnders Christiensen |
The Raveonettes are a Danish alternative rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner (born 1973, Sønderborg, Denmark) on guitar, instruments, and vocals, and Sharin Foo (born 12 December 1979, Copenhagen) on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly Brothers coupled with hard-edged electric guitar overlaid with liberal doses of noise, very similar to The Jesus and Mary Chain. Their songs juxtapose the structural and chordal simplicity of '50s and '60s rock with intense electric instrumentation, driving beats, and often dark lyrical content, similar to another of the band's influences, The Velvet Underground.
Biography
The duo met in Copenhagen and, after forming the band, began recording Whip It On at Once Was & Sauna Recording Studio, a former Sony Studios facility. They booked the studio for three weeks during non-session down time late in 2001 and handled all production chores by themselves. Adding guitarist Manoj Ramdas and jazz drummer Jakob Hoyer, The Raveonettes booked one of their first gigs at the SPOT festival in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. After the release of Whip It On, Hoyer and Ramdas would contribute to the next three Raveonettes albums, along with other additional musicians. However, by the time Lust Lust Lust was released in 2007, Sune and Sharin would be the only two musicians credited, showing a return to the dynamic around the time of the mini-album.Officially, the band was discovered by Rolling Stone editor David Fricke at the SPOT festival, and his rave review of the duo immediately resulted in a number of offers from major labels. Unofficially, the band discovered that David Fricke would be present at the SPOT festival, and they rushed a band together and headed for the festival. The band is managed by Scott Cohen (music business) and Richard Gottehrer, who have been with them from the start. Cohen and Gottehrer orchestrated a bidding war for the band which culminated in the $2 million Columbia Records signing in 2002.
Whip It On was named "Best Rock Album of the Year" at the Danish Music Awards (Denmark's Grammy equivalent) on March 1, 2003, while The Raveonettes were picked by Rolling Stone and Q Magazine as being among the harbingers of the "Next Wave" of contemporary music.
In 2006, Blender named Sharin Foo one of rock's hottest women, alongside Courtney Love, Joan Jett, and Liz Phair.
Chain Gang of Love
The band's first full-length album, Chain Gang of Love, was produced by Richard Gottehrer and The Raveonettes' own Sune Rose Wagner. The album was recorded in Denmark and New York from October 9–17, November 6–12, and December 4–10, 2002, and mixed in London in early 2003. The thirteen songs on Chain Gang of Love are written by Sune Rose Wagner with the exception of "That Great Love Sound", which Sune co-wrote with Gottehrer. Portions of this song were featured in a U.S. ad for Kmart.
Pretty in Black
The band's follow-up album Pretty in Black broadened their musical palette, featuring guest vocals from Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes as well as guest instrumental spots from Maureen Tucker (of The Velvet Underground) and Martin Rev (of Suicide). This was their first album in which Sharin Foo did not play bass; instead, The Raveonettes added bass player Anders Christensen, who had toured with seminal jazz drummer Paul Motian, amongst others. Christensen recorded on the album and toured with the band. At the end of the 2005 tour, guitar player Manoj Ramdas left the band to concentrate on his new band SPEKTR.The video for the single "Love in a Trashcan", directed by Peder Pedersen, features pink bars and blocks with words like "Vamp" and "Teaser" scrawling by the band members, and is reminiscent of an early-1960s cosmetic ad.
Lust Lust Lust
The duo's third studio album Lust Lust Lust was released in November 2007 in Europe and February 2008 in the U.S. The album received generally positive reviews, with the NME's Hardeep Phull describing it as "their most engrossing album."In December 2008, Sune Rose Wagner released a solo album, simply titled Sune Rose Wagner. All of the songs are sung in his native language of Danish.
In and Out of Control
The Raveonettes' fourth album, In and Out of Control was released October 6, 2009, with "Last Dance" released as the lead-off single. The album was co-written and produced by Thomas Troelsen. Both "Last Dance" and "Suicide", another song from the album, have been featured on The CW's Gossip Girl.
Instrumentation
During live performances, the band usually utilizes Fender instruments (Sune uses a number of Jazzmasters while Sharin opts for either Mustang or jazz bass, and a Jazzmaster). Sune plays a number of different guitars and basses on their albums, including different Fenders, Gibsons, and Gretsches. In the fall of 2005, the tour van containing the band's equipment (including Sune's prized 1960 Jazzmaster and Sharin's treasured Gretsch 6120) was stolen during their tour of the U.S.On their 2007 tour, the band used the following effects pedals:
Sune:
Sharin:
Band line-up by album
Chain Gang of LovePretty in Black
Lust Lust Lust
Discography
Studio albums
1 Lust Lust Lust's inclusion of 3D glasses rendered it ineligible for the UK Albums Chart.
EPs
Whip It On (August 6, 2002) (UK #114) ! width="30"|UK
References
Interviews
External links
Category:2000s music groups Category:Rock music duos Category:Danish indie rock groups Category:Musical duos
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Ricky Nelson
| Name | Ricky Nelson |
|---|---|
| Alt | A young man in profile playing a guitar and standing before a microphone |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Eric Hilliard Nelson |
| Born | May 08, 1940Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 31, 1985De Kalb, Texas, U.S. |
| Genre | Rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, pop, folk, country |
| Occupation | Actor, musician, singer |
| Years active | 1952–1985 |
| Associated acts | Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Carl Perkins, James Burton |
| Label | Imperial, Decca (MCA), Epic |
| Url | http://www.rickynelson.com/ |
Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky. In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, "Poor Little Fool", and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.
Nelson and Sharon Kristin Harmon were married on April 20, 1963, and divorced in December 1982. They had four children: Tracy Kristine, twin sons Gunnar Eric and Matthew Gray, and Sam Hilliard. On February 14, 1981, a son was born to Nelson and Georgeann Crewe. A blood test in 1985 confirmed Nelson was the child's father. Nelson was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death in an airplane crash on December 31, 1985.
Early life
Ricky Nelson was born the second son of big band leader Ozzie Nelson who was of Swedish descent and his wife, big band vocalist Harriet Hilliard Nelson (née Peggy Louise Snyder), on May 8, 1940 at 1:25 p.m. at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey. Harriett remained in Englewood, New Jersey with her newborn and her older son David while Ozzie toured the nation with the Nelson Orchestra. The Nelsons bought a two-story Colonial in Tenafly, New Jersey, and, six months after the purchase, moved with son David to Hollywood, California where Ozzie and Harriet were slated to appear in the 1941-42 season of Red Skelton's The Raleigh Cigarette Hour; Ricky remained in Tenafly in the care of his paternal grandmother. In November 1941, the Nelsons bought what would become their permanent home: a green and white, two-story, Cape Cod Colonial at 1822 Camino Palmero in Los Angeles. Ricky joined his parents and brother in Los Angeles in 1942. He was described by Red Skelton's producer John Guedel as "an odd little kid", likable, shy, introspective, mysterious, and inscrutable. When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Guedel crafted the radio sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, for Ricky's parents. The show debuted on Sunday, October 8, 1944 to favorable reviews. Ozzie eventually became head writer for the show and based episodes on the fraternal exploits and enmity of his sons. The Nelson boys were first played in the radio series by professional child actors until twelve-year-old Dave and eight-year-old Ricky joined the show on February 20, 1949 in the episode, "Invitation to Dinner".In 1952, the Nelsons tested the waters for a television series with the theatrically-released film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film was a hit and Ozzie was convinced the family could make the transition from radio's airwaves to the televisions's small screen. On October 3, 1952, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast in first run until September 3, 1966 to become one of the long-running sitcoms in television history.
Education
Nelson attended Gardner Street Public School, Bancroft Junior High, and Hollywood High School between 1954 and 1958 from which he graduated with a B average. He played football at Hollywood High Twenty-five years later, Nelson told the Los Angeles Weekly he hated school because it "smelled of pencils" and he was forced to rise early in the morning to attend. Many of the Elksters were family friends and spent weekends at the Nelson home playing basketball or relaxing around the pool. He tattooed his hands, wrist, and shoulder with India ink and a sewing needle, slicked his hair with oil, and accompanied the Rooks on nocturnal forays along Hollywood Boulevard randomly harassing and beating up passersby. but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93-percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend. Nelson's wealth was astutely managed by parents who channeled his earnings into trust funds. Although his parents permitted him a $50 allowance at the age of eighteen, Rick was often strapped for cash, and, one evening, collected and redeemed empty soda bottles to gain entrance to a movie theater for himself and a date. Like many born to wealth, Nelson had a cavalier attitude toward his finances and never learned to manage money. He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins's March 1956 Top Ten hit, "Blue Suede Shoes". With his father's help, Nelson secured a one-record deal with Verve Records, an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing. On March 26, 1957, Nelson recorded the Fats Domino standard "I'm Walkin'" and "A Teenager's Romance" (both released in late April 1957 as his first single), and "You're My One and Only Love".Before the single was released, Nelson made his television rock and roll debut on April 10, 1957 lip-synching "I'm Walkin'" in the Ozzie and Harriet episode, "Ricky, the Drummer". About the same time, he made an unpaid public appearance as a singer at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly in Los Angeles with the Four Preps and was greeted by hordes of screaming teens who had seen the television episode.
"I'm Walkin'" reached number four on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart, and its flip side, "A Teenager's Romance", hit number two.
First album, band, and number one single
In early summer 1957, Ozzie Nelson pulled his son from Verve after disputes about royalties, and signed him to a lucrative five-year deal with Imperial Records that gave him approval over song selection, sleeve artwork, and other production details. Ricky's first Imperial single, "Be-Bop Baby", generated 750,000 advance orders, sold over one million copies, and reached number three on the charts. Nelson's first album, Ricky, was released in October 1957 and hit number one before the end of the year. Following these successes, Nelson was given a more prominent role on the Ozzie and Harriet show and ended every two or three episodes with a musical number.Nelson grew increasingly dissatisfied performing with older jazz session musicians who were openly contemptuous of rock and roll. After his Ohio and Minnesota tours in the summer of 1957, he decided to form his own band with members closer to his age. Eighteen-year-old electric guitarist James Burton was the first signed and lived in the Nelson home for two years. Bassist James Kirkland, drummer Richie Frost, and pianist Gene Garf completed the band. Their first recording together was "Believe What You Say". Rick selected material from demo acetates submitted by songwriters. Ozzie Nelson forbade suggestive lyrics or titles, and his late-night arrival at recording sessions forced band members to hurriedly hide their beers and cigarettes. The Jordanaires, Presley's back up vocalists worked for Nelson but at Presley's behest were not permitted credit on Nelson's albums.
In 1958, Nelson recorded seventeen-year-old Sharon Sheeley's "Poor Little Fool" for his second album Ricky Nelson released in June. Radio airplay brought the tune notice, Imperial suggested releasing a single, but Nelson opposed the idea, believing a single would diminish EP sales. When a single was released nonetheless, he exercised his contractual right to approve any artwork and vetoed a picture sleeve. On August 4, 1958, "Poor Little Fool" became the number one single on Billboard's newly instituted Hot 100 singles chart, and sold over two million copies.
During 1958 and 1959, Nelson placed twelve hits on the charts in comparison with Presley's eleven (it should be remembered that the latter was then serving in Germany with the U.S. Army). During the sitcom's run, Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son's fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept his son from appearing on other television shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular. NME - May 1960
Nelson was the first teen idol to utilize television to promote hit records. Ozzie Nelson even had the idea to edit footage together to create some of the first music videos. This creative editing can be seen in videos Ozzie produced for "Travelin' Man." Nelson finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. He also appeared on other television shows (usually in acting roles). In 1973, he had an acting role in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco, in which he played the part of a hippie flute-playing leader of a harem of young prostitutes. In 1979, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live, in which he spoofed his television sitcom image by appearing in a Twilight Zone send-up, in which, always trying to go "home", he finds himself among the characters from other 1950s/early 1960s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and I Love Lucy.
Nelson knew and loved music, and was a skilled performer even before he became a teen idol, largely because of his parents' musical background. Nelson worked with many musicians of repute, including James Burton, Joe Osborn, and Allen "Puddler" Harris, all natives of Louisiana, and Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires, Scotty Moore and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette.
From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had thirty Top-40 hits, more than any other artist at the time except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard charts.
While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like "Believe What You Say" (Hot 100 number 4), "I Got A Feeling" (Hot 100 number 10), "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" (Hot 100 number 12), "Hello Mary Lou" (Hot 100 number 9), "It's Late" (Hot 100 number 9), "Stood Up" (Hot 100 number 2), "Waitin' In School" (Hot 100 number 18), "Be-Bop Baby" (Hot 100 number 3), and "Just A Little Too Much" (Hot 100 number 9), his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with "Travelin' Man" (Hot 100 number 1), "A Teenager's Romance" (Hot 100 number 2), "Poor Little Fool" (Hot 100 number 1), "Young World" (Hot 100 number 5), "Lonesome Town" (Hot 100 number 7), "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (Hot 100 number 6), "Sweeter Than You" (Hot 100 number 9), "It's Up To You" (Hot 100 number 6), and "Teenage Idol" (Hot 100 number 5), which clearly could have been about Nelson himself.
In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plus The Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965).
On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), Nelson officially changed his recording name from "Ricky Nelson" to "Rick Nelson". However, not too long before his untimely death, Nelson realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins, who, while musing that they were the last of the "rockabilly breed", addressed Nelson as "Ricky". In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records. After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964's "For You", a number-6 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, Nelson's chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.
In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music, becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called "California Sound" (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like the Eagles). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" with the Stone Canyon Band.
"Garden Party"
In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with "Garden Party", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him, in his mind because he was playing new songs instead of just his old hits. When he performed the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" he was booed off the stage. He was prompted by the promoter to return for an encore and received a standing ovation for "Travelin' Man." He wanted to record an album featuring original material, but the single was released before the album because Nelson had not completed the entire Garden Party album yet. "Garden Party" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single. The second single release from the album was "Palace Guard", which reached number 65 in the charts.Nelson was with MCA at the time, and his comeback was short-lived. Nelson's band soon resigned, and MCA wanted Nelson to have a producer on his next album. His band moved to Aspen and changed their name to "Canyon". Nelson soon put together a new Stone Canyon band, and began to tour for the Garden Party album. Nelson still played nightclubs and bars, but soon advanced to higher-paying venues because of the success of "Garden Party". In 1974 MCA was at odds as to what to do with the former teen idol. Albums like Windfall failed to have an impact. Nelson became an attraction at theme parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. He also started appearing in minor roles on television shows.
Nelson tried to score another hit, but was not having any luck with songs like "Rock and Roll Lady". With seven years to go on his contract, MCA dropped him from the label.
Nelson studied Karate earning a brown belt, before going on to learn Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto. Inosanto described Nelson as a "good martial artist for those times".
Drug use
Nelson experimented with marijuana early in his musical career, became a regular user, buried his stash in his yard, and supported marijuana's legalization. He tried mescaline, was a regular cocaine user and carried the drug in an empty ginseng capsule.During the Nelson divorce proceedings, Rick was accused by his wife's attorney of using cocaine, Quaaludes, and other drugs, and of having "a severe drug problem" encouraged by his managers, his entourage, and his groupies. The attorney noted that Nelson's "personal manager" secured drugs for the star, wild parties took place in Nelson's home whether he was present or not, and his children, aware of his drug use, were in great physical danger from drugged persons entering and exiting the house at all hours.
Following Nelson's divorce, he became involved with cocaine-addicted Helen Blair. The two entered the classic pattern of codependency typical of addicts. The situation grew so dire friends descended on Nelson en masse and urged him to seek drug abuse treatment.
Relationships
Nelson liked wholesome, clean-cut women, and dated Hollywood starlets, but, inexplicably, was also attracted to and became deeply involved with troubled types from dysfunctional families.
First loves
Nelson was seventeen when he met and fell in love with Marianne Gaba, a midwestern beauty queen who arrived in California for the Miss Universe Pageant. She appeared on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, and auditioned for and won the role of Ricky's girlfriend in three episodes of Ozzie and Harriet. Nelson's celebrity and recognizability made it difficult for the couple to comfortably appear in public and the two spent their time in darkened drive-in movie theaters, out-of-the-way burger joints, and scenic overlooks where Nelson played his guitar for Gaba. They went steady and Nelson gave Gaba a ring to commemorate the event. Gaba was with him in October 1957 when he met Elvis Presley at a private party in Presley's Beverly Wilshire Hotel luxury suite following the superstar's concert at the Hollywood Pan-Pacific Auditorium. Nelson and Gaba were too young to entertain a serious relationship and sexual intercourse did not occur, though, according to Gaba, "we used to neck for hours."In 1958, Nelson fell in love with fifteen-year-old Oklahoman Lorrie Collins, a country singer appearing on a weekly telecast out of Compton, California, called Town Hall Party. The two wrote the song "My Gal" together (Nelson's first composition), and she introduced him to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. Collins appeared in an Ozzie and Harriet episode as Ricky's girlfriend and sang "Just Because" with him in the musical finale. They went steady and discussed marriage, but their parents discouraged the idea. Their year-long relationship ended when sixteen-year-old Collins secretly married Johnny Cash's manager, Stu Carnell, nineteen years her senior, in Las Vegas. Nelson learned of the marriage through a newspaper gossip column. She was stunningly beautiful, and created a sensation when she arrived in Hollywood via New York in the late 1950s. Their relationship lasted two years with Nelson keeping it hidden from his parents. Unknown to Nelson, she became pregnant with his child and nearly died from an illegal abortion. She married another man, and disappeared, leaving Nelson mystified regarding her whereabouts but hopeful she would someday return.
Nelson sometimes dated actresses hired for the television show. After selecting young women that piqued his interest from the Player's Directory, a pictorial guide to actors and actresses searching for work, he would urge his father to hire them for the show. Nelson often entered fleeting relationships with these women, but entertained sexual relationships only if he cared about his partner.
Marriage and divorce: Kris Harmon
At Christmas 1961, Nelson began dating Sharon Kristin "Kris" Harmon (born June 25, 1945), the daughter of football legend Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox (née Elsie Kornbrath), and the older sister of Kelly and Mark. The Nelsons and the Harmons had long been friends and a union between their children held great appeal. Rick and Kris were in love and had much in common: quiet dispositions, Hollywood upbringings, and high-powered, domineering fathers.During the winter holiday season of 1962-63, they announced their engagement, Kris was pregnant, and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faith.
In 1975, the Nelsons were on the verge of breaking up but Kris would have had no parental support – the Harmons strongly disapproved of divorce. Rick and Kris each had affairs outside the marriage. Rick engaged in one night stands on the road and Kris's closer-to-home liaisons included athletes and musicians. In less than a month, she found him there cavorting with two Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders. Rick later said she set him up to use the incident against him in court.
In October 1977, Kris filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children, and a portion of community property. The couple temporarily resolved their differences but Kris retained her attorney to pursue a permanent break.
In April 1980, the Nelsons bought Errol Flynn's 1941 Mulholland Drive estate for $750,000. Kris wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but the family enjoyed a recklessly expensive lifestyle, and Kris's extravagant spending left Rick no choice but to tour relentlessly. The impasse over Rick's career created unpleasantness at home. Rick toured as often as possible. Kris descended into drink and left the children in the care of household help.
In October 1980, Kris moved into an upstairs room at Mulholland Drive house, and again filed for divorce. She was hell-bent on taking everything she possibly could and leaving Rick ruined. Attempts to negotiate a preliminary settlement agreement were unsuccessful. Kris and her lawyers believed Rick had a hidden cache of wealth but such a thing was nonexistent. Rick was almost broke. He refused to file for bankruptcy because it would negatively impact his career. Years of legal wrangling would follow.
Georgeann Crewe
On May 16, 1980, Nelson met Georgeann Crewe at the Playboy Resort in Great Gorge, New Jersey. She was in her mid-thirties and separated from her husband. They spent the night together, with Crewe later claiming Nelson wanted her to stay and she couldn't refuse because she felt "an attachment, an immediate attraction". Her subsequent attempts to contact Nelson were consistently thwarted by McDonald.On March 25th 1981, Crewe gave birth to Nelson's son, Eric Jude Crewe. Whenever Nelson was performing in Crewe's vicinity, his manager would telephone to invite her to Nelson's hotel suite. She refused the invitations, fearing she would be drugged and her death attributed to an overdose.
In August 1985, accompanied by her priest, Crewe went to one of Nelson's Jersey Shore concerts, However, once Nelson gained his hotel room, he told his manager Crewe was a "nutcase" chasing him, and ordered him to refuse future New Jersey concert dates. Many lucrative offers in Atlantic City were then turned down. He did not provide for Eric Jude Crewe in his will.
Last years: Helen Blair
In 1980, Nelson met Helen Blair, a part-time model and exotic animal trainer, at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Within months of their meeting, she became his road companion, and, in 1982, his live-in lover. She was the only woman he dated after his divorce.Blair tried to make herself useful in Nelson's life by organizing his day and acting as a liaison for his fan club, but Nelson's mother, brother, business manager, and manager disapproved of her presence in his life. She used cocaine, she stole, she shoplifted. Rick asked family and friends to be patient and understanding with Blair because she had had a difficult childhood. Harriet Nelson threatened to cut him out of her will. Nevertheless, he made plans for a wedding at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but had second thoughts, backed out, and never mentioned marriage again.
Blair died with Nelson and members of his band in an airplane crash in De Kalb, Texas on December 31, 1985. Her name was never mentioned at Nelson's funeral. Blair's parents wanted their daughter buried next to Nelson at Forest Lawn Cemetery but Harriet Nelson dismissed the idea.
Children
Rick and Kris Nelson had four children. Their first was only daughter, Tracy Kristine Nelson born six months after the wedding on October 25, 1963, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. She weighed four pounds, one ounce and was slightly premature. In her teens, she attended Westlake School for Girls and did well academically. She considered careers in ballet, veterinary medicine, and writing. During her parents' marital difficulties, she did not get along with her mother and stayed with her father in the Flynn house on Mulholland Drive despite the temporary divorce agreement. She briefly attended college and left school in 1982 when she received the role of Jennifer DeNuccio in the television sitcom, Square Pegs. She had a small role in the film Footloose, In 1982, she told People her parents were too young when they started a family. She recalled dressing up like a mermaid for an entire week as a child in an attempt to attract their attention. Tracy married actor Billy Moses on July 25, 1987. Her father left his estate to his four children. Gunnar and Matthew performed as the band Nelson.
Nelson's fourth child, Sam Hilliard Nelson, was born August 29, 1974. At six years, he was placed in the care of his maternal grandparents, Tom and Elyse Harmon of Brentwood, because of his mother's alcohol abuse, unpredictable behavior, and sporadic suicidal tendencies. In 1987, Kris Nelson was undergoing drug rehab when her brother Mark Harmon tried to gain custody of Sam based on grounds Kris was incapable of good parenting. Sam's psychiatrist testified the thirteen-year-old boy depicted his mother as a dragon, and complained about her mood swings and how she prevented him from being with his siblings. Harmon dropped his custody bid when Kris's lawyer insinuated witnesses could be produced who had snorted cocaine with Harmon's wife, Pam Dawber. At his father's funeral, Sam read a Native American poem. Sam founded and performed with the group H Is Orange in the early 2000s.
Death
Nelson dreaded airplane flying but refused to travel by bus. In May 1985, he decided he needed a private plane and purchased a luxurious, fourteen-seat, 1944 DC-3 for private use that once belonged to the DuPont family and later to Jerry Lee Lewis. The plane was plagued with annoying mechanical mishaps. In one incident, the band was forced to push the plane off the runway after an engine blew, and in another incident in September, a malfunctioning sparkplug prevented Nelson from participating in the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois. Rumors that the band dreaded boarding the $138,000 aircraft were later refuted however, and Nelson's personal copilot Ken Ferguson stated there were no areas of "major safety concern" with the plane.The day after Christmas 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the Southern United States. Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and band members boarded the vintage DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year's Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas. The plane crashed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on December 31, 1985. Seven were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bassist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows though Ferguson was severely burned.
Nelson's remains were lost in transit from Texas to California, delaying the funeral for several days. On January 6, 1986, 250 mourners entered the Church of the Hills for funeral services while 700 fans gathered outside. Attendees included 'Colonel' Tom Parker, Connie Stevens, Angie Dickinson, and dozens of actors, writers, and musicians. Nelson was privately buried days later in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Kris Nelson threatened to sue the Nelson clan for her former husband's life insurance money and tried to wrest control of his estate from David Nelson, its administrator. Her bid was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Nelson bequeathed his entire estate to his children and did not provide for Eric Crewe, Helen Blair, or Kris Nelson. Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash. Those allegations were proven false by the NTSB.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a year-long investigation and finally stated that the crash was probably due to mechanical problems. The pilots attempted to land in a field after smoke filled the cabin. An examination indicated that a fire had originated in the right hand side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. The passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing; the pilots were able to escape through the cockpit windows and survived. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined. The pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the gasoline cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a previous history of problems with the cabin heaters.
Tributes, honors, recognition
Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.
Along with the recording's other participants, Nelson earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions."
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson number 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
At the 20th anniversary of Nelson's death, PBS televised Ricky Nelson Sings, a documentary featuring interviews with his children, James Burton, and Kris Kristofferson. On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled Ricky Nelson's Greatest Hits that peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
Bob Dylan wrote about Nelson's influence on his music in his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1".
Nelson's estate (The Rick Nelson Company, LLC) owns ancillary rights to the Ozzie and Harriet television series, and, in 2007, Shout! Factory released official editions of the show on DVD. Also in 2007, Nelson was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Discography
See also
References
Books
Notes
External links
Category:1940 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Accidental deaths in Texas Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American radio actors Category:American television actors Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Charly Records artists Category:Decca Records artists Category:Epic Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Imperial Records artists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:American actors of Swedish descent Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Owl City
| Name | Owl City |
|---|---|
| Landscape | Yes |
| Background | group_or_band |
| Genre | Synthpop Alternative |
| Origin | Owatonna, Minnesota, United States |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Label | Universal Republic |
| Associated acts | Sky Sailing, Swimming With Dolphins, Breanne Duren, Relient K, Port Blue, Armin van Buuren |
| Url | |
| Current members | Adam Young |
Young claims that his influences are disco and European electronic music. His music has also been compared to The Postal Service. After two independent albums, Owl City gained mainstream popularity with the 2009 major label debut album Ocean Eyes, which spawned the hit single "Fireflies".
History
Early years (2007–08)
Suffering from insomnia while working in a Coca-Cola Factory in his hometown, Owatanna, Young turned to composing music. He began receiving attention for songs he had uploaded to MySpace, the "viral popularity" of which would later result in his signing to a major label. In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled Of June, followed by the 2008 release of the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. Of June reached #20 on the Billboard Electronic Albums chart, and Maybe I'm Dreaming peaked on the same chart at #16.
Ocean Eyes (2009-2010)
Owl City's third album, Ocean Eyes, was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009. The album debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. Owl City has released three official singles: "Umbrella Beach", "Vanilla Twilight",and "Fireflies". "Fireflies" topped the US and Canadian charts and became the most-downloaded song on iTunes in the US. Ocean Eyes reached the top ten on the US album charts and topped the US electronic charts and also reached Amazon MP3's top 10 most downloaded album list. By December 2009, it was certified Gold in the United States. On January 24, 2010, Owl City reached the number 1 spot in the UK Top 40 Singles chart with "Fireflies". The song "Tidal Wave" also received significant airplay on Christian music radio stations.Young is joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most noted being "The Saltwater Room". Owl City's live band consists of Breanne Duren (background vocals/keyboards), Matthew Decker (drums), Laura Musten (violin), and Hannah Schroeder (cello).
Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen has toured and collaborated with Owl City on several tracks, including "Fireflies", where Matt can be heard providing the backup vocals. Young also produced Relient K's song "Terminals". Thiessen stated that it is very likely that he and Young will produce a side project called "Goodbye Dubai" in the future.
"Fireflies" was released as a free download on the iPod/iPhone game Tap Tap Revenge 3 by Tapulous. Prior to the July 14, 2009 internet release of Ocean Eyes, and the "Fireflies" single, Steve Hoover was hired as a director for a music video for "Fireflies". The video was to have had an exclusive premiere on MySpace, but had been leaked onto YouTube and Dailymotion hours earlier. "Fireflies" became a big sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.
Owl City is featured on Soundtrack 90210 with a song titled "Sunburn", which was released on October 13, 2009. Owl City has toured with The Scene Aesthetic and Brooke Waggoner. He was also guest featured in the soundtrack to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland with a song that had already been featured in his debut album, "The Technicolor Phase".
All Things Bright & Beautiful (2010–present)
Young has revealed a new musical project known as Sky Sailing, moving away from his usual electronica genre of music and introducing acoustic guitar and piano accompaniments into his work. The unrefined tracks were recorded in the summer of 2007 before he began making music as Owl City. His first album under this new project is entitled An Airplane Carried Me to Bed, and was released July 13, 2010 via iTunes.He also recently announced via Twitter that more music will soon be released under his main project, Owl City.
In May, 2010, Adam Young collaborated with high-profile British electronic composer, producer, musician, and songwriter Nick Bracegirdle. Under his Chicane alias, Bracegirdle released the single "Middledistancerunner" on 1 August 2010 featuring Adam Young on vocals. This will be the first single from the upcoming fourth Chicane album Giants.
He also worked with famed Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called 'Youtopia' from the forthcoming van Buuren album Mirage on September 10, 2010.
On August 2, 2010, it was announced that Owl City would not open for Maroon 5 on the first three concerts of the American Leg of their tour due to a kidney stone.
He also stated on his Twitter, that he will release a song for the upcoming film, Legend of the Guardians, titled "To the Sky" which hit the Internet on September 1.
On September 1, 2010, Adam Young opened Owl City University as an interactive fan site with projects and homework including the integration with Facebook and Twitter. It is an area where other fans can join groups and communicate. It contains "projects" to complete to get credits. It includes messages directly from Adam Young as video blogs.
On September 21, 2010 "To the Sky" was officially released via iTunes on the soundtrack for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole.
Young released a cover version of the praise and worship song "In Christ Alone" as a streaming mp3 on his website, , on October 25, 2010.
Concertgoers at Adam's halloween homecoming show were treated to a new song "Halloween in Owatonna", played by Matt Thiessen. Matt also announced that he is working with Adam on a song titled "Plant Life" for Owl City's upcoming album, confirmed by Adam Young and the Owatonna People's Press to be on track for a Spring 2011 release.
On November 13, 2010, a new album was also released for one of his other musical projects, "Windsor Airlift", called "Flight" on iTunes.
In the November 15, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone, Owl City announced the title of his third studio album, "All Things Bright & Beautiful". He also stated to "expect more guitar," and revealed the names of 3 tracks, "Deer in the Headlights," "The Honey and the Bee," and "Astronauts." The song "Deer in the Headlights" is expected to have "power chord blasts." The album is due to be released in Spring 2011.
On November 23, 2010, a new Christmas single called "Peppermint Winter" was released. A preview had been released the previous week on Facebook.
Musical styles and influences
Owl City has been stated to play within the musical genres of indietronica and alternative. Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music.Owl City also has been compared to The Postal Service, with a number of publications going as far as accusing Owl City of "ripping off" The Postal Service.
Ben Gibbard, lead singer/writer of both The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie has not stated anything about the musical resemblance in public. However, Chris Walla, the guitarist from Death Cab For Cutie, has stated that "Owl City should really consider buying Ben a pony."
Adam Young suggested in a 2009 interview with The New York Times that Owl City is perhaps the "next chapter" after The Postal Service: }}
Other projects
Young also produces music under a wide variety of other projects, some of which contain only a single song. These projects include Port Blue, Windsor Airlift, Dolphin Park, Insect Airport, Keehar, Seagull Orchestra, Sky Sailing and Swimming With Dolphins, among others.Most of these projects were started before Owl City propelled Young to fame. Some are current side projects Adam is involved in. Some were formed alongside Adam's college friends as musical projects for a music course Young was studying at the time.
Concert tours
Discography
;Studio albums
References
External links
Category:Musical groups from Minnesota Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American indie rock groups Category:Living people Category:American electronic music groups Category:American New Wave musical groups Category:American Christians
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Mel Tormé
| Name | Mel Tormé |
|---|---|
| Landscape | no |
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Melvin Howard Torme |
| Alias | The Velvet Fog |
| Born | September 13, 1925Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 05, 1999Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Instrument | Vocals, drums, ukulele, piano |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Years active | 1933–1999 |
| Url | }} |
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books. He co-wrote the classic holiday song "The Christmas Song" (also known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") with Bob Wells.
Early years
Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to immigrant Russian Jewish parents, whose surname had been Torma. However, the name was changed at Ellis Island to "Torme." A child prodigy, he first sang professionally at age 4 with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant.Between 1933 and 1941, he acted in the network radio serials The Romance of Helen Trent and Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. He wrote his first song at 13, and three years later, his first published song, "Lament to Love," became a hit recording for Harry James. He played drums in Chicago's Shakespeare Elementary School drum and bugle corps in his early teens. While a teenager, he sang, arranged, and played drums in a band led by Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers. His formal education ended in 1944 with his graduation from Chicago's Hyde Park High School.
Early career
In 1943, Tormé made his movie debut in Frank Sinatra's first film, the musical Higher and Higher. He went on to sing and act in many films and television episodes throughout his career, even hosting his own television show in 1951–52. His appearance in the 1947 film musical Good News made him a teen idol for a few years.In 1944 he formed the vocal quintet "Mel Tormé and His Mel-Tones," modeled on Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers. The Mel-Tones, which included Les Baxter and Ginny O'Connor, had several hits fronting Artie Shaw's band and on their own, including Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?" The Mel-Tones were among the first jazz-influenced vocal groups, blazing a path later followed by The Hi-Lo's, The Four Freshmen, and The Manhattan Transfer.
Later in 1947, Tormé went solo. His singing at New York's Copacabana led a local disc jockey, Fred Robbins, to give him the nickname "The Velvet Fog," thinking to honor his high tenor and smooth vocal style, but Tormé detested the nickname. (He self-deprecatingly referred to it as "this Velvet Frog voice". ) As a solo singer, he recorded several romantic hits for Decca (1945), and with the Artie Shaw Orchestra on the Musicraft label (1946–48). In 1949, he moved to Capitol Records, where his first record, "Careless Hands," became his only number one hit. His versions of "Again" and "Blue Moon" became signature tunes. His composition "California Suite," prompted by Gordon Jenkins' "Manhattan Tower," became Capitol's first 12-inch LP album. Around this time, he helped pioneer cool jazz.
From 1955 to 1957, Tormé recorded seven jazz vocal albums for Red Clyde's Bethlehem Records, all with groups led by Marty Paich, most notably Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dektette. When rock and roll music (which Tormé called "three-chord manure") ) came on the scene in the 1950s, commercial success became elusive. During the next two decades, Tormé often recorded mediocre arrangements of the pop tunes of the day, never staying long with any particular label. He was sometimes forced to make his living by singing in obscure clubs. He had two minor hits, his 1956 recording of "Mountain Greenery," which did better in the United Kingdom where it reached #4 in May that year; and his 1962 R&B; song "Comin' Home, Baby," arranged by Claus Ogerman. The latter recording led the jazz and gospel singer Ethel Waters to say that "Tormé is the only white man who sings with the soul of a black man." It was later covered instrumentally by Quincy Jones and Kai Winding.
In 1960, he appeared with Don Dubbins in the episode "The Junket" in NBC's short-lived crime drama Dan Raven, starring Skip Homeier and set on the Sunset Strip of West Hollywood. He also had a significant role in a cross-cultural western entitled Walk Like a Dragon staring Jack Lord. Tormé played 'The Deacon', a bible-quoting gunfighter who worked as an enforcer for a lady saloon-owner and teaches a young Chinese, played by James Shigeta, the art of the fast draw. In one scene, he tells a soon-to-be victim: 'Say your prayers, brother Masters. You're a corpse.' And then delivers on the promise. Tormé, like Sammy Davis Jr. and Robert Fuller was a real-life fast-draw expert. He also sang the title song.
In 1963–64, Tormé wrote songs and musical arrangements for The Judy Garland Show, where he made three guest appearances. However, he and Garland had a serious falling out, and he was fired from the series, which was canceled by CBS not long afterward. A few years later, after Garland's death, his time with her show became the subject of his first book, "The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol" (1970). Although the book was praised, some felt it painted an unflattering picture of Judy, and that Tormé had perhaps over-inflated his own contributions to the program; it led to an unsuccessful lawsuit by Garland's family.
Tormé befriended Buddy Rich, the day Rich left the Marine Corps in 1942. Rich became the subject of Tormé's book Traps — The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich (1987). Tormé also owned and played a drum set that drummer Gene Krupa used for many years. George Spink, treasurer of the Jazz Institute of Chicago from 1978 to 1981, recalled that Tormé played this drum set at the 1979 Chicago Jazz Festival with Benny Goodman on the classic "Sing, Sing, Sing." Tormé had a deep appreciation for classical music; especially that of Frederick Delius and Percy Grainger.
Later career
The resurgence of vocal jazz in the 1970s resulted in another artistically fertile period for Tormé, whose live performances during the 1960s and 1970s fueled a growing reputation as a jazz singer. He found himself performing as often as 200 times a year around the globe. In 1976, he won an Edison Award (the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy) for best male singer, and a Down Beat award for best male jazz singer. For several years around this time, his September appearances at Michael's Pub on the Upper East Side would unofficially open New York's fall cabaret season. Tormé viewed his 1977 Carnegie Hall concert with George Shearing and Gerry Mulligan as a turning point. Shearing later said:"It is impossible to imagine a more compatible musical partner… I humbly put forth that Mel and I had the best musical marriage in many a year. We literally breathed together during our countless performances. As Mel put it, we were two bodies of one musical mind."
Starting in 1982, Tormé recorded several albums with Concord Records, including:
In 1993, Verve Records released the classic "Blue Moon" album featuring the Velvet voice and the Rodgers and Hart Songbook. His version of Blue Moon performed live at the "Sands" in November that year earned him a new nickname from older audiences: "The Blue Fox." The nickname was used to describe Tormé's performance after spending an extra hour with pianist Bill Butler cracking jokes and answering queries from a throng of more "mature" women who turned out to see the show. Under the shimmering blue lights at the Sands, he gained a new nickname that would endure for every future performance in Las Vegas and his last performance at Carnegie Hall. Tormé would develop other nicknames later in life, but none seemed as popular as the Velvet Fog (primarily on the East Coast) and the Blue Fox.
Tormé made nine guest appearances as himself on the 1980s situation comedy Night Court whose main character, Judge Harry Stone (played by Harry Anderson), was depicted as an unabashed Tormé fan (an admiration that Anderson shared in real-life; Anderson would later deliver the eulogy at Tormé's funeral) which led to a following among Generation Xers along with a series of Mountain Dew commercials and on an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld ("The Jimmy"), in which he dedicates a song to the character Kramer. Tormé also recorded a version of Nat King Cole's "Straighten up and Fly Right" with his son, alternative/adult contemporary/jazz singer Steve March Tormé. Tormé was also able to work with his other son, television writer-producer Tracy Tormé on Sliders. The 1996 episode, entitled "Greatfellas," sees Tormé playing an alternate version of himself: a country-and-western singer who is also an FBI informant.
In a scene in the 1988 Warner Bros. cartoon Night of the Living Duck, Daffy Duck has to sing in front of several monsters, but lacks a good singing voice. So, he inhales a substance called "Eau de Tormé" and sings like Mel Tormé (who in fact provided the voice during this one scene, while Mel Blanc provided Daffy's voice during most of the cartoon).
In February 1999, Tormé was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On August 8, 1996, a stroke abruptly ended his 65-year singing career; another stroke in 1999 ended his life. In his eulogistic essay, John Andrews wrote about Tormé:
"Tormé's style shared much with that of his idol, Ella Fitzgerald. Both were firmly rooted in the foundation of the swing era, but both seemed able to incorporate bebop innovations to keep their performances sounding fresh and contemporary. Like Sinatra, they sang with perfect diction and brought out the emotional content of the lyrics through subtle alterations of phrasing and harmony. Ballads were characterized by paraphrasing of the original melody which always seemed tasteful, appropriate and respectful to the vision of the songwriter. Unlike Sinatra, both Fitzgerald and Tormé were likely to cut loose during a swinging up-tempo number with several scat choruses, using their voices without words to improvise a solo like a brass or reed instrument."
Accomplishments
Tormé also made a guest vocal appearance on the 1983 album Born to Laugh at Tornadoes from the progressive pop band Was (Not Was). Tormé sang the black comedic cocktail jazz song "Zaz Turned Blue" about a teenager who is choked in a park ("Steve squeezed his neck/He figured what the heck") and who may or may not have suffered brain damage as a result ("Now he plays lots of pool/And as a rule/He wears a silly grin/On his chin").
The Writer
Tormé's other books include My Singing Teachers: Reflections on Singing Popular Music (1994), a biography of Buddy Rich, Traps, the Drum Wonder (1997), and his autobiography It Wasn't All Velvet (1988). He also published the novel Wynner in 1977.
The songwriter
Tormé wrote more than 250 songs, several of which became jazz standards. He also often wrote the arrangements for the songs he sang. He often collaborated with Bob Wells, and the best known Tormé-Wells song is "The Christmas Song," often referred to by its opening line "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire." The song was recorded first by Nat King Cole. Tormé said that he wrote the music to the song in only 40 minutes, and that it was not one of his personal favorites.:For a partial Mel Tormé discography, see the Mel Tormé discography.
Bibliography
Filmography
Television work
Family
Spouses:Tormé was survived by five children and two stepchildren, including:
Tormé was not related to Bernie Tormé, an Irish heavy metal guitarist who has played with Ian Gillan and Ozzy Osbourne.
References
External links
Category:1925 births Category:1999 deaths Category:American crooners Category:American jazz singers Category:American male singers Category:American television actors Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:Deaths from stroke Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Jewish singers Category:MGM Records artists Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Concord Records artists
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Mariah Carey
| Name | Mariah Carey |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth date | March 27, 1970 |
| Birth place | Huntington, New York, United States |
| Genre | R&B;, pop |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Associated acts | Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, model, record producer, actress, film producer |
| Spouse | |
| Label | Columbia, Virgin, Island |
| Url |
Following her separation from Mottola, in 1997, she introduced elements of hip hop into her album work, to much initial success, but her popularity was in decline when she left Columbia, in 2001. She signed a record $80 million dollar deal with Virgin Records, only to be dropped from the label and bought out of her contract in the following year. This radical turn of events was due to the highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown, as well as the poor reception that was given to Glitter, her film and soundtrack project. In 2002, Carey signed with Island Records, and, after a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of pop music, in 2005, with her album, The Emancipation of Mimi.
In a career spanning over two decades, Carey has sold more than 200 million albums, singles and videos worldwide,according to Island Def Jam, which makes her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Carey was cited as the world’s best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the 1998 World Music Awards and was also named the best-selling female artist of the millennium by the same award-giving body in 2000. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the third-best-selling female artist, with shipments of 63 million albums. In 2008, Carey earned her eighteenth number one single on the Hot 100, the most for any solo artist. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, she has earned five Grammy Awards and is known for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and use of the whistle register.
Life and career
1970–87: Childhood and youth
Mariah Carey was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia (née Hickey), a former opera singer and vocal coach, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer. Her mother is Irish American and her father is of Afro-Venezuelan and African American descent; her paternal grandfather, Roberto Nuñez, changed his surname to Carey to better assimilate upon moving to the United States from Venezuela. Carey has two sibilings, Morgan and Alison Carey. Carey was named after the song "They Call the Wind Mariah". Carey's parents divorced when she was three years old. While she lived in Huntington, racist neighbors allegedly poisoned the family dog and set fire to her family's car.Carey graduated from Harborfields High School, in Greenlawn, New York. She was frequently absent, because of her work as a demo singer for local recording studios; her classmates consequently gave her the nickname "Mirage". Her work in the Long Island music scene provided opportunities to work with musicians, such as Gavin Christopher and Ben Margulies, with whom she co-wrote material for her demo tape. After she moved to New York City, she worked part-time jobs to pay the rent and she completed 500 hours of beauty school. Eventually, she became a backup singer for Puerto Rican freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.
1988–92: Early career
In 1988, Carey met Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola at a party, where Starr gave Carey's demo tape to him. Mottola played the tape when he left the party and was impressed. He returned to find Carey but she had left. Nevertheless, Mottola tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract. This Cinderella-like story became part of the standard publicity that surrounded Carey's entrance into the industry.Carey co-wrote the tracks on her 1990 debut album Mariah Carey and she has co-written most of her material since. During the recording, she expressed dissatisfaction with the contributions of producers such as Ric Wake and Rhett Lawrence, whom the executives at Columbia had enlisted to help to make the album more commercially viable. Critics were generally enthusiastic (See Critical reception section of the album article). Backed by a substantial promotional budget, the album reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for several weeks. It yielded four number-one singles and made Carey a star in the United States but it was less successful in other countries. Critics rated the album highly, which assisted Carey's Grammy wins for Best New Artist, and—for her debut single, "Vision of Love"—Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Mariah Carey was also the best selling album of 1991 in the United States.
Carey conceived Emotions, her second album, as an homage to Motown soul music (see Motown Sound), and she worked with Walter Afanasieff and Clivillés & Cole (from the dance group C+C Music Factory) on the record. It was released soon after her debut album — in late 1991 — but was neither as critically or commercially successful (See Promotion and reception section of the album article). The title track "Emotions" made Carey into the only recording act whose first five singles have reached number one on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, although the album's follow-up singles failed to match this feat. Carey had lobbied to produce her own songs and, beginning with Emotions, she has co-produced most of her material. "I didn't want [Emotions] to be somebody else's vision of me," she said. "There's more of me on this album."
Although Carey performed live occasionally, stage fright prevented her from embarking on a major tour. Her first widely seen appearance was featured on the television show MTV Unplugged in 1992, and she remarked that she felt that her performance that night proved her vocal abilities were not, as some had previously speculated, simulated with studio equipment. Alongside acoustic versions of some of her earlier songs, Carey premiered a cover of The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There", with her back-up singer Trey Lorenz. The duet was released as a single, reached number one in the U.S. and led to a record deal for Lorenz, Because of high ratings for the Unplugged television special, the concert's set list was released on the EP MTV Unplugged, which Entertainment Weekly called "the strongest, most genuinely musical record she has ever made [...] Did this live performance help her to take her first steps toward growing up?."
1993–96: First marriage, and international success
Carey and Tommy Mottola became romantically involved during the making of her debut album and were married in June, 1993. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds consulted on the album Music Box, which was released later that year and became Carey's most successful worldwide. The album maintained a presence on the Billboard 200 for a staggering 128 weeks. It yielded her first UK Singles Chart number-one, a cover of Badfinger's "Without You", and the U.S. number-ones "Dreamlover" and "Hero". Billboard magazine proclaimed it "heart-piercing [...] easily the most elemental of Carey's releases, her vocal eurythmics in natural sync with the songs", but TIME magazine's Christopher John Farley lamented Carey's attempt at a mellower work, "[Music Box] seems perfunctory and almost passionless [...] Carey could be a pop-soul great; instead, she has once again settled for Salieri-like mediocrity." AllMusic adds, "Carey sounds detached on several selections. She scored a couple of huge hits, "Hero" and "Dreamlover", where she did inject some personality and intensity into the leads. Most other times, Carey blended into the background and allowed the tracks guide her, instead of pushing and exploding through them. It was wise for Carey to display other elements of her approach but, sometimes, excessive spirit is preferable to an absence of passion", and Rolling Stone expressed mixed sentiments and said, "Some of the songs appear to be strongly influenced by other hits. "Hero," with its message of self-sufficiency, aims for the inspirational grandeur of "Greatest Love of All", while "Just to Hold You Once Again" and "All I've Ever Wanted" chase the tail of "I Will Always Love You." In fact, Music Box is so precisely calculated to be a blockbuster that its impact is ultimately a little unnerving." In response to such comments, Carey said, "As soon as you have a big success, a lot of people don't like that. There's nothing that I can do about it. All I can do is to make music that I believe in." Most critics slighted the opening of her subsequent U.S. Music Box Tour. Farley balanced his critique with some positive observations: "The gospel flavored 'Anytime You Need A Friend' demonstrates Carey's vocal power, although too fleetingly. And the title cut is one of Carey's loveliest songs to date..." and, in subsequent years, emerged as one of her most perennially popular songs on U.S. radio. Critical reception of Merry Christmas was mixed, with Allmusic calling it an "otherwise vanilla set [...] pretensions to high opera on 'O Holy Night' and a horrid danceclub take on 'Joy to the World'." It became one of the most successful Christmas albums of all time.In 1995, Columbia released Carey's fourth studio album, Daydream, which combined the pop sensibilities of Music Box with downbeat R&B; and hip hop influences. A remix of "Fantasy", its first single, featured rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. Carey said that Columbia reacted negatively to her intentions for the album: "Everybody was like 'What, are you crazy?'. They're very nervous about breaking the formula." The New Yorker noted that "It became standard for R&B; stars, like Missy Eliott and Beyoncé, to combine melodies with rapped verses." John Norris of MTV News has stated that the remix was "responsible for, I would argue, an entire wave of music that we've seen since and that is the R&B-hip-hop; collaboration. You could argue that the 'Fantasy' remix was the single most important recording that she's ever made." Norris echoed the sentiments of TLC's Lisa Lopes, who told MTV that it's because of Mariah that we have "R&B.;" Daydream became her biggest-selling album in the U.S. and its singles achieved similar success — "Fantasy" became the second single to debut at number one in the U.S. and topped the Canadian Singles Chart for twelve weeks; "One Sweet Day" (a duet with Boyz II Men) spent a record-holding sixteen weeks at number one in the U.S.; and "Always Be My Baby" (co-produced by Jermaine Dupri) was the most successful record on U.S. radio in 1996, according to Billboard magazine. The album also generated career-best reviews for Carey, and publications such as The New York Times named it as one of 1995's best albums; the Times wrote that its "best cuts bring R&B; candy-making to a new peak of textural refinement [...] Carey's songwriting has taken a leap forward and become more relaxed, sexier and less reliant on thudding clichés." and AllMusic adds, "Daydream is her best record to date, and features a consistently strong selection of songs and a remarkably impassioned performance by Carey. A few of the songs are second-rate — particularly the cover of Journey's "Open Arms" — but Daydream demonstrates that Carey continues to perfect her craft and that she has earned her status as an R&B; diva." The short but profitable Daydream World Tour augmented sales of the album. The music industry took note of Carey's success — she won two awards at the American Music Awards for her solo efforts: Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B; Female Artist. Daydream and its tracks were respectively nominated for six categories in the 38th Grammy Awards. Carey, along with Boyz II Men, opened the event with a performance of "One Sweet Day," which was mightily applauded. In contrast, throughout the night, she was not called to the stage to receive even one Grammy. The cameras started to focus on Carey, revealing the fact that it was becoming harder for her to retain a smile. Her disappointment was becoming obvious.
1997–2000: New image, Butterfly and Rainbow
Carey and Mottola officially separated in 1997. Although the public image of the marriage was a happy one, she said that, in reality, she had felt trapped by her relationship with Mottola, whom she often described as controlling. They officially announced their separation in 1997 and their divorce became final in the following year. Soon after the separation, Carey hired an independent publicist and a new attorney and manager. She continued to write and produce for other artists during this period and contributedto the debut albums of Allure and 7 Mile through her short-lived imprint Crave Records." video in 1998.]] Carey's next album, Butterfly (1997), yielded the number-one single "Honey", the lyrics and music video which presented a more overtly sexual image of her than had been previously seen. She stated that Butterfly marked the point when she attained full creative control over her music. However, she added, "I don't think that it's that much of a departure from what I've done in the past [...] It's not like I went psycho and thought I would be a rapper. Personally, this album is about doing whatever the hell I wanted to do." Reviews were generally positive: Rolling Stone wrote, "Carey couldn't have wished for a better start than "Honey," [...] it's an undeniably catchy pop record that revamps her sound and image. It's not as if Carey has totally dispensed with her old saccharine, Houston-style balladry [...] but the predominant mood of Butterfly is one of coolly erotic reverie. [... Except "Outside" the album sounds] very 1997. [...] Carey has spread her wings and she's ready to fly", LAUNCHcast said Butterfly "pushes the envelope", a move that its critic thought "may prove disconcerting to more conservative fans" but praised as "a welcome change." The Los Angeles Times wrote, "[Butterfly] is easily the most personal, confessional-sounding record she's ever done [...] Carey-bashing just might become a thing of the past." and AllMusic adds "Carey's vocals are sultrier and more controlled than ever, and that helps "Butterfly," "Break Down," "Babydoll," and the Prince cover, "The Beautiful Ones," rank among her best; also, the ballads do have a stronger urban feel than before. Even though Butterfly doesn't have as many strong singles as Daydream, it's one of her best records and illustrates that Carey continues to improve and refine her music, which makes her a rarity among her '90s peers." The album was a commercial success—although not to the degree of her previous three albums—and "My All" (her thirteenth Hot 100 number-one) gave her the record for the most U.S. number-ones by a female artist.
Toward the turn of the millennium, Carey developed the film project Glitter and wrote songs for the films Men in Black (1997) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). During the production of Butterfly, Carey became romantically involved with New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter. Their relationship ended in 1998, with both parties citing media interference as the main reason for the split. The same year, Columbia released the album #1's, a collection of Carey's U.S. number-one singles alongside new material, which, she said, was a way to reward her fans. The song "When You Believe", a duet with Whitney Houston, was recorded for the soundtrack of The Prince of Egypt (1998) and won an Academy Award. #1's sold above expectations but a review in NME labeled Carey "a purveyor of saccharine bilge like 'Hero', whose message seems wholesome enough: that if you vacate your mind of all intelligent thought, flutter your eyelashes and wish hard, sweet babies and honey will follow." Also that year, she appeared on the first televised VH1 Divas benefit concert program, although her alleged prima donna behavior had already led many to consider her a diva.
Rainbow, Carey's sixth studio album, was released in 1999 and comprised more R&B;/hip hop–oriented songs, with many of them co-created with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You" (the former featuring Jay-Z, the latter featuring Joe and boy band 98 Degrees) reached number one in the U.S. VIBE magazine expressed similar sentiments, writing, "She pulls out all stops [...] Rainbow will garner even more adoration", but AllMusic states, "It's a bit ballad-heavy, which makes Rainbow seem a little samey. Yet, that's not the only reason why the record has a weird sense of déjà vu, since this follows the same formula as its two predecessors, distinguished primarily by her newfound fondness for flashing flesh. That repetition isn't necessarily a problem, because she does formula very well and manages to appeal to both housewives as well as b-boys. Rainbow proves that she can still pull off that difficult balancing act but it's hard not to be a little disappointed that she'd didn't shake the music up a little bit more — after all, it would have been a more effective album if the heartbreak, sorrow and joy that bubbles underneath the music were brought to the surface." and it became Carey's lowest-selling album up to that point,
2001–04: Glitter, Charmbracelet and personal struggles
After she received Billboard's Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium, and her relationship with the Latin icon Luis Miguel ended. In an interview the following year, she said, "I was with people who didn't really know me and I had no personal assistant. I'd do interviews all day long and get two hours of sleep a night, if that." During an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, to which she showed up unannounced and to the apparent bewilderment of host Carson Daly, Carey handed out popsicles to the audience and began what was later described as a "striptease". By the month's end, she had checked into a hospital and her publicist announced that Carey would take a break from public appearances.Critics panned Glitter, Carey's much delayed semi-autobiographical film and it was a box office failure. The accompanying soundtrack album, Glitter, was inspired by the music of the 1980s and featured collaborations with Rick James and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; it generated Carey's worst showing on the U.S. chart. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dismissed it as "an absolute mess that'll go down as an annoying blemish on a career that, while not always critically heralded, was at least nearly consistently successful", while Blender magazine opined, "After years of trading her signature flourishes for a radio-ready purr, Carey's left with almost no presence at all." The lead single, "Loverboy" (which features Cameo), reached number two on the Hot 100, due to the release of the physical single, Later that year, she signed a contract with Island Records, valued at more than $22.5 million, and launched the record label MonarC. To add further to Carey's emotional burdens, her father, with whom she had little contact since childhood, died of cancer that year.
Carey, Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters co-starred as waitresses at a mobster-operated restaurant in the independent film WiseGirls (2002), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival but went straight to cable in the U.S. Critics commended Carey for her efforts — The Hollywood Reporter predicted, "Those scathing notices for Glitter will be a forgotten memory for the singer once people warm up to Raychel", and Roger Friedman, referring to her as "a Thelma Ritter for the new millennium", said, "Her line delivery is sharp and she manages to get the right laughs". WiseGirls producer Anthony Esposito cast Carey in The Sweet Science (2006), a film about an unknown female boxer recruited by a boxing manager, but it never entered production.
In 2002, she performed the American national anthem in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following a well-received supporting role in the 2002 film WiseGirls, Carey released the album Charmbracelet, which, she said, marked "a new lease on life" for her. and Rolling Stone commented, "Carey needs bold songs that help her use the power and range for which she is famous. Charmbracelet is like a stream of watercolors that bleed into a puddle of brown." Allmusic expressed similar sentiments and said, "There are no good songs on this record, outside of Def Leppard's power ballad classic "Bringin on the Heartbreak," which isn't even covered all that well. What is a greater problem is that Mariah's voice is shot, sounding in tatters throughout the record. Whenever she sings, there's a raspy whistle behind her thin voice and she strains to make notes throughout the record. She cannot coo or softly croon nor can she perform her trademark gravity-defying vocal runs. Her voice is damaged and there's not a moment where it sounds strong or inviting. That, alone, would be disturbing but, because the songs are formless and the production bland — another reason why the hip-hop announces itself, even though it's nowhere near as pronounced as it has been since Butterfly — her tired voice becomes the only thing to concentrate on and it's a sad, ugly thing, which makes an album - that would merely have been her worst - into something tragic." The album's only charting single in America, "Through the Rain", was a failure on pop radio, which had become less open to maturing "diva" stylists, such as Celine Dion, or Carey, herself, in favor of younger singers such as Christina Aguilera, who had vocal styles very similar to Carey's. She was featured on rapper Jadakiss's 2004 single "U Make Me Wanna", which reached the top ten on Billboard's R&B;/Hip-Hop chart.
Carey was one of several musicians who appeared in the independently produced Damon Dash films Death of a Dynasty (2003) and State Property 2 (2005).
2005–07: Return to prominence with The Emancipation of Mimi
, in Florida August 7, 2006.]] Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), contained contributions from producers such as The Neptunes, Kanye West and Carey's longtime collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. Carey said it was "very much like a party record [...] the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out [...] I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that." The Emancipation of Mimi became 2005's best-selling album in the U.S. The Guardian reviewer defined it as "cool, focused and urban [... some of] the first Mariah Carey tunes in years which I wouldn't have to be paid to listen to again"., but New York Daily News states, "Carey has brought back that trademark dog-whistle that she exploited in the callow part of her career with a vengeance and used it on 11 of the CD's 14 tracks. For Carey, vocalizing is all about the performance, not the emotions that inspired it. Singing, to her, represents a physical challenge, not an emotional unburdening. If no one can question the scope of Carey's voice, it's too bad that she has again used it to say nothing." The album earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Album and the single "We Belong Together" won Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance and Best R&B; Song. "We Belong Together" held the Hot 100's number-one position for fourteen weeks, her longest run at the top as a solo lead artist. Subsequently, the single "Shake It Off" reached number two for a week, which made Carey the first female lead vocalist to have simultaneously held the Hot 100's top two positions. (While it topped the charts in 2002, Ashanti was the "featured" singer on the number two single.) 2005 proved to be a good year for Carey, as "We Belong Together" reached number one on Billboard's year end chart for Hot 100 singles, and The Emancipation of Mimi is classed as the best selling album of 2005 by Nielsen SoundScan.In mid-2006, Carey began The Adventures of Mimi Tour, which was the most successful of her career, although some dates had to be canceled. She appeared on the cover of the March, 2007, edition of Playboy magazine in a non-nude photo session. Around this time, she made a legal threat against porn star Mary Carey, believing their names were too similar.
In 2006, Carey joined the cast of the indie film Tennessee (2008), taking the role of an aspiring singer who flees her controlling husband and joins two brothers on a journey to find their long-lost father. The movie received mixed reviews, but most of them raved about Carey's performance and praised it as "understated and very effective."
2007–09: E=MC², second marriage, and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
By spring 2007, she had begun to work on her eleventh studio album, E=MC². Asked about the album title's meaning, Carey said "Einstein's theory? Physics? Me? Hello! ...Of course I'm poking fun." She characterized the project as "Emancipation of Mimi to the second power", and said that she was "freer" on this album than any other. Like her previous one, this album mainly concentrates on pop and R&B; but borrows hip hop, gospel and even reggae ("Cruise Control") elements. Although E=MC² was well received by most critics, some of them criticized it for being "a clone of The Emancipation of Mimi". Bleu Magazine's critic said that the "facsimiles aren't terrible, they're just boring and forgettable at this point." Two weeks before the album's release, on April 2, 2008, "Touch My Body", her first single from the album, became Carey's eighteenth number-one single on the Hot 100, pushing her past Elvis Presley into second place for the most number-one singles among all artists in the rock era, according to Billboard magazine's revised methodology. Carey is now second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening week sales of her career.Carey's singles have collectively topped the charts for seventy-nine weeks, which places her just behind Presley, who topped the charts for a combined eighty weeks. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked her at number six on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists", making Carey the second most successful female artist (behind Madonna) in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Carey has also had notable success on international charts, though not to the same degree as in the United States. Thus far, she has had two number-one singles in Britain, two in Australia, and six in Canada. Her highest-charting single in Japan peaked at number two. Carey and actor/comedian/rapper Nick Cannon met while they shot Carey's music video for her second single "Bye Bye" on a private island of the coast of Antigua. On April 30, 2008, Carey married Cannon at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas. In October 2008, Carey was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Carey had a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's 2008 film You Don't Mess with the Zohan, playing herself.
Carey performed "Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after Barack Obama was sworn in as America's first African-American president on January 20, 2009. On July 7, 2009, Carey – alongside Trey Lorenz – performed her version of the Jackson 5 hit "I'll Be There" at the memorial service for Michael Jackson in the Los Angeles Staples Center. Carey was featured on "My Love", the second single from singer-songwriter The-Dream's album Love vs. Money. In 2009, she appeared as a social worker in Precious, the movie adaptation of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film has garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, as has Carey's performance. Variety described her acting as "pitch-perfect". So far Precious has won awards at both the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, receiving top awards there. In January 2010, Carey won the Breakthrough Actress Performance award for her role in Precious at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Carey's twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel was released on September 25, 2009. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. John Bush of Allmusic called it "her most interesting album in a decade", while Jon Caramanica from The New York Times criticized Carey's vocal performances, decrying her overuse of her softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and mid registers. Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and became the lowest-selling studio album of her career. The album's lead single, "Obsessed", became her 40th entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and her highest debut on the chart since "My All" in 1998. The song debuted at number eleven and peaked at number seven on the chart and became Carey's 27th US top-ten hit, tying her with Elton John and Janet Jackson as the fifth most top-ten hits. Within hours after the song's release, various outlets speculated that its target was rapper Eminem, in response to his song "Bagpipes from Baghdad," in which he taunted Carey's husband, Nick Cannon by telling him to back off and that Carey is his. According to MTV, Carey alludes to drug problems in "Obsessed," which Eminem opened up about on his sixth studio album, Relapse. The album's follow-up singles failed to achieve commercial success. The second single, a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is", peaked at number 60 and the third single, "H.A.T.E.U.", failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100. On December 31, 2009, Carey embarked her seventh concert tour, Angels Advocate Tour, which visited the United States and Canada. Later it was announced that Carey would release two remix albums of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel; titled Angels Advocate (an R&B; remix album featuring a collection of newly remixed duets with some of Carey's favorite artists) and MC vs JS (a dance album entirely remixed by the Jump Smokers). In January 2010, "Up Out My Face" featuring Nicki Minaj and "Angels Cry" featuring Ne-Yo were released as the lead singles from Angels Advocate. Both albums were slated for a March 2010 release, but were eventually cancelled.
2010–present: Merry Christmas II You and pregnancy
on December 3, 2010]] Following the cancellation of the remix albums, it was announced that Carey will go back to the studio to start work on her second Christmas album and her 13th studio album. Fashion photographer David LaChapelle told The Times on April 24, 2010, that he shot the album's artwork. Long time collaborators for the project include Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. Dupri stated that a single will be released by the end of 2010. Johntá Austin and Randy Jackson are also contributing to the project.In May 2010, Carey, citing medical reasons, dropped out of her planned appearance in For Colored Girls, the film adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.
During a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, in August 2010, Island Def Jam executive Matt Voss announced that the Christmas album would be out in November 2 and will include six new songs and a remix of her all time classic hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You". The album will be titled Merry Christmas II You, a follow-up to her 1994 multiplatinum album Merry Christmas. An accompanying DVD was released alongside the CD. Carey has produced and recorded tracks with the Broadway producer Marc Shaiman for the album. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 56,000 copies, surpassing the opening week sales of Carey's previous holiday album Merry Christmas of 45,000 copies 16 years prior, and making Merry Christmas II You Carey's 16th top 10 album. The album also debuted at #1 on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart, and also hit number #1 on the Holiday Albums Chart.
After much media spectulation, on October 28, 2010, Carey confirmed that she and Cannon are expecting a baby, and that it is due in the spring of 2011. Carey stated that she struggled to keep the news a secret. She also revealed that they have yet to find out the gender of the baby and that she conceived naturally. She added that she had been pregnant shortly after her wedding with Nick Cannon, but that she miscarried. Carey and Cannon decided to keep the matter private. Following allegations that Mariah accidentally revealed that the couple were expecting twins during an radio interview by referring to the child as 'they', Nick stated that Carey is due one child, not twins. However, Nick refused to say how many babies his wife was expecting to E! News, but admitted that by saying 'they', Mariah 'wasn't wrong'. On December 16, 2010, Nick Cannon announced that he and Mariah were in fact going to have twins.
On December 12, 2010, Carey was the featured performer on the annual television special Christmas in Washington, airing live on pay-per-view in select cities worldwide. The U.S. network television premiere was December 17 via the TNT network.
Artistry
Carey has said that from childhood she has been influenced by R&B; and soul musicians such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. Her music contains strong influences of gospel music, she attends an Episcopal church and her favorite gospel singers include The Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar and Edwin Hawkins. She has expressed appreciation for rappers such as The Sugarhill Gang, Eric B. & Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep, In She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul (2002), writer Lucy O'Brien attributed the comeback of Barbra Streisand's "old-fashioned showgirl" to Carey and Dion, and described them and Houston as "groomed, airbrushed and overblown to perfection". Carey's musical transition and use of more revealing clothing during the late 1990s were, in part, initiated to distance herself from this image, and she subsequently said that most of her early work was "schmaltzy MOR". Despite the fact that Carey is often credited with co-writing her material, she has also been accused of plagiarism on several occasions. Many of these cases were eventually settled out of court.
Voice
Mariah Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range, and was ranked first in a 2003 MTV and Blender magazine countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll, "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself." She also placed second in Cove magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists". Regarding her voice, Carey states,"I have nodules on my vocal cords. My mother says I've had them since I was a kid. That's why I have the high register and the belting register and I can still be husky. The only thing that really affects my voice is sleep. Sometimes if I'm exhausted, I can't hit the really high notes." "My doctors showed me my vocal cords and why I can hit those high notes. It's a certain part of the cord that not many people use—the very top. My natural voice is low. I have a raspy voice. I'm really more of an alto. But my airy voice can be high if I'm rested. [...] When I was little, I'd talk in this really high whisper, and my mom would be like, "You're being ridiculous." I thought if I can talk like that I can sing like that. So I started [she goes higher and higher and higher] just messing around with it. I'd practice and practice, and she'd be like, "You're gonna hurt yourself." I'd tell her, It doesn’t hurt/ If I were to try and belt two octaves lower than that, that would be a strain."
She also explains that it was Minnie Riperton who influenced her to use the whistle register. The medium is "pleasurable and possesses an ample vibrato." Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker adds her timbre possesses various colors, saying, "Carey's sound changes with nearly every line, mutating from a steely tone to a vibrating growl and then to a humid, breathy coo." Her wide vocal range allows Carey to take melodies from alto bottom notes to coloratura soprano upper register,
Voice experts praise Carey's vocal technique, like Stephen Holden who said, "[s]he can deliver very accurate staccatos as well as tricky melismas, and she possesses a beautiful and solid trill in upper register". Rolling Stone expressed similar sentiments, saying, "Carey has a remarkable vocal gift, but to date, unfortunately, her singing has been far more impressive than expressive", "She wails notes that don't need emphasizing, then whispers what would ordinarily be climactic phrases, and the outcome doesn't make emotional or musical sense." New York Daily News continues in the same direction, saying, "For Carey, vocalizing is all about the performance, not the emotions that inspired it. Singing, to her, represents a physical challenge, not an emotional unburdening. If no one can question the scope of Carey's voice it's too bad she has again used it to say nothing."
Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines, keyboards and synthesizers. Many of her songs contain piano music, and she was given piano lessons when she was six years old. Carey said that she cannot read sheet music and prefers to collaborate with a pianist when composing her material, but feels that it is easier to experiment with faster and less conventional melodies and chord progressions using this technique. Some of her arrangements have been inspired by the work of musicians such as Stevie Wonder, a soul pianist to whom Carey once referred as "the genius of the [twentieth] century",
Carey began commissioning remixes of her material early in her career and helped to spearhead the practice of recording entirely new vocals for remixes. Disc jockey David Morales has collaborated with Carey several times, starting with "Dreamlover" (1993), which popularized the tradition of remixing R&B; songs into house records, and which Slant magazine named one of the greatest dance songs of all time. From "Fantasy" (1995) onward, Carey enlisted both hip hop and house producers to re-imagine her album compositions. Entertainment Weekly included two remixes of "Fantasy" on a list of Carey's greatest recordings compiled in 2005: a National Dance Music Award-winning remix produced by Morales, and a Sean Combs production featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. The latter has been credited with popularizing the R&B;/hip hop collaboration trend that has continued into the 2000s through artists such as Ashanti and Beyoncé. Combs said that Carey "knows the importance of mixes, so you feel like you're with an artist who appreciates your work—an artist who wants to come up with something with you". According to Rolling Stone, "Her mastery of melisma, the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love," inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B; singer since the Nineties." Beyoncé Knowles credits Carey's singing and her song "Vision of Love," as influencing her to begin practicing vocal "runs" as a child, as well as helping her pursue a career as a musician. Carey is also credited for introducing R&B; and hip-hop into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act through her post-1995 songs. Philip Brasor, editor of "The Japan Times," expressed how Carey's vocal and melismatic style even influenced Asian singers. He wrote regarding Japanese superstar Utada Hikaru, "Utada sang what she heard, from the diaphragm and with her own take on the kind of melisma that became de rigueur in American pop after the ascendance of Mariah Carey."
" video in 1998.]] In a career spanning over 20 years, Carey has sold over 200 million albums, singles, and videos worldwide, making her one of the biggest-selling artists in music history. Carey is ranked as the best-selling female artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, with over 52 million copies sold. Possessing a five-octave vocal range, Carey was ranked first in MTV and Blender magazine's 2003 countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, and was placed second in Cove magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists". Aside from her voice, she has become known for her songwriting. Yahoo Music editor, Jason Ankeny wrote, "She earned frequent comparison to rivals Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, but did them both one better by composing all of her own material." According to Billboard magazine, she was the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States. At the 2000 World Music Awards, Carey was given a Legend Award for being the "best-selling female pop artist of the millennium," as well as the "Best-selling artist of the 90s" in the United States, after releasing a series of albums of multi-platinum status in Asia and Europe, such as Music Box and Number 1's. She is also a recipient of the Chopard Diamond Award in 2003, recognizing sales of over 100 million albums worldwide. In Japan, Carey has the top four highest-selling albums of all time by a non-Asian artist.
Carey has spent a record 79 weeks at the number-one position on Billboard Hot 100, becoming the artist with the most weeks at number-one in U.S. chart history. On that same chart, she has accumulated 18 number-one singles, making her the solo artist with the most number-one singles in the chart's history. It also produced the successful single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which became the only holiday song and ringtone to reach multi-platinum status in the U.S. In Japan, Number 1's has sold over 3,250,000 copies and is the best-selling album of all time in Japan by a non-Asian artist. Her hit single "One Sweet Day", which featured Boyz II Men, spent sixteen consecutive weeks at the top of Billboards Hot 100 chart in 1996, setting the record for the most weeks atop the Hot 100 chart in history. In 2008, Billboard magazine listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard: All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs and the most successful song of the first decade of the 21st century. In 2009, Carey's song Obsessed became her 12th Platinum single, the most by any female artist. Also in 2009, Carey's cover of Foreigner's classic, "I Want to Know What Love Is" became the longest-running number-one song in Brazilian singles chart history, spending 27 consecutive weeks at number-one. Additionally, Carey has had three songs debut at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100: "Fantasy", "One Sweet Day" and "Honey", making her the artist with the most number-one debuts in the chart's 52 year history. Also, she is the first female artist to debut at number 1 in the U.S. with "Fantasy". In 2010, Careys 13th and second christmas album,Merry Christmas II You debuted at #1 on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart.
Philanthropy and other activities
Carey is a philanthropist who has donated time and money to organizations such as the Fresh Air Fund. She became associated with the Fund in the early 1990s, and is the co-founder of a camp located in Fishkill, New York, that enables inner-city youth to embrace the arts and introduces them to career opportunities. The camp was called Camp Mariah "for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children", and she received a Congressional Horizon Award for her youth-related charity work. She is well-known nationally for her work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation in granting the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, and in November 2006 she was awarded the Foundation's Wish Idol for her "extraordinary generosity and her many wish granting achievements". Carey has volunteered for the New York City Police Athletic League and contributed to the obstetrics department of New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell Medical Center. A percentage of the sales of MTV Unplugged was donated to various other charities. In 2008, Carey was named Hunger Ambassador of the World Hunger Relief Movement. She is giving a free download of her song, "Love Story", to customers who donate to the organization at participating restaurants. In February 2010, the song, "100%", which was originally written and recorded for the film, , was used as one of the theme songs for the 2010 Winter Olympics, with all money proceeds going to Team USA.One of Carey's most high-profile benefit concert appearances was on VH1's 1998 Divas Live special, during which she performed alongside other female singers in support of the Save the Music Foundation. The concert was a ratings success, and Carey participated in the Divas 2000 special. In 2007, the Save the Music Foundation honored Carey at their tenth gala event for her support towards the foundation since its inception. She appeared at the nationally televised fundraiser in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and in December 2001, she performed before peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. Carey hosted the CBS television special At Home for the Holidays, which documented real-life stories of adopted children and foster families, and she has worked with the New York City Administration for Children's Services. In 2005, Carey performed for Live 8 in London and at the Hurricane Katrina relief telethon "Shelter from the Storm". In August 2008, Carey and other singers recorded the charity single, "Just Stand Up" produced by Babyface and L. A. Reid, to support "Stand Up to Cancer". On September 5, the singers performed it live on TV.
Declining offers to appear in commercials in the United States during her early career, Carey was not involved in brand marketing initiatives until 2006, when she participated in endorsements for Intel Centrino personal computers and launched a jewelry and accessories line for teenagers, Glamorized, in American Claire's and Icing stores. During this period, as part of a partnership with Pepsi and Motorola, Carey recorded and promoted a series of exclusive ringtones, including "Time of Your Life". She signed a licensing deal with the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, and in 2007, she released her own fragrance, "M". According to Forbes, Carey was the sixth richest woman in entertainment , with an estimated net worth of US $225 million. Carey directed or co-directed several of the music videos for her singles during the 1990s. Slant magazine named the video for "The Roof (Back in Time)", which Carey co-directed with Diane Martel, one of the twenty greatest music videos of all time. In 2008, Carey made Time's annual list of 100 most Influential people. In January 2010, Carey announced via Twitter that she is launching a new rosé champagne brand called Angel Champagne.Supporting Actress of the Year at the Capri Hollywood International Film FestivalNominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress & Best Ensemble. Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. |}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2002 | Ally McBeal | Candy Cushnip | "" (Season 5, episode 8) |- | 2003 | The Proud Family | Herself | Voice role |}
Discography
See also
Notes
References
External links
Category:1970 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African American musicians Category:African American songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American film actors Category:American female singers Category:American music video directors Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:Hip hop singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American sopranos Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Long Island Category:Spanish-language singers Category:American people of Venezuelan descent Category:World Music Awards winners Category:American philanthropists
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Judy Garland
| Name | Judy Garland |
|---|---|
| Caption | Garland photographed in 1944 |
| Birth name | Frances Ethel Gumm |
| Birth date | June 10, 1922 |
| Birth place | Grand Rapids, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Death date | June 22, 1969 |
| Death place | Chelsea, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1924–1969 (singer)1929–1967 (actress) |
| Spouse | David Rose (1941–1944)Vincente Minnelli (1945–1951)Sid Luft (1952–1965)Mark Herron (1965–1967)Mickey Deans (1969) (Her Death) |
After appearing in vaudeville with her sisters, Garland was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. There she made more than two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney and the 1939 film with which she would be most identified, The Wizard of Oz. After 15 years, Garland was released from the studio but gained renewed success through record-breaking concert appearances, including a critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall concert, a well-regarded but short-lived television series and a return to acting beginning with a critically acclaimed performance in A Star Is Born (1954).
Despite her professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and manipulated her on-screen physical appearance. Garland was plagued by financial instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. She married five times, with her first four marriages ending in divorce. Garland died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 47, leaving children Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft.
In 1997, Garland was posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 1999, the American Film Institute placed her among the ten greatest female stars in the history of American cinema.
Life and career
Childhood and early life
Born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Judy Garland was the youngest child of Francis Avent "Frank" Gumm (March 20, 1886 – November 17, 1935) and Ethel Marion Milne (November 17, 1893 – January 5, 1953). Garland's parents were vaudevillians who settled in Grand Rapids to run a movie theatre that featured vaudeville acts.Garland's ancestry on both sides of her family can be traced back to the early colonial days of the United States. Her father was descended from the Marable family of Virginia, and her mother from Patrick Fitzpatrick, who emigrated to America in the 1770s from Smithtown, County Meath, Ireland.
Named after both her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church, "Baby" (as Frances was called by her parents and sisters) shared her family's flair for song and dance. Baby Gumm's first appearance came at the age of two-and-a-half when she joined her two older sisters, Mary Jane "Suzy/Suzanne" Gumm (1915–64) and Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie" Gumm (1917–77), on the stage of her father's movie theater during a Christmas show and sang a chorus of "Jingle Bells". Accompanied by their mother on piano, The Gumm Sisters performed at their father's theater for the next few years. Following rumors that Frank Gumm had made sexual advances toward male ushers at his theater, the family relocated to Lancaster, California, in June 1926. Frank purchased and operated another theater in Lancaster, and Ethel, acting as their manager, began working to get her daughters into motion pictures.
The Gumm Sisters
In 1928, The Gumm Sisters enrolled in a dance school run by Ethel Meglin, proprietress of the Meglin Kiddies dance troupe. The sisters appeared with the troupe at its annual Christmas show. It was through the Meglin Kiddies that Garland and her sisters made their film debut, in a 1929 short subject called The Big Revue. This was followed by appearances in two Vitaphone shorts the following year, A Holiday in Storyland (featuring Garland's first on-screen solo) and The Wedding of Jack and Jill. They next appeared together in Bubbles. The final on-screen appearance of The Gumm Sisters came in 1935, in another short entitled La Fiesta de Santa Barbara.In 1934, the sisters, who by then had been touring the vaudeville circuit as "The Gumm Sisters" for many years, performed in Chicago at the Oriental Theater with George Jessel. He encouraged the group to choose a more appealing name after the name "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. "The Garland Sisters" was chosen, and Frances changed her name to "Judy" soon after, inspired by a popular Hoagy Carmichael song.
Several stories persist regarding the origin of the name "Garland". One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland in the film Twentieth Century which was then playing at the Oriental; another is that the trio chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland. Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that her mother selected the name when Jessel announced that the trio of singers "looked prettier than a garland of flowers". Another variation surfaced when Jessel was a guest on Garland's television show in 1963. He claimed that he had sent actress Judith Anderson a telegram containing the word "garland," and it stuck in his mind.
At any rate, by late 1934 the "Gumm Sisters" had changed their name to the "Garland Sisters." The trio was broken up in August 1935, however, when Suzanne Garland flew to Reno, Nevada, and married musician Lee Kahn, a member of the Jimmy Davis orchestra playing at Cal-Neva Lodge, Lake Tahoe.
Signed at MGM
In 1935, Garland was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, supposedly without a screen test, though she had made a test for the studio several months earlier. The studio did not know what to do with Garland, as at age 13 she was older than the traditional child star but too young for adult roles. Garland's physical appearance created a dilemma for MGM. At only , Garland's "cute" or "girl next door" looks did not exemplify the more glamorous persona required of leading ladies of the time. She was self-conscious and anxious about her appearance. "Judy went to school at Metro with Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, real beauties," said Charles Walters, who directed Garland in a number of films. "Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was the ugly duckling ... I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever, really." Her insecurity was exacerbated by the attitude of studio chief Louis B. Mayer, who referred to her as his "little hunchback". During her early years at the studio, she was photographed and dressed in plain garments or frilly juvenile gowns and costumes to match the "girl-next-door" image that was created for her. She was made to wear removable caps on her teeth and rubberized disks to reshape her nose. She performed at various studio functions and was eventually cast opposite Deanna Durbin in the musical short Every Sunday. The film contrasted Garland's contralto vocal range and swing style with Durbin's operatic soprano and served as an extended screen test for the pair, as studio executives were questioning the wisdom of having two girl singers on the roster. Mayer finally decided to keep both girls, but by that time Durbin's option had lapsed and she was signed by Universal Studios.On November 16, 1935, in the midst of preparing for a radio performance on the Shell Chateau Hour, Garland learned that her father—who had been hospitalized with meningitis—had taken a turn for the worse. Frank Gumm died the following morning, on November 17, leaving Garland devastated. Garland's song for the Shell Chateau Hour was her first professional rendition of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", a song which would become a standard in many of her concerts.
in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)]] Garland next came to the attention of studio executives by singing a special arrangement of "You Made Me Love You" to Clark Gable at a birthday party held by the studio for the actor; her rendition was so well regarded that Garland performed the song in the all-star extravaganza Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), in which she sang the song to a photograph of Gable.
MGM hit on a winning formula when it paired Garland with Mickey Rooney in a string of "backyard musicals". The duo first appeared together in the 1937 B movie Thoroughbreds Don't Cry. They became a sensation, and teamed up again in Love Finds Andy Hardy. Garland would eventually star with Rooney in nine films.
To keep up with the frantic pace of making one film after another, Garland, Rooney, and other young performers were constantly given amphetamines, as well as barbiturates to take before bed. For Garland, this regular dose of drugs led to addiction and a lifelong struggle, and contributed to her eventual demise. She later resented the hectic schedule and felt that her youth had been stolen from her by MGM. Despite successful film and recording careers, several awards, critical praise, and her ability to fill concert halls worldwide, Garland was plagued throughout her life with self-doubt and required constant reassurance that she was talented and attractive.
The Wizard of Oz
in The Wizard of Oz (1939)]] In 1938, at the age of 16, Garland was cast in the lead role of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film based on the children's book by L. Frank Baum. In this film, Garland sang the song for which she would forever be identified, "Over the Rainbow". Although producers Arthur Freed and Mervyn LeRoy had wanted Garland from the start, studio chief Mayer tried first to borrow Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox. Temple's services were denied and Garland was cast. Garland was initially outfitted in a blonde wig for the part, but Freed and LeRoy decided against it shortly into filming. Her breasts were bound with tape and she was made to wear a special corset to flatten out her curves and make her appear younger; her blue gingham dress was also chosen for its blurring effect on her figure.Shooting commenced on October 13, 1938, and was completed on March 16, 1939, with a final cost of more than $2 million. From the conclusion of filming, MGM kept Garland busy with promotional tours and the shooting of Babes in Arms. Garland and Mickey Rooney were sent on a cross-country promotional tour, culminating in the August 17 New York City premiere at the Capitol Theater, which included a five-show-a-day appearance schedule for the two stars.
On November 17, 1939, Garland's mother, Ethel, married William P. Gillmore in Yuma, Arizona. It was the fourth anniversary of her first husband's death.
The Wizard of Oz was a tremendous critical success, though its high budget and promotions costs of an estimated $4 million coupled with the lower revenue generated by children's tickets, meant that the film did not make a profit until it was re-released in the 1940s. At the 1940 Academy Awards ceremony, Garland received an Academy Juvenile Award for her performances in 1939, including The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms. Following this recognition, Garland became one of MGM's most bankable stars.
Stardom as an adult
In 1940, she starred in three films: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, and Little Nellie Kelly. In the latter, Garland played her first adult role, a dual role of both mother and daughter. Little Nellie Kelly was purchased from George M. Cohan as a vehicle for Garland to assess both her audience appeal and her physical appearance. The role was a challenge for her, requiring the use of an accent, her first adult kiss, and the only death scene of her career. The success of these three films, and a further three films in 1941, secured her position at MGM as a major property. (1944)]] During this time Garland experienced her first serious adult romances. The first was with the band leader Artie Shaw. Garland was deeply devoted to Shaw and was devastated in early 1940 when Shaw eloped with Lana Turner. Garland began a relationship with musician David Rose, and, on her 18th birthday, Rose gave her an engagement ring. The studio intervened because Rose was still married at the time to the actress and singer Martha Raye. The couple agreed to wait a year to allow for Rose's divorce from Raye to become final, and were wed on July 27, 1941. She was noticeably thinner in her next film, For Me and My Gal, alongside Gene Kelly in his first screen appearance. Garland was top billed over the credits for the first time, and effectively made the transition from teenage star to adult actress.At the age of 21, she was given the "glamour treatment" in Presenting Lily Mars, in which she was dressed in "grown-up" gowns. Her lightened hair was also pulled up in a stylish fashion. However, no matter how glamorous or beautiful she appeared on screen or in photographs, she was never confident in her appearance and never escaped the "girl next door" image that had been created for her. Adding to her insecurity was the dissolution of her marriage to David Rose. Garland, who had aborted her pregnancy by Rose in 1942, agreed to a trial separation in January 1943, and they divorced in 1944.
One of Garland's most successful films for MGM was Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), in which she introduced three standards: "The Trolley Song", "The Boy Next Door", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Vincente Minnelli was assigned to direct this movie, and he requested that make-up artist Dorothy Ponedel be assigned to Garland for the picture. Ponedel refined Garland's appearance in several ways, including extending and reshaping her eyebrows, changing her hairline, modifying her lip line, and removing her nose discs. Garland appreciated the results so much that Ponedel was written into her contract for all her remaining pictures at MGM. During the filming of Meet Me in St. Louis, after some initial conflict between them, Garland and Minnelli entered a relationship together. They were married June 15, 1945, and on March 12, 1946, daughter Liza Minnelli was born.
The Clock (1945) was her first straight dramatic film, opposite Robert Walker. Though the film was critically praised and earned a profit, most movie fans expected her to sing. It would be many years before she acted again in a non-singing dramatic role.
Garland's other famous films of the 1940s include The Harvey Girls (1946), in which she introduced the Academy Award-winning song "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", and The Pirate (1948).'''
Leaving MGM
During filming for The Pirate in April 1947, Garland suffered a nervous breakdown and was placed in a private sanitarium. She was able to complete filming, but in July of that year she undertook her first suicide attempt, making minor cuts to her wrist with a broken glass. During this period, Garland spent two weeks in treatment at the Austen Riggs Center, a psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, Mass. Following her work on The Pirate, Garland completed three more films for MGM: Easter Parade (in which she danced with Fred Astaire), In the Good Old Summertime, and her final film with MGM, Summer Stock.Because of her mental condition, Garland was unable to complete a series of films. During the filming of The Barkleys of Broadway, Garland was taking prescription sleeping medication along with illicitly obtained pills containing morphine. These, in combination with migraine headaches, led Garland to miss several shooting days in a row. After being advised by Garland's doctor that she would only be able to work in four- to five-day increments with extended rest periods between, MGM executive Arthur Freed made the decision to suspend Garland on July 18, 1948. She was replaced by Ginger Rogers.
Garland was cast in the film adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun in the title role of Annie Oakley. She was nervous at the prospect of taking on a role strongly identified with Ethel Merman, anxious about appearing in an unglamorous part after breaking from juvenile parts for several years, and disturbed by her treatment at the hands of director Busby Berkeley. She began arriving late to the set, and sometimes failed to appear. She was suspended from the picture on May 10, 1949, and was replaced by Betty Hutton.
Garland was next cast in the film Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire after June Allyson became pregnant in 1950. She again failed to report to the set on multiple occasions, and the studio suspended her contract on June 17, 1950. She was replaced by Jane Powell. Reputable biographies following Garland's death stated that after this latest dismissal, she slightly grazed her neck with a broken water glass, requiring only a Band-Aid, but at the time, the public was informed that a despondent Garland had slashed her throat. "All I could see ahead was more confusion," Garland later said of this suicide attempt. "I wanted to black out the future as well as the past. I wanted to hurt myself and everyone who had hurt me."
Renewed stardom on the stage
In 1951, Garland divorced Vincente Minnelli. She engaged Sid Luft as her manager the same year. Luft arranged a four-month concert tour of the United Kingdom, where she played to sold-out audiences throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. The tour included Garland's first appearances at the renowned London Palladium, for a four-week stand in April. Although some in the British press chided her before her opening for being "too plump", she received rave reviews and the ovation was described by the Palladium manager as the loudest he had ever heard.In October 1951, Garland opened in a vaudeville-style, two-a-day engagement at Broadway's newly refurbished Palace Theatre. Her 19-week engagement exceeded all previous records for the theater, and was described as "one of the greatest personal triumphs in show business history". Garland was honored for her contribution to the revival of vaudeville with a Special Tony Award.
Garland and Luft were married on June 8, 1952, in Hollister, California, and Garland gave birth to the couple's first child, Lorna Luft, on November 21 that year.
Garland's personal and professional achievements during this time were marred by the actions of her mother, Ethel. In May 1952, at the height of Garland's comeback, Ethel was featured in a Los Angeles Mirror story in which she revealed that while Garland was making a small fortune at the Palace, Ethel was working a desk job at Douglas Aircraft Company for $61 a week. Garland and Ethel had been estranged for years, with Garland characterizing her mother as "no good for anything except to create chaos and fear" and accusing her of mismanaging and misappropriating Garland's salary from the earliest days of her career. Garland's sister Virginia denied this, stating "Mama never took a dime from Judy." On January 5, 1953, Ethel was found dead in the Douglas Aircraft parking lot.
A Star Is Born
In 1954, Garland filmed a musical remake of the 1937 film A Star is Born for Warner Bros. Luft and Garland, through their production company Transcona Enterprises, produced the film while Warner Bros. supplied the funds, production facilities, and crew. Directed by George Cukor and co-starring James Mason, it was a large undertaking to which Garland initially fully dedicated herself. As shooting progressed, however, she began making the same pleas of illness which she had so often made during her final films at MGM. Production delays led to cost overruns and angry confrontations with Warner Bros. head Jack Warner. Principal photography wrapped on March 17, 1954. At Luft's suggestion, the "Born in a Trunk" medley was filmed as a showcase for Garland and inserted over director Cukor's objections, who feared the additional length would lead to cuts in other areas. The "Born in a Trunk" sequence was completed on July 29. (1954)]]Upon its September 29 world premiere, the film was met with tremendous critical and popular acclaim. Before release it was edited at the instruction of Jack Warner; theater operators, concerned that they were losing money because they were only able to run the film for three or four shows per day instead of five or six, pressured the studio to make additional reductions. About 30 minutes of footage was cut, sparking outrage among critics and filmgoers. A Star is Born ended up losing money, and the secure financial position Garland had expected from the profits did not materialize. Transcona made no more films with Warner.
Garland was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and, in the run-up to the 27th Academy Awards, was generally expected to be the winner. She could not attend the ceremony because she had just given birth to her son, Joseph Luft, so a television crew was in Garland's hospital room with cameras and wires to televise Garland's anticipated acceptance speech. The Oscar was won, however, by Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954). The camera crew was packing up before Kelly could even reach the stage. Garland even made jokes about the incident, on her television series, saying "...and nobody said good-bye." Groucho Marx sent Garland a telegram after the awards ceremony, declaring her loss "the biggest robbery since Brinks". To this day, it is still considered to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Academy Awards. Garland won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role.
Garland's films after A Star Is Born included Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) (for which she was Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated for Best Supporting Actress), the animated feature Gay Purr-ee (1962), and A Child Is Waiting (1963) with Burt Lancaster. Her final film, I Could Go On Singing (1963), co-starring Dirk Bogarde, mirrored her own life with its story of a world famous singing star. Garland’s last screen performance of a song was the prophetic I Could Go on Singing at the end of the film.
Television, concerts and Carnegie Hall
Beginning in 1955, Garland appeared in a number of television specials. The first, the 1955 debut episode of Ford Star Jubilee, was the first full-scale color broadcast ever on CBS and was a ratings triumph, scoring a 34.8 Nielsen rating. Garland signed a three-year, $300,000 contract with the network. Only one additional special, a live concert edition of General Electric Theater, was broadcast in 1956 before the relationship between the Lufts and CBS broke down in a dispute over the planned format of upcoming specials. In 1956, Garland performed four weeks at the New Frontier Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip for a salary of $55,000 per week, making her the highest-paid entertainer to work in Las Vegas. Despite a brief bout of laryngitis, her performances there were so successful that her run was extended an extra week. Later that year she returned to the Palace Theatre, site of her two-a-day triumph. She opened in September, once again to rave reviews and popular acclaim.In November 1959 Garland was hospitalized, diagnosed with acute hepatitis. Over the next few weeks several quarts of fluid were drained from her body until, still weak, she was released from the hospital in January 1960. She was told by doctors that she likely had five years or less to live, and that even if she did survive she would be a semi-invalid and would never sing again. She initially felt "greatly relieved" at the diagnosis. "The pressure was off me for the first time in my life."
Her concert appearance at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, was a considerable highlight, called by many "the greatest night in show business history". The two-record Judy at Carnegie Hall was certified gold, charting for 95 weeks on Billboard, including 13 weeks at number one. The album won four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal of the Year. The album has never been out of print.
In 1961, Garland and CBS settled their contract disputes with the help of her new agent, Freddie Fields, and negotiated a new round of specials. The first, entitled The Judy Garland Show, aired in 1962 and featured guests Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Following this success, CBS made a $24 million offer to Garland for a weekly television series of her own, also to be called The Judy Garland Show, which was deemed at the time in the press to be "the biggest talent deal in TV history". Although Garland had said as early as 1955 that she would never do a weekly television series, in the early 1960s she was in a financially precarious situation. Garland was several hundred thousand dollars in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, having failed to pay taxes in 1951 and 1952, and the financial failure of A Star is Born meant that she received nothing from that investment. A successful run on television was intended to secure Garland's financial future.
Following a third special, Judy Garland and Her Guests Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet, Garland's weekly series debuted September 29, 1963. The Judy Garland Show was critically praised, but for a variety of reasons (including being placed in the time slot opposite Bonanza on NBC) the show lasted only one season and was cancelled in 1964 after 26 episodes. Despite its short run, the series was nominated for four Emmy Awards. The demise of the series was personally and financially devastating for Garland, who never fully recovered from its failure.
Final years
, at their wedding, March 1969, three months before her death]] With the demise of her television series, Garland returned to the stage. Most notably, she performed at the London Palladium with her then 18-year-old daughter Liza Minnelli in November 1964. The concert, which was also filmed for British television network ITV, was one of Garland's final appearances at the venue. She made guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Merv Griffin Show, guest-hosting an episode of the last one.Garland sued Sid Luft for divorce in 1963, claiming "cruelty" as the grounds. She also asserted that Luft had repeatedly struck her while he was drinking and that he had attempted to take their children from her by force. She had filed for divorce more than once previously, including as early as 1956.
A 1964 tour of Australia was largely disastrous. Garland's first concert in Sydney, held in the Sydney Stadium because no concert hall could accommodate the crowds who wanted to see her, went well and received positive reviews. Her second performance, in Melbourne, started an hour late. The crowd of 7,000, angered by her tardiness—and believing Garland to be drunk—booed and heckled her, and she fled the stage after just 45 minutes. She later characterized the Melbourne crowd as "brutish". Some of that bad press was deflected by the announcement of a near fatal episode of pleurisy, followed by Garland's fourth marriage to tour promoter Mark Herron. They announced that their marriage had taken place aboard a freighter off the coast of Hong Kong; however, Garland was not legally divorced from Luft at the time the ceremony was performed. Her divorce from Luft became final on May 19, 1965,
In February 1967, Garland had been cast as Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls for 20th Century Fox. The character of Neely O'Hara in the book by Jacqueline Susann was rumored to have been based on Garland. The role of O'Hara in the film was played by Patty Duke. During the filming, Garland missed rehearsals and was fired in April. She was replaced by Susan Hayward. Garland's prerecording of the song "I'll Plant My Own Tree" survived, along with her wardrobe tests.
Returning to the stage, Garland made her last appearances at New York's Palace Theatre in July, a 16-show tour, performing with her children Lorna and Joey Luft. Garland wore a sequined pantsuit on stage for this tour, which was part of the original wardrobe for her character in Valley of the Dolls.
By early 1969, Garland's health had deteriorated. She performed in London at the Talk of the Town nightclub for a five-week run and made her last concert appearance in Copenhagen during March 1969. She married her fifth and final husband, Mickey Deans, at Chelsea Register Office, London, on March 15, 1969, her divorce from Herron having been finalized on February 11 of that year.
Death
On June 22, 1969, Garland was found dead by Deans in the bathroom of their rented Chelsea, London house. The coroner, Gavin Thursdon, stated at the inquest that the cause of death was "an incautious self-overdosage" of barbiturates; her blood contained the equivalent of ten Seconal capsules. Thursdon stressed that the overdose had been unintentional and that there was no evidence to suggest she had committed suicide. Garland's autopsy showed that there was no inflammation of her stomach lining and no drug residue in her stomach, which indicated that the drug had been ingested over a long period of time, rather than in one dose. Her death certificate stated that her death had been "accidental." Even so, a British specialist who had attended Garland said she had been living on borrowed time due to cirrhosis of the liver. Garland had turned 47 just 12 days prior to her death. Her Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger commented at Garland's funeral, "She just plain wore out." An estimated 20,000 people lined up for hours at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel to view her body. James Mason gave a eulogy at the funeral, which was an Episcopalian service led by the Rev. Peter A. Delaney of Marylebone Church, London, who had officiated at Garland's marriage to Deans. Garland was interred in a crypt in the community mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery, in Hartsdale, New York.
Legacy
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has another for recording at 6764 Hollywood Blvd.]] Judy Garland's legacy as a performer and a personality has endured long after her death. The American Film Institute named Garland eighth among the Greatest Female Stars of All Time. She has been the subject of over two dozen biographies since her death, including the well-received by her daughter, Lorna Luft. Luft's memoir was later adapted into the multiple award-winning television miniseries, , which won Emmy Awards for two actresses portraying Garland (Tammy Blanchard and Judy Davis). Garland was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. These include "Over the Rainbow", which was ranked as the number one movie song of all time in the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Songs" list. Four more Garland songs are featured on the list: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (#76), "Get Happy" (#61), "The Trolley Song" (#26), and "The Man That Got Away" (#11). Garland has twice been honored on U.S. postage stamps, in 1989 (as Dorothy) and again in 2006 (as Vicki Lester from A Star Is Born).
Gay icon
Of particular note is Garland's status as a gay icon. She always had a large base of fans in the gay community. Reasons often given for her standing, especially amongst gay men, are admiration of her ability as a performer, the way her personal struggles mirrored those of gay men in America during the height of her fame and her value as a camp figure. A connection is frequently drawn between the timing of Garland's death and funeral on June 27, 1969, and the Stonewall riots, the flashpoint of the modern Gay Liberation movement, which started in the early hours of June 28. Coincidental or not, the proximity of Garland's death to Stonewall has become a part of LGBT history and lore. When asked about how she felt about being a gay icon, she responded, "I couldn't care less. I sing to people."
Filmography and performances
Discography
Awards
See also
Notes
References
External links
Category:1922 births Category:1969 deaths Category:People from Grand Rapids, Minnesota Category:American Episcopalians Category:Academy Juvenile Award winners Category:Accidental deaths in England Category:Actors from Minnesota Category:Actors who attempted suicide Category:Alumni of University High School (Los Angeles, California) Category:American actors of English descent Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American contraltos Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musicians of English descent Category:American radio personalities Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Decca Records artists Category:Drug-related deaths in England Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:Tony Award winners Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Vaudeville performers Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States
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Jessica Simpson
| Name | Jessica Simpson |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Jessica Ann Simpson |
| Born | July 10, 1980Abilene, Texas, United States |
| Genre | Pop, dance-pop, R&B;, country pop, adult contemporary |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, actress, fashion designer |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse | Nick Lachey (2002-2006; divorced) |
| Label | Columbia (1998–2005)Epic (2005–2009)Columbia Nashville (2008–2009)Eleveneleven (2010–present)Primary Wave (2010–present) |
| Associated acts | Nick Lachey, Ashlee Simpson, 98 Degrees, John Mayer, Tony Romo |
| Url |
Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, television personality and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and beauty products, and designed fragrances, shoes, and handbags for women. She has devoted time to philanthropic efforts including Operation Smile and a USO-hosted tour for troops stationed overseas.
She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, three gold and two Multi- Platinum RIAA certified studio albums, four of which have reached the top 10 on the US Billboard 200. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show . She ventured into the country music market in 2008 and released Do You Know.
She has sold 20 million records worldwide. Simpson has a total of records sales in Australia of more than 426,000 copies and was ranked in the # 113 on the 1000 artists chart of ARIA Music Decade Charts (1980–2010). In 2009, Billboard named Simpson as the 95th overall best Artists of the Decade. Simpson also was ranked at number 86 on Billboard 200 Artists, solely based on album sales.
Early life
Simpson was born in Abilene, Texas, the daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew) and Joe Truett Simpson, who was a minister and psychologist. Her younger sister is singer Ashlee Simpson. As a child, she began singing at her local Baptist church. At age twelve, Simpson unsuccessfully auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. While attending J.J. Pearce High School, she signed to Proclaim Records, a minor Gospel music record label. She recorded an album, self-titled, "Jessica", but Proclaim went bankrupt and the album was never officially released except for a small pressing funded by her grandmother. However, this small pressing gained her minor attention and she gave concerts with other acts such as Kirk Franklin, God's Property, and CeCe Winans. Simpson left high school at age sixteen (she later earned her GED), and after Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola heard "Jessica", she was signed to the label.
Career
1999–01: Sweet Kisses and Irresistible
Simpson released her first single, "I Wanna Love You Forever", which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999 and reached the Top 10 in ten countries. Soon afterward, her major label debut album Sweet Kisses was released. To support the album, Simpson toured with Ricky Martin and with boy band 98 Degrees.Meanwhile, Simpson's album Sweet Kisses had gone double platinum, helped by follow-up singles "Where You Are" and "I Think I'm In Love With You", which were both released in 2000. The latter became Simpson's biggest radio hit at that point, and was her first release of an uptempo single. Her debut album sold 2 million copies in US and 4 million worldwide. Columbia Records officials reportedly decided Simpson needed a change for her sophomore album. The following year, when Simpson came to record her second album, executives pressured her to have a much more sexy image.
In 2001, Simpson recorded a follow-up album with what Columbia considered more radio-friendly, up-tempo tracks. Irresistible was released in mid-2001 on the heels of the title-track first single. "Irresistible" became one of the biggest hits of her career; it peaked at #15 on the Hot 100 and stayed in the chart for 20 weeks. The single reached its peak at #2 in Belgium and the top-twenty on twelve countries.
Irresistible debuted at #6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, with 127,000 copies sold in its first week and was certified Gold for selling 500,000 copies in its fifth week. Irresistible has sold 850,000 copies to date in US. "A Little Bit" was released as the second single from the album but did not enter the chart.
In support of the album, Simpson toured mid-August, theDreamChaser Tour, but due to the September 11 attacks could not complete the planned dates.
2002–05: Newlyweds, In this Skin and film career
at a publicity shoot for the MTV Video Music Awards in 2004.]]During the summer of 2003, the reality show, , starring Simpson and her then-new husband Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds.
The show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name, even among those who did not follow pop music or MTV. “I never knew that just doing the show would give me that pedestal to step on,” Simpson told Blender magazine in a March 2004 feature.
In This Skin, debuted at #10 on The Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of 64,000 in its first week. It rebounded after a special collectors' edition was released in April 2004 and subsequently reached a peak at #2 with 157,000 copies in that week. It contained the song "Sweetest Sin", which barely even made an impact on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. However, the album did contain the hit singles "With You" (#14, 2004) and a cover of the Berlin song "Take My Breath Away" (#20, 2004), and a lesser hit, a cover of the Robbie Williams song "Angels", which charted just outside the Billboard Hot 100. According to Simpson's biography, the album has sold 4 million copies in U.S. at the date.
The couple starred in the television special The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour, which aired in 2004 and was compared to The Sonny & Cher Show. In 2005, Newlyweds won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show before wrapping shortly after.
Simpson also released in late 2004, which peaked at #14 on the album chart and was later certified gold. Simpson appeared on The Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack, releasing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", a cover of the 1966 Nancy Sinatra hit. The song peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Song from a Movie in 2006. The song's video featured Simpson as Daisy Duke. It contains scenes of her flirting and singing in a bar and then later washing the General Lee car, while wearing a skin-tight, revealing pink bikini. In some countries the video was banned for its overtly sexual content. Simpson received criticism from a Christian group calling itself "The Resistance", for the sexualized image she used in the music video for "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". In response, Simpson stated, "It didn't really surprise me because I grew up with a lot of that backlash. That's why I didn't end up going into the Christian music industry. I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there."
In the summer of 2005, Simpson made her first appearance in a motion picture as Daisy Duke in the movie version of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. The film was #1 at the box office its opening weekend, and grossed $30.7 million on 3,785 screens. It also had an adjusted-dollar rank of #14 all-time for August releases. The film eventually collected $110.5 million worldwide, although it was much less financially successful outside the U.S.
2006–07: A Public Affair and Employee of the Month
In 2006, Simpson then returned to the recording studio, switching labels from Columbia to Epic Records. On 29 August 2006, she released her fourth album A Public Affair, the album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, with 101,000 copies sold in its first week, and spent 10 weeks on the Billboard. The album sold 300,000 copies in the U.S. and 800,000 worldwide, a low figure compared with her previous albums.The first single from the album, bearing the same name "A Public Affair", debuted at 39, her highest debut after "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", coming after the # 14 on the Hot 100, the single also hit number 1 on the Hot Dance Club Play. Internationally, it reached the Top 10 in Canada and Ireland. The video features appearances by Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, Maria Menounos, Andy Dick, and Ryan Seacrest. The second and final single from the album, was "I Belong To Me", which won by a poll on its website. It was released on September 26 and peaked at #110 in U.S. The single's video appeared on TRL countdowns, but quickly fell off.
Simpson's second film, Employee of the Month, was released October 6, 2006. With poor reviews, the film took in $11.8 million in its opening weekend, debuting at #4 just behind Open Season.
In December 2006, while performing a tribute to Dolly Parton at the Kennedy Center Awards, she botched the lyrics, getting flustered in front of a crowd that included prominent persons such as Steven Spielberg, Shania Twain, and President George W. Bush. Though Simpson was given the chance to redo the song for cameras, her portion was edited out of the CBS broadcast.
In December 2007, Simpson co-starred with Luke Wilson in her third film, Blonde Ambition. The film opened in eight theaters in Texas (the home state of both Simpson and Wilson), and earned US$6,422. It was released on DVD in January 2008. Blonde Ambition fared better overseas, where it grossed $253,008 in the Ukraine its opening weekend.
2008–09: Move to country and Do You Know
In September 2007, Simpson's father Joe Simpson stated to People magazine that Simpson was considering doing a country album. Joe Simpson told People that she is "talking about doing a country record and going back to her roots, being from Texas.""Come On Over", first leaked onto the internet on May 27, 2008. Shortly after country radio stations around the country began giving the single radio play. In the United States, "Come on Over" became the most-added song to country radio for the week of June 6, 2008, debuting at number 41 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It broke a record held by Miranda Lambert ("Me and Charlie Talking") and Brad Cotter ("I Meant To") for highest-debuting first chart entry by a solo artist; both artists debuted at number 42 on that same chart. The video for the first single, "Come On Over", premiered on Simpson's official website in July 2008. The single peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. Prior to the albums release, Simpson performed at select state fairs and visited various country music radio stations in order to promote the album. The country album, entitled Do You Know, was released on September 9, 2008. The album fully leaked onto the internet on August 28, 2008. The album debuted #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart in both the US and Canada, giving Simpson her first #1 album of her career. She opened for Rascal Flatts on their "Bob That Head Tour" from January 17 through March 14, 2009. The album's second single "Remember That" was released to country radio on September 29, 2008. The single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and dropped off the chart by the end of December 2008. The album's third single was "Pray Out Loud", which failed to chart.
Simpson's next movie, Major Movie Star (later renamed Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous) was released straight to DVD on February 3, 2009.
On April 7, 2009 Simpson's rep confirmed with Us Weekly that she and label Sony Nashville were parting ways.
2010–present: Return to Reality TV and Happy Christmas
In an interview for the March 2010 issue of Allure Magazine, Simpson stated that she is working on a new album. The album will end her contract with her label. She also stated that she will be producing some of the songs on the album.Simpson hosts a VH1 series, The Price of Beauty, which began airing March 15, 2010 on. Simpson and her father Joe Simpson are the executive producers.
In an interview for the March 2010 issue of Allure Magazine, Simpson said that she is looking for edgier, more intellectual roles.
Her first greatest hits compilation, titled , was released on October 12, 2010. Simpson later revealed that she was working on a second holiday album titled Happy Christmas. It was released on November 22, 2010. On November 25th, 2010, Jessica appeared on NBC's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On November 30th, 2010, she appeared on NBC's Christmas in Rockefellar Center.
Other projects
Cosmetics and clothing
'Jessica Simpson Dessert by Jessica Simpson' was launched in April, 2004 after co-founders, Randi Shinder and Simpson designed a line of edible perfume, lip gloss and other beauty products under the Dessert Beauty brand. A parallel line named Dessert Treats was launched the following year in February, 2005. The new line was marketed at a much younger audience.Simpson and stylist Ken Pavés launched a line of hair and beauty products on the Home Shopping Network. Simpson also created the Jessica Simpson Collection in which she designs and markets a line of handbags and (primarily high-heeled) shoes and boots. The Jessica Simpson's Intimates began selling in major department stores and online shopping sites in spring 2009.
Simpson has launched a fragrance line. Her fragrance was made by Parlux Fragrances. Her debut perfume, Fancy, was launched in 2008. The success of Fancy spawned two more fragrances, Fancy Love and Fancy Nights.
Commercials
Simpson has made commercials for Pizza Hut, Proactiv Solution and a commercial with Ice Breakers with her sister Ashlee. In 2005, she started advertising Proactiv Solution, an over-the-counter acne medicine. In 2006, she premiered in another Pizza Hut commercial for the Super Bowl XL broadcast. She sang "These Bites Are Made For Poppin'," in reference to the song "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," to advertise the new Cheesy Bites Pizza. In 2007, the Super Bowl featured her third Pizza Hut commercial, which again promoted the Cheesy Bites Pizza. She has also advertised DirecTV in character as Daisy Duke.
Philanthropy
Simpson is Operation Smile's International Youth Ambassador.In March 2007, Simpson donated a new Chrysler minivan to the Elim orphanage in Nuevo Laredo. Simpson won a Chrysler Crossfire sports car at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, but exchanged the $50,000 luxury car for a minivan so she could help the orphanage.
Criticism and controversy
Simpson, who endorsed George W. Bush for president in 2004, but was later said to have "snubbed" him by canceling an appearance at a 2006 Republican fundraiser in Washington, D.C.. Manager Joe Simpson said that even though he and Jessica are "big supporters" of the president, who had invited them, they felt it was inappropriate to attend a political fundraiser.In June 2008, Simpson was seen with boyfriend Tony Romo wearing a shirt that said "Real Girls Eat Meat". It was seen as a slam at Romo's ex girlfriend Carrie Underwood, who is a vegetarian. PETA criticized Simpson, stating "Jessica Simpson's meaty wardrobe malfunction makes us thankful that no one is looking to her for food advice. Chicken-of-the-Sea, anyone? The woman who thought that Buffalo 'wings' came from buffaloes would benefit from some good veggie brain food."
On July 19, 2008, Simpson performed at the Country Thunder Festival in Wisconsin. She was booed by the crowd and received a poor reception from country music critics. She responded by saying, "I don’t know what your perception is of Jessica Simpson or what tabloid you buy, but I just want you to know that I’m just a girl from Texas; I’m just like you. I’m doing what I love and dating a boy."
Personal life
Marriage to Nick Lachey
She began dating 98 Degrees group member Nick Lachey in 1999. After dating for two years, the couple cooled their relationship. After the September 11 attacks, the couple reconciled. Simpson stated, "After 9/11, I knew that I never ever wanted to be away from Nick ever for the rest of my life." She famously announced she had remained a virgin until her marriage. In November 2005, after months of tabloid speculation, Simpson and Lachey announced they were separating. Simpson filed for divorce on December 16, 2005, citing "irreconcilable differences." The couple's divorce was publicized worldwide and was reportedly finalized on June 30, 2006.Simpson told Jane magazine in October 2006 that she knew her marriage to Lachey was over when he refused to join her on a charity trip to Africa, even though it was on their third wedding anniversary.
The couple sold their Calabasas mansion, in which Newlyweds was filmed, to Malcolm in the Middle star Justin Berfield for an undisclosed amount. On February 6, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Simpson said she was stung when her ex-husband jumped back into dating after their high-profile breakup. "Oh, it hurt me," the 26-year-old singer-actress says in an interview in the March issue of Elle. "Two or three weeks later? Yeah, I'd say it kind of hurt me."
Other relationships
Simpson received increased publicity following her divorce, reportedly having romances with her Employee of the Month co-star Dane Cook and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine. Simpson also had an off-and-on relationship with musician John Mayer. Dating rumors started in August 2006 with a People magazine article, but kicked into high gear when Simpson and Mayer spent the New Year holiday together in New York City, both attending Christina Aguilera's New Year's Eve 2006 party. The couple eventually parted ways for good in May 2007.In November 2007, Simpson began dating Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. The relationship was controversial among some Dallas Cowboys fans, as she was blamed when Romo had poor football performances. Some of the Cowboy's fans gave her the nickname "Yoko Romo" in comparison to Yoko Ono, who many Beatles fans blame for "ruining" John Lennon.
"If only Tony had called me and said, 'Terry, Jessica [Simpson] and I are going to go to Mexico,' I would've told him: 'You crazy? Don't do that! The paparazzi is going to find you, man. You're a star. She's a star. It's just going to happen,' " Bradshaw said in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Even President Bush jokingly endorsed the "Jessica jinx" after the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl in 2008. During the traditional White House reception for the winning team, the president quipped, "We're going to send Jessica Simpson to the Democrat National Convention."
On July 13, 2009, People magazine reported that Romo and Simpson had ended their relationship.
In May 2010, Simpson began dating former NFL player Eric Johnson, who had separated from his wife Keri Johnson in October 2009 after five years of marriage. Johnson's divorce was finalized on October 7, 2010. On November 14, 2010, Simpson announced her engagement to Johnson.
Filmography
{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 2002 | The Master of Disguise | Herself | Cameo |- | 2005 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Daisy Duke | Film debut |- | 2006 | Employee of the Month | Amy Renfro | |- | 2007 |Blonde Ambition | Katie Gregerstitch | |- | rowspan="2"|2008 |The Love Guru | Herself | Cameo |- | | Private Megan Valentine | |- |}{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Title ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 2003—2005 | |Herself | Reality Television |- | rowspan="3"|2004 | Jessica | Jessica Sampson | Pilot - Never broadcast ABC originally picked the series up in February 2004 but dropped the series in May 2004 |- | The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour | Herself | Music/Sketch Comedy Special |- | Nick and Jessica's Family Christmas | Herself | Holiday Music Special |- | 2010 | The Price of Beauty |Herself | Reality Television |- |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television guest appearances |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Title ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |-otes |- | 2000 | 98 Degrees - My Everything | Herself | "Music Video |- | 2002 | rowspan=2 | That '70s Show | rowspan=2| Annette | "Going to California" (episode 1, season 5) |- | rowspan=2 | 2003 | "Your Time Is Gonna Come" (episode 13, season 5)"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (episode 14, season 5) |- | The Twilight Zone | Miranda Evans | "The Collection" (Season 1, Episode 38) |- | 2007 | Willie Nelson - You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore | Herself | "Music Video |- | 2009 | I Get That a Lot |Computer technician |Television special (1 episode) |- | rowspan="2"|2010 | Entourage |Herself |Season 7, Episode 5 (1 episode) |- | PBS Christmas Special | Herself | Television special |}
Discography
Tours
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Category:1980 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Texas Category:American child singers Category:American Christians Category:American country singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Epic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Texas Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Abilene, Texas
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Frank Sinatra
| Name | Frank Sinatra |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Francis Albert Sinatra |
| Alias | Ol' Blue EyesThe Chairman of the Board |
| Death date | May 14, 1998 |
| Death place | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Death cause | Heart attack |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Genre | Traditional pop, jazz, swing, big band, vocal |
| Occupation | Singer, |
| Years active | 1935–1995 |
| Label | Columbia, Capitol, Reprise |
| Associated acts | Rat Pack, Bing Crosby, Nancy Sinatra, Quincy Jones, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Dean Martin |
| Url | |
| Spouse | Nancy Barbato (1939-1951)Ava Gardner (1951–57)Mia Farrow (1966-1968)Barbara Marx (1976-1998) |
Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the 1950s, but it was reborn in 1954 after he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (for his performance in From Here to Eternity).
He signed with Capitol Records 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 (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 , and scored hits with "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way".
With sales of his music dwindling and after appearing in several poorly received films, Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971. Two years later, however, he came out of retirement and in 1973 recorded several albums, scoring a Top 40 hit with "(Theme From) New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally, until a short time before his death in 1998.
Sinatra also forged a successful career as a film actor, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity, a nomination for Best Actor for The Man with the Golden Arm, and critical acclaim for his performance in The Manchurian Candidate. He also starred in such musicals as High Society, Pal Joey, Guys and Dolls and On the Town. Sinatra was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Early life
Born in December 1915, Sinatra was the only child of Italian immigrants Natalie Della Garaventa and Antonino Martino Sinatra. Sinatra was raised Catholic. He left high school without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled because of his rowdy conduct. His mother, known as Dolly, was influential in the neighborhood and in local Democratic Party circles, but also ran an illegal abortion business from her home; she was arrested several times and convicted twice for this offense. Sinatra was arrested for carrying on with a married woman, a criminal offense at the time. Sinatra's father, often referred to as Tony, served with the Hoboken Fire Department as a Fire Captain. During the tough years of the 1930s, when the Great Depression hit North America, Dolly nevertheless provided ready pocket money to their son for outings with friends and fancy clothes. Sinatra then worked for some time as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, and as a riveter at the Tietjan and Lang shipyard. Sinatra began singing for tips at the age of eight, standing on top of the bar at a local nightclub in Hoboken. He began singing professionally as a teenager in the 1930s.
1935–40: Start of career, work with James and Dorsey
Sinatra got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, The Three Flashes, to let him join. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four,On March 18, 1939, Sinatra made a demo recording of a song called "Our Love", with the Frank Mane band. The record has "Frank Sinatra" signed on the front. The bandleader kept the original record in a safe for nearly 60 years. In June, Harry James hired Sinatra on a one year contract of $75 a week. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July, 1939 - US Brunswick #8443 and UK Columbia #DB2150.
Fewer than 8,000 copies of "From the Bottom of My Heart" (Brunswick #8443) were sold, making the record a very rare find that is sought after by record collectors worldwide. Sinatra released ten commercial tracks with James through 1939, including "All or Nothing At All" which had weak sales on its initial release but then sold millions of copies when re-released by Columbia at the height of Sinatra's popularity a few years later.
In November 1939, in a meeting at the Palmer House in Chicago, Sinatra was asked by bandleader Tommy Dorsey to join his band as a replacement for Jack Leonard, who had recently left to launch a solo career. This meeting was a turning point in Sinatra's career, since by signing with Dorsey's band, one of the hottest bands at the time, he got greatly increased visibility with the American public. Though Sinatra was still under contract with James, James recognized the opportunity Dorsey offered and graciously released Sinatra from his contract. Sinatra recognized his debt to James throughout his life and upon hearing of James's death in 1983, stated: "he [James] is the one that made it all possible."
On January 26, 1940, Sinatra made his first public appearance with the Dorsey band at the Coronado Theater in Rockford, Illinois. In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra released more than forty songs, with "I'll Never Smile Again" topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July.
Sinatra's relationship with Tommy Dorsey was troubled, because of their contract, which awarded Dorsey ⅓ of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. In January 1942, Sinatra recorded his first solo sessions without the Dorsey band (but with Dorsey's arranger Axel Stordahl and with Dorsey's approval). These sessions were released commercially on the Bluebird label. Sinatra left the Dorsey band late in 1942 in an incident that started rumors of Sinatra's involvement with the Mafia. A story appeared in the Hearst newspapers that mobster Sam Giancana coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars. This story was famously fictionalized in the movie The Godfather. According to Nancy Sinatra's biography, the Hearst rumors were started because of Frank's Democratic politics. In fact, the contract was bought out by MCA founder Jules Stein for $75,000.
His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time.
On December 31, 1942, Sinatra opened at the Paramount Theater in New York.
during World War II.]]
During the musicians' strike of 1942–44, Columbia re-released Harry James and Sinatra's version of "All or Nothing at All" (music by Arthur Altman and lyrics by Jack Lawrence), recorded in August 1939 and released before Sinatra had made a name for himself. The original release didn’t even mention the vocalist's name. When the recording was re–released in 1943 with Sinatra's name prominently displayed, the record was on the best–selling list for 18 weeks and reached number 2 on June 2, 1943.
Sinatra signed with Columbia on June 1, 1943 as a solo artist, and he initially had great success, particularly during the 1942-43 musicians' strike. And while no new records had been issued during the strike, he had been performing on the radio (on Your Hit Parade), and on stage. Columbia wanted to get new recordings of their growing star as fast as possible, so Sinatra convinced them to hire Alec Wilder as arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best–selling list.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") for a perforated eardrum by his draft board. Additionally, an FBI report on Sinatra, released in 1998, showed that the doctors had also written that he was a "neurotic" and "not acceptable material from a psychiatric standpoint." This was omitted from his record to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service." Active-duty servicemen, like journalist William Manchester, said of Sinatra, "I think Frank Sinatra was the most hated man of World War II, much more than Hitler", because Sinatra was back home making all of that money and being shown in photographs surrounded by beautiful women. His deferment would resurface throughout his life and cause him grief when he had to defend himself. There were accusations, including some from noted columnist Walter Winchell, that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service — but the FBI found no evidence of this.
When Sinatra returned to the Paramount Theater in October 1944, 35,000 fans caused a near riot outside the venue because they were not allowed in.
In 1945, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh. That same year, he was loaned out to RKO to star in a short film titled The House I Live In. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, this film on tolerance and racial equality earned a special Academy Award shared among Sinatra and those who brought the film to the screen, along with a special Golden Globe for "Promoting Good Will." 1946 saw the release of his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, and the debut of his own weekly radio show.
By the end of 1948, Sinatra felt that his career was stalling, something that was confirmed when he slipped to No. 4 on Down Beat's annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby).
The year 1949 saw an upswing, as Frank co-starred with Gene Kelly in Take Me Out to the Ball Game. It was well received critically and became a major commercial success. That same year, Sinatra teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town.
1950–60: Rebirth of career, Capitol concept albums
After two years' absence, Sinatra returned to the concert stage on January 12, 1950, in Hartford, Connecticut. His voice suffered and he experienced hemorrhaging of his vocal cords on stage at the Copacabana on April 26, 1950.Also in 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune. His character, Rocko Fortunato (aka Rocky Fortune) was a temp worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbled into crime-solving by way of the odd jobs to which he was dispatched. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954, following the network's crime drama hit Dragnet. During the final months of the show, just before the 1954 Oscars, it became a running gag that Sinatra would manage to work the phrase "from here to eternity" into each episode, a reference to his Oscar-nominated performance.
In 1953, Sinatra signed with Capitol Records, where he worked with many of the finest musical arrangers of the era, most notably Nelson Riddle,
1960–70: Ring-A-Ding-Ding, Reprise records, Basie, Jobim, "My Way"
Sinatra started the 1960s as he ended the 1950s. His first album of the decade, Nice 'n' Easy, topped BillboardHis fourth and final Timex TV special was broadcast in March, 1960, and earned massive viewing figures. Titled It's Nice to Go Travelling, the show is more commonly known as . Elvis Presley's appearance after his army discharge was somewhat ironic; Sinatra had been scathing about him in the mid fifties, saying: "His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." Presley had responded: "... [Sinatra] is a great success and a fine actor, but I think he shouldn't have said it... [rock and roll] is a trend, just the same as he faced when he started years ago." Later, in efforts to maintain his commercial viability, Sinatra recorded Presley's hit "Love Me Tender" as well as works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), The Beatles ("Something", "Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides Now").
Following on the heels of the film Can Can was Ocean's 11, the movie that became the definitive on-screen outing for "The Rat Pack".
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help them win equal rights. He played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1960s. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King, Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. He often spoke from the stage on desegregation and repeatedly played benefits on behalf of Dr. King and his movement. According to his son, Frank Sinatra, Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at a concert in 1963 as Sinatra sang Ol' Man River, a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore.
On September 11 and 12, 1961, Sinatra recorded his final songs for Capitol.
In 1962, he starred with Janet Leigh and Laurence Harvey in the political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, playing Bennett Marco. That same year, Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie. This popular and successful release prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, which was arranged by Quincy Jones. One of Sinatra's more ambitious albums from the mid-1960s, The Concert Sinatra, was recorded with a 73-piece symphony orchestra on 35mm tape.
Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
In June, 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin played live in Saint Louis to benefit Dismas House. The concert was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. Released in August, 1965, was the Grammy Award–winning album of the year, September of My Years, with a career anthology, A Man and His Music, following in November, itself winning Album of the Year at the Grammys in 1966. The TV special, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
In the spring, That's Life appeared, with both the single and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboard's pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. The album of the same name also topped the Billboard chart and reached number 4 in the UK.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of important recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. Later in the year, a duet with daughter Nancy, "Somethin' Stupid", topped the Billboard pop and UK singles charts. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K..
During the late 1960s, press agent Lee Solters would invite columnists and their spouses into Sinatra's dressing room just before he was about to go on stage. The New Yorker recounted that "the first columnist they tried this on was Larry Fields of the Philadelphia Daily News, whose wife fainted when Sinatra kissed her cheek. 'Take care of it, Lee,' Sinatra said, and he was off." The professional relationship Sinatra shared with Solters focused on projects on the west coast while those focused on the east coast were handled by Solters' partner, Sheldon Roskin of Solters/Roskin/Friedman, a well-known firm at the time.
Back on the small-screen, Sinatra once again worked with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald on the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim.
Watertown (1970) was one of Sinatra's most acclaimed concept albums but was all but ignored by the public. Selling a mere 30,000 copies and reaching a peak chart position of 101, its failure put an end to plans for a television special based on the album.
With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", inspired from the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. (The song had been previously commissioned to David Bowie, whose lyrics did not please the involved agents.) "My Way" would, ironically, become more closely identified with him than any other song over his seven decades as a singer even though he reputedly did not care for it.
1970–80: Retirement and comeback
On June 13, 1971 — at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund — at the age of 55, Sinatra announced that he was retiring, bringing to an end his 36-year career in show business.In 1973, Sinatra came out of retirement with a television special and album, both entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The album, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a great success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song and dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly.
In January, 1974, Sinatra returned to Las Vegas, performing at Caesars Palace despite vowing in 1970 never to play there again after the manager of the resort, Sanford Waterman, pulled a gun on him during a heated argument. With Waterman recently shot, the door was open for Sinatra to return.
In Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there — who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference — as "fags", "pimps", and "whores." Australian unions representing transport workers, waiters, and journalists went on strike, demanding that Sinatra apologize for his remarks. Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press."
Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2 million in Sun City, South Africa, breaking a cultural boycott against Apartheid South Africa. See Artists United Against Apartheid
He was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katharine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James in honoring his old friend, President Ronald Reagan said that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow."
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. (Horne developed vocal problems and Sinatra, committed to other engagements, could not wait to record.)
1990s: Duets, final performances
In 1990, Sinatra celebrated his 75th birthday with a national tour, and was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles–based Society of Singers. At the award ceremony, he performed for the final time with Ella Fitzgerald.In December, as part of Sinatra's birthday celebrations, Patrick Pasculli, the Mayor of Hoboken, made a proclamation in his honor, declaring that "no other vocalist in history has sung, swung, crooned, and serenaded into the hearts of the young and old ... as this consummate artist from Hoboken." The same month Sinatra gave the first show of his Diamond Jubilee Tour at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In 1993 Sinatra made a surprise return to Capitol and the recording studio for Duets, which was released in November.
The other artists who added their vocals to the album worked for free, and a follow-up album (Duets II) was released in 1994 that reached #9 on the Billboard charts.
Still touring despite various health problems, Sinatra remained a top concert attraction on a global scale during the first half of the 1990s. At times during concerts his memory failed him and a fall onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March, 1994, signaled further problems.
Sinatra's final public concerts were held in Japan's Fukuoka Dome in December, 1994. The following year, on February 25, 1995, at a private party for 1200 select guests on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament, Sinatra sang before a live audience for the very last time. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control." His closing song was "The Best is Yet to Come".
Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude.... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss--the chairman of boss.... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?" Sinatra called it "the best welcome...I ever had." But his acceptance speech ran too long and was abruptly cut off, leaving him looking confused and talking into a dead microphone.
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was Sinatra's last televised appearance.
In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Frank Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy, Frank Jr., and Tina, all with his first wife, Nancy Barbato (married 1939-1951). He was married three more times, to actresses Ava Gardner (1951–1957) and Mia Farrow (1966–1968) and finally to Barbara Marx (married 1976), to whom he was still married at his death.Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of depression. He acknowledged this, telling an interviewer in the 1950s: "Being an 18-karat manic-depressive, and having lived a life of violent emotional contradictions, I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation." In her memoirs My Father's Daughter, his daughter Tina wrote about the "eighteen-karat" remark: "As flippant as Dad could be about his mental state, I believe that a Zoloft a day might have kept his demons away. But that kind of medicine was decades off."
Death
Sinatra began to show signs of senility in his last years and after a heart attack in February 1997, he made no further public appearances. After suffering a further heart attack,The official cause of death was listed as complications from senility, heart and kidney disease, and bladder cancer. His death was confirmed by the Sinatra family on their website with a statement accompanied by a recording of the singer's version of "Softly As I Leave You." The next night the lights on the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed for 10 minutes in his honor. President Bill Clinton, as an amateur saxophonist and musician, led the world's tributes to Sinatra, saying that after meeting and getting to know the singer as President, he had "come to appreciate on a personal level what millions of people had appreciated from afar." Elton John stated that Sinatra, "was simply the best - no one else even comes close." Tony Curtis,
Discography
Awards and recognitions
.]]
Legacy
The U.S. Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra on May 13, 2008. The design of the stamp was unveiled Wednesday, December 12, 2007 — on the anniversary of what would have been his 92nd birthday — in Beverly Hills, California, with Sinatra family members on hand. The Hoboken Post Office was renamed in his honor in 2002.To commemorate the anniversary of Sinatra's death, Patsy's Restaurant in New York City, which Sinatra frequented, exhibited in May 2009 fifteen previously unseen photographs of Sinatra taken by Bobby Bank. The photos are of his recording "Everybody Ought to Be in Love" at a nearby recording studio. Memorabilia in the restaurant includes his Oscar for "From Here to Eternity", his Emmy for "", his Grammy for "Strangers in the Night", photographs and a gold album he received for "Classic Sinatra".
There is a residence hall at Montclair State University named for him in recognition of his status as an iconic New Jersey native.
The Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus campus, was dedicated in 1978 in recognition of Sinatra's charitable and advocacy activities on behalf of the State of Israel.
Film portrayals
In 2003, Sinatra was portrayed by James Russo in "Stealing Sinatra", which revolved around the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. in 1963
Also in 2003, he was portrayed by Dennis Hopper in "The Night we Called it a Day", based upon events that occurred during a tour of Australia where Frank had called a member of the news media a "two-bit hooker" and all the unions in the country came crashing down on him.
Brett Ratner is currently developing a film adaptation of George Jacobs' memoir Mr. S: My Life With Frank Sinatra. Jacobs, who was Sinatra's valet, will be portrayed by Chris Tucker.
Alleged organized crime links
Sinatra garnered considerable attention due to his alleged personal and professional links with organized crime, including figures such as Carlo Gambino, Lucky Luciano, The FBI kept Sinatra under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. They also portray rampant paranoia and strange obsessions at the FBI and reveal nearly every celebrated Sinatra foible and peccadillo.
For a year Hoover investigated Sinatra's alleged Communist affiliations, but found no evidence. The files include his rendezvous with prostitutes, and his extramarital affair with Ava Gardner, which preceded their marriage. Celebrities mentioned in the files are Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, Peter Lawford, and Giancana's girlfriend, singer Phyllis McGuire.
The FBI's secret dossier on Sinatra was released in 1998 in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
Political views
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life.Sinatra's parents had immigrated to the United States in 1895 and 1897 respectively. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward boss.
in 1960, was an ardent supporter of the Democratic Party until 1968.]]
Sinatra remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970's when he switched his allegiance to the Republican Party.
Political activities 1944-1968
In 1944 after sending a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sinatra was invited to meet Roosevelt at the White House, where he agreed to become part of the Democratic party's voter registration drives.He donated $5,000 to the Democrats for the 1944 presidential election, and by the end of the campaign was appearing at two or three political events every day.
After World War II, Sinatra's politics grew steadily more left wing, and he became more publicly associated with the Popular Front. He started reading liberal literature, and supported many organizations that were later identified as front organizations of the Communist party by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, though Sinatra was never brought before the Committee.
Sinatra spoke at a number of New Jersey high schools in 1945, where students had gone on strike in opposition to racial integration. Later that year Sinatra would appear in The House I Live In, a short film that stood against racism. The film was scripted by Albert Maltz, with the title song written by Earl Robinson and Abel Meeropol (under the pseudonym of Lewis Allen).
In 1948, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson. a rival singer and a Republican, for Kennedy's visit to Palm Springs in 1962. Kennedy had planned to stay at Sinatra's home over the Easter holiday weekend, but decided against doing so, because of problems with Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime, President Kennedy's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, was intensifying his own investigations into organized crime figures at the time, such as Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana, who had earlier stayed at Sinatra's home.
Despite his break with Kennedy, however, he still mourned over Kennedy after he learned he was assassinated.
During Nixon's Presidency, Sinatra visited the White House on several occasions.
by President Ronald Reagan.]]
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan, and donated $4 million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra said he supported Reagan as he was "the proper man to be the President of the United States... it's so screwed up now, we need someone to straighten it out." Reagan's victory gave Sinatra his closest relationship with the White House since the early 1960s. as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously.
In 1984 Sinatra returned to his birthplace in Hoboken, bringing with him President Reagan, who was in the midst of campaigning for the 1984 presidential election. Reagan had made Sinatra a fund-raising ambassador as part of the Republicans' 'Victory 84'' get-the-vote-out-drive.
President Clinton never met Sinatra before taking office. They had dinner after Clinton's inauguration. Clinton later said that he was glad "to appreciate on a personal level what hundreds of millions of people around the world, including me, appreciated from afar."
See also
Further reading
Biographies
Memoirs
Criticism
Sinatra family publications
Cultural criticism
Other
References
External links
Watch
Listen
Category:1915 births Category:1998 deaths Category:1930s singers Category:1940s singers Category:1950s singers Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:20th-century actors Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American actors of Italian descent Category:American crooners Category:American film actors Category:American jazz musicians of Sicilian descent Category:American jazz singers Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American pop singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winners Category:Burials at Desert Memorial Park Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in California Category:California Republicans Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:People from Hoboken, New Jersey Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Qwest Records artists Category:Reprise Records artists Category:Swing singers Category:Torch singers Category:Traditional pop music singers
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Ella Fitzgerald
| Name | Ella Fitzgerald |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Ella Jane Fitzgerald |
| Alias | First Lady of Song, Lady Ella |
| Born | April 25, 1917Newport News, Virginia, U.S. |
| Origin | Yonkers, New York |
| Died | June 15, 1996Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Genre | Swing, traditional pop, vocal jazz |
| Instrument | PianoVocals |
| Occupation | Vocalist |
| Years active | 1934–1993 |
| Label | Capitol, Decca, Pablo, Reprise, Verve |
| Url | EllaFitzgerald.com |
She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 14 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.
Early life
Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia, the child of a cohabitation between William and Temperance "Tempie" Fitzgerald. The pair separated soon after her birth and she and her mother moved to Yonkers, New York with Tempie's boyfriend, Joseph Da Silva. Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances Da Silva, was born in 1923.In her youth Fitzgerald wanted to be a dancer, although she loved listening to jazz recordings by Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and The Boswell Sisters. She idolized the lead singer Connee Boswell, later saying, "My mother brought home one of her records, and I fell in love with it....I tried so hard to sound just like her."
In 1932, her mother died from a heart attack. and at one point worked as a lookout at a bordello and also with a Mafia-affiliated numbers runner. When the authorities caught up with her, she was first placed in the Colored Orphan Asylum in Riverdale, the Bronx. However, when the orphanage proved too crowded she was moved to the New York Training School for Girls in Hudson, New York, a state reformatory. Eventually she escaped and for a time was homeless.
Later life
in 1940.]] Fitzgerald married at least twice, and there is evidence that she may have married a third time. In 1941 she married Benny Kornegay, a convicted drug dealer and local dockworker. The marriage was annulled after two years.Her second marriage, in December 1947, was to the famous bass player Ray Brown, whom she had met while on tour with Dizzy Gillespie's band a year earlier. Together they adopted a child born to Fitzgerald's half-sister, Frances, whom they christened Ray Brown, Jr. With Fitzgerald and Brown often busy touring and recording, the child was largely raised by her aunt, Virginia. Fitzgerald and Brown divorced in 1953, owing to the various career pressures both were experiencing at the time, though they would continue to perform together.
Henry Pleasants, a American classical-music critic, wrote this about her:
She has a lovely voice, one of the warmest and most radiant in its natural range that I have heard in a lifetime of listening to singers in every category. She has an impeccable and ultimately sophisticated rhythmic sense, and flawless intonation. Her harmonic sensibility is extraordinary. She is endlessly inventive.. . it is not so much what she does, or even the way she does it, it's what she does not do. What she does not do, putting it simply as possible, is anything wrong. There is simply nothing in performance to which one would take exception.. . Everything seems to be just right. One would not want it any other way. Nor can one, for a moment imagine it any other way.Ella Fitzgerald had an extraordinary vocal range. A mezzo-soprano, (who sang much lower than most classical contraltos) she had a range of “2 octaves and a sixth from a low D or D flat to a high B flat and possibly higher”.
Miss Fitzgerald was generous throughout her career, and in 1993, she established the Charitable Foundation that bears her name: The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, which continues to help the disadvantaged through grants and donation of new books to at-risk children.
Film and television
Ronald Reagan after performing in the White House, 1981]] In her most notable screen role, Fitzgerald played the part of singer Maggie Jackson in Jack Webb's 1955 jazz film Pete Kelly's Blues. The film costarred Janet Leigh and singer Peggy Lee. Even though she had already worked in the movies (she had sung briefly in the 1942 Abbott and Costello film Ride 'Em Cowboy), she was "delighted" when Norman Granz negotiated the role for her, and, "at the time....considered her role in the Warner Brothers movie the biggest thing ever to have happened to her."Similar to another African-American jazz singer, Lena Horne, Fitzgerald's race precluded major big-screen success. After Pete Kelly's Blues, she appeared in sporadic movie cameos, in St. Louis Blues (1958), and Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960). Much later, she appeared in the 1980s television drama The White Shadow.
She also made numerous guest appearances on television shows, singing on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, The Frank Sinatra Show, and alongside Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Mel Tormé and many others. Perhaps her most unusual and intriguing performance was of the 'Three Little Maids' song from Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Mikado alongside Joan Sutherland and Dinah Shore on Shore's weekly variety series in 1963. Fitzgerald also made a one-off appearance alongside Sarah Vaughan and Pearl Bailey on a 1979 television special honoring Bailey.
Fitzgerald also appeared in TV commercials, her most memorable being an ad for Memorex. In the commercials, she sang a note that shattered a glass while being recorded on a Memorex cassette tape. The tape was played back and the recording also broke the glass, asking "Is it live, or is it Memorex?" She also starred in a number of commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, singing and scatting to the fast-food chain's longtime slogan, "We do chicken right!"
Her final commercial campaign was for American Express, in which she was photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Discography
Collaborations
Fitzgerald's most famous collaborations were with the trumpeter Louis Armstrong, the guitarist Joe Pass, and the bandleaders Count Basie and Duke Ellington.Fitzgerald had a number of famous jazz musicians and soloists as sidemen over her long career. The trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Dizzy Gillespie, the guitarist Herb Ellis, and the pianists Tommy Flanagan, Oscar Peterson, Lou Levy, Paul Smith, Jimmy Rowles, and Ellis Larkins all worked with Ella mostly in live, small group settings.
Possibly Fitzgerald's greatest unrealized collaboration (in terms of popular music) was a studio or live album with Frank Sinatra. The two appeared on the same stage only periodically over the years, in television specials in 1958 and 1959, and again on 1967's A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, a show that also featured Antonio Carlos Jobim. Pianist Paul Smith has said, "Ella loved working with [Frank]. Sinatra gave her his dressing room on A Man and His Music and couldn’t do enough for her." When asked, Norman Granz would cite "complex contractual reasons" for the fact that the two artists never recorded together.
Ella Fitzgerald was a quiet but ardent supporter of many charities and non-profit organizations, including the American Heart Association and the United Negro College Fund. In 1993, she established the "Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation" which continues to fund programs that perpetuate Ella's ideals.
Tributes
In 1997, Newport News, Virginia created a music festival with Christopher Newport University to honor Ella Fitzgerald in her birth city. The Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival is designed to teach the region's youth of the musical legacy of Fitzgerald and jazz. Past performers at the week-long festival include: Diana Krall, Arturo Sandoval, Jean Carne, Phil Woods, Aretha Franklin, Freda Payne, Cassandra Wilson, Ethel Ennis, David Sanborn, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ramsey Lewis, Patti Austin, and Ann Hampton CallawayAnn Hampton Callaway, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Patti Austin have all recorded albums in tribute to Fitzgerald. Callaway's album To Ella with Love (1996) features fourteen jazz standards made popular by Fitzgerald, and the album also features the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Bridgewater's album Dear Ella (1997) featured many musicians that were closely associated with Fitzgerald during her career, including the pianist Lou Levy, the trumpeter Benny Powell, and Fitzgerald's second husband, the double bassist Ray Brown. Bridgewater's following album, Live at Yoshi's, was recorded live on April 25, 1998, what would have been Fitzgerald's 81st birthday. Patti Austin's album, For Ella (2002) features 11 songs most immediately associated with Fitzgerald, and a twelfth song, "Hearing Ella Sing" is Austin's tribute to Fitzgerald. The album was nominated for a Grammy. In 2007 , was released, a tribute album recorded for the 90th anniversary of Fitzgerald's birth. It featured artists such as Michael Bublé, Natalie Cole, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, k.d. lang, Queen Latifah, Ledisi, Dianne Reeves, Linda Ronstadt, and Lizz Wright, collating songs most readily associated with the "First Lady of Song".
The folk singer Odetta's album To Ella (1998) is dedicated to Fitzgerald, but features no songs associated with her. Fitzgerald's long serving accompanist Tommy Flanagan affectionately remembered Fitzgerald on his album Lady be Good...For Ella (1994).
Fitzgerald is also referred to on the 1987 song "Ella, elle l'a" by French singer France Gall and the Belgian singer Kate Ryan, the 1976 Stevie Wonder hit "Sir Duke" from his album Songs in the Key of Life, and the song "I Love Being Here With You", written by Peggy Lee and Bill Schluger. Sinatra's 1986 recording of "Mack the Knife" from his album L.A. Is My Lady (1984) includes a homage to some of the song's previous performers, including 'Lady Ella' herself. She is also honored in the song "First Lady" by Canadian artist Nikki Yanofsky.
In 2008, the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in Newport News named its brand new 276-seat theater the Ella Fitzgerald Theater. The theater is located several blocks away from her birthplace on Marshall Avenue. The Grand Opening performers (October 11 & 12, 2008) were Roberta Flack and Queen Esther Marrow.
USPS stamp and Yonkers statue
There is a statue of Fitzgerald in Yonkers, the city in which she grew up. It is located southeast of the main entrance to the Amtrak/Metro-North Railroad station. On January 10, 2007, the United States Postal Service announced that Fitzgerald would be honored with her own 39-cent postage stamp. The stamp was released in April 2007 as part of the Postal Service's Black Heritage series.
Filmography
{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Notes and awards |- |rowspan="1"|1942 |Ride 'Em Cowboy | Ruby | |- |rowspan="1"|1955 |Pete Kelly's Blues | Maggie Jackson | |- |rowspan="1"|1958 |St. Louis Blues | Singer | |- |rowspan="1"|1960 |Let No Man Write My Epitaph | Flora | |- |}
References
Further reading
External links
Category:1917 births Category:1996 deaths Category:African American singers Category:African American female singers Category:American amputees Category:American female singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American jazz singers Category:American singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Bandleaders Category:Blind people Category:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Deaths from diabetes Category:Decca Records artists Category:George Peabody Medal winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Musicians from Virginia Category:Pablo Records artists Category:People from Newport News, Virginia Category:People from Yonkers, New York Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:Swing singers Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Vaudeville performers Category:Verve Records artists Category:Women in jazz
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Diana Krall
| Name | Diana Krall |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Born | November 16, 1964Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada |
| Spouse | Elvis Costello |
| Instrument | VocalsPiano |
| Genre | Jazz, traditional pop, bossa nova |
| Occupation | SingerPianistSongwriter |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Label | Justin Time (1993)GRP (1995)Impulse (1995—2001)Verve (2002—present) |
| Associated acts | Elvis Costello |
| Url | DianaKrall.com |
| Notable instruments | Steinway piano |
Professional career
In 1993, Krall released her first album, Stepping Out, which she recorded with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton. It caught the attention of producer Tommy LiPuma, who produced her second album, Only Trust Your Heart (1995).Her third album, (1996), was nominated for a Grammy and continued for 70 weeks in the Billboard jazz charts. Love Scenes (1997) quickly became a hit record with the trio of Krall, Russell Malone (guitar) and Christian McBride (bass).
In August 2000, Krall was paired on a 20-city tour with Tony Bennett. They were paired again for a song on the TV series
Orchestral arrangements by Johnny Mandel provided the background on When I Look In Your Eyes (1999). The band mix was kept, following arrangements on The Look of Love (2001) created by Claus Ogerman; this record achieved platinum status and reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200. The title track from the album, a cover of the Casino Royale standard popularized in the late 1960s by Dusty Springfield and Sérgio Mendes, reached number 22 on the adult contemporary chart.
In September 2001, Krall began a world tour. Her concert at the Paris Olympia was recorded and released as her first live record, Diana Krall - Live in Paris. The album included covers of Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are" (a hit on U.S. smooth jazz radio) and Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You."
After marrying Elvis Costello, she worked with him as a lyricist and started to compose her own songs, resulting in the album The Girl in the Other Room. The album, released in April 2004, quickly rose to the top five in the United Kingdom and made the Australian top 40 album charts.
She also joined Ray Charles on his Genius Loves Company album in 2004 on the song, "You Don't Know Me".
In late May 2007, Krall was featured in a Lexus ad campaign. She also sang, "Dream a Little Dream of Me" with piano accompaniment by pianist Hank Jones.
Quiet Nights, her latest album, was released on 31 March 2009.
Krall also produced Barbra Streisand's album Love Is the Answer, released on 29 Sep 2009.
To protest the blockade of Gaza and in the aftermath of the Israeli assault on the vessel MV Mavi Marmara on 31 May 2010, many artists scheduled to perform in Israel in mid-2010 joined the ongoing boycott against these reported actions. Among them was Krall's husband, Elvis Costello. Krall, by contrast, performed in Ra'anana, Israel's outdoor amphitheater before a large and appreciative crowd on 4 August 2010.
Personal life
Krall was born on November 16, 1964 in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Her father played piano around the house and her mother sang in a community choir. She was playing piano herself at the age of four and playing jazz in a local restaurant at 15. She went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship before heading out to L.A. to play jazz. She returned to Canada to release her first album in 1993.Krall lost her mother Adella to multiple myeloma in 2002, within months of also losing her mentors Ray Brown and Rosemary Clooney. Diana's only sibling, Michelle, is a former member of the RCMP.
Krall and British musician Elvis Costello were married on December 6, 2003 at Elton John's estate outside London. Their twin sons, Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, were born December 6, 2006 in New York City.
Honours
In 2000, she was awarded the Order of British Columbia. In 2003 she was given an honorary Ph.D. (Fine Arts) from the University of Victoria. In 2004, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2005, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.She is an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
Discography
grand piano]]
;Studio albums
Filmography
Awards
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Krall has won two awards outright and, in 2010, was the artist performing the song "Quiet Nights" arranged by Claus Ongerman, from nine nominations.|- |rowspan="1"|1996 |All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio |Best Jazz Vocal Performance | |- |rowspan="1"|1997 |Love Scenes |Best Jazz Vocal Album | |- |rowspan="2"|2000 |rowspan="2"|When I Look in Your Eyes |Album of the Year | |- |Best Jazz Vocal Performance | |- |rowspan="1"|2002 |rowspan="1"|"Better Than Anything" |Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | |- |rowspan="1"|2003 |rowspan="1"|Live in Paris |Best Jazz Vocal Album | |- |rowspan="1"|2005 |rowspan="1"|"I Should Care" |Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) | |- |rowspan="1"|2007 |rowspan="1"|From This Moment On |Best Jazz Vocal Album | |- |rowspan="1"|2010 |rowspan="1"|"Quiet Nights" |Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) | |- |rowspan="1"|2011 |rowspan="1"|Love Is the Answer (producer) |Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album |
References
External links
Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:Musicians from British Columbia Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian jazz pianists Category:Canadian contraltos Category:Canadian jazz singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Juno Award winners Category:Members of the Order of British Columbia Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:People from Nanaimo Category:Torch singers Category:Women in jazz Category:Smooth jazz singers Category:Impulse! Records artists Category:Verve Records artists Category:The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni *Main Category:Crossover jazz singers Category:Mainstream jazz pianists
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Brenda Lee
| Name | Brenda Lee |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Brenda Mae Tarpley |
| Born | December 11, 1944 |
| Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genre | pop, rockabilly, country |
| Occupation | singer |
| Years active | 1955–present |
| Associated acts | Connie Francis, Skeeter Davis, Ricky Nelson, Lesley Gore, Red Foley, Muruga Booker |
| Label | Decca (1959-1969)MCA Records (1970-1991)Warner Bros. Records (1991-1993)Telstar Records (1994-1996)Bear Family Records (1997-1998)MCA Nashville (1999-present) |
| Url | Brenda Lee.com |
At 4 ft 9 inches tall, she received the nickname Little Miss Dynamite in 1957 after recording the song "Dynamite"; and was one of the earliest pop stars to have a major contemporary international following.
Lee's popularity faded in the late 1960s as her voice matured, but she continued a successful recording career by returning to her roots as a country singer with a string of hits through the 1970s and 1980s. She is a member of the Rock and Roll, Country Music, Rockabilly and Hit Parade Halls of Fame. Lee currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Biography
Early years
Lee was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in the charity ward of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. She weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces at birth. She attended grade schools wherever her father found work, primarily in the corridor between Atlanta and Augusta. Her family was poor, living hand-to-mouth; she shared a bed with her two siblings in a series of three-room houses without running water. Life centered on her parents finding work, their extended family, and the Baptist Church, where she sang solos every Sunday.Lee's father, Ruben Tarpley, was the son of a farmer in Georgia's red-clay belt. Although he stood only 5 ft 7 inches, he was an excellent left-handed pitcher and spent eleven years in the US Army playing baseball. Her mother, Annie Grayce Yarbrough, had a similar background of an uneducated working class family in Greene County, Georgia.
Lee was a musical prodigy. Although her family did not have indoor plumbing until after her father's death, they had a battery-powered table radio that fascinated Brenda as a baby. By the time she was two, she could whistle the melody of songs she heard on the radio. Both her mother and sister remembered taking her repeatedly to a local candy store before she turned three; one of them would stand her on the counter and she would earn candy or coins for singing.
Child performer
Lee's voice, pretty face and stage presence won her wider attention from the time she was five years old. At age six, she won a local singing contest sponsored by local elementary schools. The reward was a live appearance on an Atlanta radio show, Starmakers Revue, where she performed for the next year.Her father died in 1953, and by the time she turned ten, she was the primary breadwinner of her family through singing at events and on local radio and television shows. In 1955, Grayce Tarpley was remarried to Buell "Jay" Rainwater, who moved the family to Cincinnati, Ohio where he worked at the Jimmy Skinner Music Center. Lee performed with Skinner at the record shop on two Saturday programs broadcast over Newport, Kentucky radio station WNOP-AM. The family soon returned to Georgia, however, this time to Augusta, and Lee appeared on the show The Peach Blossom Special on WJAT-AM in Swainsboro.
National exposure and stardom
Her break into big-time show business came in February 1955, when she turned down $30 to appear on a Swainsboro radio station to see Red Foley and a touring promotional unit of his ABC-TV program Ozark Jubilee in Augusta. An Augusta DJ persuaded Foley to hear her sing before the show. Foley was as transfixed as everyone else who heard the huge voice coming from the tiny girl and immediately agreed to let her perform "Jambalaya" on stage that night, unrehearsed. Foley later recounted the moments following her introduction:
The audience erupted in applause and refused to let her leave the stage until she had sung three more songs. On March 31, 1955, the 10-year-old made her network debut on Ozark Jubilee in Springfield, Missouri. Although her five-year contract with the show was broken by a 1957 lawsuit brought by her mother and her manager, she made regular appearances on the program throughout its run.
Less than two months later—on July 30, 1956—Decca Records offered her a contract, and her first record was "Jambayala" backed with "Bigelow 6-200". Lee's second single would feature two novelty Christmas tunes: "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa Claus", and "Christy Christmas". Though she turned 12 on December 11, 1956, both of the first two Decca singles credit her as "Little Brenda Lee (9 Years Old)."Neither of the 1956 releases charted, but her first issue in '57, "One Step at a Time", became a hit in both the pop and country fields. Her next hit, "Dynamite", coming out of a 4 ft 9 inch frame, led to her lifelong nickname, Little Miss Dynamite.
Lee first attracted attention performing in country music venues and shows; however, her label and management felt it best to market her exclusively as a pop artist, the result being that none of her best-known recordings from the 1960s were released to country radio, and despite her country sound, with top Nashville session people, she did not have another country hit until 1969, and "Johnny One Time".
Biggest hits: 1958-1965
Lee achieved her biggest success on the pop charts in the late 1950s through the mid-1960s with rockabilly and rock and roll-styled songs. Her biggest hits included "Jambalaya", "Sweet Nothin's" (No. 4) (written by country musician Ronnie Self), "I Want to Be Wanted" (No. 1), "All Alone Am I" (No. 3) and "Fool #1" (No. 3). She had more hits with the more pop-based songs "That's All You Gotta Do" (No. 6), "Emotions" (No. 7), "You Can Depend on Me" (No. 6), "Dum Dum" (No. 4), 1962's "Break It To Me Gently" (No. 2), "Everybody Loves Me But You" (No. 6), and "As Usual" (No. 12).The biggest-selling track of Lee's career was a Christmas song. In 1958, when she was 13, producer Owen Bradley asked her to record a new song by Johnny Marks, who had had success writing Christmas tunes for country singers, most notably "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Gene Autry) and "A Holly, Jolly Christmas" (Burl Ives). Lee recorded the song, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", in July with a prominent twanging guitar part by Hank Garland. Decca released it as a single that November, but it sold only 5,000 copies, and did not do much better when it was released again in 1959. However, it eventually sold more than five million copies.
In 1960, she recorded her signature song, "I'm Sorry", which hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart. It was her first gold single and was nominated for a Grammy. Even though it was not released as a country song, it was among the first big hits to use what was to become the Nashville sound - a string orchestra and legato harmonized background vocals. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" got noticed in its third release a few months later, and sales snowballed; the song remains a perennial favorite each December and is the record with which she is most identified by contemporary audiences.
Her last top ten single on the pop charts was 1963's "Losing You" (No. 6), while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song "Coming On Strong" and "Is It True?" in 1964. The latter, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar, was her only hit single recorded in London, England and was produced by Mickie Most.
International fame
Lee was popular in the United Kingdom early in her career. She toured the UK in 1959, before she had achieved much pop recognition in the US. Her 1961 rockabilly release "Let's Jump the Broomstick", recorded in 1959, did not chart in the US, but went to No. 12 in the UK. She then had two top 10 hits in the UK that were not released as singles in her native country: "Speak To Me Pretty" peaked at No. 3 in early 1962, followed by "Here Comes That Feeling", which reached #5. The latter was issed as the 'b'-side to "Everybody Loves Me But You", a #6 in the US. However, "Here Comes That Feeling" still made an appearance in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #69. Brenda Lee also toured in Ireland and appeared on the front of the dancing and entertainment magazine of the time there, Spotlight in April 1963. She was one of many stars to come to Ireland that year.Lee enjoys one distinction unique among successful American singers; her opening act on a UK tour in the early 1960s was a then-little-known beat group from Liverpool, England: The Beatles.
Later career
During the early 1970s, Lee re-established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of top ten hits on the country charts. The first was 1973's "Nobody Wins", which reached the top five that spring and became her last Top 100 pop hit, peaking at No. 70. The follow-up, the Mark James composition "Sunday Sunrise", reached No. 6 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that October. Other major hits included "Wrong Ideas" and "Big Four Poster Bed" (1974); and "Rock On Baby" and "He's My Rock" (both 1975).After a few years of lesser hits, Lee began another run at the top ten with 1979's "Tell Me What It's Like". Two follow-ups also reached the Top 10 in 1980: "The Cowboy and the Dandy" and "Broken Trust" (the latter featuring vocal backing by The Oak Ridge Boys). A 1982 album, The Winning Hand, featuring Lee along with Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, was a surprise hit, reaching the top ten on the U.S. country albums chart. Her last well-known hit was 1985's "Hallelujah, I Love Her So", a duet with George Jones.
Recent years
Over the ensuing years, Lee continued to record and perform around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages. In 1992, she recorded a duet ("You’ll Never Know") with Willy DeVille on his album Loup Garou. Today, she continues to perform and tour.On October 4, 2000, Lee inducted fellow country music legend Charley Pride into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Her autobiography, Brenda Lee: Little Miss Dynamite, was published by Hyperion in 2002 (ISBN 0-7868-6644-6).
Family
Although Lee's songs have often centered on lost loves, and although she did lose her father at a young age, her marriage to Ronnie Shacklett in 1963 has endured. He was able to deal with the notoriously rapacious music industry and is credited with ensuring her long-term financial success. They have two daughters, Jolie and Julie (who was named after Patsy Cline's daughter) and three grandchildren, Taylor, Jordan and Charley.
Recognition
Lee reached the final ballot for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and 2001 without being inducted, but was voted into the hall for 2002. To date, the 11 years between her 1990 and 2001 ballot appearances is the largest gap of this nature in the history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Celebrating over 50 years as a recording artist, in September 2006 she was the second recipient of the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award by the Source Foundation in Nashville. In 1997, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
In 2008, her recording of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" marked 50 years as a holiday standard, and in February 2009, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave Lee a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
References in popular culture
Historical Museum in Garden City, Kansas]]Chuck Berry wrote a song about Lee on the album St. Louis to Liverpool. She was also immortalized in Golden Earring's 1973 hit "Radar Love": "Radio's playing some forgotten song / Brenda Lee's 'Coming on Strong'." She was also remembered as a heroine to Burton Cummings on his self-titled 1970s album in the song "Dream of a Child," including the closing line, "I love Brenda Lee / Brenda Lee loves me / yeah...". Ben Vaughn wrote and released "I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)" in 1985, which has also been covered by Marshall Crenshaw .
"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" was heard in the 1990 movie Home Alone. "I'm Sorry" can be heard in the 1991 movie The Fisher King, the 1993 movie This Boy's Life, and the 1995 movie Tommy Boy.
"I Wonder," released in 1963, was the song playing at Colleen's funeral in the episode "The Cost of Living" in Season 3 of the ABC television show Lost. The episode originally aired on November 1, 2006.
Kelly Clarkson appeared as Brenda Lee on two episodes of the NBC series American Dreams.
Her 1963 cover of "Fly Me to the Moon" is used in the end credits of the 2010 video game, Bayonetta.
Discography
Notes
References
External links
Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:American rock singers Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rockabilly musicians Category:American pop singers Category:Decca Records artists Category:Charly Records artists Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia
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Bing Crosby
| Name | Bing Crosby |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Harry Lillis Crosby |
| Born | May 03, 1903Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Origin | Spokane, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | October 14, 1977Madrid, Spain |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Voice type | Baritone/Bass-baritone |
| Genre | Traditional pop, Jazz, vocal |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter actor |
| Years active | 1926–1977 |
| Label | Brunswick, Decca, Reprise, RCA Victor, Verve, United Artists |
| Associated acts | Bob Hope, Dixie Lee, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, The Rhythm Boys, Rosemary Clooney, David Bowie, Louis Armstrong |
| Url | http://www.bingcrosby.com |
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's unique bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists until well into the late 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.
One of the first multimedia stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby was very successful across record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. Crosby and his musical acts influenced male singers of the era that followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also during 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.
Through the aegis of recording, Crosby developed the techniques of constructing his broadcast radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) that occurred in a theatrical motion picture production. This feat directly led the way to applying the same techniques to creating all radio broadcast programming as well as later television programming. The quality of the recorded programs gave them commercial value for re-broadcast. This led the way to the syndicated market for all short feature media such as TV series episodes.
In 1963, Crosby was the first person to be recognized with the Grammy Global Achievement Award. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O'Malley in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way, and was nominated for his reprisal of Father O'Malley in The Bells of St. Mary's the very next year, becoming the first of four actors to be nominated twice for the same character performance. Crosby is one of the few people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life
Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington, on May 3, 1903, In 1906, Crosby's family moved to Spokane, Washington. In 1913, Crosby's father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Ave. The house now sits on the campus of Bing's alma mater Gonzaga University and formerly housed the Alumni Association.He was the fourth of seven children: five boys, Larry (1895–1975), Everett (1896–1966), Ted (1900–1973), Harry 'Bing' (1903–1977), and Bob (1913–1993); and two girls, Catherine (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990). His parents, Harry Lincoln Crosby (1870–1950), a bookkeeper, and Catherine Helen (known as Kate) Harrigan (1873–1964), were English-American and Irish-American, respectively. Kate was the daughter of Canadian-born parents who had emigrated to Stillwater, Minnesota, from Miramichi, New Brunswick. Kate's grandfather and grandmother, Dennis and Catherine Harrigan, had in turn moved to Canada in 1831 from Schull, County Cork, Ireland. Bing's paternal ancestors include Governor Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster, who were both born in England and who emigrated to what would become the U.S. in the 17th century. Patience was a daughter of Elder William Brewster, (c. 1567 – April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower.
In 1910, Crosby was forever renamed. Six-year-old Harry discovered a full-page feature in the Sunday edition of the Spokesman-Review, "The Bingville Bugle".
As documented by biographer Gary Giddins in Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams - The Early Years, 1903 - 1940, Volume I, the "Bugle," written by humorist Newton Newkirk, was a parody of a hillbilly newsletter complete with gossipy tidbits, minstrel quips, creative spelling, and mock ads. A neighbor, 15-year-old Valentine Hobart, shared Crosby's enthusiasm for "The Bugle" and noting Crosby's laugh, took a liking to him and called him "Bingo from Bingville". The last vowel was dropped and the name shortened to "Bing", which stuck.
In 1917, Crosby took a summer job as property boy at Spokane's "Auditorium," where he witnessed some of the finest acts of the day, including Al Jolson, who held Crosby spellbound with his ad libbing and spoofs of Hawaiian songs. Crosby later described Jolson's delivery as "electric".
Popular success
Music
In 1926, while singing at Los Angeles Metropolitan Theater, Crosby and his vocal duo partner Al Rinker caught the eye of Paul Whiteman, arguably the most famous bandleader at the time. Hired for $150 a week, they made their debut on December 6, 1926 at the Tivoli Theatre (Chicago). Their first recording, "I've Got The Girl," with Don Clark's Orchestra, was issued by Columbia and did them no vocal favors as it sounded as if they were singing in a key much too high for them. It was later revealed that the 78 rpm was recorded at a speed slower than it should have been, which increased the pitch when played at 78 rpm.As popular as the Crosby and Rinker duo was, Whiteman added another member to the group, pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris. Whiteman dubbed them The Rhythm Boys, and they joined the Whiteman vocal team, working and recording with musicians Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and Eddie Lang and Hoagy Carmichael.
Crosby soon became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys, not to mention Whiteman's band, and in 1928 had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Ol' Man River". However, his repeated youthful peccadilloes and growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman forced him, along with the Rhythm Boys, to leave the band and join the Gus Arnheim Orchestra. During his time with Arnheim, The Rhythm Boys were increasingly pushed to the background as the vocal emphasis focused on Crosby. Fellow member of The Rhythm Boys Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's subsequent hits including "At Your Command," "I Surrender Dear", and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams"; however, shortly after this, the members of the band had a falling out and split, setting the stage for Crosby's solo career.
On September 2, 1931, Crosby made his solo radio debut. In 1931, he signed with Brunswick Records and recording under Jack Kapp and signed with CBS Radio to do a weekly 15 minute radio broadcast; almost immediately he became a huge hit. His 1948 song Now is the Hour, however, would be his last number one hit. Crosby is, according to Quigley Publishing Company's International Motion Picture Almanac, tied for second on the "All Time Number One Stars List" with Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Burt Reynolds. Crosby's most popular film, White Christmas, grossed $30 million in 1954 ($}} million in current value). Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way in 1944, a role he reprised in the 1945 sequel The Bells of Saint Mary's, for which he was nominated for another Academy Award for Best Actor. He received critical acclaim for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl, receiving his third Academy Award nomination. He partnered with Bob Hope in seven Road to musical comedies between 1940 and 1962 and the two actors remained linked for generations in general public perception as arguably the most popular screen team in film history, despite never officially declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that Laurel and Hardy or Martin and Lewis were teams.
By the late 1950s, Crosby's singing career would make a comeback, with his albums Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings and Bing With A Beat selling reasonably well,
Career statistics
Crosby's sales and chart statistics place him among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Although the Billboard charts operated under a different methodology for the bulk of Crosby's career, his numbers remain astonishing: 1,700 recordings, 383 of those in the top 30, and of those, 41 hit #1. Crosby had separate charting singles in every calendar year between 1931 and 1954; the annual re-release of White Christmas extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Billboard's statistician Joel Whitburn determined Crosby to be America's most successful act of the 1930s, and again in the 1940s.in White Christmas (1954)]]For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby was among the top 10 in box office draw, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he was the largest in the world.
Entrepreneurship
Mass media
Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. (The live production of radio shows was also reinforced by the musicians' union and ASCAP.) Historian John Dunning, in On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, has written that Crosby – having discovered German engineers developed a tape recorder and improved them to a near-professional standard – saw "an enormous advantage in prerecording his radio shows. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. He could do four shows a week, if he chose, and then take a month off. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. The public wouldn't stand for 'canned' radio, the networks argued. There was something magic for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed, and heard everywhere, at that precise instant. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue a bad situation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and, yes, Crosby were masters at this, and the networks weren't about to give it up easily."
Crosby's influence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's adoption of it. He used his power to innovate new methods of reproducing audio of himself. But with NBC (and competitor CBS) refusing to allow recorded radio programs (except for advertisements and occasional promotional material), Crosby walked away from the network and stayed off the air for seven months, causing a legal battle with Kraft, his sponsor, that was settled out of court and put Crosby back on the air for the last 13 weeks of the 1945–1946 season.
The Mutual network, on the other hand, had pre-recorded some of its programs as early as the Summer 1938 run of The Shadow with Orson Welles, and the new ABC network – formed out of the sale of the old NBC Blue network in 1943 to Edward Noble, the "Life Savers King," following a federal anti-trust action – was willing to join Mutual in breaking the tradition. ABC offered Crosby $30,000 per week to produce a recorded show every Wednesday sponsored by Philco. He would also get $40,000 from 400 independent stations for the rights to broadcast the 30-minute show that was sent to them every Monday on three 16-inch lacquer/aluminum discs that played ten minutes per side at 33⅓ rpm.
Crosby wanted to change to recorded production for several reasons. The legend that has been most often told is that it would give him more time for his golf game. And he did record his first Philco program in August 1947 so he could enter the Jasper National Park Invitational Golf Tournament in September when the new radio season was to start. But golf was not the most important reason.
Crosby was always an early riser and hard worker, and Dunning and other radio historians have noted that, even while acknowledging he wanted more time to tend his other business and leisure activities. But he also sought better quality through recording, including being able to eliminate mistakes and control the timing of his show performances. Because his own Bing Crosby Enterprises produced the show, he could purchase the latest and best sound equipment and arrange the microphones his way; mic placement had long been a hotly debated issue in every recording studio since the beginning of the electrical era. No longer would he have to wear the hated toupee on his head previously required by CBS and NBC for his live audience shows (he preferred a hat). He could also record short promotions for his latest investment, the world's first frozen orange juice to be sold under the brand name Minute Maid. This investment allowed Bing to make more money by finding a loophole whereby the IRS couldn't tax him at 77% for income, see TIME Magazine story.
The transcription method had problems, however. The acetate surface coating of the aluminum discs was little better than the wax that Edison had used at the turn of the century, with the same limited dynamic range and frequency response.
But Murdo MacKenzie of Bing Crosby Enterprises saw a demonstration of the German Magnetophon in June 1947, one that Jack Mullin had brought back from Radio Frankfurt with 50 reels of tape at the end of the war. This machine was one of the magnetic tape recorders that BASF and AEG had built in Germany starting in 1935. The 6.5mm ferric-oxide-coated tape could record 20 minutes per reel of high-quality sound. Alexander M. Poniatoff ordered his Ampex company (founded in 1944 from his initials A.M.P. plus the starting letters of "excellence") to manufacture an improved version of the Magnetophone.
Crosby hired Mullin and his German machine to start recording his Philco Radio Time show in August 1947, with the same 50 reels of I.G. Farben magnetic tape that Mullin had found at a radio station at Bad Nauheim near Frankfurt while working for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The crucial advantage was editing. As Crosby wrote in his autobiography, "By using tape, I could do a thirty-five or forty-minute show, then edit it down to the twenty-six or twenty-seven minutes the program ran. In that way, we could take out jokes, gags, or situations that didn't play well and finish with only the prime meat of the show; the solid stuff that played big. We could also take out the songs that didn't sound good. It gave us a chance to first try a recording of the songs in the afternoon without an audience, then another one in front of a studio audience. We'd dub the one that came off best into the final transcription. It gave us a chance to ad lib as much as we wanted, knowing that excess ad libbing could be sliced from the final product. If I made a mistake in singing a song or in the script, I could have some fun with it, then retain any of the fun that sounded amusing."
Mullin's 1976 memoir of these early days of experimental recording agrees with Crosby's account: "In the evening, Crosby did the whole show before an audience. If he muffed a song then, the audience loved it – thought it was very funny – but we would have to take out the show version and put in one of the rehearsal takes. Sometimes, if Crosby was having fun with a song and not really working at it, we had to make it up out of two or three parts. This ad lib way of working is commonplace in the recording studios today, but it was all new to us."
Crosby invested US$50,000 in Ampex to produce more machines. In 1948, the second season of Philco shows was taped with the new Ampex Model 200 tape recorder (introduced in April) using the new Scotch 111 tape from the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) company. Mullin explained that new techniques were invented on the Crosby show with these machines: "One time Bob Burns, the hillbilly comic, was on the show, and he threw in a few of his folksy farm stories, which of course were not in Bill Morrow's script. Today they wouldn't seem very off-color, but things were different on radio then. They got enormous laughs, which just went on and on. We couldn't use the jokes, but Bill asked us to save the laughs. A couple of weeks later he had a show that wasn't very funny, and he insisted that we put in the salvaged laughs. Thus the laugh-track was born." Crosby had launched the tape recorder revolution in America. In his 1950 film Mr. Music, Bing Crosby can be seen singing into one of the new Ampex tape recorders that reproduced his voice better than anything else. Also quick to adopt tape recording was his friend Bob Hope, who would make the famous "Road to..." films with Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.
Mullin continued to work for Crosby to develop a videotape recorder. Television production was mostly live in its early years, but Crosby wanted the same ability to record that he had achieved in radio. The Fireside Theater, sponsored by Procter and Gamble, was his first television production for the 1950 season. Mullin had not yet succeeded with videotape, so Crosby filmed the series of 26-minute shows at the Hal Roach Studios. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations.
Crosby did not remain a television producer but continued to finance the development of videotape. Bing Crosby Enterprises (BCE), gave the world's first demonstration of a videotape recording in Los Angeles on November 11, 1951. Developed by John T. Mullin and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device gave what were described as "blurred and indistinct" images, using a modified Ampex 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch (6.3 mm) audio tape moving at 360 inches (9.1 m) per second.
Thoroughbred horse racing
Crosby was a fan of Thoroughbred horse racing and bought his first racehorse in 1935. In 1937, he became a founding partner and member of the Board of Directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club that built and operated the Del Mar Racetrack at Del Mar, California. One of Crosby's closest friends was Lindsay Howard, for whom he named his son Lindsay and from whom he would purchase his 40-room Hillsborough estate in 1965. Lindsay Howard was the son of millionaire businessman Charles S. Howard, who owned a successful racing stable that included Seabiscuit. Charles S. Howard joined Crosby as a founding partner and director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.Crosby and Lindsay Howard formed Binglin Stable to race and breed thoroughbred horses at a ranch in Moorpark in Ventura County, California. They also established the Binglin stock farm in Argentina, where they raced horses at Hipódromo de Palermo in Palermo, Buenos Aires. Binglin stable purchased a number of Argentine-bred horses and shipped them back to race in the United States. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race won by Charles S. Howard's Seabiscuit over Binglin Stable's Ligaroti. Binglin's horse Don Bingo won the 1943 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The Binglin Stable partnership came to an end in 1953 as a result of a liquidation of assets by Crosby in order to raise the funds necessary to pay the federal and state inheritance taxes on his deceased wife's estate.
A friend of jockey Johnny Longden, Crosby was a co-owner with Longden's friend Max Bell of the British colt Meadow Court, which won the 1965 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Irish Derby. In the Irish Derby's winner's circle at the Curragh, Crosby sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling."
The Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack is named in his honor.
Personal life
Crosby was married twice, first to actress/nightclub singer Dixie Lee from 1930 until her death from ovarian cancer in 1952. They had four sons: Gary, twins Dennis and Phillip, and Lindsay. The 1947 film is indirectly based on her life. After Dixie's death, Crosby had a relationship with actress Inger Stevens and with Grace Kelly before marrying the actress Kathryn Grant in 1957. They had three children, Harry (who played Bill in Friday the 13th), Mary (best known for portraying Kristin Shepard, the woman who shot J.R. Ewing on TV's Dallas), and Nathaniel.Crosby was Catholic. Kathryn converted to Catholicism to marry him. He was also a Republican, and actively campaigned for Wendell Willkie in 1940, asserting his belief that Franklin Roosevelt should serve only two terms. When Willkie lost, he decreed that he would never again make any open political contributions.
Crosby had an interest in sports. From 1946 until the end of his life, he was part-owner of baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates and helped form the nucleus of the Pirates' 1960 championship club. Although he was passionate about his team, he was too nervous to watch the deciding Game 7 of that year's World Series, choosing to go to Paris with Kathryn and listen to the game on the radio. Crosby had the NBC telecast of the game, capped off by Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run, recorded on kinescope. He apparently viewed the complete film once at his home and then stored it in his wine cellar, where it remained undisturbed until it was discovered in December 2009. In 1978, he and Bob Hope were voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
Crosby reportedly overindulged in alcohol in his youth, and may have been dismissed from Paul Whiteman's orchestra because of it, but he later got a handle on his drinking. A 2001 biography of Crosby by Village Voice jazz critic Gary Giddins says that Louis Armstrong's influence on Crosby "extended to his love of marijuana." Bing smoked it during his early career when it was legal and "surprised interviewers" in the 1960s and 70s by advocating its decriminalization, as did Armstrong. According to Giddins, Crosby told his son Gary to stay away from alcohol ("It killed your mother") and suggested he smoke pot instead. In Bob Hope's 1985 book Bob Hope's Confessions of a Hooker: My Lifelong Love Affair with Golf, Hope recounts hearing Crosby had been advised by a physician in England to only play 9 holes of golf due to his heart condition.
After Crosby's death, his eldest son, Gary, wrote a highly critical memoir, Going My Own Way, depicting his father as cold, remote, and both physically and psychologically abusive. Two of Crosby's other sons, Lindsay and Dennis, sided with Gary's claim and stated Crosby abused them as well. Dennis also stated that Crosby would abuse Gary the most often.
Nathaniel Crosby, Crosby's youngest son from his second marriage, was a high-level golfer who won the U.S. Amateur at age 19 in 1981, the youngest winner of that event (a record later broken by Tiger Woods). Nathaniel praised his father in a June 16, 2008, Sports Illustrated article.
Widow Kathryn Crosby dabbled in local theater productions intermittently, and appeared in television tributes to her late husband.
Denise Crosby, Dennis's daughter, is also an actress and known for her role as Tasha Yar on , and for the recurring role of the Romulan Sela (daughter of Tasha Yar) after her withdrawal from the series as a regular cast member. She also appeared in the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary.
In 2006, Crosby's niece, Carolyn Schneider, published "Me and Uncle Bing," in which she offered an intimate glimpse of her family, and gratitude for Crosby's generosity to her and to other family members.
Legacy
at 6769 Hollywood Blvd.]] He is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.The family has established an official website. It was launched October 14, 2007, the 30th anniversary of Bing's death.
In his 1990 autobiography Don't Shoot, It's Only Me! Bob Hope states, "Dear old Bing. As we called him, the Economy-sized Sinatra. And what a voice. God I miss that voice. I can't even turn on the radio around Christmastime without crying anymore."
Calypso musician Roaring Lion wrote a tribute song in 1939 entitled "Bing Crosby", in which he wrote: "Bing has a way of singing with his very heart and soul / Which captivates the world / His millions of listeners never fail to rejoice / At his golden voice..."
Golf
Crosby is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Aside from Bobby Jones and Arnold Palmer, Crosby may be the person most responsible for popularizing the game of golf. Since 1937 the 'Crosby Clambake' as it was popularly known—now the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am—has been a leading event in the world of professional golf. Crosby first took up the game at 12 as a caddy, dropped it, and started again in 1930 with some fellow cast members in Hollywood during the filming of The King of Jazz. Although he made his name as a singer, vaudeville performer, and silver screen luminary, he would probably prefer to be remembered as a two handicap who competed in both the British and U.S. Amateur championships, a five-time club champion at Lakeside Golf Club in Hollywood, and as one of only a few players to have made a hole-in-one on the 16th at Cypress Point.He conceived his tournament as a friendly little pro-am for his fellow members at Lakeside Golf Club and any stray touring pros who could use some pocket change. The first Clambake was played at Rancho Santa Fe C.C., in northern San Diego county, where Crosby was a member. He kicked in $3,000 of his own money for the purse, which led inaugural champion Sam Snead to ask if he might get his $700 in cash instead of a check. Snead's suspicions notwithstanding, the tournament was a rollicking success, thanks to the merry membership of Lakeside, an entertainment industry enclave in North Hollywood. That first tournament set the precedent for all that followed as it was as much about partying as it was about golf.
The tournament, revived on the Monterey Peninsula in 1947, has as of 2009 raised $93 million for local charities.
Compositions
Crosby co-wrote lyrics to 15 songs. His composition "At Your Command" was no.1 for three weeks on the U.S. pop singles chart in 1931, beginning with the week of August 8, 1931. "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You" was his most successful composition, recorded by Duke Ellington, Linda Ronstadt, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, and Mildred Bailey. The songs Crosby co-wrote are:#"That's Grandma" (1927), with Harry Barris and James Cavanaugh #"From Monday On" (1928), with Harry Barris and recorded with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet, no. 14 on US pop singles charts #"What Price Lyrics?" (1928), with Harry Barris and Matty Malneck #"At Your Command" (1931), with Harry Barris and Harry Tobias, US, no. 1 (3 weeks) #"Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)" (1931), with Roy Turk and Fred Ahlert, US, no. 4; US, 1940 re-recording, no. 27 #"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no. 5 #"My Woman" (1932), with Irving Wallman and Max Wartell #"Love Me Tonight" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no. 4 #"Waltzing in a Dream" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no.6 #"I Would If I Could But I Can't" (1933), with Mitchell Parish and Alan Grey #"Where the Turf Meets the Surf" (1941) #"Tenderfoot" (1953) #"Domenica" (1961) #"That's What Life is All About" (1975), with Ken Barnes, Peter Dacre, and Les Reed, US, AC chart, no. 35; UK, no. 41 #"Sail Away to Norway" (1977)
Filmography
Discography
Radio
RIAA certification
{| style="background:none" cellpadding="2" |- ! style="width:30%; background:white;"|Album ! style="width:20%; background:white;"|RIAA |- |Merry Christmas |Gold |- |Bing sings |2x platinum |- |White Christmas |4x platinum |}
References
;Bibliography
External links
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