42°

42nd parallel north

The 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 15 hours, 15 minutes during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 7 minutes during the winter solstice.^[1]

Around the world[link]

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 42° north passes through:

Co-ordinates	Country, territory or sea	Notes
42°0′N 0°0′E / 42°N 0°E / 42; 0 (Prime Meridian)	Spain	Passing just north of Girona
42°0′N 3°11′E / 42°N 3.183°E / 42; 3.183 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea
42°0′N 8°39′E / 42°N 8.65°E / 42; 8.65 (France)	France	Island of Corsica
42°0′N 9°27′E / 42°N 9.45°E / 42; 9.45 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Tyrrhenian Sea
42°0′N 11°58′E / 42°N 11.967°E / 42; 11.967 (Italy)	Italy
42°0′N 15°0′E / 42°N 15°E / 42; 15 (Adriatic Sea)	Adriatic Sea
42°0′N 19°9′E / 42°N 19.15°E / 42; 19.15 (Montenegro)	Montenegro
42°0′N 19°23′E / 42°N 19.383°E / 42; 19.383 (Albania)	Albania
42°0′N 20°37′E / 42°N 20.617°E / 42; 20.617 (Kosovo)	Kosovo	Partially recognised as an independent state - claimed by  Serbia
42°0′N 20°46′E / 42°N 20.767°E / 42; 20.767 (Macedonia)	Macedonia	Passing through Skopje
42°0′N 22°52′E / 42°N 22.867°E / 42; 22.867 (Bulgaria)	Bulgaria
42°0′N 26°56′E / 42°N 26.933°E / 42; 26.933 (Turkey)	Turkey
42°0′N 27°25′E / 42°N 27.417°E / 42; 27.417 (Bulgaria)	Bulgaria
42°0′N 27°51′E / 42°N 27.85°E / 42; 27.85 (Turkey)	Turkey	For about 3km
42°0′N 27°53′E / 42°N 27.883°E / 42; 27.883 (Bulgaria)	Bulgaria
42°0′N 28°2′E / 42°N 28.033°E / 42; 28.033 (Black Sea)	Black Sea
42°0′N 33°17′E / 42°N 33.283°E / 42; 33.283 (Turkey)	Turkey
42°0′N 33°34′E / 42°N 33.567°E / 42; 33.567 (Black Sea)	Black Sea
42°0′N 34°52′E / 42°N 34.867°E / 42; 34.867 (Turkey)	Turkey
42°0′N 35°7′E / 42°N 35.117°E / 42; 35.117 (Black Sea)	Black Sea
42°0′N 41°45′E / 42°N 41.75°E / 42; 41.75 (Georgia)	Georgia
42°0′N 46°5′E / 42°N 46.083°E / 42; 46.083 (Russia)	Russia	Dagestan - For about 2km
42°0′N 46°7′E / 42°N 46.117°E / 42; 46.117 (Georgia)	Georgia	For about 3km
42°0′N 46°9′E / 42°N 46.15°E / 42; 46.15 (Russia)	Russia	Dagestan
42°0′N 48°20′E / 42°N 48.333°E / 42; 48.333 (Caspian Sea)	Caspian Sea
42°0′N 52°27′E / 42°N 52.45°E / 42; 52.45 (Kazakhstan)	Kazakhstan
42°0′N 52°48′E / 42°N 52.8°E / 42; 52.8 (Turkmenistan)	Turkmenistan
42°0′N 54°51′E / 42°N 54.85°E / 42; 54.85 (Kazakhstan)	Kazakhstan
42°0′N 56°0′E / 42°N 56°E / 42; 56 (Uzbekistan)	Uzbekistan
42°0′N 57°10′E / 42°N 57.167°E / 42; 57.167 (Turkmenistan)	Turkmenistan
42°0′N 60°0′E / 42°N 60°E / 42; 60 (Uzbekistan)	Uzbekistan
42°0′N 66°0′E / 42°N 66°E / 42; 66 (Kazakhstan)	Kazakhstan
42°0′N 70°20′E / 42°N 70.333°E / 42; 70.333 (Uzbekistan)	Uzbekistan
42°0′N 70°50′E / 42°N 70.833°E / 42; 70.833 (Kyrgyzstan)	Kyrgyzstan
42°0′N 79°50′E / 42°N 79.833°E / 42; 79.833 (China)	People's Republic of China	Xinjiang Gansu Inner Mongolia
42°0′N 103°3′E / 42°N 103.05°E / 42; 103.05 (Mongolia)	Mongolia
42°0′N 105°56′E / 42°N 105.933°E / 42; 105.933 (China)	People's Republic of China	Inner Mongolia Hebei Inner Mongolia Hebei Inner Mongolia Hebei Inner Mongolia Liaoning Inner Mongolia Liaoning Jilin
42°0′N 128°3′E / 42°N 128.05°E / 42; 128.05 (North Korea)	North Korea	Passing through Baekdu Mountain
42°0′N 128°29′E / 42°N 128.483°E / 42; 128.483 (China)	People's Republic of China	Jilin (for about 8 km)
42°0′N 128°34′E / 42°N 128.567°E / 42; 128.567 (North Korea)	North Korea
42°0′N 130°2′E / 42°N 130.033°E / 42; 130.033 (Sea of Japan)	Sea of Japan	Passing just south of Okushiri Island,  Japan
42°0′N 140°7′E / 42°N 140.117°E / 42; 140.117 (Japan)	Japan	Island of Hokkaidō
42°0′N 140°53′E / 42°N 140.883°E / 42; 140.883 (Pacific Ocean)	Pacific Ocean
42°0′N 143°9′E / 42°N 143.15°E / 42; 143.15 (Japan)	Japan	Island of Hokkaidō
42°0′N 143°15′E / 42°N 143.25°E / 42; 143.25 (Pacific Ocean)	Pacific Ocean
42°0′N 124°13′W / 42°N 124.217°W / 42; -124.217 (United States)	United States	Oregon / California border Oregon / Nevada border Idaho / Nevada border Idaho / Utah border Wyoming Nebraska Iowa Illinois - passing through Chicago
42°0′N 87°39′W / 42°N 87.65°W / 42; -87.65 (Lake Michigan)	Lake Michigan
42°0′N 86°33′W / 42°N 86.55°W / 42; -86.55 (United States)	United States	Michigan
42°0′N 83°11′W / 42°N 83.183°W / 42; -83.183 (Lake Erie)	Lake Erie
42°0′N 82°58′W / 42°N 82.967°W / 42; -82.967 (Canada)	Canada	Ontario
42°0′N 82°29′W / 42°N 82.483°W / 42; -82.483 (Lake Erie)	Lake Erie
42°0′N 80°26′W / 42°N 80.433°W / 42; -80.433 (United States)	United States	Pennsylvania (Erie County) New York / Pennsylvania border New York Connecticut - running just south of the border with Massachusetts Rhode Island - running just south of the border with Massachusetts Massachusetts
42°0′N 70°42′W / 42°N 70.7°W / 42; -70.7 (Cape Cod Bay)	Cape Cod Bay
42°0′N 70°5′W / 42°N 70.083°W / 42; -70.083 (United States)	United States	Massachusetts (Cape Cod)
42°0′N 70°2′W / 42°N 70.033°W / 42; -70.033 (Atlantic Ocean)	Atlantic Ocean
42°0′N 8°53′W / 42°N 8.883°W / 42; -8.883 (Spain)	Spain
42°0′N 8°39′W / 42°N 8.65°W / 42; -8.65 (Portugal)	Portugal
42°0′N 8°7′W / 42°N 8.117°W / 42; -8.117 (Spain)	Spain

United States[link]

The parallel 42° north forms most of the New York-Pennsylvania border, although due to imperfect surveying in 1785–1786, this boundary wanders around on both sides of the true parallel. The area around the parallel in this region is known as the Twin Tiers.

The 42nd parallel became agreed upon as the northward limit of the Spanish Empire by the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 with the United States, which established the parallel as the border between the Viceroyality of New Spain of the Kingdom of Spain and the western territory of the United States of America from the meridian of the headwaters of the Arkansas River west to the Pacific Ocean.^[2] The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 then ceded much of what was then northern Mexico to the United States; as a result, the northernmost U.S. states which were created from Mexican territory (California, Nevada, and Utah) have the parallel 42° north as their northern border, and the adjoining U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho have the parallel as their southern border.

The parallel passes through the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and passes through (or near - within one-half degree of latitude) the following cities in the United States:

• Crescent City, California
• Yreka, California
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Chicago, Illinois
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Springfield, Massachusetts
• Worcester, Massachusetts
• Detroit, Michigan
• Kalamazoo, Michigan
• Albany, New York
• Binghamton, New York
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Medford, Oregon
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Providence, Rhode Island

Canada[link]

The parallel 42° north passes through the southern end of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Part of the water boundary between Canada and the United States passes south of the 42nd parallel, and the southern tip of the Canadian province of Ontario just barely goes south of it - this is located at Point Pelee and Pelee Island.

See also[link]

• 41st parallel north
• 43rd parallel north
• The Twin Tiers region of New York and Pennsylvania
• The "Jefferson" region of Oregon and California

References[link]

v t e Circles of latitude / Meridians Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle Equator Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Capricorn Arctic Circle Antarctic Circle W 0° E 30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 180° 30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 180° 5° 15° 25° 35° 45° 55° 65° 75° 85° 95° 105° 115° 125° 135° 145° 155° 165° 175° 5° 15° 25° 35° 45° 55° 65° 75° 85° 95° 105° 115° 125° 135° 145° 155° 165° 175° 10° 20° 40° 50° 70° 80° 100° 110° 130° 140° 160° 170° 10° 20° 40° 50° 70° 80° 100° 110° 130° 140° 160° 170° 0° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° 5° N 15° 25° 35° 45° 55° 65° 75° 85° 5° S 15° 25° 35° 45° 55° 65° 75° 85° 45x90 45x90 45x90 45x90

42nd parallel may refer to:

• 42nd parallel north, a circle of latitude in the Northern Hemisphere
• 42nd parallel south, a circle of latitude in the Southern Hemisphere
• A novel "The 42nd Parallel" by John Dos Passos - see U.S.A. trilogy

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for composing the music for "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.^[2]

Alec Wilder, in his study of the American popular song, concluded that Hoagy Carmichael was the "most talented, inventive, sophisticated and jazz-oriented" of the hundreds of writers composing pop songs in the first half of the 20th century.^[3]

Early life[link]

Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Carmichael was the only son of Howard Clyde Carmichael, of Scottish ancestry,^{[citation needed]} and Lida Mary (Robison). He was named Hoagland after a circus troupe "The Hoaglands" who stayed at the Carmichael house during his mother's pregnancy.^[4] Howard was a horse-drawn taxi driver and electrician, and Lida a versatile pianist who played accompaniment at silent movies and for parties. The family moved frequently, as Howard sought better employment for his growing family. At six, Carmichael started to sing and play the piano, absorbing easily his mother's keyboard skills. By high school, the piano was the focus of his after-school life, and for inspiration he would listen to ragtime pianists Hank Wells and Hube Hanna. At eighteen, the small, wiry, pale Carmichael was living in Indianapolis, trying to help his family’s income working in manual jobs in construction, a bicycle chain factory, and a slaughterhouse. The bleak time was partly spelled by four-handed piano duets with his mother and by his strong friendship with Reg DuValle, black bandleader and pianist known as "the elder statesman of Indiana jazz" and "the Rhythm King", who taught him piano jazz improvization.^[5] The death of his three-year-old sister in 1918 affected him deeply, and he wrote "My sister Joanne—the victim of poverty. We couldn’t afford a good doctor or good attention, and that’s when I vowed I would never be broke again in my lifetime." She may have died from influenza, which had swept the world that year.^[6] Carmichael earned his first money ($5.00) as a musician playing at a fraternity dance that year and began his musical career.^[7]

Carmichael attended Indiana University and the Indiana University School of Law, where he received his Bachelor's degree in 1925 and a law degree in 1926. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and played the piano all around the state with his "Collegians" to support his studies. He met, befriended, and played with Bix Beiderbecke, the great cornetist (and sometime pianist) and fellow Mid-westerner. Under Beiderbecke’s spell, Carmichael started to play the cornet as well, but found that he didn't have the lips for it, and only played it for a short while. He was also influenced by Beiderbecke's impressionistic and classical musical ideas. On a visit to Chicago, Carmichael was introduced by Beiderbecke to Louis Armstrong, who was then playing with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, and with whom he would collaborate later.

He began to compose songs, "Washboard Blues" and "Boneyard Shuffle" for Curtis Hitch, and also "Riverboat Shuffle", recorded by Beiderbecke, which became a staple of jazz and Carmichael’s first recorded song. After graduating in 1926, he moved to Miami to join a local law firm but, failing the bar exam, returned to Indiana in 1927. He joined an Indiana law firm and passed the state bar, but devoted most of his energies to music, arranging band dates, and "writing tunes".^[8] He had discovered his method of songwriting, which he described later: "You don't write melodies, you find them…If you find the beginning of a good song, and if your fingers do not stray, the melody should come out of hiding in a short time."^[9]

Early career[link]

"Stardust" recalled in the trailer for To Have and Have Not

Later in 1927, Carmichael’s career started off well. Carmichael finished and recorded one of his most famous songs, "Star Dust" (later renamed "Stardust", with Mitchell Parish's lyrics added in 1929), at the Gennett Records studio in Richmond, Indiana, with Carmichael doing the piano solo. The song, an idiosyncratic melody in medium tempo, actually a song about a song, later became an American standard, recorded by hundreds of artists. Shortly thereafter, Carmichael got more recognition when Paul Whiteman recorded "Washboard Blues", with Carmichael playing and singing, and the Dorsey brothers and Bix Beiderbecke in the orchestra. Despite his growing fame, at this stage Carmichael was still held back by his inability to sight-read and notate music properly, though innovative for the time. With coaching, he became more proficient at arranging his own music.

His first major song with his own lyrics was "Rockin' Chair", recorded by Armstrong and Mildred Bailey, and eventually with his own hand-picked studio band (featuring Bix, Bubber Miley, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Bud Freeman, Eddie Lang, Joe Venuti, and Gene Krupa) on May 15, 1930. In the future, however, most of his successful songs would have lyrics provided by collaborators. After Carmichael realized he missed making music and was not cut out to be a lawyer, he left his law practice forever and started working with musicals in Hollywood. He stayed with Paul Whiteman’s orchestra for a while but no work came of it and he moved to New York City in the summer of 1929.

1930s[link]

In New York, Carmichael met Duke Ellington's agent and publisher Irving Mills and hired him to set up recording dates. In October 1929 the stock market crashed and Carmichael's hard-earned savings declined substantially. Fortunately, Louis Armstrong then recorded "Rockin' Chair" at Okeh studios, giving a badly needed boost to Carmichael. Carmichael had begun to work at an investment house and was considering a switch in career when he composed "Georgia on My Mind" (lyrics by Stuart Gorrell), perhaps most famous in the Ray Charles rendition recorded many years later.^[10]

Carmichael composed and recorded "Up a Lazy River" in 1930 (lyrics by Sidney Arodin) and the first recorded version of "Stardust" with lyrics (by Mitchell Parish) was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1931. He joined ASCAP in 1931 and began working for Ralph Peer’s Southern Music Company in 1932 as a songwriter, the first music firm to occupy the new Brill Building, famous as a New York songwriting mecca. It was a low paying but steady job at a time when the Depression was having a harsh effect on live jazz performance and many musicians were out of work. Bix Beiderbecke’s early death also darkened Carmichael’s mood. Of that time, he wrote later: "I was tiring of jazz and I could see that other musicians were tiring as well. The boys were losing their enthusiasm for the hot stuff…No more hot licks, no more thrills."^[11]

The elegy for hot jazz was premature, but Swing was just around the corner and jazz would soon turn in another direction, with new bandleaders like the Dorseys and Benny Goodman, and new singers like Frank Sinatra leading the way. Carmichael’s output soon would be heading in that direction. In 1933 Carmichael began his collaboration with newly arrived lyricist Johnny Mercer on "Thanksgiving", "Moon Country", and "Lazybones", which was a smash hit selling over 350,000 copies in three months.^[12] Carmichael's financial condition improved dramatically as royalties started to pour in. Now he was hobnobbing with George Gershwin, Fred Astaire, Duke Ellington, and other music giants in the New York scene. His success improved his social life considerably and now he could afford a comfortable apartment and dapper clothes.

Carmichael started to emerge as a solo singer-performer, first at parties, then professionally. He described his unique, laconic voice as being "the way a shaggy dog looks…I have Wabash fog and sycamore twigs in my throat".^[13] Some fans were dismayed as he steadily veered away from hot jazz, but recordings by Louis Armstrong continued to "jazz up" Carmichael’s popular songs. In 1935 he left Ralph Peer’s Southern Music Company and started composing songs for a division of Warner Brothers, establishing his connection with Hollywood. His song "Moonburn", his first movie song, appeared in the film version of Anything Goes.

In 1935 Carmichael married preacher’s daughter Ruth Menardi. He moved to California and accepted a contract with Paramount for $1,000 a week, joining other famous songwriters working for the Hollywood studios, including Harry Warren (Warners), E. Y. Harburg (MGM), Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin at Paramount.^[14] Soon, the Carmichaels were accepted members of the Hollywood community, attending parties and hanging out in palatial homes. In 1937 Carmichael appeared in the movie Topper, serenading Cary Grant and Constance Bennett with his song "Old Man Moon".

In 1937 he wrote the song "Chimes of Indiana" which was presented to Indiana University as a gift by the class of 1935. It was made the school's official co-alma mater in 1978. (Carmichael also holds the distinction of being awarded an honorary doctorate in music by the university in 1972.)^[15]

With Paramount lyricist Frank Loesser, he wrote "Two Sleepy People" in 1938. Around the same time Carmichael composed "Heart and Soul", "Small Fry", and "I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)" (premiered by Dick Powell in a radio broadcast). However, countering these successes, Carmichael's and Mercer's Broadway score for Walk With Music was unsuccessful. In 1939, Hoagy Bix, the Carmichaels' first child, was born.

1940s[link]

Hoagy Carmichael at piano; Lauren Bacall singing

The growing Carmichael family was thriving in Los Angeles in the former mansion of chewing-gum heir William P. Wrigley, Jr., when World War II broke out. Hoagy Carmichael maintained a strong personal and professional relationship with Johnny Mercer. That continuing collaboration led to "Skylark" in 1942, recorded almost immediately by Glenn Miller, Dinah Shore, and Helen Forrest (with Harry James). In 1943, Carmichael returned to the movies and played "Cricket" in the screen adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's To Have and Have Not, opposite Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, where he sang "Hong Kong Blues" and "The Rhumba Jumps", and played piano as Bacall sang "How Little We Know".^[16] He also contributed to the 1941 Max Fleischer animated film, Mister Bug Goes to Town (later reissued as Hoppity Goes To Town).

Carmichael appeared as an actor in a total of 14 motion pictures, always performing at least one of his songs, including Young Man with a Horn (based on friend Bix Beiderbecke's life) with Bacall and Kirk Douglas, and multi-Academy Award winner The Best Years of Our Lives with Myrna Loy and Fredric March), in which he teaches a disabled veteran with metal prostheses to play "Chop Sticks". He described his screen persona as the "hound-dog-faced old musical philosopher noodling on the honky-tonk piano, saying to a tart with a heart of gold: "He'll be back, honey. He's all man"."^[17]

When composing, Carmichael was incessant. According to his son Randy, he worked over a song for days or even weeks until it was perfect. His perfectionism extended to his clothes, grooming, and eating as well. Once the work was done, however, Carmichael would cut loose—relax, play golf, drink, and indulge in the Hollywood high life.^[18]

Carmichael was a Republican supporter and anti-FDR, voting for Wendell Wilkie for president in 1940, and was often aghast at the left-leaning political views of his friends in Hollywood. His contribution to the war effort was similar to other patriotic efforts by Irving Berlin ("This Is the Army, Mr. Jones"), Johnny Mercer ("G.I. Jive"), and Frank Loesser ("Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition"). Carmichael's war time songs (most with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) included "My Christmas Song for You", "Don't Forget to Say 'No' Baby", "Billy-a-Dick", "The Army of Hippocrates", "Cranky Old Yank", "Eager Beaver", "No More Toujours l'Amour", "Morning Glory", and the never completed "Hitler Blues".^[19] He regularly performed on USO shows.

Carmichael's 1943 song "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues" is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the song with the longest title. However Carmichael admitted it was a joke; the title was intended to end with the word 'Yank'.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1944 and 1948, Carmichael was the host of three musical variety radio programs. In 1944–45, the 30-minute Tonight at Hoagy's aired on Mutual Sunday nights at 8:30 pm (Pacific time), sponsored by Safeway supermarkets. Produced by Walter Snow, the show featured Carmichael as host and vocalist. The musicians included Pee Wee Hunt and Joe Venuti. Fans were rather blunt about his singing, with comments like "you can't sing for sour owl" and "your singing is so delightfully awful that it is really funny".^[20] NBC carried the 30-minute Something New at 6 pm (Pacific time) on Mondays in 1945–46. All of the musicians in this show's band, called the "Teenagers", were between the ages of 16 and 19. Carol Stewart and Gale Robbins were the vocalists and comedy was supplied by Pinky Lee and the team of Bob Sweeney and Hal March, later of quiz show fame. The Hoagy Carmichael Show was broadcast by CBS from October 26, 1946 until June 26, 1948. Luden's Cough Drops sponsored the 15-minute program until June 1947.

In 1948 Carmichael composed a piece called Brown County in Autumn, a nine-minute tone poem which was not well-received by critics.

1950s[link]

"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening", with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, won Carmichael his first Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Mercer his second of four. In 1952, he played his composition "My Resistance Is Low" in the movie The Las Vegas Story. The song did not catch fire in the U.S. but was a major hit in England, where it charted a second time in 1963 after being covered by Liverpool beat band Buddy Britten and the Regents,^[21] also appearing in instrumental form on The Shadows' debut LP.

Carmichael sharing the Saturday Night Revue duties with George Gobel.

In the early 1950s, television took off and variety shows were particularly popular. Carmichael hosted Saturday Night Review in June 1953, a summer replacement series for Your Show of Shows,^[22] but found the pressure too intense and did not return the following summer. About 1955, Carmichael reprised the Dooley Wilson role in a short-lived television adaptation of Casablanca on Warner Brothers Presents, playing Sam the piano player.

Among his numerous television roles, Carmichael guest starred with Keenan Wynn, Anthony George, and Olive Carey in the 1956 episode "Death in the Snow" of the NBC anthology series, The Joseph Cotten Show. He was thereafter a regular on NBC's Laramie western series (1959–1963) with John Smith and Robert Fuller, co-starred in The Helen Morgan Story on CBS's Playhouse 90 (1957) and provided the voice for a stone-age parody of himself, "Stoney Carmichael", in an episode of ABC's The Flintstones, which aired in September 1961. On June 15, 1961, he appeared in one of the final episodes of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

Carmichael composed seven songs for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes but only two made the final cut: "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love" and "When Love Goes Wrong (Nothing Goes Right)", with Jane Russell singing the former.

As rock and roll emerged in the mid-1950s, the youth audience was drifting away from standards like Carmichael's, and the music industry found less commercial appeal in his new songs, while jazz aficionados turned their attention to bebop. Carmichael's marriage also dissolved during this time. As his song writing career started to ebb, Carmichael still received the blessings of his substantial recordings. He also wrote some songs for children.

Later years[link]

In 1960, Ray Charles' version of "Georgia on My Mind" was a hit, receiving Grammys for Best Male Vocal and Best Popular Single. Carmichael's rediscovery, however, did little for his new material, which was all but ignored by the recording industry, including songs such as "The Ballad of Sam Older", "A Perfect Paris Night", "Behold, How Beautiful", "Bamboo Curtains", and "Close Beside You". For his September 15, 1961 animated guest appearance in "The Hit Songwriters" episode of The Flintstones, Hoagy wrote and performed a song created especially for the show, "Yabba-Dabba-Dabba-Dabba-Doo". Jerry Lee Lewis recorded "Hong Kong Blues" during his final Sun sessions in 1963, but it was never released.^[23] In 1964, while The Beatles were exploding on the scene, Carmichael lamented, "I'll betcha I have twenty-five songs lying in my trunk" and no one was calling to say "have you got a real good song for such-and such an artist".^[24] Nonetheless, royalties of his standards were still bringing in over $300,000 a year.^[25] George Harrison recorded two of Carmichael's songs ("Baltimore Oriole" and "Hong Kong Blues") for his 1981 LP Somewhere In England.

His attempt to compose movie scores failed when his score for Hatari! was replaced by that of Henry Mancini, although his song "Just for Tonight" (a re-working of "A Perfect Paris Night") is used in the film. With the Johnny Appleseed Suite, Carmichael once again tried his hand at a longer musical composition, but the episodic treatment lacked the compositional unity and momentum of works such as George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. By 1967, Carmichael was spending time back in New York but was still unsuccessful with his new songs.

Carmichael was inducted into the USA's Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971 along with Duke Ellington.^[26] The 1970s went by with little musical success and fewer people recognizing him in public. With the help and encouragement of his son Hoagy Bix, Carmichael participated in the PBS television show Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop, which featured jazz-rock versions of his hits. He appeared on Fred Rogers PBS show Old Friends, New Friends. With time on his hands, he resumed painting.

In 1977 he married Dorothy Wanda McKay. On his 80th birthday, Carmichael said "I’m a bit disappointed in myself. I know I could have accomplished a hell of a lot more... I could write anything any time I wanted to. But I let other things get in the way... I’ve been floating around in the breeze."^[27] Shortly before his death, Carmichael appeared on a UK-recorded tribute album, In Hoagland (1981), together with Annie Ross and Georgie Fame.

Carmichael died of heart failure in Rancho Mirage, California, on December 27, 1981. He is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Bloomington.^[28]

Legacy[link]

• In 1986 the Carmichael family donated his archives, piano, and memorabilia to Indiana University, which established a Hoagy Carmichael Collection in its Archives of Traditional Music and the Hoagy Carmichael Room to permanently display selections from the collection.
• In 2007 Carmichael was inducted into the Gennett Records Walk of Fame in Richmond, Indiana. A bronze and ceramic plaque is placed near the location of the studio where he first recorded "Stardust."
• On July 5, 2008, a mural with his portrait was dedicated to him on the south wall of the Readmore building in Richmond, Indiana. His son Randy, 67, played a few songs in the Leland Residence after the ceremony.
• The Hoagy Carmichael Landmark Sculpture by artist Michael McAuley was dedicated at Indiana University on Sept. 18, 2008. The photo blog Hoagyland! captures the small, daily tributes left by fans at the statue.

Filmography[link]

Songs (selection)[link]

Biographies[link]

Carmichael wrote two autobiographies: The Stardust Road (1946) and Sometimes I Wonder (1965). These were combined into a single volume for a paperback published by Da Capo Press in 1999. Dick Sudhalter wrote the first full biography of Carmichael, Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael.^[31]

In popular culture[link]

This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivial references. (April 2012)

• Author Ian Fleming wrote in his novels Casino Royale and Moonraker that British secret agent James Bond resembled Carmichael, but with a scar down one cheek. In the book Casino Royale, James Bond compares himself unfavorably with Carmichael. Carmichael and Fleming himself also looked similar.
• Former Beatles singer and songwriter John Lennon announced that Hoagy Carmichael was his favourite songwriter.^{[citation needed]} George Harrison was also an avid fan, having covered "Baltimore Oriole" and "Hong Kong Blues" in 1981.^[32] In addition, Harrison spoke of enjoying listening to "Barnacle Bill the Sailor." ^[33]

See also[link]

• Martha Carmichael Clayton

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Carmichael, Hoagy and Longstreet, Stephen. The Stardust Road & Sometimes I Wonder: The Autobiogaphy of Hoagy Carmichael. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 1999, ISBN 0-306-80899-4

External links[link]

	Book: Hoagy Carmichael
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hoagy Carmichael

• Official website
• Hoagy Carmichael at the Internet Movie Database
• Hoagy Carmichael at the TCM Movie Database
• Hoagy Carmichael at the Internet Broadway Database
• Hoagy Carmichael on RedHotJazz.com
• The Hoagy Carmichael Collection
• The Hoagy Carmichael Room, Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University

Erykah Badu
Hamburg/Germany 2002
Background information
Birth name	Erica Abi Wright
Also known as	Loretta Brown, Analog Girl in a Digital World, Fat Belly Bella, Medulla Oblongata
Born	(1971-02-26) February 26, 1971 (age 41) Dallas, Texas United States
Genres	R&B, neo soul, soul, funk, jazz, hip hop
Occupations	singer-songwriter, activist, Record producer, actress, DJ, rapper
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, drums, drum machine
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Kedar, Universal, Motown, Puppy Love, Control Freaq
Associated acts	Soulquarians, The Cannabinoids, Madlib, The Roots, 9th Wonder, The Flaming Lips, Macy Gray, Mark Ronson, Stephen Marley, Dead Prez, Lenny Kravitz, Queen Latifah, Joi, Bahamadia, Angie Stone
Website	ErykahBadu.com

Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971),^[1] better known by her stage name Erykah Badu /ˈɛrɨkə bɑːˈduː/, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz.^[1] She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical stylings and sense of fashion. She is known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul" or the "Queen of Neo-Soul".

Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for wearing very large and colorful headwraps. For her musical sensibilities, she has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday. She was a core member of the Soulquarians, and is also an actress having appeared in a number of films playing a range of supporting roles in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules and House of D. She also speaks at length in the documentary Before the Music Dies.

Early life[link]

Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas, on February 26, 1971. Her mother raised her and her brother and sister alone; their father, William Wright, Jr., had deserted the family early in their lives. To provide for her family, the children's grandmother often helped looking after them while Erykah's mother, Kolleen Maria Gipson (Wright), performed as an actress in theatrical productions. Influenced by her mother, Erykah had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre. Erykah Badu was the owner of Focal point in Dallas, Texas.

By the age of 14, Erykah was free-styling for a local radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove. In her early youth, she decided to change the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, as she firmly believed her original name to be her slave name. The term 'kah' signifies the inner self. Badu is her favorite jazz scat sound and is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Akan people in Ghana.^[2]

Upon graduating from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Badu went on to study theater at the historically black college Grambling State University. Concentrating on music full-time, she left the university in 1993 before graduating and took on several minimum wage jobs to support herself. She taught drama and dance to children at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Working and touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, she recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg, who set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal Records.^[2]

Career[link]

Music[link]

Badu’s style is a prime illustration of Neo-Soul in that it focuses on the contemporary styles of the genres soul and hip hop and it sends out a deeper message as opposed to common R&B music. The songs in Badu’s album, “Baduizm” exemplifies her personal take on life. Her philosophy features ideologies from African influences, with fusions from the Nation of Islam and the Five Percent theologies, the complex views of the ancient Egyptians, and Southern African-American folk traditions. The majority of Badu’s music is greatly influenced by her beliefs of the NOI or the Nation of Islam and her African roots and heritage.^[3] Baduizm, Badu's highly acclaimed debut album, was released in early 1997 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts. Lead single "On & On" reached #12 on the singles charts in both the U.S. and UK. Badu received notice for her introspective lyrics and jazzy, bass-heavy sound, and was hailed as one of the leading lights of the burgeoning neo soul genre. Her particular style of singing drew many comparisons to Billie Holiday.^[4] Baduizm eventually went triple platinum and, along with "On & On," won Grammy Awards at the 1998 ceremonies.

Badu performing at the Jazz Reggae Festival, 2009

During that year, Badu became involved with rapper André 3000 of OutKast, with whom she had a child, Seven, who was born in 1997. Their relationship ended sometime in the late 90s. Badu recorded her first live album, Live, while pregnant with Seven, and the release of the recording coincided with the birth of her child.^[5] Live reached #4 on the Billboard charts, selling double platinum, and spawned another R&B hit single in "Tyrone", a song chiding a selfish, cheap, and inattentive boyfriend.^[6] Badu also collaborated with the Roots (who had previously handled production duties on a number of tracks on Baduizm) on their breakthrough 1999 release, Things Fall Apart. She was featured on the song "You Got Me", co-written by Jill Scott, which hit the top 40 and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

After taking some time off to raise her child, Badu returned in 2000 with Mama's Gun, an album more organic in sound than her previous studio album, and primarily produced by the Soulquarians and noted bassist Pino Palladino. A remix of one of the album's songs, "Bag Lady", was issued as the first single and topped the R&B charts for seven weeks. The album was well-received, with the lyrical content winning notices from many publications who found some of her lyrics hard to decipher on her initial releases.^[7] Despite not charting as high as her first two albums, Mama's Gun was another platinum-selling success, and "Bag Lady" was nominated for a Grammy Award.

By 2000, Badu was in a romantic relationship with fellow Soulquarian Common, and "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" was released as a collaboration between the two on the Brown Sugar soundtrack. "Love of My Life" hit #9 on the pop charts, topped the R&B listings, and Badu was awarded her fourth Grammy Award for the song in 2003.^[8]

After the release of Mama's Gun and "Love of My Life", Badu experienced writer's block.^[9] She hit the road throughout 2002 and much of 2003 on what she dubbed the "Frustrated Artist Tour", in search of inspiration to write and perform new material. The conclusion of the tour saw Badu head back to the studio with new material, and in September 2003, the Worldwide Underground album was released. More jam-oriented than any of her prior releases, Badu was quoted as saying that the release was designed to serve as one continuous groove.^[10] Worldwide Underground reached #3 on the Billboard charts and was certified gold not long after its release, and Badu received four further Grammy nominations for the album. Badu also contributed to Zap Mama's album Ancestry in Progress (2004), adding her vocals to the track "Bandy Bandy."

After almost four years and the birth of a daughter, Puma, it was revealed in 2007 that Badu had three albums in the works over the course of 2007 and 2008. "Honey", a new single produced by 9th Wonder, was leaked online in November 2007, and the new album, titled New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), was released on February 26, 2008. According to Nielsen Soundscan, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) has sold 359,000 copies in the United States ^[11] Erykah Badu performed at the 10th annual Voodoo Experience in New Orleans the weekend before Halloween 2008.^[12]

Erykah Badu released her fifth studio album, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) on March 30, 2010.^[13]

An "Icon" CD series of Badu was released on August 31, 2010. It features 12 of the most favorable hits from different albums of Erykah Badu.

Badu is currently working on new material with Flying Lotus.^[14] Badu will also appear on the debut album by the supergroup, Rocketjuice and The Moon which is due for release in March 2012.^[15]

Controversy over "Window Seat" video[link]

Badu in 2008

On March 13, 2010,^[16] Badu filmed the video for her song "Window Seat", at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, which Badu wrote on her Twitter feed "was shot guerrilla style, no crew, 1 take, no closed set, no warning, 2 min., Downtown Dallas, then ran like hell."^[17] Without acquiring permission or permits from the city, Badu shed her clothes as she walked along a Dallas, Texas, sidewalk until she was nude at the site where President Kennedy was assassinated. A shot rang out as the song ended, and Badu's head jerked back and she fell to the ground. Children with their families could be seen nearby as Badu stripped.^[18] When asked about stripping nude in the presence of minors, Badu said, "I didn’t think about them until I saw them, and in my mind I tried to telepathically communicate my good intent to them. That’s all I could do, and I hoped they wouldn’t be traumatized."^[16] Badu also explained on The Wanda Sykes Show on April 3, 2010, that it was not her intention to insult the memory of the late President Kennedy, saying "My point was grossly misunderstood all over America. JFK is one of my heroes, one of the nation's heroes. John F. Kennedy was a revolutionary; he was not afraid to butt heads with America, and I was not afraid to show America my butt-naked truth."^[19] Coodie and Chike, directors of the Window Seat video, admitted they had bail money ready during filming if Badu was to be arrested.^[19] Badu said the video was a protest against “groupthink” and was inspired by Matt and Kim's music video Lessons Learned. Badu has also said she has "no regrets."^[16]

On Friday, April 2, 2010, Badu was charged with disorderly conduct, a class C misdemeanor, in relation to the music video. "Sgt. Warren Mitchell said Friday the decision to cite Badu for disorderly conduct — a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 — came after witness Ida Espinosa, 32, of Vernon, offered a sworn statement to police Thursday [April 1]. Espinosa declined to comment to The Associated Press on Friday."^[20] On April 28, 2010, Badu challenged the disorderly conduct charge by pleading not guilty rather than paying the fee by mail.^[21][22] On Friday, August 13, she pleaded, deferred adjudication, meaning that the final judgment in the situation has been deferred until a later time and paid the $500 ticket.

Acting[link]

Badu appeared in the films Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules, House of D, Before the Music Dies, and Dave Chappelle's Block Party. She is reported to have a leading role alongside Mos Def in the upcoming indie film, Bobby Zero, which tells a story of a struggling couple who hit rock bottom after Mos Def's character gives up his dream of artistic aspirations to pursue an advertising corporate job to make ends meet.^[23] She also appeared in scenes of the music video of Miko Marks' 2006 recording "Mama" and Common's video for "The Light" as well as making a special appearance on the sitcom Girlfriends. She was named the latest muse to fashion designer Tom Ford in 2008 as the face of his White Patchouli fragrance. Ford, also longtime friends with Badu, considered her the best choice for the campaign. “I have always considered her a true beauty … she just fits”, says Ford.^[24]

Personal life[link]

backstage Hamburg/Germany 2002

Badu splits her time between Dallas and Brooklyn, NY in her Fort Greene apartment.^[25] Badu has three children. Her eldest child is a son named Seven Sirius Benjamin, born in 1997, with André 3000. Their relationship inspired André 3000 to write the song Ms. Jackson. From 2000 to 2002, she dated rapper Common. On July 5, 2004, Badu gave birth to a daughter, Puma Sabti Curry, in her Dallas home; Puma's father is West Coast rapper The D.O.C., who is originally from Dallas, Texas. On February 1, 2009, Badu gave birth to her third child at home, a girl named Mars Merkaba Thedford, with her boyfriend of five years, rapper Jay Electronica.^[26] In attendance were her two children, Puma and Seven.^[27]

After her performance at the 2010 Soul Train Awards, pregnancy rumors spread because of her heavier appearance and her concealing attire.^{[citation needed]} It was said that Badu was pregnant for a fourth time, now by the police officer that allegedly arrested her during the production of her Window Seat music video.^{[citation needed]} Badu quickly dispelled the rumors via her Twitter account December 1, 2010 as she proclaimed "everyone knows I was NEVER ARRESTED for the window seat VIDEO nor put on probation.I only got A TICKET in the mail. and I am NOT PREGNANT".^[28]

Badu also remains an activist in her hometown of South Dallas.^{[citation needed]} Her charity organization, Beautiful Love Incorporated Non Profit Development (B.L.I.N.D. 501c3), provides community-driven development for inner-city youth through music, dance, theater and visual arts.^{[citation needed]}

In the publication VegNews Magazine, July–August 2008, Ms. Badu stated: "Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure".^[29]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Baduizm (1997)
• Mama's Gun (2000)
• Worldwide Underground (2003)
• New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008)
• New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (2010)

Live albums

• Live (1997)

Tours[link]

• Baduizm Tour (1997)
• Mama's Gun World Tour (2001)
• Frustrated Artist Tour (2003)
• Worldwide Underground Tour (2004)
• Sugar Water Festival Tour (2005)
• Summer Tour (2006)
• The Vortex World Tour (2008)
• Jam Tour (2009)
• Out My Mind, Just in Time World Tour (2010)

Filmography[link]

• All That (1997)
• Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
• The Cider House Rules (1999)
• House of D (2004)
• Before the Music Dies (2006)
• Dave Chapelle's Block Party (2006)
• Yo Gabba Gabba! (2009)
• Re:Generation Music Project (2012)

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• List of awards and nominations received by Erykah Badu
• Neo soul
• Five Percent Nation
• Nation of Islam

References[link]