Look up tough in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Tough is an adjective and may describe:

• Toughness, the resistance to fracture of a material when stressed
• Machismo, prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity
• Emotional resilience

Tough may also refer to:

People[link]

• Allen Tough (b.1936), Canadian academic
• Dave Tough (1907–48), jazz drummer
• The Krankies, Ian and Janette Tough
• Kathy Tough, (b.1969) Canadian volleyball player
• Kelly Tough (b.1967), Canadian model and actress
• Paul Tough, Canadian writer
• Jim Barry, aka "Tough Barry", (c.1891–1967), Cork hurling coach

Music[link]

• Tough (John Mayall album)
• Tough (Kurtis Blow album)
• Tough (Wishbone Ash album)
• Tough!, 1966 album by Art Blakey
• "Tough" (Craig Morgan song)
• "Tough" (Kellie Pickler song)
• "Tough", 1960 single by The Bill Smith Combo

Other[link]

• Kirkton of Tough, settlement in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
• Tough (manga)
• The Tough, 1957 Egyptian film
• T-ough Press, underground Russian publisher

Single Speed Arizona

See also[link]

• Tuff
• Tough movement, in formal syntax, movement of the object in construction like "the problem is tough to solve"

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.

Kellie Pickler
Background information
Birth name	Kellie Dawn Pickler
Born	(1986-06-28) June 28, 1986 (age 25)
Origin	Albemarle, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2005–present
Labels	BNA / 19 Recordings
Website	Official Kellie Pickler Site

Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music artist and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol, eventually finishing in sixth place. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing her debut album, Small Town Girl, later that year. To date, it has sold over 800,000 copies. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at number fifteen, "I Wonder" at number fourteen, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at number sixteen. She released her self-titled second album in Fall 2008 and has produced the singles "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at number twenty-one, "Best Days of Your Life" at number nine (which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift and her first Top 10 hit), "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" at number fourteen, and "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again" at number thirty. In 2012, she was ranked as the 14th best American Idol alumna.^[1]

Early life[link]

Pickler was born at Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, North Carolina,, a small town near Charlotte, to Cynthia Morton and Clyde "Bo" Raymond Pickler, Jr. Her mother left when Kellie was 2. Her mother returned and took custody of Kellie for two years.After this the court returned Kellie to her grandparents when she was 12, as her father was in and out of jail during her childhood. From this age to adulthood she was raised by her grandparents.^[2] She cites the major influences in her life as her grandfather, Clyde Raymond Pickler, Sr., a former electrician, and grandmother Faye Pickler.^{[citation needed]} Pickler graduated in 2004 from North Stanly High School in New London, North Carolina. She was a cheerleader and beauty queen. She sang "On the Side of Angels" by LeAnn Rimes at her high school graduation.

She worked as a waitress at a Sonic Drive-In franchise and, in 2005, she made an appearance on WSOC-TV's Gimme the Mike! Charlotte contest. She finished in second place. She participated in the Miss America circuit and won the "Miss Stanly County" pageant at age 17 and subsequently competed for Miss North Carolina 2004. She dropped out and later focused on paralegal studies.^[3]

[edit] American Idol

The 19-year-old Pickler auditioned for American Idol in the fall of 2005 in Greensboro, North Carolina. She sang both Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing". The judges sent her to Hollywood. Pickler advanced through the semi-final rounds in February. On March 9, she reached the Top 12.

Pickler was among judge Simon Cowell's favorites. He once predicted Pickler would be in the final three, and said he preferred her over the previous season's winner, Carrie Underwood.^[4] Recognized for her "quirky" personality and Southern charm, Pickler gained attention on the show by saying that she had hardly ever performed before real audiences, and by mispronouncing words.^[5] She was compared to Jessica Simpson in a March 27 story in US Weekly magazine titled "Kellie: The Next Jessica Simpson", due to her "sweet Southern style and ditzy demeanor". Pickler has stated several times that she was not heavily exposed to modern pop culture.

Performances and results (during voting weeks)[link]

[edit] Post-Idol career

Kellie Pickler and members of her band Ryan Ochsner, left, and Joshua Henson perform for U.S. service members during the first stop of the 2008 USO Holiday Tour on Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, Dec. 16, 2008.

After her elimination, she appeared in numerous shows promoting the TV show and performed the song "Walkin' After Midnight" in some of her appearances.

On May 6, 2006, she returned to Albemarle, North Carolina, for a parade and a reunion with her father. She received a key to the city from the mayor of Albemarle. The mayor also proclaimed the day as "Kellie Pickler Day". Pickler also received numerous awards from local and statewide government officials praising her accomplishments as a contestant on the American Idol television show.^[6]

Pickler pursued her recording aspirations in Nashville, Tennessee, shortly thereafter. On July 17, 2006, she signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/BNA Records. She later announced it herself on The View. She was part of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006, performing for three months in various cities. During that period, Pickler worked on her album in collaboration with top industry experts in different cities wherever the tour took her.^[7]

[edit] 2006–2007: Small Town Girl

Her first single, "Red High Heels", debuted on September 13, 2006, and its music video was officially released on October 20, 2006. It received a nomination for the CMT Video Awards for "Breakthrough Video of the Year".^[8][9]

Her debut album, Small Town Girl, released on October 31, 2006, topped Billboard's Top Country Albums and landed at number nine on Billboard Top 200 selling over 79,000 copies in its first week, making Pickler the highest-selling first-week sales for a new artist in 2006. The album includes five songs that Pickler co-wrote with songwriters Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, and Karyn Rochelle.^[10][11][12]

On January 18, 2007, Pickler co-hosted The View and was presented with a gold record by Rosie O'Donnell, certifying that her album has reached the 500,000 sales mark. She also performed her second single "I Wonder", which is a personal song about her absent relationship with her mother, Cynthia Morton. It was the first performance of the song on national TV.^[13][14]

Pickler was nominated for "Top New Female Vocalist" for the 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards.^[15]

She was also part of Brad Paisley's "Bonfires & Amplifiers" concert tour from April 2007 through October as one of the opening acts. The tour was booked in at least 37 cities across North America including a couple of stops in Canada.^[16][17]

Pickler appeared in country music artist Brad Paisley's music video "Online" in 2007.^[18]

On September 2007, Pickler released a version of "Santa Baby" for a Christmas country compilation. A month later, at the ASCAP Awards in Nashville, Pickler received a songwriter award for co-writing her debut single "Red High Heels". She performed her second single, "I Wonder", at the 2007 CMA Awards. During the performance, she was visibly overcome with emotion and struggled to even finish the song before bursting into tears. The performance received a standing ovation. She was also nominated for the Horizon Award. The performance led her to receive 3 CMT awards the following April.

In November 2007, Pickler appeared on a Celebrity Edition of the quiz show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, playing for the charities of her choice (American Red Cross and the AARP's Grandparenting Program).^[19] Worth a guaranteed $25,000, she was asked, "Budapest is the capital of what European country?". She replied, "This might be a stupid question… I thought Europe was a country." She voiced that it might be a place where people spoke French, and then was repeatedly confused as to whether France really was a country or not. When told the answer was Hungary, she did not believe the host. She said, "Hungry? That's a country? I've heard of Turkey, but Hungry? I've never heard of it."^[20] Thanks to the classmate saving her, she was able to pass the $25,000 mark and went on to win $50,000 before walking away; had she not been saved, she would have left with nothing at all. While on her first USO concert tour in Iraq, Pickler met a few people from Budapest, Hungary, who presented her with a flag of their country.^[21][22]

[edit] 2008–2010: Kellie Pickler

While "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" was climbing the country charts (it eventually reached number sixteen), Pickler returned to the studio to record her second studio album for 19 Recordings/BNA Records. She performed the debut single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at the ACM Awards on May 18, 2008 and received a good response from the audience. She was nominated for "Top New Female Vocalist", but the award went to Taylor Swift.

"Don't You Know You're Beautiful" was released to radio in June 2008 and was a Top 25 hit for Pickler, peaking eventually at number twenty-one. Her second album, Kellie Pickler, was released on September 30, 2008 and debuted at the top of the country chart, as well as number nine on the Billboard 200, selling over 43,000 copies in its first week. It matched the debuting spots of her first album, Small Town Girl.

On November 12, 2008, Pickler performed the second single off her album, "Best Days of Your Life" at the CMA Awards. She was also nominated for "New Artist Of The Year" for the second year in a row, but lost to Lady Antebellum. "Best Days of Your Life" made its radio debut in November 2008, and debuted at number 56. The song climbed very slowly up the chart, but ended up becoming Pickler's first Top 10 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart. After nearly 40 weeks on the chart, the song peaked at number nine in August 2009. A music video was made by Roman White, featuring Taylor Swift, who co-wrote and sang background harmony vocals on the song.

Pickler was nominated for "Female Video Of The Year" at the 2009 CMT Music Awards for "Don't You Know You're Beautiful". She lost once again to Swift. She also presented the award for "USA Weekend Breakthrough Video Of The Year" with Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Pickler accompanied Swift on the first leg of her Fearless Tour 2009. In June, she launched her first ever headline concert tour in promotion of her self-titled album. On October 8, it was announced that Pickler will be part of the second leg of Fearless Tour.^[23]

"Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You", a re-recording from Picklers' first album Small Town Girl, was released as the album's third single on August 30, 2009. The song debuted at number 55 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and became her fifth Top 20 hit, peaking at number fourteen in February 2010.

On October 26, Pickler won the title of Country Weekly's poll of most beautiful woman in country music for the second year in a row. Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood were the second and third places, respectively.^[24]

"Making Me Fall In Love Again" was released as the album's fourth single on April 19, 2010. It debuted at number 53 and peaked at number 30.

[edit] 2011–present: 100 Proof

It was announced that Pickler's third album will be produced by Frank Liddell, known for producing country artist Miranda Lambert's albums.^[25] "Tough" was released on June 13, 2011 as the lead-off single to Pickler's third album, 100 Proof, which was released on January 24, 2012.

Personal life[link]

Pickler's father, whom she describes as an alcoholic and drug addict, served a three-year, nine-month prison sentence at Florida State Prison for aggravated assault and battery stemming from a 2003 stabbing incident.^[26] He was released on May 6, 2006, a week after her elimination from Idol.

Pickler's mother was repeatedly charged with writing bad checks and was convicted in 1988 for passing a forged prescription for Valium at the Albemarle Wal-Mart, where she worked. The day after Pickler's second birthday, her parents split up. A year later, in July 1989, her mother vanished. When her father would get locked up, Pickler would live with her grandparents, outside Albemarle, which is 45 miles northeast of Charlotte. In 1992, her mother returned to Albemarle, but rarely made contact with her daughter Kellie. But in March 1995, with Bo Pickler in prison for armed robbery, her mother was granted custody. Kellie was in the fourth grade. "She got custody of me for two years," Kellie said in a February 2006 interview with The Observer. "During that time, she was physically and mentally abusive of me." In a 1997 court filing, Kellie's grandparents said her mother had moved to Union County with the girl and treated the child harshly. The court restored custody to the grandparents. Her mother vanished again, and Kellie hasn't heard from her since. In an April 2006 interview with NBC Kellie said "One thing that's so important in life is we learn to forgive others. I ask the Lord every day to forgive me for my sins and for things that I've done wrong. And who am I to not forgive someone for what they've done?" said Kellie. "I have forgiven her. I know that I haven't spoken to her in years and I probably wouldn't know her if I saw her. But she's my mother and she's a person. God tells us to love everyone. And I love her. She's my mother."^[27]

On February 26, 2007, she met her personal 'idol' and strongest influence, the country music superstar Dolly Parton. The surprise was arranged by Sony BMG Nashville chairman Joe Galante.^[28]

In 2007, Pickler was in a relationship with Nashville Predators player Jordin Tootoo and visited his family in Nunavut.^[29][30] Later that year, the two broke up.^[31]

Pickler's best friend has been Summer Miller, who Pickler met when they were teen pageant hopefuls.^[32] Pickler is close friends with American Idol fourth season winner Carrie Underwood, country pop singer Taylor Swift, the latter of whom co-wrote Pickler's second single "Best Days of Your Life" from her album Kellie Pickler,^[33] with her American Idol roommate Katharine McPhee, for whom she was a bridesmaid at McPhee's 2008 wedding and also with songwriter Aimee Mayo.^[34]

In June 2008, she joined close friend Carrie Underwood, a long-time vegetarian, in giving up eating meat. Pickler says she first decided to go vegetarian for health reasons, but a TV ad that vegetarian Pamela Anderson did for animal rights group PETA piqued her curiosity. "One night I couldn't sleep and I was up and just Googling random stuff and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals and it really bothered me and so I will not eat meat."^[35] In May 2009, it was announced that Pickler was nominated and won the title of "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA.^[36]

After two and a half years of dating, Pickler became engaged to songwriter Kyle Jacobs on June 15, 2010, the day of her late grandmother's birthday, after he proposed on a beach at sunset.^[37] Pickler and Jacobs eloped on January 1, 2011 in a "small, intimate ceremony on a private island in the Caribbean".^[38]

Philanthropy[link]

Pickler actively supports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where she helps raise funds and gives kids special visits. She also participates in charitable events to help raise funds for various organizations. She has performed to help raise funds for the "N.C. Children's PROMISE" to benefit the Children's Hospital on Nov. 12, 2006,^[39] to help refurbish the Hurricane Katrina damaged NFL Youth Education Towns Boys & Girls Club of New Orleans on December 16, 2006,^[39] visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on January 12, 2007,^[40] and visited Pennington Elementary School on February 1, 2007.^[40] “When you’re able to give back to your communities and organizations like St. Jude, it’s a great thing,” Pickler said. “It’s been a great experience, and I encourage anyone and everyone to help.”^[40]

Pickler was part of a Country and Western artist studded online auction for charity by Mario Magro: Kiss for a Cause Foundation Celebrity Auction held June 15–25, 2007, in support of orphaned and abandoned children. The event auctioned off celebrity lip prints and signatures pressed on the inside of Mario Magro Crystal Le Coop handbags at the 42nd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.^[39]

In 2007 she appeared on a charity episode of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" On the episode, she missed a question about the location of Budapest, and in her conversation with Jeff Foxworthy revealed that she thought Europe was a country and was not sure about the status of France.

She has participated in three USO tours. The first, in late 2007 and early 2008, took her to Iraq;^[21][39] the second, in December 2008, included stops in Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, and England.^[41] In January 2010, Pickler made stops in Iraq and Kuwait on a 10-day tour with Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson. The three country stars "played remote bases on the front lines of the war zone, and the sound of gun fire became their frequent companion at night."^[42]

In early August 2009, Pickler participated in ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's rebuilding of James Terpenning's family home in Beavercreek, Ohio. Pickler performed a free concert at the home, and helped during reconstruction.^[43]

Discography[link]

Albums

• 2006: Small Town Girl
• 2008: Kellie Pickler
• 2012: 100 Proof

Awards and nominations[link]

Tours[link]

• Still Feels Good Tour (2007) with Rascal Flatts
• Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour (2007–2008) with Brad Paisley
• Love on the Inside Tour (2008) with Sugarland
• Fearless Tour (2009–2010) with Taylor Swift
• American Living Unstoppable Tour (2010) with Rascal Flatts
• Nothing Like This Tour (2010) with Rascal Flatts

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kellie Pickler

• Official website
• Kellie Pickler at the Internet Movie Database
• Kellie Pickler at American Idol
• Kellie Pickler on Twitter
• Kellie Pickler on Myspace

Gary Allan
Allan performing in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Gary Allan Herzberg
Born	(1967-12-05) December 5, 1967 (age 44)
Origin	La Mirada, California, USA
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Decca Nashville MCA Nashville
Associated acts	Vertical Horizon Highway 101
Website	www.garyallan.com

Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967)^[1] is an American country music artist, known professionally as Gary Allan.

Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale, which was released in 1996 on Decca Records. A second album, It Would Be You, followed in 1998 on Decca. Allan's third album, Smoke Rings in the Dark, was his first album for MCA Nashville (to which he has been signed ever since) and the first platinum album of his career. Its successors, Alright Guy (2001) and See If I Care (2003), were all certified platinum as well, while 2005's Tough All Over and 2007's Greatest Hits were both certified gold. A seventh studio album, Living Hard, was released later in 2007.

Overall, Allan's seven studio albums and Greatest Hits package have produced 24 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three that reached Number One: "Man to Man" and "Tough Little Boys" in 2003, and "Nothing On but the Radio" in 2004. Seven more of his singles have reached the Top Ten on this chart as well: "Her Man", "It Would Be You", "Right Where I Need to Be", "The One", "Best I Ever Had" (a cover of a Vertical Horizon song), "Life Ain't Always Beautiful", and "Watching Airplanes". Allan's latest album, Get Off on the Pain, was released on March 9, 2010.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Personal[link]

Gary Allan Exits Stage in NM

Gary Allan Herzberg was born and raised in La Mirada, California,^[1] to Harley and Mary Herzberg.^[3] To ensure that the family would focus on music, Allan's mother insisted that the family's guitars would always remain visible in the home. At age thirteen, Allan began playing in honky tonks with his father.^[1][4] Two years later, he was offered his first recording contract, from A&M Records, but rejected the deal. His parents wanted him to finish his education and his father felt that Allan had yet to develop his own distinctive style.^[4][5] Despite his commitment to finishing school, Allan reflects that he was rarely alert in class. "I played the bars at night, I was half asleep when I got to school. I thought sleep was what you did when you got to school."^[5]

After finishing school, he continued to play in the bars with his band, the Honky Tonk Wranglers. Many of the venues they played were packed, and promoters often tried to move them to larger clubs. The moves would have required him to stop playing some of the older country music, such as covers of George Jones songs, so Allan refused.^[4]

In 1987, Gary married his first wife, Tracy Taylor. She is the mother to his three daughters. They since divorced. He married model Danette Day on November 28, 1998 in South Carolina and they divorced in June 1999.^[6] His third ^[7] wife, Angela (whom he wed on June 5, 2001), committed suicide on October 25, 2004.^[8][9][10]

Nashville connection[link]

Allan was introduced to songwriter/producer Byron Hill on August 28, 1993 by a mutual friend and talent-scout Jim Seal, at a bar called the Lion D'or in Downey, California, where Allan was already regularly performing. Seal and Hill had asked Allan if they could showcase an unsigned act that they were developing there. Hill had arranged to bring the head of A&R from a major label to the show to see this other act perform. Allan kindly let them use his stage for the event, giving the new act the opening performance slot that night. Hill promised Gary that they would make sure the A&R person remained there to see his portion of the show. Everyone was knocked out with Allan's performance, and very impressed with his voice. From that point on, Byron Hill began sending Gary songs. Without any serious funding at the time, Hill arranged for Allan to go into Seal's small studio in California to try his vocals on some of existing demo tracks that Byron had sent to Gary from Nashville, Tennessee. Meanwhile, Hill became head of A&R at BNA Entertainment on October 29 of that same year and immediately wanted to sign Allan to BNA, but the then current roster conditions and other circumstances related to the planned restructuring of RCA/BNA Nashville stood in the way.^[11]

From demo to deal[link]

In the meantime, Allan took a job selling cars. He left a demo tape in the glove box of a car purchased by a wealthy couple. When the couple discovered that he was the singer, they wrote him a check for $12,000.^[5] This independent funding allowed Allan to go to Nashville to record some of the songs that were on that early demo tape with Byron Hill as producer.^[11] On September 11, 1995, they worked at Javelina Studios for a couple of days on the four songs that Hill immediately showed to labels. Allan's recordings brought serious responses from several labels including Mercury, RCA, and Decca.^[11] A meeting was then held at a Nashville hotel among Hill, Allan, and friend of Allan's, who was a program director for a radio station in California.^[11]

The meeting was to arrange two showcases in Los Angeles, California, to put Allan on stage at two of the radio station's regular nights at a local club. Byron arranged for staffers at the Nashville office of Decca Records to attend the first showcase held on November 1, 1995. Decca immediately wanted to sign Allan, and knowing that Byron was lining up other labels to see Gary, Decca asked them to cancel the second showcase. A rep from RCA was already booked to see the second showcase the following week, but the "bird-in-hand" deal offer was too tempting for both Byron and Gary, so they committed to the Decca offer.^[11] Decca staffer Mark Wright and Byron Hill co-produced Gary's first three albums for Decca beginning sessions on March 11, 1996 for Used Heart for Sale, then It Would Be You, both of which yielded top five singles, and later Smoke Rings in the Dark (which also included Tony Brown as a co-producer). It was during the recording of the first album that they recorded "It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus", as an added track to be packaged on various MCA/Decca Christmas compilations.^[11] Then Byron and Gary got a personal call from Harry Connick, Jr., the writer of the song, thanking them for the recording, during which he added a few of his New Orleans Jazz style "very cool man!" compliments. The Christmas recording has been since released on at least four compilations. The merger of Polygram, Decca, and MCA Records marked the closing of Decca and Gary was moved to MCA Records.^[11]

Career[link]

Gary Allan performing in 2006

[edit] Used Heart for Sale

His first deal, with Decca Records Nashville, produced the 1996 album Used Heart for Sale.^[1] The album was named "Best of the Month" by Stereo Review.^[12] It advanced to the top 20 of the charts, and produced a Top 10 country hit with the track "Her Man" (previously recorded by Waylon Jennings). Other tracks from the album, however, proved less successful.

[edit] It Would Be You

His second album, It Would Be You, was released in 1998. Although Allan had been writing songs since he was a teenager,^[5] he does not hesitate to bump his work from his albums in favor of those written by other songwriters he respects. For his second album, Allan replaced one of his songs with "No Judgement Day", written by Allen Shamblin. Although the song was a hidden acoustic track, radio stations began giving it heavy airplay.^[5] The song tells the story of a shopkeeper in Texas, whose children killed him in search of money. The title track of the album became Allan's second top 10 hit of the year, remaining in the top 10 after 21 weeks of radio play, "way beyond the tenure of most disposable radio hits."^[12] At the beginning of 1999, Decca Records folded, and when Allan moved to the parent label, MCA Nashville, It Would Be You was left in limbo.^[4]

Allan was labeled "Country Music's Sexy Star" by People Magazine. He also delved into the acting world in the TV mini-series Shake, Rattle, & Roll, playing the lead role of Eddie Cochran. He followed that role with a part in the CBS TV series Pensacola: Wings of Gold, but describes his acting experience as "tedious."^[5]

[edit] Smoke Rings in the Dark

In 1999, Allan released Smoke Rings in the Dark,^[1] an album he recorded while in the midst of a divorce from his second wife, Versace model Danette Day, after only seven months of marriage.^[5] Unlike his first two albums, Smoke Rings in the Dark made fuller use of background singers and stringed instruments, "resulting in a lusher, fuller sound."^[13] The new album avoided the "devil-may-care brashness" of the first two, instead presenting a tone balanced between youthful optimism and "the knowledge that some of life's experiences exact a high toll."^[13] Smoke Rings in the Dark was certified platinum, and it included two successful singles.

[edit] Alright Guy

In 2001 the album Alright Guy was released.^[1] It contained the singles "The One," "Man of Me," and "Man to Man," the latter of which became his first Billboard No. 1 hit.^[14] The same year, Allan married for the third time, to Angela, a flight attendant he met on an airplane.^[15]

[edit] See If I Care

Despite his previous success and eight years in the music business, Allan was nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award, typically given to newcomers, in 2003. The same year he released his fifth album, See If I Care. Allan had to fight to keep the title, which he felt epitomized his attitude towards the music business, that he would continue to make the music that he wanted to make regardless of whether the record label chose to back him or people chose to buy the album.^[16] See If I Care included his second and third Number One singles, "Tough Little Boys" and "Nothing On but the Radio."^[14][17] "Songs About Rain" was a top 15 hit.

[edit] Tough All Over

In 2003, Allan and his wife, Angela Herzberg, moved to Tennessee from California. On October 25, 2004, Angela Herzberg committed suicide after suffering from depression and migraines. Allan initially put his career on hold, but soon turned to music to deal with the loss of his wife. This resulted in 2005's "heart-wrenchingly personal album," Tough All Over.^[15] He included several songs which he wrote or cowrote, including "Puttin' Memories Away" and "I Just Got Back from Hell," which dealt directly with his grief.^[18] Several years later, Gary discussed his wife's suicide on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Tough All Over sold over 99,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the magazine's Top Country Albums chart.^[18] It was subsequently certified gold by the RIAA as of December 20, 2006, and contained the top 10 singles "Best I Ever Had" (written by Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell) and "Life Ain't Always Beautiful," co-written by country singer Cyndi Thomson (under the name Cyndi Goodman).^[19]

[edit] Greatest Hits

Gary Allan performing at Harrah's Metropolis 2010

Allan's first Greatest Hits collection was released on March 6, 2007. A Number One album on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, the album reprised the greatest hits from his first six albums, as well as two new songs. One of these, titled "A Feelin' Like That", was co-written by David Lee Murphy and Ira Dean (the latter a former member of Trick Pony); the single peaked at #12 on the country singles charts.

[edit] Living Hard

Allan's album titled Living Hard, was released on October 23, 2007. Serving as its lead-off single was the song "Watching Airplanes," which spent more than thirty weeks on the country charts, where it reached a peak of #2 and went #1 on the Mediabase Chart. The song's music video was filmed during live concerts, including one at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Second single "Learning How to Bend" – co-written by Allan – quickly became another hit song, peaking at #13. The video was filmed during a live performance at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Following this song is third single "She's So California," which Allan co-wrote with Jaime Hanna (of Hanna-McEuen) and Jon Randall, and it peaked at #24, becoming his first single to miss the top 20 since "Lovin' You Against My Will" in 2000.

[edit] Get Off on the Pain

Gary Allan Speaking With Fans

A new single called "Today" was released on June 12, 2009. It served as the lead-off single to Allan's studio album, Get Off on the Pain, which was released on March 9, 2010.

Title track, "Get Off on the Pain", is the album's second single. It debuted at #42 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the highest-debuting single of his career.^[2]

"Kiss Me When I'm Down" the album's third single. released to radio in 2010. It debuted at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Political views[link]

In 2003, Allan told CMT that he believed Republican candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger would be the best governor because he is not driven by money.^[20]

Sound[link]

Allan's voice is described as "raspy and unpolished."^[4] The New York Times describes his music as "elegant, often deadpan songs [that] tend toward manly understatement."^[21] His sound is heavily influenced by the Bakersfield scene, especially Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. He prefers this sound to that of the more pop country that is prevalent on country radio, because "the songs have got to have soul, have real meaning....Country music is...what happens during the week. Rock 'n roll is about what happens at the weekend."^[5] Because his sound is different from many of the current crop of country singers, Allan has at times had difficulty getting radio to play his singles. He says he has to "walk a real fine line" to "make sure that I get traditional stuff on the radio."^[4]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Used Heart for Sale (1996)
• It Would Be You (1998)
• Smoke Rings in the Dark (1999)
• Alright Guy (2001)
• See If I Care (2003)
• Tough All Over (2005)
• Greatest Hits (2007)
• Living Hard (2007)
• Get Off on the Pain (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gary Allan Official Website
• Official Gary Allan UMG Nashville Artist Page
• Gary Allan at the Internet Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2007)

The Crisis

First Issue of The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races, November 1910. New York: NAACP, 1910
Editor	W.E.B. Du Bois
Staff writers	Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean
Monthly[1]
Publisher	NAACP
First issue	November 1910 (1910-November)
Company	The Crisis Publishing Company
Country	United States
Based in	New York, NY
Language	English
Website	www.thecrisismagazine.com
ISSN	1559-1573

The Crisis is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Miller, W.S. Braithwaite, M. D. Maclean.^[2]

The original title of the journal was The Crisis: A Record of The Darker Races. From 1997 to 2003, it appeared as The New Crisis: The Magazine of Opportunities and Ideas, but the title has since reverted to The Crisis. The title derives from the poem "The Present Crisis" by James Russell Lowell.^[1] Published monthly, by 1920 its circulation had reached 100,000 copies. Du Bois proclaimed his intentions in his first editorial:

The object of this publication is to set forth those facts and arguments which show the danger of race prejudice, particularly as manifested today toward colored people. It takes its name from the fact that the editors believe that this is a critical time in the history of the advancement of men. …Finally, its editorial page will stand for the rights of men, irrespective of color or race, for the highest ideals of American democracy, and for reasonable but earnest and persistent attempts to gain these rights and realize these ideals.^[3]

Predominantly a current-affairs journal, The Crisis also included poems, reviews, and essays on culture and history. Du Bois' initial position as editor was in line with the NAACP's liberal programme of social reform and racial equality, but by the 1930s Du Bois was advocating a form of black separatism. This led to disputes between Du Bois and the NAACP resulting in his resignation as editor in 1934. He was replaced by Roy Wilkins.

Although The Crisis was officially an organ of the NAACP, Du Bois had a large degree of control over the periodicals expressed opinion. Du Bois wrote in Dusk of Dawn that he intended for The Crisis to represent his personal opinions:

I determine to make the opinion of the Crisis a personal opinion; because, as I argued, no organization can express definite and clear cut opinions… the Crisis would state openly the opinion of its editor, so long, of course, as that opinion was in general agreement with that of the organization.

Du Bois contends that the periodical suffered during the Great Depression as the "circulation dropped steadily until by 1933 it was scarcely more than ten thousand paid subscriptions." Du Bois left the magazine for both financial and ideological reasons.

Throughout the Du Bois years The Crisis published the work of many young African American writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Its greatest era as a literary journal was between 1919 and 1926, when Jessie Redmon Fauset was literary editor. Fauset encouraged such writers as Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer.

Following the departure of Fauset and Du Bois, the influence of The Crisis declined. The magazine was unable to sustain the high literary standards it had achieved under Fauset, but it continued to have a powerful political voice.

References[link]

A 1911 copy of The Crisis depicting "Ra-Maat-Neb, one of the black kings of the Upper Nile", a copy of the relief of Nebmaatre I on Meroe pyramid 17.

Du Bois, WEB (1940), Dusk of Dawn, Library of America, ISBN [[Special:BookSources/97809400450332|97809400450332]] .

Partington, Paul, The Moon Illustrated Weekly: Black America's First Weekly Magazine, ISBN 978-0-9602538-2-1 .

External links[link]

• The Crisis, http://www.thecrisismagazine.com/ .
• History, NAACP, http://www.naacp.org/about/history/ .
• The Crisis, Footnote, January 1918, http://www.footnote.com/browsemore/179488128_Boom%20and%20Bust:%201920-1935/ .
• The Crisis, Books, Google, http://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks%3A1&tbo=1&q=The+Crisis+Magazine&btnG=Search+Books#q=The+Crisis+Magazine&hl=en&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1,bkt:m&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=TrrMTILMLJG4sQPMn9CPDg&ved=0CBMQpwU&fp=fd2e97bdff999388 .
• The Crisis, 1, 10–23, The Modernist Journals Project, Nov. 1910 – Apr. 1911, May 1915 – Apr. 1922, http://www.modjourn.org/render.php?view=mjp_object&id=crisiscollection .

Billy Ocean
Background information
Birth name	Leslie Sebastian Charles
Born	(1950-01-21) 21 January 1950 (age 62) Fyzabad, Trinidad
Origin	Romford, London, England
Genres	Rhythm and blues, pop, soul
Occupations	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, steel drums, guitar
Years active	1972–present
Labels	GTO, Epic, Jive, Aqua Music
Website	www.billyocean.co.uk

Billy Ocean (born Leslie Sebastian Charles^[1]; 21 January 1950)^[2][3] is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer-songwriter of the early to mid-1980s.^[4] After scoring his first four UK top 20 successes, seven years passed before he accumulated a series of transatlantic successes, including three U.S. number ones.^[4] In 1985, Ocean won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his worldwide hit, "Caribbean Queen".

Biography[link]

Early life and stardom[link]

He was born in Trinidad and Tobago to Grenadian parents, and moved to Govan, Scotland with his family at the age of eight.^[3] Ocean's musical influence came at an early age of his life, as his father was a musician, and realised he was in line to follow those ambitions as he was growing up. During his teenage years, he sang regularly in Glasgow clubs^[3] while also working as a tailor in Glasgow's St Enoch Centre.^{[citation needed]} He released his first single in 1972 on Spark Records as Les Charles.^{[citation needed]} He is a supporter of Celtic, despite growing up in Govan. In spite of his support of Celtic, he is rumoured to be a member of the Sevco consortium, led by former Sheffield United Chief Executive, Charles Green, who have recently bought a controlling stake in Rangers F.C..

He took his stage name from the Ocean Estate, Stepney, where he was living at the time.^[1] In 1976, he recorded his first album, Billy Ocean, with its first single release, "Love Really Hurts Without You," charting at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and number 22 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. He enjoyed club success from the songs "Are You Ready" and "Stay The Night" from the album City Limit - both of which were later covered by La Toya Jackson. More successes ensued, including "L.O.D. (Love On Delivery)". He also wrote songs for other artists. In 1981, he scored the U.S. R&B chart with "Nights (Feel Like Getting Down)".

Ocean's period of greatest success began with Suddenly during 1984, and its main single, "Caribbean Queen". The song's title and lyrics were changed for different regions, such that the song is also known as "African Queen" or "European Queen". The song won Ocean the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 1985 Grammy Awards. The album's title track also became a success, peaking at #4 in both the US and the UK and the song "Loverboy", while also being a #2 US success in 1985 was also featured in the very first scene of the popular UK BBC One TV series, Casualty, in 1986.

Ocean appeared at Live Aid in 1985, singing "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy", from the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

His 1986 album Love Zone also sold well. It included the successful singles "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" (the theme from the film The Jewel of the Nile); this was a number one success in the UK and a number two in the U.S.; and "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" (a U.S. number one, and also a major UK success). Also included were the title track and "Love Is Forever", which were #10 and #16 U.S. successes for Ocean, respectively.

In February 1986, Ocean's video of "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" was banned by the BBC, owing to non-union members (including Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito) miming to backing vocals.^[5]

Ocean's next album, Tear Down These Walls (1988) featured another number one single, "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car", while the album was certified platinum.^[3]

Later career[link]

His 1993 album Time to Move On failed to produce any major successes, but his 1989 Greatest Hits collection has been a steady seller over the years, and his 1997 compilation Love Is For Ever made #7 on the UK album chart. Ocean's last studio album for Jive Records was Time to Move On, which he recorded in Chicago with R&B star R. Kelly. It turned out that R. Kelly had been a long-time admirer of the way Ocean was able to mix the more emotive soul style with a crossover popular style.

In 2002, the University of Westminster in London awarded Ocean an honorary doctorate of music.^[6] The awards ceremony took place in the Barbican Centre, in London.^[7] He continues to tour and record in Europe. He lives in Sunningdale, Berkshire with his wife of 27 years, Judy; and their three children Cherie, Antony and Rachel. Ocean is now a patron for Tech Music Schools in London,^[8] made up of Drumtech, Vocaltech, Guitar-X and Keyboardtech. He regularly visits to hold clinics and seminars for the students.

In 2004, "Caribbean Queen" was re-released as a digital single for its 20th anniversary, shooting up to #25 on the Billboard digital singles chart and garnering radio play across the US and UK. A remix of the single by Will.I.Am was released in 2005, and it later appeared on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" countdown, at #87.^[9]

In October 2007, Ocean commenced his first UK tour in over 15 years.^[10] In February and March 2008 he toured Australia and the Far East. His album, Because I Love You was released on 2 February 2009.^[11] To coincide with this tour and album launch, Ocean worked with Adoseof Design on a revision of Ocean's website.

In April 2010, an eighteen track compilation album was released in the UK by Sony Music entitled The Very Best of Billy Ocean, to tie in with a thirty date tour of the UK and Ireland. Featuring Ocean's biggest hits, the album debuted in the UK Albums Chart at number 17.^[12]

On 20 October 2010, Ocean was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the MOBO Awards.^[13]

On 29 July 2011, Ocean became a Companion of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. His title was presented by Sir Paul McCartney.

Discography[link]

Ocean-penned songs recorded by other artists[link]

• "Are You Ready?" – LaToya Jackson
• "Stay the Night" – LaToya Jackson
• "Love Is a Dangerous Game" – Millie Jackson
• "Love Is" – Randy Crawford
• "Taking Chances" – Ray, Goodman & Brown
• "Waiting For You" – Boyzone
• "Whatever Turns You On" – The Dells
• "Who's Gonna Rock You" – The Nolans^[3]
• "Red Light Spells Danger" - Top Gear Band
• "Suddenly" - Marti Pellow

See also[link]

• List of number-one singles (UK)
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
• List of Euro disco artists
• List of Eastern Caribbean people

References[link]