MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group (now Universal Music Group), of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003. MCA's country division, MCA Nashville Records, is a still active imprint of Universal Music Group Nashville.

Pre-history[link]

MCA,Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 with the purchase of the New York-based US Decca Records (established in 1934^[1]), including Coral Records and Brunswick Records. MCA was forced to exit the talent agency business in order to complete the merger. As American Decca owned Universal Pictures, MCA assumed full ownership of Universal and made it into the top film studio in town, producing hit after hit.^[2] In 1966, MCA formed Uni Records^[3] and in 1967 purchased Kapp Records^[4] which was placed under Uni Records management.^[5]

History[link]

MCA Records formation outside North America[link]

The U.S. and U.K. Decca companies were forced to sever their ties because of World War II.^[6] MCA's U.S. based Decca Records had the rights to the Decca name in North and South America and parts of Asia including Japan. U.K. Decca owned the rights to the Decca name in the rest of the world. After the war, British Decca formed a new U.S. subsidiary, London Records.

During this time U.S. Decca issued records outside North America on the Brunswick and Coral labels. In 1967, Brunswick and Coral were replaced by the MCA Records label to release U.S. Decca and Kapp label material outside North America.^[7][8] Initial activity under the MCA Records name was based in London. MCA Records in the UK was formally launched on February 16, 1968.^[9] The label signed only a few artists until the 1970-1971 period. Among the first artists were groups Wishbone Ash; Osibisa; Stackridge; and Budgie; and solo artists Tony Christie; Mick Greenwood; and Roy Young.^[10] Early MCA releases were distributed by U.K. Decca but moved to EMI from 1974 to 1979. Distribution then moved to CBS, while the last releases in the 1980s were self distributed. As the U.S. division of MCA Records was not established until 1972, the earliest U.K. MCA Records material was released in the U.S. on either Kapp or Decca.

MCA U.K. also issued American Brunswick material on the MCA label until MCA lost control of Brunswick in 1970 at which point American Brunswick material was issued in the UK on the Brunswick label. Uni label material was issued on the Uni label worldwide.

MCA Records formation in North America[link]

In 1970, MCA reorganized its Canadian record company Compo Company Ltd. into MCA Records (Canada).^[11] In April 1970, former Warner Bros. Records president Mike Maitland joined MCA and initially served as Decca's general manager. Maitland was unsuccessful in his attempt to consolidate Warner Bros. Records with co-owned Atlantic Records which led to his departure from Warner.

In April 1971, Maitland supervised the consolidation of the New York based Decca and Kapp labels plus the California based Uni label into MCA Records based in Universal City, California with Maitland serving as president.^[12] The three labels maintained their identities for a short time but were retired in favor of the MCA label in 1973.^[3][13] Drift Away by Dobie Gray became the final Decca pop label release in the U.S in 1973. Beginning the same year the catalogs of Decca, Uni and Kapp were reissued in the U.S. on the MCA Records label under the supervision of veteran Decca producer Milt Gabler.^[14]

Early success[link]

The first MCA Records release in the U.S. was former Uni artist Elton John's Crocodile Rock single in 1972.^[15] In December 1972, Neil Diamond, another Uni artist, reached superstar status with his first MCA release, the live multi-platinum Hot August Night. Elton John's double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was released in October 1973 and was number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart for eight straight weeks. The management of former Decca artists The Who had formed their own label Track Records in the U.K. but were still under contract with MCA for U.S. distribution. The Who's double album Quadrophenia was released by Track/MCA also in October 1973. Quadrophenia peaked at number 2 as it was held back from the number 1 slot by Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Other successful artists on MCA after the consolidation included former Kapp artist Cher, and Uni artist Olivia Newton-John. MCA released the highly successful soundtrack album to the 1973 film The Sting. The soundtrack music was arranged and conducted by Marvin Hamlisch and won an Academy Award for Best Original Score (MCA issued many other soundtracks to films from Universal, along with some non-Universal films).

One of the most successful new MCA artists in this era was the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their song Free Bird peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in edited form, but the full length version became one of the most popular songs of all time on Album-oriented rock radio stations. On their second album, Second Helping, the group recorded a song about their signing to the label, "Workin' for MCA." Three Lynyrd Skynyrd albums released by MCA reached the double platinum sales level and at least two others reached platinum or gold levels. Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit streak ended following a tragic 1977 plane crash in which three members of the group and one crew member were killed and others were severely injured.

During the 1970s and 1980s MCA profited from reissuing classic early rock and roll recordings made by artists who recorded for the numerous labels absorbed by MCA over the years. One notable example was the 1954 Decca recording Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets, which was featured as the lead track of MCA's No. 1-charting American Graffiti soundtrack album, and as a single returned to the American top 40 that year, 20 years after it was recorded.

Expansion and struggles[link]

In 1977 MCA president Sidney Sheinberg set up the Infinity Records division, based in New York City with Ron Alexenberg as CEO. Alexenberg had previously been with the Epic division of CBS Records, now Sony Music Entertainment. The intention was to give MCA a stronger presence on the east coast. The only big hit the Infinity label had was Escape by Rupert Holmes which was #1 at the end of 1979. Infinity also had some success with Hot Chocolate, Spyro Gyra, New England and TKO. But MCA pulled the plug on Infinity after it failed to sell most of the 1 million advance copies of an album featuring Pope John Paul II in October 1979. Infinity was fully absorbed by the parent company in 1980.

In 1979, Bob Siner replaced Maitland as MCA Records president.^[16] Shortly afterwards, MCA acquired ABC Records along with its subsidiaries Paramount Records, Dunhill Records, Impulse! Records, Westminster Records, and Dot Records. ABC had acquired the Paramount and Dot labels when they purchased Gulf+Western's record labels, the Famous Music Group. Thus MCA now controlled the following material once owned by Paramount Pictures: the music released by Paramount's record labels, and the pre-1950 films by Paramount as well. Also included in the deal were recordings controlled by ABC, including albums by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which were originally released by Shelter Records. Petty was furious about the re-assignment of his contract and refused to record for MCA. This led to a series of lawsuits, which resulted in his bankruptcy in 1980. Petty and other ABC/Shelter artists eventually had their contracts transferred to the Backstreet Records label, which was distributed by MCA. ABC Records' independent distributors sued ABC and MCA for $1.3 million in damages for being stuck with unsold ABC recordings they could not return to MCA.^[17][18] The better selling ABC Records catalog albums were reissued on the MCA label.^[19]

The combined effects of the Infinity Records failure, the purchase of ABC Records, rising vinyl costs and a huge slump in record sales produced tremendous losses for the company between 1979 and 1982. It was not until the mid 1980s that the record labels returned to significant profitability. In late 1980 MCA received negative publicity when it attempted to raise the list price of new releases by top selling artists from $8.98 to $9.98. This policy, known as "superstar pricing", ultimately failed. The Xanadu soundtrack album and former ABC artist Steely Dan's Gaucho were the first $9.98 list albums. Backstreet artist Tom Petty succeeded in his campaign to force MCA to drop prices back to $8.98 for his album Hard Promises released in May 1981.^[20]

Recovery, further expansion and MCA Music Entertainment Group formation[link]

From 1983 to 1989, MCA Records was headed by Irving Azoff and is credited with saving the company from bankruptcy. Azoff resigned from MCA in 1989 to form his own record label, Giant Records, now defunct. Richard Palmese was named president of MCA Records after Azoff in 1990.^[21]

In the late 1980s, MCA formed Mechanic Records as a sub-label for releasing heavy metal music. Bands signed to Mechanic included Voivod, Dream Theater, Bang Tango, and Trixter.

The Chess Records catalog was acquired from the remnants of Sugar Hill Records in 1985. Motown Records was bought in 1988 (and sold to PolyGram in 1993). GRP Records and Geffen Records were acquired in 1990. Unlike most of MCA's previous acquisitions, the GRP (which began managing MCA's jazz holdings) and Geffen (which became a second mainstream subsidiary) labels kept their identities and MCA created a new holding company in 1989 called MCA Music Entertainment Group, headed by Al Teller, former President of United Artists Records, and Co-Chairman of Turf Classics, a concert production company, run by Producer Richard Flanzer; among several other music industry positions Teller held.^[22] with Palmese continuing to run the MCA label. In the same year, the MCA Inc. parent company was purchased by the Matsushita group.

MCA Music Entertainment Group becomes Universal Music Group[link]

In 1995, Seagram Company Ltd. acquired 80% of MCA. On November of that year, Teller was fired and replaced by former Warner Music head Doug Morris.^[23] Palmese left MCA a week later.^[24] The following year, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became Universal Studios, Inc. and its music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed Universal Music Group (UMG), headed by Morris.

In 1997, MCA Records adopted a new logo that featured the parent company's former full name. Many younger people had been unaware of what MCA had stood for in the past, hence the new logo.

In 1998 Seagram acquired PolyGram (owner of British Decca) from Philips and merged it with its music holdings. When Seagram's drinks business was bought by France-based Pernod Ricard, its media holdings (including Universal) were sold to Vivendi which became Vivendi Universal which was later renamed back to Vivendi SA after selling most of the entertainment division (which included Universal Pictures) to General Electric. Morris continued to head the combined company, still called Universal Music Group.

MCA label phaseout[link]

In spring 2003, the MCA Records label was absorbed by sister UMG label Geffen Records.^[25] Today Universal Music Enterprises manages MCA's rock, pop, and urban back catalogues (including those from ABC Records and Famous Music Group) in conjunction with Geffen - UME and Geffen have re-released various albums from MCA in the years since, as well as several compilations. Its country music label, MCA Nashville Records is still in operation. MCA's jazz catalogue is managed by Verve Records (through either the GRP or Impulse! imprints, depending on if the release was acquired from ABC or not), while its classical music catalogue is managed by Deutsche Grammophon. MCA's musical theatre catalogue is managed by Decca Records on its Decca Broadway imprint.

Today, the only operation by MCA that lives is the MCA Nashville imprint.

MCA Music (Philippines)[link]

The MCA name is still in use in the Philippines because of a trademark dispute with an unrelated label known as Universal Records, which holds the rights to the word "Universal" for recorded music in the Philippines. As a result, Universal Music Group is instead traded as MCA Music, Inc. Philippines in that country. However, the company has adopted the moniker "MCA-Universal" to simplify identification, even though no formal "Universal" branding is exercised.

Artists[link]

• 1:43
• Akafellas
• Alegre, Johnny
• Chicosci
• The Dawn
• De Guzman, Lica
• Escueta, Miguel
• Fernandez, Pops
• Franco
• Garcia, Tricia
• Greyhoundz
• HUMANFOLK
• Kjwan
• Lawrence, Kris
• Krissy and Ericka
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• The Lamars
• Sabrina (Orial, Roli Alexandra)
• Paredes, Jim
• Pedicab
• Poon, Richard
• Side A
• Tanya Markova
• Urbandub
• Volante, Nyoy
• Zaragoza, Jessa

Logos[link]

• 1960sMCAlogo.jpg

  First MCA Records logo, used outside the United States and patterned after the 1960s American Decca logo.

• 

  MCA Records logo used from 1972 through 1991.

• 

  Logo used from 1991 through 1997. Still used by MCA Nashville.

• Final MCA Records logo.png

  Final MCA Records logo, used from 1997 until its dismantling in 2003. It adds the founding company's original full name, Music Corporation of America.

Labels[link]

• MCARecordsCover1970s.jpg

  White promotional label used for second logo (1972 until 1991). [Vinyl version]

• MCARecordsCover1990s.jpg

  Label used for third logo (1991 until 1997). [CD version, possibly opposed on Vinyl edition]

MCA Records recording artists[link]

See also[link]

• ABC Records
• Chess Records
• Decca Records
• Dunhill Records
• Geffen Records
• Infinity Records
• Kapp Records
• MCA Nashville Records
• Uni Records
• Universal Music Group
• Uptown Records

References[link]

External links[link]

• The official website of MCA Music PHILIPPINES  Philippines
• MCA Music Philippines on Facebook
• MCA Music Philippines on Twitter
• A collection of MCA record labels
• MCA UK 45 RPM labels and sleeves 1967-1985
• MCA US 45 RPM labels and sleeves 1972-1985

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. (June 2010)

Richard St John Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer.

He appeared on stage and in many films, and is perhaps best known for his roles as King Arthur in Camelot (1967), as Oliver Cromwell in Cromwell (1970) and as Albus Dumbledore in the first two films in the Harry Potter series, his final works. He played a British aristocrat and prisoner in A Man Called Horse (1970), Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator (2000), Saint John in Apocalypse Revelation (2002), gunfighter English Bob in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992), and Dom Frollo in the 1997 TV movie version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Harris had a top ten hit in the UK and the US with his 1968 recording of Jimmy Webb's song "MacArthur Park".

Early life and career[link]

Harris, the fifth of nine children, was born in Limerick city, Ireland (then known as the Irish Free State) into a middle-class, staunchly Roman Catholic family.^[1] His parents were Ivan John Harris (b. 1896, son of Richard Harris, b. 1854, son of James Harris of St. Michael's, Limerick) and Mildred Josephine Harty Harris (b. 1898, daughter of James Harty, St. John's, Limerick, who owned a flour mill.) Harris' siblings include Patrick Ivan (born 1929), Noel William Michael (born 1932), Diarmid (Dermot, born 1939), and William George Harris (born 1942).^[2][3] He was schooled by the Jesuits at Crescent College. A talented rugby player, he was on several Munster Junior and Senior Cup teams for Crescent, and played for Garryowen.^[4] Harris' athletic career was cut short when he caught tuberculosis in his teens. He remained an ardent fan of the Munster Rugby and Young Munster teams then until his death, and attending many of its matches, and there are numerous stories of japes at rugby matches with the actors and fellow rugby fans Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.

After recovering from tuberculosis, Harris moved to England, wanting to become a director. He could not find any suitable training courses, and he enrolled in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) to learn acting. He had failed an audition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and had been rejected by the Central School of Speech and Drama because they felt he was too old at 24.^[5] While still a student, Harris rented the tiny "off-West End" Irving Theatre, and there directed his own production of Clifford Odets's play Winter Journey (The Country Girl). This show was a critical success, but it was a financial failure, and Harris lost all his savings in this venture.

As a result, Harris ended up temporarily homeless, sleeping in a coal cellar for six weeks. Accounts of Harris' contemporaries from his hometown of Limerick, however, indicate that Harris may have exaggerated these stories somewhat and that he actually stayed with a few aunts, sleeping on their living room sofas.^{[citation needed]} After completing his studies at the Academy, Harris joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. He began getting roles in West End theatre productions, starting with The Quare Fellow in 1956, a transfer from the Theatre Workshop. Harris spent nearly a decade in obscurity, learning his profession on stages throughout the UK.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Harris made his film debut in 1958 in the film Alive and Kicking, and played the lead role in The Ginger Man in the West End in 1959. He hated filming The Wreck of the Mary Deare so much that he refused to return to Hollywood for several years, turning down the role of Commodus in The Fall of the Roman Empire. He had a memorable bit part in the movie The Guns of Navarone as a Royal Australian Air Force pilot who reports that blowing up the "bloody guns" of the island of Navarone is impossible by an air raid.

For his role in the film Mutiny on the Bounty, despite being virtually unknown to film audiences, Harris reportedly insisted on third billing, behind Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando.

Harris' first starring role was in the movie This Sporting Life in 1963, as a bitter young coal miner, Frank Machin, who becomes an acclaimed rugby league football player. For his role, Harris won Best Actor in 1963 at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination. Harris followed this with a leading role in the Italian film, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il deserto rosso (1964), and he also won notice for his role in Sam Peckinpah's Major Dundee (1965), as an Irish immigrant who became a Confederate cavalryman during the Civil War.

Harris next performed the role of King Arthur in the film adaptation of the musical play Camelot. Harris continued to appear on stage in this role for years, including a successful Broadway run in 1981–82. In 1966, Harris starred as Cain in John Huston's film The Bible: In the Beginning.

Harris recorded several albums of music, one of which, (A Tramp Shining), included the seven-minute hit song "MacArthur Park" (Harris insisted on singing the lyric as "MacArthur's Park").^[6] This song had been written by Jimmy Webb, and it reached #2 on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also topped several music sales charts in Europe during the summer of 1968. "MacArthur Park" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[7] A second album, with music mostly composed by Webb, The Yard Went on Forever, was published in 1969.

Some memorable movie performances followed this, among them a role as a reluctant police informant in the coal-mining tale The Molly Maguires (1970), starring with Sean Connery. Harris starred in the Man in the Wilderness in 1971, Juggernaut in 1974 (a British suspense movie about the hijacking of an ocean liner), in 1976 in The Cassandra Crossing, along with the actresses Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner, and in a B-movie, Orca, in 1977. Harris achieved a form of cult status for his role as the mercenary tactician Rafer Janders in the movie The Wild Geese (1978).

In 1973, Harris published a widely-acclaimed book of poetry, I, In The Membership Of My Days, which was later re-published as an audio recording of his reading his own poems. In 1989, Harris played the beggar king J.J. Peachum in Mack the Knife, the third screen adaptation of The Threepenny Opera.

By the end of the 1980s, Harris had gone for an extended time without a significant movie role. He was familiar with the stage plays of fellow Irishman John B. Keane, and had heard that one of them, The Field, was being adapted for film by director Jim Sheridan. Sheridan was working with actor Ray McAnally on the adaptation, intending to feature McAnally in the lead role of Bull McCabe. When McAnally died suddenly during initial preparations, Harris began a concerted campaign to be cast as McCabe.^{[citation needed]} The campaign succeeded, and the movie version of The Field was released in 1990. For his performance, Harris earned his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor but lost to Jeremy Irons for Reversal of Fortune. In 1992, Harris had a supporting role in the film Patriot Games, as an Irish-American radical.

In November 1987, Harris began a brief tenure as a visiting professor at the University of Scranton, a Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania.^[8] Harris had previously visited Scranton in October 1986 to perform Camelot with his younger brother, Dermot Harris, who died of a heart attack that same year.^[8][9] He soon established friendships with members of the University's faculty, notably Scranton President J.A. Panuska.^[8][9] Harris agreed to return to the University of Scranton as a visiting professor in 1987 to raise funds for a scholarship for Irish students, which he established and named in honor of his brother.^[8][9] Harris was welcomed to the city with a limo escorted by five police motorcycles and proclamation from the mayor. He cast the actors for the University of Scranton's production of Julius Caesar in November.^[8] He then returned to the university in January and February 1988 for the production.^[10]

Later career[link]

Harris appeared in two films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. First, as the gunfighter "English Bob" in the 1992 Western, Unforgiven; second, as the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000). He also played a lead role alongside James Earl Jones in the 1995 Darrell Roodt film adaptation of Cry, the Beloved Country. In 1999, Harris starred in the film To Walk with Lions. After Gladiator, Harris gained further fame playing the supporting role of Albus Dumbledore in the first two of the Harry Potter films, and as Abbé Faria in Kevin Reynolds' 2002 film adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. The film Kaena: The Prophecy (released in 2003) was dedicated to him posthumously as he had voiced the character Opaz before his death.

Concerning his role as Dumbledore, Harris had stated that he did not intend to take the part at first, since he knew that his own health was in decline, but he relented and accepted it because his 10-year-old granddaughter threatened never to speak to him again if he did not take it.^[11] In an interview with the Toronto Star in 2001, Harris expressed his concern that his association with the Harry Potter movies would outshine the rest of his career. He explained by saying: "Because, you see, I don't just want to be remembered for being in those bloody films, and I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me."^[12]

Personal life and death[link]

In 1957, he married Elizabeth Rees-Williams, the daughter of David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore. Their three children are the actor Jared Harris who plays Lane Pryce on AMC's Mad Men and whom was once married to Emilia Fox, the actor Jamie Harris, and the director Damian Harris, once married to Annabel Brooks and now partner of Peta Wilson. Harris and Rees-Williams divorced in 1969, after which Elizabeth married Sir Rex Harrison. His maternal niece is actress Annabelle Wallis.

Harris's second marriage was to the American actress Ann Turkel, who was 16 years younger than he. This marriage also ended in a divorce.

Despite his divorces, Harris was a member of the Roman Catholic Knights of Malta, and was also dubbed a knight by the Queen of Denmark in 1985.

Harris often told stories about his haunted London home, The Tower House, which was sold later to the musician Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. According to Harris, the tower was haunted by an eight-year-old boy who had been buried in the tower. The boy often kept Harris awake at night until he one day built a nursery for the boy to play in, which calmed the disturbances to some extent.^[13]

Harris was a vocal supporter of the IRA from the early 1970s until they carried out the Harrods bombing in 1983, after which he disavowed them.^{[citation needed]}

Harris was a longtime alcoholic until he became a teetotaler in 1981, although he did resume drinking Guinness a decade later. He gave up drugs after almost dying from a cocaine overdose in 1978. A memorable incident concerning his massive alcohol consumption was an appearance on The Late Late Show where he recounted to host Gay Byrne how he had just polished off two bottles of fine wine in a restaurant and decided that he would then be going on the wagon: "And I looked at my watch and it was... Well isn't that spooky! It was the same time it is now: 11:20!"^{[citation needed]}

Harris is also attributed with an anecdote in which he was found lying drunk in a street in London. A passing policeman asked him what he was doing, and he replied that the world was spinning. The policeman inquired as to how lying in the street was going to help, and he said, "I'm waiting for my house to go by."^{[citation needed]} In a 1994 appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, Harris said he had his driver's licence permanently suspended for knocking over a double-decker bus in Dublin, Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Harris died of Hodgkin's lymphoma on 25 October 2002, aged 72, two and a half weeks before the American premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Harris was a lifelong friend of actor Peter O'Toole,^[14] and his family reportedly hoped that O'Toole would replace Harris as Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.^[14] There were, however, worries of insuring O'Toole for the six remaining films in the series, and he was ultimately replaced as Dumbledore by the Irish-born actor Sir Michael Gambon.

For years, whenever he was in London, Harris resided at the Savoy Hotel. According to the hotel archivist Susan Scott, as Harris was being taken from the hotel on a stretcher, shortly before his death, he warned the diners, "It was the food!"^[15]

Harris's remains were cremated, and his ashes were scattered in The Bahamas, where he had owned a home.

Memorials[link]

On 30 September 2006, Manuel Di Lucia, of Kilkee, County Clare, a long-time friend, organized a bronze life-size statue of Richard Harris, at the age of eighteen, playing racquetball. The sculptor was Seamus Connolly and the sculpture (unveiled by Russell Crowe) stands in Kilkee, Ireland.^[16]

Another life-size statue of Richard Harris, as King Arthur from his film, Camelot, has been erected in Bedford Row, in the center of his home town of Limerick. The sculptor of this statue was the Irish sculptor Jim Connolly, a graduate of the Limerick School of Art and Design.

At the 2009 BAFTAs, Mickey Rourke dedicated his Best Actor award to Harris, calling him a "good friend, and great actor."

Awards and nominations[link]

Academy Awards[link]

• 1963 – Nominated – Best Actor in a Leading Role – This Sporting Life
• 1990 – Nominated – Best Actor in a Leading Role – The Field

Golden Globes[link]

• 1968 – Won – Best Motion Picture Actor – Musical/Comedy – Camelot
• 1991 – Nominated – Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama – The Field

Grammy Awards[link]

• – Won – Best Spoken Word Recording for Jonathan Livingston Seagull – 1973
• – Nominated – Album of the Year for A Tramp Shining – 1968
• – Nominated – Contemporary Pop Male Vocalist for MacArthur Park- 1968
• – Nominated – Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording for The Prophet – 1975

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Camelot (Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1967)
• A Tramp Shining (1968)
• The Yard Went On Forever (1968)
• My Boy (1971)
• The Richard Harris Love Album (1972)
• Slides (1972)
• His Greatest Performances (1973)
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)
• The Prophet (1974)
• I, in the Membership of My Days (1974)
• Camelot (Original 1982 London Cast recording) (1982)
• Mack The Knife (Original Soundtrack) (1989)
• The Apocalypse (2004) the story of John the Apostle on Island named Patmos

Singles[link]

• "Here in My Heart (Theme from This Sporting Life)" (1963)
• "MacArthur Park" (1968)
• "Fill the World With Love" (1969)
• "Ballad of A Man Called Horse" (1970)
• "Morning of the Mourning for Another Kennedy" (1970)
• "Go to the Mirror" (1971)
• "My Boy" (1971)
• "Turning Back the Pages" (1972)
• "Half of Every Dream" (1972)
• "Trilogy (Love, Marriage, Children)" (1974)
• "The Last Castle (Theme from Echoes of a Summer)" (1976)
• "Lilliput (Theme from Gulliver's Travels)" (1977)

[edit] CD releases and compilations

• Camelot (Original 1982 London Cast Recording) (1988)
• Mack the Knife (Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1989)
• Tommy (studio recording) (1990)
• Camelot (Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1993)
• A Tramp Shining (1993)
• The Prophet (1995)
• The Webb Sessions 1968–1969 (1996)
• MacArthur Park (1997)
• Slides/My Boy (2 CD Set) (2005)
• My Boy (2006)
• Man of Words Man of Music The Anthology 1968-1974 (2 CD Set) (2008) * [1]

See also[link]

• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Michael Feeney Callan (2004-12-01). Richard Harris: Sex, Death & the Movies. Robson Books. ISBN 978-1-86105-766-2. http://books.google.com/?id=A-wxCwq4u4EC. 

External links[link]

• Richard Harris at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Harris at the Internet Broadway Database
• Richard Harris discography at MusicBrainz
• Harris' Bar Limerick: A Bar in Limerick City Dedicated to Richard
• The Round Table, The Richard Harris Fansite
• Richard Harris file at Limerick City Library, Ireland

Ian Foster is a Distinguished Fellow and the Associate Division Director in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, where he leads the Distributed Systems Laboratory, and he is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago. He is also involved with both the Open Grid Forum and with the Globus Alliance as an open source strategist. In 2006, he was appointed director of the Computation Institute, a joint project between the University of Chicago, and Argonne. An earlier project, Strand, received the British Computer Society Award for technical innovation.

His research resulted in the development of techniques, tools and algorithms for high-performance distributed computing and parallel computing. As a result he is denoted as “the father of the Grid”. Foster led research and development of software for the I-WAY wide-area distributed computing experiment, which connected supercomputers, databases and other high-end resources at 17 sites across North America in 1995. His own labs, the Distributed Systems Laboratory is the nexus of the multi-institute Globus Project, a research and development effort that encourages collaborative computing by providing advances necessary for engineering, business and other fields. Furthermore the Computation Institute addresses many of the most challenging computational and communications problems facing Grid implementations today.

In 2004, he founded Univa Corporation, which was merged with United Devices in 2007.

Foster's honors include the Lovelace Medal of the British Computer Society, the Gordon Bell Prize for high-performance computing (2001), IEEE Tsutomu Kanai Award (2011), as well as others. He was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003, and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 2009. He is currently serving on the Advisory Board for IOCOM Communications.

Ian is originally from New Zealand but is now based in the United States. He has three nieces in Sydney, Australia.

External links[link]

• Personal web page
• Ian Foster personal weblog
• Experts – University of Chicago Website
• Argonne's Distinguished Fellows

Belinda Carlisle
Belinda Carlisle in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Belinda Jo Carlisle
Also known as	Belinda, Dottie Danger, Belinda Jo Kurczeski
Born	(1958-08-17) August 17, 1958 (age 53)
Origin	Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genres	Pop rock, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, author
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1978–present
Labels	I.R.S. (1986) MCA (1987–1991) Virgin (1987–1999) Chrysalis (1996) Rykodisc (2007–present)
Associated acts	The Go-Go's The Germs Black Randy and the Metrosquad
Website	www.belindacarlisle.tv

Belinda Jo Carlisle (born August 17, 1958) is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands of all time and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments.^[1] Topping the Billboard charts with the Go-Go's, she sold more than seven million albums^[2] in just three years and later went on to a successful solo career with hits "Mad About You", "Summer Rain", "I Get Weak", "Circle in the Sand", "Leave a Light On" and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" among others, which were major successes in the United States and United Kingdom as well as internationally. Her autobiography, Lips Unsealed, published in June 2010, reached No. 27 on the The New York Times Best Seller list and received favorable reviews.^[3] On August 11, 2011, she received, as a member of the Go-Go's, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life[link]

Belinda Carlisle was born in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles to Harold, a travelling salesman (he sold vacuum cleaners) and his wife Joanne, who raised the children at home. The first of seven siblings, with three brothers and three sisters, she was five years old when her father abandoned the family and upon her mother's second marriage, did not have a close relationship with her stepfather, Duke Kurczeski. Growing up in Ventura County's Thousand Oaks, a part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, she was a cheerleader at Newbury Park High School and, at the age of 19, left home.^[4][5]

Early career and The Go-Gos[link]

Carlisle live with The Go-Go's in 2008

Carlisle's first venture into music was a brief stint as drummer for the punk band The Germs, under the name Dottie Danger. Around this time Carlisle did some back-up singing for the Black Randy and the Metrosquad. Soon after leaving The Germs, she co-founded The Go-Gos (originally named The Misfits), with friends and fellow musicians Margot Olaverria, Elissa Bello, and Jane Wiedlin. Olaverria and Bello were soon out of the group and the new line-up included bassist-turned-guitarist Charlotte Caffey, guitarist-turned-bassist Kathy Valentine, and drummer Gina Schock. The Go-Go's became one of the most successful American bands of the 1980s, helping usher New Wave music into popular American radio, and becoming the first all-female band, who wrote their own music and played their own instruments, to ever achieve a #1 album. The Go-Gos recorded two more studio albums on I.R.S. Records, including 1982 Vacation, which went gold. "Head over Heels", from their 1984 album Talk Show, made it to #11, but they never repeated the success of their 1981 multi-platinum debut, Beauty and the Beat, which featured the hits "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed".

In 1984, Carlisle made a foray into acting in the movie Swing Shift starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell and performed backing vocals for the Don Henley recording of "She's on the Zoom" from the Vision Quest soundtrack.

Solo career[link]

The Go-Go's disbanded in 1985 and Carlisle embarked on a solo career, although she continued to work with fellow Go-Go Charlotte Caffey.

[edit] 1986–1987: Belinda

Carlisle's first solo album Belinda was released in 1986, also on I.R.S. Records. This album was successful in North America and was certified Gold in the US and Platinum in Canada. Her summer hit "Mad About You" peaked at No. 3 in the US, topped the Canadian Singles Chart, and charted in the top 10 in Australia. "Mad About You" was followed by the Motown-influenced single "I Feel the Magic", and by a cover version of the Freda Payne song "Band of Gold". All three songs were included on her debut album. The single "Since You've Gone", co-written by Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, was used only for promotion. Susanna Hoffs co-wrote the single "I Need a Disguise". Duran Duran's Andy Taylor played guitar on some album tracks and appeared in her "Mad About You" video clip.

During this time, Carlisle also had songs featured on movie soundtracks, notably "In My Wildest Dreams" from the movie Mannequin "Shot in the Dark" from the Anthony Michael Hall thriller, Out of Bounds, as well as "Dancing in the City" from the Whoopi Goldberg movie Burglar.

[edit] 1987–1989: Heaven on Earth

Carlisle changed again her hairstyle significantly for her second solo album, giving up her California Girl blonde bob for a long auburn style for 1987's Heaven on Earth. The musical style eschewed the 1960s-influenced pop of Carlisle's first album in favor of slickly produced 1980s power-pop, and was released in the United States through MCA, and in the United Kingdom through Virgin. The album became a Top 5 bestseller in the UK and Australia, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The album's producer, Rick Nowels, previously worked with Stevie Nicks, and would later collaborate with Kim Wilde, Jennifer Rush and Madonna. Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas, Chynna Phillips and Carnie Wilson sang backup for the album. Thomas Dolby played the keyboards on some album tracks.

The first release from Heaven on Earth was "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", which topped the single charts, not only in the US, but also in the UK and in several other countries (the dance mix of the song also topped the dance chart). The radio-ready song was further propelled by a video, directed by Academy Award-winning American actress Diane Keaton. The second single from the album was the Diane Warren-penned "I Get Weak", which peaked at #2 in the US and #10 in the UK. The third single from the album was "Circle in the Sand", another Top 10 hit in the US, the UK, and Germany. "World Without You" was another British hit, followed by 1988 low-charting ballad "Love Never Dies", making this her fifth single from the album in the UK. In the US, the fourth and last single, "I Feel Free", a cover of the Cream classic, failed to reach the Top 40.

After the release of the Heaven on Earth album, Carlisle embarked on the 'Good Heavens' world tour during which she sold out Wembley Arena in London.

In 2009, a remastered edition of the album was released with extra tracks, remixes, and a bonus DVD containing a complete live concert from 1988 (available for the first time on DVD).

[edit] 1989–1991: Runaway Horses

Carlisle's follow-up to the success of Heaven on Earth was Runaway Horses, released on October 23, 1989. The album hit the Top 5 in both Australia and the UK, certified double platinum in Australia and platinum in the UK and in Canada, but failed to reach similar success in the US The first release, "Leave a Light On", peaked at #11 in the US, and became another Top 5 smash in the UK, Australia and Canada. The song features a slide guitar solo by George Harrison; he also played on the song Deep Deep Ocean. The second US single, "Summer Rain", reached #30 in early 1990. The song, which Carlisle noted was the most difficult song she had ever sung up to that point,^{[citation needed]} peaked successfully at #6 in Australia, where it has maintained popularity, and the tune saw a cover version, in 2004, by the Australian group Slinkee Minx. It was the final release from Runaway Horses in the UK where it was released as the album's sixth single in December 1990, peaking at #23 in January 1991. Whereas in the US Carlisle's success was decreasing, her popularity remained big in Europe and Australia. In 1990, further singles from the Runaway Horses album were successful as well: the title track, the summer mood influenced "La Luna", a Top 10 in Switzerland and top 20 hit in Germany and Australia, and "(We Want) The Same Thing", remixed from a country-styled release into a massive Pop hit, reaching #6 in the UK. Bryan Adams contributed backup vocals for the track "Whatever It Takes".

In the late autumn of 1990, the Go-Go's reunited for a tour to support their first best-of album, Greatest, including a new recording of the cover song "Cool Jerk" (Go-Go's original cover was featured on their 1980 European EP, with a second version being released in 1982). A notable feature of the tour was an anti-fur campaign, where the band members supported People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, an animal rights organization. That same year, Carlisle joined with The Smithereens lead singer Pat Dinizio on his group's ballad "Blue Period" and also performed backing vocals on Then Jerico's album The Big Area on the track "What Does It Take?".

[edit] 1991–1992: Live Your Life Be Free

In 1991, Carlisle released her fourth solo album, Live Your Life Be Free. The album marked somewhat of a return to 1960s-influenced music for Carlisle and included songs mainly written and produced by Rick Nowels but also two songs co-written by Carlisle. The single "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" was accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek video, inspired by the B-movie Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. The title track, "Live Your Life Be Free", released as first single outside the US, was a Top 20 hit single in many countries reaching number 12 in the UK and #13 in Australia. Subsequent releases "Half the World" and "Little Black Book" (co-written by Marcella Detroit of the Shakespears Sister under her real name Marcy Levy) were also hits outside the US, and although Live Your Life Be Free as an album flopped in the US, it was a success in Europe (Top 10 in the UK and Gold certification). To date, "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" is Carlisle's final single to enter in the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #73.

[edit] 1992: The Best of Belinda, Volume 1

Still active in Europe and Australia with a record contract at Virgin Records, her 1992 greatest hits album The Best of Belinda, Volume 1 reached #1, and was certified double platinum in the UK and platinum in Australia. This first greatest hits album included all the hits taken from the Heaven on Earth, Runaway Horses, and Live Your Life Be Free albums. It neglected the ballad "Love Never Dies", and the three I.R.S. singles from her first album Belinda, as this only received a limited UK release and produced no hit singles there. Also, no movie-soundtrack songs appear on the collection. The US version of the album was named Her Greatest Hits and also included songs from the first album Belinda.

[edit] 1993–1994: Real

Carlisle's fifth solo album, Real, was released in 1993 on the Virgin label in the US and in Europe. Produced without Nowels, the disc was a departure from Carlisle's polished pop music formula. Even the album's cover photograph featured her with little or no make-up. Carlisle co-produced and co-wrote much of the disc, collaborating heavily with friend and ex-Go-Go Charlotte Caffey. The album was Carlisle's fifth consecutive to reach the UK Top 10 peaking at number #9. Real peaked also at number #23 in Sweden. Its first single, "Big Scary Animal", peaked at #12 in the UK. The second single from Real was "Lay Down Your Arms", which made the Top 30 in the UK. Gregg Alexander of the New Radicals co-wrote the single "Here Comes My Baby".

At this time, Carlisle also recorded "One by One", on the soundtrack for the 1993 movie The Harvest and sang on The Lemonheads' Come On Feel The Lemonheads album on the track "I'll Do It Anyway".

After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Carlisle and her family moved to Europe. The Go-Gos reunited again later that year to support the retrospective double-CD Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's, their second collection, which featured three new songs, including the single "The Whole World Lost Its Head". However, the band broke up again, soon after the promotional tour. Carlisle has since lived in France and England.

[edit] 1996–1997: A Woman and a Man

Carlisle returned to the recording studio, and resumed working again with Rick Nowels. In 1996 she released in the UK and Australia her sixth solo album, A Woman and a Man, on the Chrysalis Records label. This album, consisting of mostly relaxed adult pop, revitalized her solo career in Europe, and included several hits. The leadoff single, "In Too Deep", returned Carlisle to the UK Top 10, for the first time in six years, reaching #6. "Always Breaking My Heart", written and produced by Roxette's Per Gessle, also made the UK Top 10, peaking at #8. The album spawned two more smaller hits in UK: "Love in the Key of C", and "California", which featured arrangement and back-up vocals by Brian Wilson. The album reached #12 in the UK, and was certified gold. As a result of A Woman and A Man's UK success, the album was released in the US during the summer of 1997 on the small Ark21 label. Despite the recent successful comeback in Europe, and the promotional appearances Carlisle made on American television and radio, the album did not enjoy similar success in North America selling only 17,000 copies.

In 1996, Carlisle recorded "I Wouldn't Be Here (If I Didn't Love You)" for the Two If by Sea official movie soundtrack. In 1997, she recorded "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)" from Walt Disney Animation Studios's Hercules as part of that movie's standard distribution in Europe, and was released as a single exclusively in France and Germany. Neither of these tracks has been released on compilation albums.

[edit] 1999–2000: A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits

In 1999, Carlisle released a greatest hits album in the UK, a double-disc on the Virgin label, collectively entitled A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits. Carlisle recorded three new tracks for the album's first disc, properly called The Greatest Hits, including the single "All God's Children", and the songs "A Prayer for Everyone" and "Feels Like I've Known You Forever". The second disc of the album entitled A Place on Earth, contained previously released remixes of some of her hits, plus a couple of B-sides which were previously unreleased. Some of the remixes were by William Orbit, who also worked with Madonna on her 1998 Ray of Light album. A Place on Earth: The Greatest Hits was certified Gold in the UK and went on to sell an excess of one million copies worldwide.

[edit] 2001: Go-Go's Reunion

In 2001, the Go-Go's reunited again and released an album of new material, God Bless The Go-Go's. Green Day's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong co-wrote the only released single "Unforgiven". God Bless The Go-Go's received mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone wrote "Every bit as Go-Go's, that is, as their non-hits and less remarkable material. While the Go-Go's sound is intact, there is not a "We Got the Beat" or a "Head Over Heels" to be found. It is feasible that in this age of pop rebirth, the Go-Go's decided it was now or never". Allmusic wrote "The album doesn't attempt to update the band's sound with hip-hop moves or electronic frippery, for which God should bless 'em, indeed. The girls' hold on the current pop world remains so strong that Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong co-writes a song ("Unforgiven") in impeccable Go-Go's drag".

The album sold fewer copies than the previous Go-Go's studio albums but still managed to chart in the US Billboard 200, peaking at number #57.

Around the time of the Go-Go's definitive reunion tour, Carlisle appeared nude for the cover feature and a full pictorial of the August 2001 edition of Playboy.^[6]

[edit] 2007: Voila

In 2007, the singer released her seventh album Voila, which was her first full-length, solo studio album in more than ten years. The album was produced by John Reynolds and included Brian Eno on the keyboard. Consisting of a mix of French pop tunes and chanson standards, including covers of Françoise Hardy and Édith Piaf classics. Voila was released via Rykodisc in the UK on February 5, and in the US the following day, February 6, 2007. Carlisle was originally approached to make another pop rock album, but she declined immediately, in favor of recording this collection of songs, the style of which, she'd "absolutely fallen in love with",^{[citation needed]} since moving to France in the early 1990s.

2008–2010[link]

She recently toured as part of the Regeneration tour in the US, and the Here and Now tour in the UK and Ireland in 2008 and summer of 2009. The line up included Carlisle, as well as other acts such as The Human League, Bananarama, Boy George, Howard Jones, Paul Young, Naked Eyes, ABC, T'Pau, and Cutting Crew.

She took over the role of Velma Von Tussle in London's West End production of Hairspray on October 28, 2009 at the Shaftesbury Theatre.^[7] She remained with the show till late January 2010 and was replaced by Siobhan McCarthy.

Carlisle announced a Go-Go's farewell tour planned for July 2010, which was then cancelled due to a leg injury suffered by guitarist Jane Wiedlin.^[8]

Belinda Carlisle performed at Manchester Pride on August 27, 2010. This being her second appearance at this event, with the first being in 2007.

In October 2010, tickets went on sale for a concert tour of Germany in January 2011.

2011-2012[link]

Carlisle played dates around Australia, commencing on February 4, 2011 in Melbourne. She appeared as part of the "Here and Now, 10th Anniversary Tour" at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on the 7th of April 2011. Carlisle also toured the US with The Go-Go's, including playing to a packed house at the iconic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in August 2011. On October 10, 2011, Carlisle performed at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines together with The Human League and Howard Jones. In February 2012

Television appearances[link]

Outside of appearances on tour with The Go-Go's, Carlisle continued her string of TV appearances.

In 2004, Carlisle was the first star to be voted off the UK reality TV show Hell's Kitchen.^[9]

In 2005, Belinda appeared on both UK and USA versions of Hit Me Baby One More Time in which participants had to perform their biggest hit as well as a contemporary cover. Belinda sang Heaven is a place on Earth and Coldplay's The Scientist. She lost out in her show to Shakin' Stevens who went on to win the final.

In 2006, she appeared on the Simon Cowell-produced Celebrity Duets, a Fox network reality competition, pairing celebrities not famous for singing (like Lucy Lawless and Cheech Marin) with actual singers like Carlisle, Michael Bolton, Jon Secada, Taylor Dayne and Macy Gray. Carlisle sang "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" and "I Get Weak" with Lea Thompson on the September 7 episode.

In 2008 she appeared as a judge on the MTV reality show Rock the Cradle, a competition reality show featuring aspiring musicians who were also the children of famous musicians.

In 2009 Carlisle was on the 8th season of Dancing with the Stars, paired with Jonathan Roberts. She was the first star to be eliminated from the competition, on March 17.^[10]

In 2011 Carlisle performed on "Good Morning America", Friday June 3 in an appearance for the show's "Summer Concert Series", in New York City's Central Park.

Personal life[link]

In 1986, Carlisle married Morgan Mason, film producer and former Special Assistant to the President of the United States, as well as the son of British actor James Mason. Mason made appearances in Carlisle's videos "Mad About You" and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth". They have a son, James Duke Mason, born on April 27, 1992.

She has been reported as being "deeply into Buddhism" and chants Nam Myoho Renge Kyo daily.^[11] In an interview, printed on March 7, 2007, the singer stated that: "I was wondering about happiness and started reading a lot of books by the Dalai Lama, and slowly embraced Buddhism" (published by Newindpress, India). She told the Sydney Morning Herald: "I don't smoke any more, I don't drink any more and I don't do drugs any more. I am very much into my Buddhism. I found turning 40 a real passage in time for me."

In January 2009, it was announced that Carlisle was appointed the new spokesperson for NutriSystem.^[12]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1986

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Belinda Carlisle

• Official website
• Carlisle-Mason Website
• A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle Website
• The Go-Go's Official Site
• Belinda Carlisle at the Internet Movie Database
• Music Videos
• Belinda Carlisle at Tv.com

Articles[link]

• Audio interview with SYN 907 Melbourne

v t e The Go-Go's Charlotte Caffey Belinda Carlisle Gina Schock Kathy Valentine Jane Wiedlin Elissa Bello Paula Jean Brown Margot Olaverra Vicki Peterson Albums Beauty and the Beat Vacation Talk Show God Bless The Go-Go's Compilation albums Greatest Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's VH1 Behind the Music: Go-Go's Collection Singles "Our Lips Are Sealed" "We Got the Beat" "Vacation" "Get Up and Go" "He's So Strange" "Head over Heels" "Turn to You" "Yes or No" "Cool Jerk" "The Whole World Lost Its Head" "Unforgiven" Related articles Discography Book:The Go-Go's

Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 — June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

Career[link]

Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. Though he would be known later for his keyboards and vocals, Grant also played trumpet and drums. Grant attended four music schools, eventually becoming a music teacher. He augmented his income by performing in clubs during his army service, throughout which he was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas.^[1] in 1953.^[2] Grant signed with Decca Records in 1957 and his first single "The End" reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Ebb Tide, released in 1961, was his first album, which also rose to number 7 on the Billboard 200. The single "Ebb Tide" sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status.^[1] He recorded five more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from Beyond the Reef), and six additional albums (mostly on the Decca label) through 1968. He also recorded the album Yes Sirree and the instrumental album Trade Winds, single-tracked on the Hammond organ and piano, featuring the love theme from the film El Cid and Chaplin's "Eternally". This album featured some realistic sounding 'tropical bird calls' produced by his electric organ. "The House of Bamboo" was another big-selling single. In all, Grant recorded 30 albums for Decca.^[2]

Several of his albums featured tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson.^{[citation needed]}

Grant also made a few appearances in film and television, including Tender Is the Night (1962), Juke Box Rhythm (1959), and The Ed Sullivan Show (1961).^{[citation needed]}

He died instantly in a car accident in Lordsburg, New Mexico, at the age of 39^[1] when the car he was driving ran off Interstate 10.^[2] He was driving from Los Angeles to an intended destination in Juarez, Mexico. His 17-year-old cousin was also killed in the accident.^[3]

Select discography[link]

• Versatile Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1958
• The End (Decca Records) 1958
• Grant Takes Rhythm (Decca Records) 1959
• Nothin' But The Blues (Decca Records) 1959
• Paris Is My Beat (Decca Records) 1959
• The Magic Of Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1960
• Ebb Tide (Decca Records) 1961
• Earl After Dark (Decca Records) 1961
• Beyond The Reef (Decca Records) 1962
• At Basin Street East (Decca Records) live 1962
• Midnight Sun (Decca Records) 1962
• Yes Sirree! (Decca Records) 1963
• Fly Me To The moon (Decca Records) 1964
• Just For A Thrill (Decca Records) 1964
• Just One More Time (Decca Records) 1964
• Trade Winds (Decca Records) 1965
• Spotlight On Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1965
• Winter Wonderland (Decca Records) 1965
• Sings And Plays Songs Made Famous By Nat Cole (Decca Records) 1966
• Stand By Me (Decca Records) 1966
• Bali Ha'i (Decca Records) 1966
• A Closer Walk With Thee (Decca Records) 1966
• Gently Swingin' (Decca Records) 1968
• Spanish Eyes (Decca Records) 1968
• In Motion (Decca Records) 1968
• This Magic Moment (Decca Records) 1969

Posthumous releases[link]

• Earl Grant (Decca Records) 1970

The songs on this album were recorded days before his death, with arrangements by Bill Holman and Don Peake.

References[link]

• The Decca labels: A discography (Michel Ruppli) (Greenwood Press, 1996)

External links[link]

• Profile of Grant
• Earl Grant at the Internet Movie Database gives

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