The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the mid-Atlantic area that wanted independence from white Methodists. Allen was elected and consecrated its first bishop in 1816.

"God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family"

Derived from Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne's original motto "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, Man our Brother", which served as the AME Church motto until the 2008 General Conference, when the current motto was officially adopted.

The AME Church grew out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and other free blacks established in Philadelphia in 1787. They left St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church because of discrimination. Although Allen and Jones were both accepted as preachers, they were limited to black congregations. In addition, the blacks were made to sit in a separate gallery built in the church when their portion of the congregation increased. These former members of St. George’s made plans to transform their mutual aid society into an African congregation. Although the group was originally non-denominational, eventually members wanted to affiliate with existing denominations.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of divisions and mergers, the M.E. Church became the major component of the present United Methodist Church.

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, was an Anglican. Prior to the American Revolution, some people had concerns about Methodist evangelism in the colonies that took no heed of established Anglican parishes.^{[citation needed]} For example, the Rev. Devereux Jarratt (1733–1801) was and remained an Anglican clergyman who founded Methodist societies in Virginia and North Carolina. However, after the 1784 establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he expressed shock that the Methodists "had rejected their old mother." It is possible that Jarratt and others considered the Methodist movement to be some sort of 18th-Century parachurch organization. However, as more and more migrants from England who saw themselves as Methodist, not Anglican, arrived in America, the establishment of a distinctly Methodist denomination was inevitable.^{[citation needed]}

A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.

A&M Records was formed in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Their first choice for a name was Carnival Records, under which they released two singles before discovering another label had taken the Carnival name first. The company was subsequently renamed A&M, after Alpert's and Moss's initials. From 1966 to 1999, the company's headquarters were on the grounds of the historic Charlie Chaplin Studios at 1416 North La Brea Avenue, near Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, A&M had such acts as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Baja Marimba Band, Burt Bacharach, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ’66, We Five, The Carpenters, Chris Montez, Elkie Brooks, Lee Michaels, The Captain and Tennille, Quincy Jones, Stealers Wheel, Marc Benno, Liza Minnelli, Rita Coolidge, Wes Montgomery, Paul Desmond, Cat Stevens, Bobby Tench, Hummingbird, Toni Basil, and Paul Williams. Folk artists Joan Baez, Phil Ochs and Gene Clark also recorded for the label during the 1970s. Billy Preston joined the label in 1971, followed by Andre Popp and Herb Ohta in 1973.

Ry Cuming is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has a tenor singing voice.

Ry Cuming was born in the small coastal Australian town of Angourie. Growing up on a beach in Australia, he spent most of his days surfing and listening to his father's vinyl collection. When Cuming discovered more music in his teens (especially Jeff Buckley) he was inspired to start writing songs of his own.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Cuming was quoted as saying:

I found Jeff Buckley. Bob Dylan had Woody Guthrie: He emulated him, dressed like him, sung like him, played his songs. I did that for a long time with Jeff Buckley. As soon as I heard Grace, that was it...that was my decision made. He's inspired me and been more of an influence than any other musician, or even in surfing, anything.

Ry Cuming’s professional music career began to take shape as an 18 year-old traveler and surfer in Costa Rica. One fateful afternoon while playing in the hallway of a hotel for some female pro surfers, Ry met a film producer from California who happened to have some connections in the entertainment industry. He became the catalyst for Cuming’s journey into the music business, and introduced him to a network of musicians who were beginning to gain momentum in the Los Angeles area including: Maroon 5, Phantom Planet, and Rooney.

Gabriel Coronel (born 13 February 1987, in Barquisimeto,Estado Lara, Venezuela) is a theater and TV actor, singer and model.

Coronel studied music and acting, first at the Conservatory of Music of Lara, centroccidente in Venezuela. He began his career by participating in various modeling campaigns, and then obtained youth roles in Venezuelan soap operas, such as Somos tú y yo on Venevisión, and its successor, Somos tú y yo: un nuevo día, also on Venevisión. Coronel also portrayed several theater roles during that time.

In 2012 Coronel made his foray into international TV, appearing with the U.S. network Telemundo, in the series Relaciones Peligrosas in the role of Mauricio Blanco, a young man who is attracted to his teacher.