Alive and Kicking

Alive and Kicking may refer to:

Business

Film, theatre and television

Music

Other media

Baby Alive

Baby Alive is a baby doll made by Hasbro that eats, drinks, wets and in some cases messes. Its mouth moves. It is marketed as being lifelike. It was originally made and introduced by Kenner in 1973, and reintroduced by Hasbro in 2006. Today, Baby Alive is offered in Caucasian, African-American, and Hispanic varieties. The newest versions include Wets & Wiggles (male or female), Sip 'N Slurp, Sip 'N Snooze, Pat 'N Burp, Baby Alive Learns to Potty, and Baby Alive Bye Bye, Baby.

History

1970s-1980s

The first Baby Alive doll was introduced by Kenner in 1973. It could be fed food packets mixed with water, and came with a bottle, diapers, and feeding spoon. The spoon would be inserted into its mouth, and a lever on its back pushed to have it chew the food. The food would move through her and end up in her diaper; this version did not speak, so you had to check the diaper a few moments after feeding. It also produced droppings and threw up regularly.

1990s

Junior Kimbrough

David "Junior" Kimbrough (July 28, 1930 – January 17, 1998) was an American blues musician. His best known work included "Keep Your Hands Off Her" and "All Night Long".

Biography

Junior Kimbrough was born in Hudsonville, Mississippi, and lived in the North Mississippi Hill Country near Holly Springs. His father was a guitarist and a barber, and Junior picked his guitar as a child. He was apparently influenced by guitarists Lightnin' Hopkins and Mississippi Fred McDowell and Eli Green, the latter of whom carried a reputation of a dangerous voodoo man.

In the late 1950s he began playing in his own style, which made use of mid-tempo rhythms and a steady drone he played with his thumb on the bass strings of his guitar. This style would later be cited as a prime example of regional north hill country blues. His music is characterized by the tricky syncopations between his droning bass strings and his mid-range melodies. His soloing style has been described as modal and features languorous runs in the mid and upper register. The result was described by music critic Robert Palmer as "hypnotic". In solo and ensemble settings it is often polyrhythmic, which links it explicitly to the music of Africa. Fellow North Mississippi bluesman and former Kimbrough bassist Eric Deaton has suggested similarities between Junior Kimbrough's music and that of Fulani musicians such as Ali Farka Touré. Music journalist Tony Russell stated "his raw, repetitive style suggests an archaic forebear of John Lee Hooker, a character his music shares with that of fellow North Mississippian R. L. Burnside".

Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads

Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads is a British documentary film, released in 1991, and made by music critic and author Robert Palmer and documentary film maker Robert Mugge, in collaboration with David A. Stewart and his brother John J. Stewart. The film provided insight into the location, cast and characteristics of Delta blues and North Mississippi hill country blues. Filming took place in 1990 in Memphis, Tennessee, and various North Mississippi counties. Theatrical release was in 1991 and home video release in the United Kingdom, the next year, as was a soundtrack album. A United States consumer edition came in 2000.

Stewart initiated and financed the project, inspired by Palmer's 1981 book of the same name. Palmer provided many of the insights into the background and history of the blues, as a guide to Stewart and the film narrator.

Musicians

Musicians appearing in the film are:Roosevelt Barnes, R. L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill (with Napoleon Strickland and Abe Young), Big Jack Johnson, Junior Kimbrough (with Little Joe Ayers and Calvin Jackson), Booker T. Laury, Jack Owens, Lonnie Pitchford, Bud Spires and Wade Walton, The film revitalized the recording career of some of the musicians.