Horse of a Different Color (Big & Rich album)

Horse of a Different Color is the debut album by the American country music duo Big & Rich. It was released in 2004 on Warner Bros. Records and it contains the hit singles "Wild West Show", "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)", "Holy Water", and "Big Time". Respectively, these reached No. 21, No. 11, No. 15, and No. 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. The album was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA for shipments of three million copies.

Content

Horse of a Different Color features several guest musicians, primarily members of the MuzikMafia, the collaborative singer-songwriter group that Big & Rich founded. Country rap artist Cowboy Troy is featured on the lead-off track "Rollin' (The Ballad of Big & Rich)", and makes an uncredited guest appearance at the end of "Kick My Ass". Gretchen Wilson provides background vocals on "Saved", and Jon Nicholson on "Love Train". The only guest musician who is not a MuzikMafia member is Martina McBride, who provides backing vocals on the final track, "Live This Life". Big Kenny and John Rich, who comprise the duo, co-wrote all the tracks on the album, and co-produced it with Paul Worley.

Ava Leigh

Hayley Carline (born 22 November 1985), better known as Ava Leigh, is a British reggae singer from Chester, England.

Career

Leigh's career first began when she started performing with her school's jazz band. In her "mid teens" she acquired a manager, and tried out for a variety of labels, singing R&B. However, Leigh realised that the genre "never, ever worked" for her. Leigh, in an interview with The Telegraph, attributed her mother for first getting her into reggae:

Leigh worked with writers such as Nick Manasseh, Future Cut and Feng Shui on her debut album, Turned on Underground. Partly recorded at Harry J's in Jamaica, the album was reviewed favourably and was described as having the "slick appeal of a US R&B princess." Her debut four-track extended play (EP) La La La was released on 5 January 2009.

Leigh's song "Mad About the Boy" was featured on the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, and her version of "Mas Que Nada" was featured in a 2008 TV commercial for chain store Next's summer clothing range. Also in 2008, Leigh co-wrote Joss Stone's digital download single "Governmentalist", featuring rapper Nas.

Olympic Games

The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting event featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered to be the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart.

Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.

The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in several changes to the Olympic Games. Some of these adjustments include the creation of the Winter Olympic Games for ice and winter sports, the Paralympic Games for athletes with a disability, and the Youth Olympic Games for teenage athletes. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, and technological advancements. As a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship and commercialization of the Games. World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916, 1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games.

2002 Winter Olympics

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games (French: Les XIXes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 78 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout 165 sporting sessions. The 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Paralympic Games were both organized by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC). Utah became the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games, and the 2002 Winter Olympics are the most recent games to be held in the United States.

The opening ceremony was held on February 8, 2002, and sporting competitions were held up until the closing ceremony on February 24, 2002. Music for both ceremonies was directed by Mark Watters. Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics, although the two subsequent host cities' populations were larger. Following a trend, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were also larger than all prior Winter Games, with 10 more events than the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan; this became a trend with more and more events held in subsequent Games.

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome, but were re-located on financial grounds following a disastrous eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 1906. They were the fourth chronological modern Olympic Games in keeping with the now-accepted four-year cycle as opposed to the proposed Intercalated Games alternate four-year cycle. The IOC president for these Games was Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Lasting a total of 187 days, or 6 months and 4 days, these games were the longest in modern Olympics history.

Background

The selection process for the 1908 Summer Olympics consisted of four bids, and saw Rome selected ahead of London, Berlin and Milan. The selection was made at the 6th IOC Session in London in 1904.

Italian authorities were preparing to hold the games when Mount Vesuvius erupted on 7 April 1906, devastating the city of Naples. Funds were diverted to the reconstruction of Naples, so a new venue was required. London was selected for the first time to hold the Games which were held at White City alongside the Franco-British Exhibition, at the time the more noteworthy event.