Name	Neil Young
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Neil Percival Young
Alias	Bernard Shakey, Phil Perspective, Shakey Deal, Clyde Coil, Shakey, Joe Yankee,
Born	November 12, 1945Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Genre	Rock, folk rock, hard rock, country rock
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, harmonica, keyboards, piano
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, producer, director, screenwriter
Years active	1960–present
Label	Reprise, Motown, Geffen
Associated acts	The Squires, The Mynah Birds, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crazy Horse, The Stray Gators, The Stills-Young Band, The Ducks, Northern Lights, Pearl Jam, Booker T. Jones, Phish, Dave Matthews
Url	neilyoung.com
Notable instruments	"Old Black"Gibson 1956 Les Paul Goldtop1956 Gretsch Electromagnetic Old BlackMartin D-45Martin D-28

Neil Percival Young, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website describes Young as "one of rock and roll’s greatest songwriters and performers". On December 30, 2009, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Biography

Early years: 1945–1966

Neil Percival Young was born in Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada at 6:45 AM on 12 November 1945. His father, Scott Young (1918-2005) was a journalist and sportswriter who would later rise to notoriety in Canada for his work, whilst his mother, Edna "Rassy" Young (1918-1990), was of American, French and Irish ancestry. They married in 1940 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with their first son, Robert 'Bob' Young, being born in 1942. Not long after their second child Neil's birth, the family decided to move to the rural town of Omemee, Ontario, which Neil would later fondly describe as a "Sleepy little place." on November 9, 1976.]] Young reformed Crazy Horse with Frank Sampedro on guitar as his backup band for Zuma (1975). Many of the songs are overtly concerned with failed relationships, and even the epic "Cortez the Killer", outwardly a retelling of the Spanish conquest of Mexico from the viewpoint of the Aztecs, can be seen as an allegory of love lost. The following year, Young reunited with Stephen Stills for the album Long May You Run (1976), credited to The Stills-Young Band; the follow-up tour was ended midway through by Young, who sent Stills a telegram that read: "Funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach, Neil." 1981's Re-ac-tor, an electric album recorded with Crazy Horse, also included material from the 1970s. Sonic Youth's influence was most evident on Arc, a 35-minute collage of feedback and distortion spliced together at the suggestion of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and originally packaged with some versions of Weld.

1992's Harvest Moon marked an abrupt return to the country and folk-rock stylings of Harvest and reunited him with some of the musicians from that album, including singers Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor. The title track was a minor hit and the record was well received by critics, winning the Juno Award for Album of the Year in 1994. Young also contributed to Randy Bachman's nostalgic 1992 tune "Prairie Town," and garnered a 1993 Academy Award nomination for his song "Philadelphia", from the soundtrack of the Jonathan Demme movie of the same name. An MTV Unplugged performance and album emerged in 1993. Later that year, Young collaborated with Booker T. and the M.G.s for a summer tour of Europe and North America. Some European shows ended with a rendition of "Rockin' in the Free World" played with Pearl Jam, foreshadowing their eventual full-scale collaboration two years later.

In 1994 Young again collaborated with Crazy Horse for Sleeps with Angels, a record whose dark, sombre mood was influenced by Kurt Cobain's death earlier that year; the title track in particular dealt with Cobain's life and death, without mentioning him by name. Cobain had quoted Young's lyric "It's better to burn out than fade away" (a line from "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)") in his suicide note, causing Young to then on emphasize the line "'cause once you're gone you can't come back" when performing the song. Young had reportedly made repeated attempts to contact Cobain prior to his death. and it is believed he will continue to develop the system. Young has been named as co-inventor on seven U.S. Patents related to model trains.

Young's willingness to be politically outspoken and socially conscious allowed him to influence such important artists as Blind Melon, Phish, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. Young is referred to as "the Godfather of Grunge" because of the influence he had on Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder and the entire grunge movement. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam inducted Young into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, citing him as a huge influence. Young is cited as being a significant influence on experimental rock artists Sonic Youth and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Yorke recounted of first hearing Young after sending a demo tape into a magazine when he was 16, who favourably compared his singing voice to Young's. Unaware of Young at that time, he bought After the Gold Rush, and "immediately fell in love" with his work, calling it "extraordinary". Dave Matthews lists Neil Young as one of his favorite and most inspirational songwriters and covers his songs on occasion. The British Indie band The Bluetones named their number one debut album after the song "Expecting to Fly" (written by Young when still with Buffalo Springfield and have covered the song while touring. Young also inspired Oasis singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher, with Gallagher covering "My My, Hey Hey (Into the Black)" on the live album Familiar to Millions.

The Australian rock group Powderfinger named themselves after Young's song "Powderfinger" from Young's Rust Never Sleeps. The members of the Constantines have occasionally played Neil Young tribute shows under the name Horsey Craze. While in Winnipeg on November 2, 2008 during the Canadian leg of his tour, Bob Dylan visited Young's former home in River Heights, where Young spent his teenage years. Dylan was interested in seeing the room where some of Young's first songs were composed.

Jason Bond, an East Carolina University biologist, discovered a new species of trapdoor spider in 2007 and named it Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi after Young, his favorite singer (a previous similar case was the dinousaur Masiakasaurus knopfleri named after the musician Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits).

In 2001, Young was awarded the Spirit of Liberty award from the civil liberties group People for the American Way. Young was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, 2010, two nights prior to the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. In addition was also nominated for two Grammy Awards; Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance ("Fork In The Road") and Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package ["Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963–1972)"]. Young won the latter Grammy Award. In 2010, Young was ranked #26 in Gibson.com’s Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.

Juno Awards

{|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result |- | 2008 || Adult Alternative Album of the Year || Chrome Dreams II || |- | 2007 || Adult Alternative Album of the Year || Living With War || |- | rowspan=3 | 2006 || Adult Alternative Album of the Year || Prairie Wind || |- | Jack Richardson Producer of the Year || "The Painter" || |- | Songwriter of the Year || "The Painter", "When God Made Me", "Prairie Wind" || |- | rowspan=2 | 2001 || Best Male Artist || Neil Young || |- | Best Roots & Traditional Album - Solo || Silver & Gold || |- | 1997 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | rowspan=2 | 1996 || Best Rock Album || Mirror Ball || |- | Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | rowspan=3 | 1995 || Songwriter of the Year || Neil Young || |- | Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | Entertainer of the Year || Neil Young || |- | rowspan=2 | 1994 || Single of the Year || "Harvest Moon" || |- | Album of the Year || Harvest Moon || |- | rowspan=2 | 1993 || Songwriter of the Year || Neil Young || |- | Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1991 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1990 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1989 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1986 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1982 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1981 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1980 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1979 || Male Vocalist of the Year || Neil Young || |- | 1975 || Composer of the Year || Neil Young || |}

Instruments

, Italy]]

Guitars

In 2003, Rolling Stone listed Young as eighty-third in its ranking of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", describing him as a "restless experimenter...who transform[s] the most obvious music into something revelatory." Young is a collector of second-hand guitars, but in recording and performing, he frequently uses just a few instruments, as is explained by his longtime guitar technician Larry Cragg in the film . They include:

1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop. Nicknamed "Old Black", this is Young's primary electric guitar and is featured on Rust Never Sleeps and other albums. Old Black got its name from an amateur paintjob applied to the originally gold body of the instrument, sometime before Neil acquired the guitar in the late 1960s. In 1972, a mini humbucker pickup from a Gibson Firebird was installed in the lead/treble position. This pickup, severely microphonic, is considered a crucial component of Neil's sound. A Bigsby vibrato tailpiece was installed as early as 1969, and can be heard during the opening of "Cowgirl in the Sand" from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Martin D-45. His primary steel-string acoustic guitar, used to write "Old Man" and many other songs. It was one of four instruments bought by Stephen Stills for himself and his band-mates in CSNY in order to celebrate their first full concert at the Greek Theater in 1969.

Martin D-28. Nicknamed "Hank" after its previous owner, Hank Williams. Hank Williams, Jr., had traded it for some shotguns; it went through a succession of other owners until it was located by Young's longtime friend Grant Boatwright. The guitar was purchased by Young from Tut Taylor. Young has toured with it for over 30 years. A story about the guitar and the song it inspired, "This Old Guitar," can be seen about 50 minutes into the film . It is Young's primary guitar for Prairie Wind.

Vintage Martin D-18: Young used an old D-18 throughout his early days performing in coffee houses in Canada and on some early Buffalo Springfield work, before he received the D-45 from Stills. The guitar has often been used to carry "dropped standard tuning" (DGCFAD) which Young often uses in concert. This allowed him to perform songs such as "Ambulance Blues" and "Don't let it Bring You Down" live without having to tune all 6 strings onstage.

Other notable (or odd) instruments played by Young include:

On CMT live he is shown playing with Phish in which he plays a Languedoc G2

Vagabond Travel Guitar, used for "Let's Impeach the President" on The Colbert Report.

Taylor 855 12-string, used in the first half of Rust Never Sleeps.

1927 Gibson Mastertone, a six-string banjo tuned like a guitar, used on many recordings and played by James Taylor on "Old Man."

Gretsch 6120 (Chet Atkins model). Before Young bought Old Black, this was his primary electric guitar during his Buffalo Springfield days.

Gretsch White Falcon. Young purchased a late 1950s model near the end of the Buffalo Springfield era; in 1969 he bought a stereo version of the same vintage guitar from Stephen Stills, and this instrument is featured prominently during Young's early '70s period, and can be heard on tracks like "Ohio," "Southern Man," "Alabama," "Words (Between the Lines of Age)," and "L.A.". It was Young's primary electric guitar during the Harvest era, since Young's deteriorating back condition (eventually fixed with surgery) made playing the much heavier Les Paul difficult. This particular White Falcon is the stereo 6137, in which the signal from the three bass strings is separated from the signal from the three treble strings. Young typically plays this guitar in this stereo mode, sending the separate signals to two different amps, a Fender Deluxe and either a Fender Tremolux or a low-powered Tweed Fender Twin. The separation of the signals is most prominently heard on the Harvest song "Words."

Gibson Flying V, on the Time Fades Away tour.

Fender Broadcaster, on the Tonight's the Night album and tour.

Amplification

Young uses various vintage Fender Tweed Deluxe amplifiers. His preferred amplifier for electric guitar is the Fender Deluxe, specifically a Tweed-era model from 1959. He purchased his first vintage Deluxe in 1967 for $50 from the drummer of Crazy Horse, Ralph Molina, and has since acquired nearly 450 different examples, all from the same era, but he maintains that it's the original model that sounds superior and is crucial to his trademark sound. The Tweed Deluxe is almost always used in conjunction with a late-1950's Magnatone 280 (similar to the amp used by Lonnie Mack and Buddy Holly). The Magnatone and the Deluxe are paired together in a most unusual manner: the external speaker jack from the Deluxe sends the amped signal through a volume potentiometer and directly into the input of the Magnatone. The Magnatone is notable for its true pitch-bending vibrato capabilities, which can be heard as an electric piano amplifier on "See the Sky About to Rain". A notable and unique accessory to Young's Deluxe is the Whizzer, a device created specifically for Young, which physically changes the amplifier's settings to pre-set combinations. This device is connected to footswitches operable by Young onstage in the manner of an effects pedal.

Discography

:See also the discographies for Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

See also

Music of Canada

Canadian rock

Notes

References

External links

Neil's Garage – Official website

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young official website

Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum – Omemee, Ontario

Review of Crazy Horse at the Fillmore 1970

Sugar Mountain – a compilation of set lists from Neil Young's concert performances

"Neil Young: Don't be Denied", PBS, American Masters, TV documentary, 2009

Category:1945 births Category:Living people

Category:Anti-Iraq War activists Category:Anti-Vietnam War activists Category:Buffalo Springfield members Category:Canadian country guitarists Category:Canadian country rock musicians Category:Canadian country singers Category:Canadian film directors Category:Canadian folk guitarists Category:Canadian folk singers Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Canadian people of American descent Category:Canadian people of French descent Category:Canadian people of Irish descent Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Canadian rock singers Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:Canadian environmentalists Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young members Category:Juno Award winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from Manitoba Category:Writers from Manitoba Category:Members of the Order of Manitoba Category:Neil Young and Crazy Horse members Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:Writers from Ontario Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:People with epilepsy Category:People from Toronto Category:People from Winnipeg Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers

Name	Andy Summers
Background	solo_singer
Born	December 31, 1942Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England
Birth name	Andrew James Somers
Instrument	Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Genre	Rock, jazz, post-punk, New Wave, reggae, Progressive Rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, Photographer, producer
Years active	1959–present
Associated acts	The Police, The Animals, Soft Machine, Robert Fripp, Kevin Ayers, John Etheridge, Gustavo Cerati
Url	andysummers.com
Notable instruments	Fender Telecaster

Andy Summers (born Andrew James Somers, 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist and composer best known for his work in The Police and Eric Burdon & The Animals.

Biography

Early life

Summers was born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England and took up the guitar at age 14. By 17 he was playing in local clubs. While a teenager he worked in a Bournemouth music store frequented by a young Robert Fripp. (Love Is), and spent much of the mid-seventies doing session work for Jon Lord, Neil Sedaka, Kevin Ayers, Kevin Coyne, David Essex and others. In 1977 he was invited by ex-Gong bassist Mike Howlett to join his band Strontium 90 along with Sting and Stewart Copeland.

The Police (1977–1983; 2007-2008)

Summers achieved international prominence as the guitarist for The Police (which he first had contact with in 1977, and of which he was the oldest member by almost a decade), most notably on popular hits such as "Message in a Bottle", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", and "Every Breath You Take". Summers also wrote songs for the Police, such as "Omegaman" won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental. Although Sting was the primary lead vocalist, Summers sang lead vocals on several songs, including "Be My Girl Sally", "Friends", "Someone to Talk to" and "Mother."

Post-Police

After the break-up of The Police in 1984, Summers continued his musical career, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. He has also developed his career as a writer (of books and essays) and a photographer.

In 1992, Andy Summers served a brief stint as Musical Director on the short-lived Dennis Miller Show. He composed and performed the show's theme song, which Miller promptly jettisoned when Summers left the show.

Equipment

The Police Years 1977-1984

Guitars

Fender

1963 Fender Telecaster either purchased from Eric Clapton and then customized by Andy after he bought it (as he stated in '97 to Guitar World Magazine), or he purchased it from a student with most of the customization already done (as he told Fender when they wanted to make a tribute guitar)

1961 Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster

Gibson

* 1958 Gibson ES-335

* 1957 Gibson Les Paul

Roland

* Roland G-303 Guitar Synthesizer controller

Amps

Marshall Stack and Roland Jazz Chorus Combo

Pedalboards

A custom Pete Cornish Guitar pedalboard

Roland GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer

Discography

Studio albums

I Advance Masked - 1982 (with Robert Fripp)

Bewitched - 1984 (with Robert Fripp)

XYZ - 1987

Mysterious Barricades - 1988

The Golden Wire - 1989

Charming Snakes - 1990

World Gone Strange - 1991

Invisible Threads - 1993 (with John Etheridge)

Synaesthesia - 1996

The Last Dance of Mr. X - 1997

Strings of Desire - 1998 (with Victor Biglione)

A Windham Hill Retrospective - 1998

Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk - 1999

Peggy's Blue Skylight - 2000 (with vocals by Deborah Harry on the track "Weird Nightmare")

Earth + Sky - 2004

Splendid Brasil - 2005 (with Victor Biglione)

First You Build a Cloud - 2007 (with Ben Verdery)

Singles

Parade / Train - 1984 (with Robert Fripp)

2010 / To Hal and Back - 1984

Love is the Strangest Way / Nowhere - 1987

with The Police

Outlandos d'Amour (1978)

Reggatta de Blanc (1979)

Zenyattà Mondatta (1980)

Ghost in the Machine (1981)

Synchronicity (1983)

Miscellaneous

Love Is - 1968 (with Eric Burdon & The Animals)

Matching Head and Feet - 1975 (with Kevin Coyne)

Sarabande - 1976 (with Jon Lord)

Flashback - 1978 (with Eberhard Schoener)

Video Magic - 1978 (with Eberhard Schoener)

Video Flashback - 1979 (with Eberhard Schoener)

Ataraxis-2007 (With Deeyah)

References

External links

Official website

Andy Summers Fender tribute Telecaster homepage

BBC interview with Andy Summers including audio

Andy Summers in Fender News

Book Review of Andy Summers' One Train Later

Contemporary interview with Andy Summers

Andy Summers Detailed Discography, Timeline and Equipment List

Andy Summers Play-/Sound-Alike (German instructions)

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:English rock guitarists Category:California State University, Northridge alumni Category:English jazz guitarists Category:Progressive rock guitarists Category:Jazz fusion guitarists Category:The Police members Category:The Animals members Category:Soft Machine members Category:Canterbury scene Category:People from Poulton-le-Fylde

Name	Neil Sedaka
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 13, 1939
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Instrument	Vocals, Multiple instruments
Genre	Pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, record producer
Years active	1955–present
Label	RCA Victor Records, MGM Records, Polydor Records, Rocket Records, Elektra Records, Razor & Tie Records
Url	www.neilsedaka.com

Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter. His career has spanned over 50 years, during which time he has written many songs for himself and others, often working with lyricists Howard Greenfield and Phil Cody.

Early life

Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was the son of Turkish Jewish immigrants ("Sedaka" is a variant of tzedaka — Hebrew for charity, and it is sedaka for charity in Arbic); his mother, Eleanor (Appel) Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent. He grew up in an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He is the cousin of singer Eydie Gorme.

He demonstrated musical aptitude in his second-grade choral class, and when his teacher sent a note home suggesting he take piano lessons, his mother took a part-time job in an Abraham & Straus department store for six months to pay for a second-hand upright. He took to the instrument immediately. In 1947, he auditioned successfully for a piano scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music's Preparatory Division for Children, which he attended on Saturdays. He also maintained an interest in popular music, and when he was 13, a neighbor heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist. The two began writing together.

Early career

Rise to fame with RCA Victor

After graduating from Lincoln High School, Sedaka and some of his classmates formed a band called The Tokens. The band had minor regional hits with songs like "While I Dream", "I Love My Baby", "Come Back Joe", and "Don't Go", before Sedaka launched out on his own in 1957. However, after a few personnel changes, in 1961, The Tokens would hit #1 on the Billboard pop charts with the international smash "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Meanwhile, the very young Sedaka's first three solo singles, "Laura Lee", "Ring-a-Rockin'", and "Oh, Delilah!" failed to become hits (although "Ring-a-Rockin'" earned him his first of many appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand). But they demonstrated his ability to perform as a solo singer, so RCA Victor signed him to a recording contract.

His first single for RCA, "The Diary" (a song he offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials), reached #14 on the Billboard charts in 1958-59. His second single, "I Go Ape", was a modest success at #42, and his third single, "Crying My Heart Out for You", was a flop at #111. Desperate for a hit, he bought several hit singles and listened to them over and over, studying the chord progressions and lyrics to figure out what made them so popular. Based on that, he crafted a new song, "Oh! Carol", dedicated to his then-girlfriend and fellow pop star, Carole King. The song reached #9 on the charts. (Carole King would respond with the answer song, "Oh, Neil!" later that year.)

Sedaka kept churning out new hits from 1960 to 1962. The best known are "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1961); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961); his signature song, "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (#1, 1962); and "Next Door to an Angel" (#5, 1962). He also had modest successes with "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Run Samson Run" (#27, 1960); "Sweet Little You" (#59, 1961); and "King of Clowns" (#45, 1962). RCA issued four LPs in the US and Britain of his works during this period, and also produced a Scopitone video of "Calendar Girl".

Writing for Connie Francis

When Sedaka wasn't recording his own songs, he was writing for other performers, most notably Connie Francis. As Francis explains at her concerts, she began searching for a new hit after her 1958 single "Who's Sorry Now?". She was introduced to Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, who played every ballad they had written for her. Francis began writing in her diary while the two played the last of their songs. After they finished, Francis told them they wrote beautiful ballads but that they were too intellectual for the young generation. Sedaka suggested to Greenfield a song they had written that morning for a girl group. Greenfield protested because the song had been promised to the girl group, but Sedaka insisted on playing "Stupid Cupid". Francis told them they had just played her new hit. Francis' song reached #14 on the Billboard charts.

While Francis was writing in her diary, Sedaka asked her if he could read what she had written. After she refused, Sedaka was inspired to write "The Diary", his first hit single. Sedaka and Greenfield wrote many of Connie Francis' hits, such as "Fallin'" and the theme to the film "Where the Boys Are", in which she starred.

Foreign-language recordings

Neil Sedaka was popular in Italy. In 1961, Sedaka began to record some of his hits in Italian, starting with "Esagerata" and "Un Giorno Inutile", local versions of "Little Devil" and "I Must Be Dreaming". Other recordings were to follow, such as "Tu Non Lo Sai" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"), "Il Re Dei Pagliacci" ("King of Clowns"), "I Tuoi Capricci" ("Look Inside Your Heart"), and "La Terza Luna" ("Waiting For Never"). "La Terza Luna" reached #1 on the Italian pop charts in April 1963. Cinebox videos exist for "La Terza Luna" and "I Tuoi Capricci".

Sedaka also recorded in Spanish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Japanese. He enjoyed popularity in Latin America for his Spanish-language recordings. Many of these were pressed onto 78 rpm discs.

Decline

Between 1960 and 1962, Sedaka had eight Top 40 hits, but after the success of "Next Door to an Angel," he would not see the Top 10 again in the 1960s. His singles for 1963 were modest successes: "Alice in Wonderland" (#17), "Let's Go Steady Again" (#26), "The Dreamer" (#47), and "Bad Girl" (#33). He would not crack the Top 40 again after "Bad Girl."

The British Invasion of 1964 eroded Sedaka's career further, and from then until 1966, only three of his singles made it into the Hot 100: "Sunny" (#86, 1964), "The World through a Tear" (#76, 1965), and "The Answer to My Prayer" (#89, 1965). It didn't help matters when RCA rejected his demo recording of "It Hurts to Be in Love", which Gene Pitney then took and, by merely removing Sedaka's lead vocals and inserting Pitney's, note-for-note and with full orchestration intact, made into a #7 hit for himself and his Musicor label. RCA Victor chose not to renew Sedaka's contract when it expired at the end of 1966, leaving him without a record label.

Although Sedaka's stature as a recording artist was at a low ebb in the late 1960s, he was able to maintain his career through songwriting. Thanks to the fact that his publisher, Aldon Music, was acquired by Screen Gems, two of his songs were recorded by The Monkees, and other hits in this period written by Sedaka included The Cyrkle's version of "We Had a Good Thing Goin'" and "Workin' on a Groovy Thing," a Top 40 R&B; hit for Patti Drew in 1968 and a Top 20 pop hit for The 5th Dimension in 1969. Also, "Make the Music Play" was included on Frankie Valli's charting album Timeless.

On an episode of the quiz show I've Got a Secret in 1965, Sedaka's secret was that he was to represent the United States in classical piano at the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and he played "Fantasie Impromptu" on the show. Panelist Henry Morgan made a point that the Russians, at least older ones, hated rock 'n' roll. Sedaka's participation in the competition, which Van Cliburn had won in 1958, was cancelled by the USSR because of Sedaka's rock 'n' roll connection.

Sedaka also made an appearance in the 1968 movie Playgirl Killer, with a scene of him performing a song called "The Waterbug."

The lean years

Sedaka worked to revive his solo career in the early 1970s. Despite his waning chart appeal in the USA in the late 1960s, he remained very popular as a concert attraction, notably in the UK and Australia. Years later he thanked Bob Rogers and Australia for standing by him, "... you know Bob, in my lean years, I called them the hungry years, it was Bob Rogers and Australia who welcomed me." He made several trips to Australia to play cabaret dates, and his commercial comeback began when the single "Star Crossed Lovers" became a major hit there. The song went to #5 nationally in April 1969—giving Sedaka his first charting single in four years—and it also came in at #5 in Go-Set magazine's list of the Top 40 Australian singles of 1969.

Later that year, with the support of Festival Records, he recorded a new LP of original material entitled Workin' on a Groovy Thing at Festival Studios in Sydney. It was co-produced by Festival staff producer Pat Aulton, with arrangements by John Farrar (who later achieved international fame for his work with Olivia Newton-John) and backing by Australian session musicians including guitarist Jimmy Doyle (Ayers Rock) and noted jazz musician-composer John Sangster.

The single lifted from the album, "Wheeling, West Virginia," reached #20 in Australia in early 1970. The LP is also notable because it was Sedaka's first album to include collaborations with writers other than longtime lyricist Howard Greenfield; the title track featured lyrics by Roger Atkins and four other songs were co-written with Carole Bayer Sager (who subsequently embarked on a successful collaboration with expatriate Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen).

In 1971, Sedaka released the album Emergence. Singles from that album included "I'm A Song (Sing Me)," "Silent Movies," "Superbird," and "Rosemary Blue." Emergence and the next year's Solitaire album were both released on the RCA Victor label, marking a short-lived reunion between Sedaka and RCA. Good friend and New York music impresario Don Kirshner attempted to make the U.S. release of Emergence a comeback for Sedaka, but the album and single releases had no appreciable success. After the failure of Emergence in the U.S., Sedaka left his hometown of New York and moved his family to the UK.

In 1972, Sedaka embarked on a successful English tour and in June recorded the Solitaire album at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, working with the four future members of 10cc. As well as the title track, which was successfully covered by Andy Williams and The Carpenters, it included two UK Top 40 singles, including "Beautiful You," which also charted in America, Sedaka's first US chart appearance in ten years, but its minor performance did little to generate interest in restarting Sedaka's career.

The 1970s: Return to major success

A year later he reconvened with the Strawberry team, who had by then charted with their own debut 10cc album, to record The Tra-La Days Are Over for MGM Records, which started the second phase of his career and included his original version of the hit song "Love Will Keep Us Together" (a US #1 hit two years later for The Captain & Tennille). This album also marked the effective end of his writing partnership with Greenfield, commemorated by the track "Our Last Song Together." They would reunite, however, and begin composing together again before Greenfield's death in 1986.

Sedaka worked with Elton John, who signed Sedaka to John's Rocket Records label; during the ensuing years, Sedaka's records would be distributed in Europe on the Polydor label. Sedaka returned to the U.S. with the release of the 1974 album Sedaka's Back, a shelf-ready blend of cuts he had already recorded in Britain with 10cc and Elton John. Although the single was released in the autumn of 1974 and was slow in building, eventually Sedaka found himself once again topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts with "Laughter in the Rain" in early 1975, and then later again that year with "Bad Blood" (and continuing into 1976, staying at #1 for three weeks and being certified gold by the RIAA, the most commercially successful single of his career). Elton John provided uncredited backing vocals for the latter song and has been credited by Sedaka as being responsible for his breakthrough back into the US pop music scene.

Another well-known song from this period was "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1), a wistful, nostalgic piece dedicated to John Lennon, which recalled the bygone era when America was welcoming of immigrants, in contrast to the U.S. government's then-refusal to grant Lennon permanent resident status. The third consecutive Billboard Top 25 hit from Sedaka's Back was the uptempo "That's When the Music Takes Me" (US pop #25, US AC #7); this song has been Sedaka's standard curtain-call concert closer.

Sedaka and Greenfield co-wrote "Love Will Keep Us Together", a No. 1 hit for The Captain & Tennille and was the biggest hit for the entire year of 1975. Toni Tennille paid tribute to Sedaka's welcome return to music-business success with her ad lib of "Sedaka is back" in the outro while she was laying down her own background vocals for the track. "Captain" Daryl Dragon and Toni also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song the same year that cracked the top half of Billboard's Hot 100 chart ("Por Amor Viviremos," US pop #49).

In 1975, Sedaka was the opening act for The Carpenters on their world tour. According to The Carpenters: The Untold Story by Ray Coleman, manager Sherwin Bash fired Sedaka at the request of Richard Carpenter. The firing resulted in a media backlash against The Carpenters after Sedaka publicly announced he was off the tour. This, however, was before Karen and Richard recorded Sedaka's "Solitaire" which became a Top 20 hit for the duo. Richard Carpenter denied that he fired Sedaka for "stealing their show", stating they were proud of Sedaka's success. However, Bash was fired as The Carpenters' manager a short time after.

In 1975, Sedaka recorded a new version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do." The 1962 original #1 hit was an upbeat pop song, while the remake was a ballad. Lenny Welch had recorded the song in this style in 1970. Sedaka's new version hit #8 on the Hot 100 in early 1976, making him the first artist—and after 35 years, he remains the only one—to hit the U.S. Top 10 twice with entirely different versions and arrangements of the same song. (Eric Clapton's "Layla" nearly pulled off the same feat, but his acoustic version of the song only peaked at #12). Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in 1976. The same year, Elvis Presley recorded the Sedaka song "Solitaire". This was followed by Sedaka's Top 20 hit "Love in the Shadows", also from 1976.

Later in 1976, Sedaka released a second (and final) collaboration with Elton John, with Elton once again on uncredited backing vocals on the title song to Sedaka's album "Steppin' Out". While it would crack the Hot 100's Top 40, it would also signal the beginning of a slowdown in Sedaka's music sales and radio play not unlike what he experienced in 1964 when The Beatles and the "British Invasion" arrived. In this version of another fading of his music sales, it was the arrival of the disco era. While Sedaka attempted to release disco-themed music himself in the late 1970s, his album sales were weak and singles could not get a foothold on the radio. In 1980, Sedaka had his final Top 20 hit with "Should've Never Let You Go", which he recorded as a duet with his then 17-year-old daughter, Dara.

Throughout the 1970s, Sedaka's old record company, RCA, would re-issue his 1960s-era songs on several compilation LPs on the RCA Victor and RCA Camden labels, a practice which continues to this day.

Into the 1980s

A change in record companies in the early 1980s also required him to, for the first time in his career, record cover versions of other artists' "oldies". Only two singles on two albums, spaced three years apart, managed to land on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart; none charted on the Hot 100 at all. Another duet with Dara, a remake of the Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell 1967 Top 5 smash "Your Precious Love", placed high enough on the AC chart (making the Top 15) for one final album to be released. But the second album's only release did not fare well on the AC chart, barely cracking its Top 40, and by 1985, Neil Sedaka was once again without a recording contract. Concertgoers filled theatre seats while Sedaka created his own music label. That would assure that his catalog of hits would find the marketplace, and he released occasional CDs of self-produced new, original material.

Other successes

Sedaka is also composer of "Is This the Way to Amarillo?", a song initially recorded by Britain's Tony Christie when Sedaka had moved his family to the UK in the early 1970s. It reached only #18 on the UK charts in 1971, but then hit #1 for seven consecutive weeks on the UK singles charts when reissued in 2005, thanks to a music video starring comedian Peter Kay. It was Britain's most popular single for the year. Sedaka had also recorded and released the song in the US in 1977, when it became a #44 hit on Billboard's Hot 100, although the U.S. release was titled as the shorter "Amarillo." On April 7, 2006, during a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Sedaka was presented with an award from the Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums, as writer of the best-selling single of the 21st century (thus far) for "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" The interruption seemed to be quite a genuine surprise for Sedaka, because it occurred just before Sedaka was to begin "Amarillo" and Christie was to join Sedaka onstage for a duet of the song. The presentation and eventual duet appear on Sedaka's filmed DVD of the concert at the Royal Albert, subtitled "The Show Goes On."

Ben Folds, an American pop singer, credited Sedaka on his "iTunes Originals" album as an inspiration for song publishing. Hearing Sedaka had a song published by the age of 13 gave Folds the goal of also getting a song published by his 13th birthday, despite the fact that Sedaka didn't actually publish his first song until he was 16.

In 1985, songs composed by Sedaka were adapted for the Japanese anime TV series Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. These included the two opening themes "Zeta - Toki wo Koete" (originally in English as "Better Days Are Coming") and "Mizu no Hoshi e Ai wo Komete" (originally in English as "For Us to Decide", but the English version was never recorded), as well as the end theme "Hoshizora no Believe" (written as "Bad and Beautiful"). Due to copyright, the songs were replaced for the North American DVD.

In 1994, Sedaka provided the voice for Neil Moussaka, a parody of himself in Food Rocks, an attraction at Epcot from 1994-2006.

A musical comedy based around the songs of Sedaka, titled Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, was written in 2005 by Erik Jackson and Ben H. Winters; it is now under license to Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

A biographical musical, Laughter in the Rain, produced by Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield and starring Wayne Smith as Sedaka, had its world premiere at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley (in London, UK) on 4 March 2010. Sedaka attended the opening and joined the cast on stage for an impromptu curtain call of the title song.

Sedaka in the 21st century: Popularity yet again

Sedaka maintains a rigorous concert schedule in the second decade of the 21st century, in the U.S. and around the world, despite having passed the age of 70. He was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1983, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was an October 2006 inductee of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. His devoted fans are livid that he has not yet been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, citing his longevity, contributions to contemporary music, and hit songwriting for himself and countless other artists.

His 1972 song "Solitaire" found success again in the 21st century, when American Idol runnerup Clay Aiken sang the song when Sedaka appeared as a guest judge in the second season. Aiken explained the song was his mother's favorite, and she begged him to sing it when she learned that Sedaka would be on the show and that the remaining finalists would be singing songs from Sedaka's impressive songbook. After Aiken was awarded a recording contract, although it did not appear on his debut CD itself, he added "Solitaire" as the B-side to the single "The Way", whose sales were faltering. "Solitaire" was moved to the A-side and radio airplay and single and download sales responded immediately. The single hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart, the Top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100, and was one of the biggest hits of 2004. Sedaka was invited back to American Idol to celebrate its success and continues to be seen in the audience.

A concert performance on 26 October 2007 at the Lincoln Center in New York City paid homage to the 50th anniversary of Sedaka's debut in show business. Guests included The Captain and Tennille, Natalie Cole, Connie Francis, Clay Aiken, music impresario David Foster, and many others.

During his 2008 Australian tour, Sedaka premiered a new classical orchestral composition entitled "Joie de Vivre (Joy of Life)." Sedaka also toured The Philippines for his May 17, 2008 concert at the Araneta Coliseum.

He continues to release recordings. His three most recent U.S. releases — The Definitive Collection, Waking Up Is Hard to Do, and The Music of My Life — all appeared on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, in May 2007, May 2009, and February 2010, respectively. None of his album releases had appeared on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart since In the Pocket in 1980, when his duet with daughter Dara, "Should've Never Let You Go," was a Top 20 hit on the Hot 100 singles chart.

The Definitive Collection reached the Top 25 of the albums chart, one of the highest-charting albums of his entire career. It is a life-spanning compilation of his hits, along with previously unreleased material and outtakes. Waking Up is a children's album, inspired by his three grandchildren, in which he takes his best-known songs and changes the lyrics to delight babies, toddlers, and their elders alike. Music is a new release of original material.

Also, in early 2010, his original uptempo version of "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (performed by a group of uncredited singers) was being heard as the impetus for a series of insurance TV commercials, featuring actor Dennis Haysbert assuring that TV viewers not insured by Allstate can break up with their current insurer without much ado at all.

On September 11, 2010, Sedaka performed to a public and TV audience at the Hyde Park, London, venue of the "Proms in the Park" for the BBC. The UK continues to be probably Sedaka's most welcoming nation, and has been since first moving his family there (temporarily) four decades ago. The irony of the place whose music scuttled his "first" career, namely The Beatles and the British Invasion, and yet has constantly welcomed him with open arms for more than 40 years, is not lost on him, he has stated in many interviews. Indeed, it was his work with the musicians who would, in a few years, become the hit-making group 10cc that brought him back to the U.S. as a major star with #1 hits and a number of other major Top 40 singles. The UK always takes up a major portion of Sedaka's touring year in the 21st century.

Personal life

Sedaka attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, graduating in 1956. He has been married to his wife, Leba (Strassberg), since 1962. They have two children: a daughter, Dara, a recording artist and vocalist for television and radio commercials (who sang the female part on the Sedaka duet "Should've Never Let You Go"), and a son, Marc, a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Samantha and three children.

Pop culture references

In the Friends episode "The One With the Two Parties", Ross says that he is wearing the same glasses frames as Neil Sedaka.

In the lyrics to mini-opera "Billy the Mountain", on the album Just Another Band from L.A. by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, it is alleged that Studabacher Hoch "could sing like Neil Sedaka."

In the Boy Meets World episode "Killer Bees", Alan Matthews is being sarcastic when he says he couldn't find tickets to the Neil Sedaka concert.

In the That '70s Show first season episode "Career Day", there is a scene featuring Kitty and Eric in the car, and Fez and Hyde's mother in the lunchroom, singing along to "Bad Blood" while it's playing on the radio.

The indie compilation album Young Savage Florida contains a cover of "Stupid Cupid" by The Vodkats.

Sedaka appeared on an episode of "King Of Queens" entitled "Sandwiched Out" in 2005. On a different episode of "King Of Queens", Deacon sings Karaoke to "Laughter In The Rain".

On the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television, Eugene Levy portrays Sedaka during a sketch entitled Farm Film Report Celebrity Blowup. The sketch also features John Candy and Joe Flaherty who make references to Sedaka's career and then watch as he explodes while performing.

Discography

Albums

1959

* Rock with Sedaka (or just Neil Sedaka) (re-released in 1995 alongside Circulate)

1961

* Circulate (re-released in 1995 alongside Rock with Sedaka)

* Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits (re-released in 1993 with eight bonus tracks; re-released in 2010 in combination with the 1978 "Many Sides" album)

1963

* Neil Sedaka Sings His Greatest Hits (also known as Greatest Hits 1959-1963) (re-released in 1975 and 1992)(RCA 2627)

* Three Great Guys (with Paul Anka and Sam Cooke)

* Neil Sedaka Canta en Espanol

1964

* Mas Neil Sedaka en Espanol

* Neil Sedaka Italiano

* Neil Sedaka Italiano Volume 2

1965

* Smile

1969

* Sounds of Sedaka

* Workin' on a Groovy Thing

1970

* Oh! Carol (RCA International album)

1971

* Emergence (re-released in 2009)

1972

* Neil Sedaka (UK)

* Solitaire (UK)(re-released in 2010)

1973

* The Tra-La Days Are Over (UK)

1974

* Laughter in the Rain (UK)

* Live at the Royal Festival Hall (UK; live)

* Sedaka's Back (US) (re-released in 1997 with four bonus tracks)

* Oh, Carol! (RCA Camden album)

* On Stage (RCA International album; issued in the US in 1976 as Live in Australia)

1975

* Overnight Success (UK)

* The Hungry Years (US) (re-released in 1998 with four bonus tracks)

* Pop Power: The Fantastic Neil Sedaka

1976

* Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Victor edition; compilation of mid-1960s hits)

* Pure Gold

* Sedaka Live in Australia at the South Sydney Junior Leagues Club (Previously released in 1974 in UK as Neil Sedaka On Stage)

* Steppin' Out (re-released in 1998 with four bonus tracks)

* Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: The Original Hit

* Stupid Cupid (RCA Camden album)

* Laughter And Tears: The Best Of Neil Sedaka Today (re-released in 1987)

1977

* Neil Sedaka's Greatest Hits

* Neil Sedaka and Songs — A Solo Concert (live 2-LP)

* A Song (new material)

* Neil Sedaka and Songs

* Neil Sedaka: The '50s and '60s

* Neil Sedaka: 14 Knockouts

1978

* All You Need Is the Music (new material)

* The Many Sides of Neil Sedaka (rereleased in 2010 combined with the 1961 "Little Devil" album)

1979

* Oh! Carol and Other Big Hits (re-released in 1989)

* Let's Go Steady Again (RCA Camden edition; different compilation from the 1976 RCA Victor album of the same name)

* Sunny

1980

* In the Pocket

1981

* Now!

1984

* Come See About Me

1986

* The Good Times

* My Friend (dedicated to the memory of Howard Greenfield)

1988

* All Time Greatest Hits

1991

* All Time Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

* Timeless — The Very Best of Neil Sedaka (includes both old and new songs)

1993

* Love Will Keep Us Together (compilation and new songs)

1994

* Laughter in the Rain: The Best of Neil Sedaka, 1974-80

1995

* Song Cycle (songs culled from "Emergence" [1971] and "Solitaire" [1972], the latter previously unavailable in US)

* Classically Sedaka

* Tuneweaver

1998

* Tales of Love (and Other Passions)

1999

* Neil Sedaka in Italiano (2-CD edition of his 1960s Italian recordings)

2000

* The Singer and His Songs

2001

* RCA 100th Anniversary Series: The Very Best of Neil Sedaka

2003

* Brighton Beach Memories — Neil Sedaka Sings Yiddish

* (8-CD box with previously unreleased material)

2004

* Stairway to Heaven: The Best of Neil Sedaka

2005

* Love Songs

2006

* The Very Best of Neil Sedaka: The Show Goes On (2-CD, 46-track career retrospective [UK import] with 7 "new" [2003] recordings)

* Neil Sedaka: Live at the Royal Albert Hall — The Show Goes On (2 DVD set filmed 7 April 2006 in London)

2007

* The Definitive Collection (2-CD career retrospective including never-released early-career demos; Sedaka's first return to Billboard Top 200 Albums chart since 1980, peaking in the Top 25)

* Oh! Carol (LT Series album, compilation of 1970s hits recorded live in concert)

2008

* The Miracle of Christmas

2009

* Waking Up Is Hard to Do (children's recording; Billboard Top 200 Albums chart entry)

* Flashback (compilation of Italian recordings)

* The Music of My Life (UK)

* The Miracle of Christmas: The Deluxe Edition

2010

* The Music of My Life (US release; Billboard Top 200 Albums chart entry)

* Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits / The Many Sides of Neil Sedaka (A combo re-release of his 1961 and 1978 albums as listed above)

Singles

Italian-language Singles

Filmography

1968 - Playgirl Killer

Autobiography

Laughter in the Rain: My Own Story. New York: Putnam 1982. ISBN 0-399-12744-5

References

Sources

Bloom, Ken. American song. The Complete musical Theater Companion. 1877–1995, vol. 2, 2nd edition, Schirmer Books, 1996.

Clarke, Donald. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Viking, 1989.

Ewen, David. American Songwriters. An H.W. Wilson Biographical Dictionary, H. W. Wilson Company, 1987.

Friedrich, Gary; Brown, Len. Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Tower Publications, 1970.

Lablanc, Michael. Contemporary Musicians, vol. 4, Gale Research, 1991.

Larkin, Colin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Macmillan, 1992.

Lyman, Darryl. Great Jews in Music, J. D. Publishers, 1986.

Martino, Dave di. Singer-songwriters, Pop Music's Performer-composers, from A to Zevon, Billboard Books, 1994.

Sadie, Stanley; Hitchcock, H. Wiley (Ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 1986.

Stambler, Irwin. Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul, St. Martin's Press, 1974.

Sumrall, Harry. Pioneers of Rock and Roll. 100 Artists Who Changed the Face of Rock, Billboard Books, 1994.

White, Mark. You Must Remember This ... Popular Songwriters 1900-1980, Frederick Warner, 1983.

External links

Neil Sedaka's official site

Neil Sedaka For Fans

Petition: Send Neil Sedaka to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

The Neil Sedaka videos

Neil Sedaka's Biography by Michael Turner

The Neil Sedaka Appreciation Society

Category:1939 births Category:1950s singers Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, New York) alumni Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American pop pianists Category:People from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn Category:American male singers Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Turkish descent Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:People from New York City Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Turkish Jews

Name	Lawrence Summers
Office	8th Director of the National Economic Council
Deputy	Diana FarrellJason Furman
Term start	20 January 2009
Term end	December 31, 2010 — Larry Summers, Oct. 16, 2009 Many critics, including President Barack Obama, have suggested the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis was caused by the partial repeal of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act.
Before	Robert Rubin
After	Paul O'Neill
Years	1999–2001
President	Bill Clinton
Department	Secretary of the Treasury}}

|- |-

Category:1954 births Category:Academic scandals Category:American economists Category:American Jews Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:Clinton Administration cabinet members Category:Fellows of the Econometric Society Category:Honorary Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Category:Harvard University alumni Category:John F. Kennedy School of Government faculty Category:Jewish American social scientists Category:Jewish American politicians Category:Living people Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:People from New Haven, Connecticut Category:Presidents of Harvard University Category:United States Secretaries of the Treasury Category:World Bank Chief Economists

Name	Jacqueline Gold
Caption	Jacqueline Gold (centre) at a photo shoot, New Oxford Street, London.
Birth date
Birth place	London, England
Occupation	Chief Executive
Parents	David Gold (father)
Website	www.jacquelinegold.com

Jacqueline Gold (born July 1960) is a British business woman, and is currently Chief Executive of the Gold Group International companies Ann Summers and Knickerbox. She is the 16th richest woman in Britain.

Early life

Jacqueline was born in July 1960, and is the daughter of businessman David Gold who ran a publishing business which was responsible for bringing sex magazines to the high street. David wept when Jacqueline was born to his first wife, because he wanted a son. Her parents separated when she was twelve years old.

Business career

After school Jacqueline began working at Royal Doulton, but decided she did not want to go into management, and asked her father to gain extra work experience. Having acquired the four stores of the "Ann Summers" chain in 1972, her father gave Jacqueline, at the age of nineteen, summer work experience in May 1979 - Jacqueline was paid £45 a week, less than the tea lady. Jacqueline launched the Ann Summers Party Plan - a home marketing plan for sex toys, with a strict "no men allowed" policy. These parties were and remain popular, providing women with an excuse to meet for a party and talk about sex, and have entered British popular culture. They also provided the company with a way of circumventing the law which limited their presentation space for sex toys. After an early failed marriage to an Ann Summers dancer, her partner was money market dealer, Dan Cunningham, still in his twenties. The couple split on New Years Day 2006, after three failed IVF attempts. They subsequently reunited and became engaged, and had twins, a boy and a girl, in May 2009. Their son, Alfie, who was born with alobar holoprosencephaly, died January 17, 2010. In December 2010 a nanny working for Gold was charged with trying to poison her with screenwash. 33-year-old Allison Cox who had been caring for Gold's twins, Alfie and Scarlett, was charged with three counts of administering poison with intent to annoy.

References

Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:English Jews Category:English businesspeople Category:British businesspeople in retailing Category:People from London Category:People from Biggin Hill

.]]

Daniel (, meaning "My judge [is] God") is the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel. According to the biblical book, at a young age Daniel was carried off to Babylon where he became famous for interpreting dreams and rose to become one of the most important figures in the court.

Daniel's life.

The following is a summary of the biblical Book of Daniel

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (BC 606), Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the young Jewish nobility carried off to Babylon. The four were chosen for their intellect and beauty to be trained as advisors to the Babylonian court,() Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect the king!(not to be confused with the neo-Babylonian king, Belshazzar). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, respectively. This marks a change in the narrative from Daniel interpreting to messengers of God interpreting for Daniel. Daniel dreams of four beasts that come out of the sea: a lion with eagles wings, a bear with three tusks, a leopard with four wings and four heads, and a beast with iron teeth, ten horns and one little horn and human eyes.() These beasts are all present at a convening of the divine counsel. Presiding over the counsel is the Ancient of Days, which may, in fact, be the Israelite God. The Ancient One proceeds to put to death the beast with the one little horn. () Daniel also describes the fates of the other beasts saying that while their dominion was taken away, their lives were prolonged. () This introduction leads into a series of dreams and visions where these events are expressed in greater detail.

Scholars argue that each of these beasts represents an emperor or kingdom that ruled over the Israelites. The first being Babylon, then Media, then Persia, and finally the Greeks. The horns of the last beast may be symbolic of the rulers that replaced Alexander the Great upon his death, culminating with the little horn, or Antiochus IV. There are additional details in the text that allude to Antiochus IV, including some form of desecration to the temple () and persecution (). The final message of the second half of Daniel is that God will deliver the people from oppression, the latest of which is Antiochus IV.

Ezekiel

The prophet Ezekiel, with whom Daniel was a contemporary, describes a Daniel as a "pattern of righteousness (14:14, 20) and wisdom" (28:3). In the Book of Daniel, the name is spelled with a middle letter suggesting the i of that name — but this letter is not included in Ezekiel, suggesting that the reference there may be to another person, possibly the "Danel" ("Judgement of God") known from Caananite Ugaritic literature (such as the Epic of Aqhat and Anat), whose reputation for wisdom and righteousness had made him legendary. (Vowel-points were not added to the consonantal Hebrew text before well into the Common Era, and the scribes may then have slipped in a vowel-point for "i" as a middle syllable.)

Habakkuk

In the Deuterocanonical portion of Daniel known as Bel and the Dragon, the prophet Habakkuk is miraculously transported by an angel to take a meal to Daniel while he is in the lions' den. In response, Daniel prays, "Thou hast remembered me, O God; neither hast thou forsaken them that seek Thee and love Thee".

Tomb

, Iran.]] There are six different locations claiming to be the site of the tomb of the biblical figure Daniel: Babylon, Kirkuk and Muqdadiyah in Iraq, Susa and Malamir in Iran, and Samarkand in Uzbekistan.

Liturgical commemorations

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, the feast days celebrating St. Daniel the Prophet together with the Three Young Men, falls on December 17 (during the Nativity Fast), on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (the Sunday which falls between 11 and 17 December), and on the Sunday before Nativity. Daniel's prophesy regarding the stone which smashed the idol () is often used in Orthodox hymns as a metaphor for the Incarnation: the "stone cut out" being symbolic of the Logos (Christ), and the fact that it was cut "without hands" being symbolic of the virgin birth. Thus the hymns will refer to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) as the "uncut mountain"

In the West, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates Daniel on July 21.

He is commemorated as a prophet in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod together with the Three Young Men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), on December 17.

He is commemorated as a prophet in the Coptic Church on the 23rd day of the Coptic month of Baramhat.

Rabbinic literature

Modern Usage

Daniel is a very common and popular name nowadays in a variety of countries, notably those with a Judeo-Christian heritage. Usually used as a first name, it is followed by a last name.

Daniel in Islam

Muslims traditionally consider Daniel (Arabic: دانيال, Danyal) as an Islamic prophet, alongside the other major prophets of the Old Testament, namely Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Although he is not mentioned in the Qur'an, there are a few Hadith which bear his name and which refer to his time spent in the den of the lions. There are debates, however, that go on about Daniel's time of preaching and some Muslims believe that he was not a prophet but a saintly man.

See also

Islamic view of Daniel

Tanakh

Prophecy

Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon

Book of Daniel (book of the Bible)

List of names referring to El

Persian Jews

References

External links

Translated Inscriptions of Nabonidus (ANET)

Book of Daniel (Biblical Passage)

Daniel by Rob Bradshaw Detailed dictionary-style article.

Daniel in the TaNaKh Detailed authorized Jewish translation of the original

Who is Ezekiel's Daniel? : The Ugaritic Danel

An exposition of the book of Daniel

Daniel 11 in Context Overview of the allusions to the Syrian Wars in Daniel 11

Category:Hebrew Bible people Category:Jewish writers Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Prophets in Christianity Category:Prophets of Islam Category:Year of death missing Category:Book of Daniel

Name	Neil Cavuto
Caption	Neil Cavuto, 2007
Birth date	September 22, 1958
Birth place	Westbury, New York, United States
Occupation	Vice President of Business News (Fox News Channel), Senior Vice President & Managing Editor of Business News (Fox Business Network)
Spouse	Mary Fulling
Website	Your World at FOXNews.com

Neil Patrick Cavuto (born September 22, 1958) is an American television anchor and commentator on the Fox Business Network and host of three television programs, Your World with Neil Cavuto and Cavuto on Business, both on the Fox News Channel and Cavuto on sister channel Fox Business Network.

Cavuto also tapes a nightly wrap up of business news which airs on local FOX affiliates during the late news and has a syndicated radio business news segment that airs on weekday afternoons. He is the senior vice president and managing editor of business news for the Fox Business Network, and oversees content and business coverage.

Cavuto is the author of the book More Than Money.

Early life

Cavuto was born in Westbury, New York, and raised in Danbury, Connecticut, where he attended Immaculate High School. He worked as a White House intern during U.S. president Jimmy Carter's administration, graduated from St. Bonaventure University, and earned a master's degree from American University.

Career

Neil Cavuto became the managing editor of business news and television anchor of Your World with Neil Cavuto on Fox News Channel in July 1996, later becoming a vice president of business news in March 2006. He serves all three positions concurrently. Your World is Fox's main business news program.

Before joining Fox, he hosted Power Lunch on CNBC and contributed to NBC's Today. He worked with the Public Broadcasting Service for 15 years. He was also a New York City bureau chief.

He has been awarded numerous times by his peers in the journalism industry, including recognition by the Wall Street Journal as the best interviewer in business news, best business television interviewer four consecutive years, and five nominations for Cable ACE awards. Cavuto was also awarded the 1980 Hellinger Award, the highest award for graduating journalism students from Saint. Bonaventure University. Cavuto has Interviewed many high profile business, political and world leaders.

Cavuto is the author of More Than Money: True Stories of People Who Learned Life's Ultimate Lesson (ISBN 0-06-009643-8).

Personal life

Cavuto and his wife, Mary Fulling, whom he married on October 15, 1983, have three children, Tara, Bradley and Jeremy. They reside in Mendham, New Jersey.

Cavuto has suffered health problems, saying, "I don't hide that I have had a tough life in many respects. I fought back a near-life-ending cancer, only to end up with multiple sclerosis years later. Doctors have since told me that the odds of contracting both diseases in the same life are something like two million to one! Yet here I am, marching on, continuing to do my job when doctors who've examined my scans and MRIs tell me I shouldn't be walking or talking."

References

External links

Neil Cavuto's Bio on FoxBusiness.com

Neil Cavuto's Bio on FoxNews.com

NewsMax biography

Article on Cavuto's first book

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:American finance and investment writers Category:American University alumni Category:American writers of Italian descent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:People from Morris County, New Jersey Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:People with multiple sclerosis Category:New York Republicans Category:St. Bonaventure University alumni Category:Fox Business Network Category:Fox News Channel people