The Osmonds are an American devout Mormons family music group rising from barbershop singing style to Disneyland and to international pop stars. The original barbershop quartet consisted of brothers Alan Osmond, Wayne Osmond, Merrill Osmond, and Jay Osmond . Up and coming superstars younger siblings Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, and Jimmy Osmond joined the group later.
One bad apple is not that bad after all as The Osmonds exploded onto the pop-music scene, hitting #1 on the Billboard pop chart with "One Bad Apple" in 1971. The Osmonds soon had hits with other light, R&B-style pop numbers like "Double Lovin'" (Billboard #14) and "Yo-Yo" (#3).
The Osmonds began to demonstrate their musical talent by writing their own music, and their sound moved toward rock and roll with hits like "Hold Her Tight" (Billboard #14), "Crazy Horses" (#14) and "Down by the Lazy River" (#4). Alan plays the rhythm guitar, Wayne on lead guitar, Merrill on bass and lead vocals, drums by Jay, and Donny on keyboards. Jay and Donny sometimes singing lead and with all brothers on back-up.
Beginning of 1973 Osmondmania were breaking sound barriers and voted 'Best Musical Variety Act of 1974' and in 1975 won the 'People's Choice Award' as America's 'Favorite Music Group'. In 1974, "Love Me for a Reason" reached #10 on the U.S. pop charts and went to #1 in the U.K.
The Osmonds made a world tour to celebrate their 50th anniversary of singing in show business. They may have aged with grey hair, double chin and more waistline but they sure rock.
The Osmonds all nine of them together with sister Marie being the only rose among the thorns with elder brothers George Virl Osmond, Jr. and Tom Osmond who were born deaf did not originally perform although later made their presence occasionally.
Olivia Newton-JohnAO, OBE(born 26 September 1948 [just turned 61 today, happy birthday] in Cambridge, United Kingdom) is a British-born, Australian singer and actor. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 albums. The RIAA has certified gold 11 of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum). She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Grease, which became the highest grossing movie musical in Hollywood history. She is an avid activist for both environmental issues and breast cancer awareness. Born to a Welsh-born father, Brinley ("Bryn") Newton-John, and a German-born mother, Irene Born (who was the eldest child of the Nobel prize winning atomic physicist Max Born). Newton-John's family emigrated in 1954 to Melbourne, Australia, where her father worked as a Professor of German and became the Master of Ormond College at theUniversity of Melbourne.
Newton-John released her first solo album, 'If Not For You', in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan, was her first international hit (No. 25 Pop, No. 1 Adult Contemporary [hereafter AC]). (If Not For You was originally recorded by Beatle George Harrison on his triple album All Things Must Pass 1970.) Her follow-up, "Banks of the Ohio," was a Top 10 hit in England and Australia, but faltered in the U.S. (No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC). She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine Record Mirror. In the United States, Newton-John's career foundered after If Not For You until the release of "Let Me Be There" in 1973. The song reached the American Top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7), and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female and an Academy of Country Music award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. The song also propelled the album 'Let Me Be There' to No. 1 on the Country Albums chart for two weeks.
The next single, "I Honestly Love You," became Newton-John's signature song. Written by Jeff Barry and Peter Allen , the ballad became her first No. 1 Pop (two weeks) and second No. 1 AC (three weeks) hit (also No. 6 Country) and earned Newton-John two more Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Female. The success of both singles helped the album reach No. 1 on both the Pop (one week) and Country (eight weeks) Albums charts.
Encouraged by expatriate Australian singer Helen Reddy, Newton-John left England and moved to the United States. Newton-John topped the Pop (one week) and Country (six weeks) Albums charts with her next album, 'Have You Never Been Mellow'. The album generated two singles – the title track (No. 1 Pop, No. 3 Country, No. 1 AC) and "Please Mr. Please" (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). Newton-John's pop career cooled with the release of her next album, Clearly Love. Her streak of five consecutive gold Top 10 singles ended when the album's first single, "Something Better To Do," stopped at No. 13 (also No. 19 Country and No. 1 AC). Although her albums still achieved gold status, she did not return to the Top 10 on the Hot 100 or Pop Albums charts again until 1978.
The release of the film was preceded one month by the telecast of Newton-John's second television special, Olivia. Grease became the biggest box-office hit of 1978 and remained popular enough that it was re-released in theaters on its 20th anniversary in 1998. The soundtrack spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John: the No. 1 "You're The One That I Want" (with John Travolta), the No. 3 "Hopelessly Devoted To You," and the No. 5 "Summer Nights" (with John Travolta and the film's cast). The former two songs were written by Newton-John's long-time producer, John Farrar, specifically for the film. Newton-John became the second female (after Linda Ronstadt in 1977) to have two singles – "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights" – in the Billboard Top 5 simultaneously. Newton-John's performance earned her a People's Choice award for Favorite Motion Picture Actress. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical and performed the Oscar-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted To You" at the 1979 Academy Awards. To this day, the soundtrack still sells several thousand copies per week and often appears on Billboard's Soundtracks chart.
"Magic" was Newton-John's biggest Pop hit to that point (four weeks at No. 1) and still ranks as the biggest AC hit of her career (five weeks at No. 1). The film has since become a cult classic and the basis for a well-reviewed, Tony-nominated Broadway show that ran for more than 500 performances in 2007–2008.
In 1981, Newton-John released her most successful studio album, the double platinum 'Physical'. The title track, written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, spent ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, matching the record of most weeks at No. 1 held by Debby Boone's 'You Light Up My Life'. The single was certified platinum and it ultimately ranked as the biggest song of the decade. (In 2008, Billboard ranked the song No. 6 among all songs that charted in the 50-year history of the Hot 100.) The song even earned Newton-John her only placement ever on the R&B Singles (No. 28) and Albums (No. 32) chart. The Physical album spawned two more singles, Make a Move on Me (No. 5 Pop, No. 6 AC) and Landslide (No. 52 Pop).
Newton-John became a pioneer in the nascent music video industry by recording a video album for 'Physical' featuring videos of all the album's tracks and three of her older hits. The video album earned her a fourth Grammy and was aired as an ABC prime time special, 'Let's Get Physical', becoming a Top 10 Nielsen hit. The success of Physical led to an international tour and the release of her second hits collection, the double platinum Olivia's 'Greatest Hits Vol. 2' (No. 16 Pop), which yielded two more Top 40 singles: "Heart Attack" (No. 3 Pop) and "Tied Up" (No. 38 Pop). The tour was filmed for her Olivia In Concert television special which premiered on HBO in January 1983. The special was subsequently released to video earning Newton-John another Grammy nomination. [wikipedia]
New Kids on the Block (also known as NKOTB) is an American pop group that enjoyed success in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a boy band which went on to sell 80 million albums worldwide. Managed by Dick Scott and Kim Glover. Assembled in Boston in 1984 by producer Maurice Starr the members consist of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight Joey McIntyre Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. They won two American Music Awards in 1990 for Favorite Pop/Rock BandDuoor Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album. After having disbanded in 1994 several attempts were made to get the group back together all of them unsuccessful. Upon secretly reuniting in 2007 they took on a new style released a new album and embarked on a concert tour in 2008. The album entitled The Block was released on September 2 2008.
New Kids on the Block's official fan club had a membership of over 200,000 members and was one of the largest fan clubs in the world. Approximately one hundred thousand calls per week were dialed to 1-900-909-5KIDs, the Official NKOTB Hotline, as well. In 1991, the group topped Forbes list of highest paid entertainers, beating out the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and Bill Cosby. Further capitalizing on the fame, at year's end, Columbia Records released No More Games/The Remix Album—a compilation of the group's biggest hits remixed, the album also brought along two more released songs in "Call It What You Want" (UK *12) and "Games" (UK *14) in which videos were also released.
After the failure of the first album Starr had the group back in the studio for most of 1987 and 1988 recording their second album. Dissatisfied with the excessively bubblegum sound of their first album the group wanted to have more input on their lookdirection and song material. As a result Donnie Danny and Jordan received associate producer credit on the final product. The album's first single was "Please Don't Go Girl" a ballad released in the spring of 1988. Failure seemed destined a second time when the song became another that went unnoticed by the listening public and Columbia Records made plans to drop the New Kids from the label. At the eleventh hour however a radio station in Florida began playing the song. Scoring listener approval it soon became the most requested song on their play list. When Columbia caught wind of the positive responsethey decided to keep the group on its roster and put more effort into promoting the single. National attention soon followed and it eventually climbed to #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart—becoming the group's first hit.
The following May they followed up Hangin' Tough with Step by Step which featured slightly more than half of the songs co-written and produced by the members themselves. The first single the title track raced to number one on the Hot 100 Singles Chart and became their biggest selling single. It was followed up with the top ten "Tonight" which extended the consecutive top ten singles chart run to nine records.
On August 12 2008 they released their second single "Single" featuring R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo followed by the release of the group's first studio album in fourteen years The Block. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums Chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 in September 2008. It was certified Gold in October 2008 in Canada.
The group's reunion tour New Kids on the Block: Live began at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on September 18 2008. They are touring the US with Natasha Bedingfield and Lady GaGa as supporting acts. There are seven concerts scheduled for Canada and forty-one in the US ten in the UK one in France and One in Amsterdam in The Netherlands and two in Germany. A NKOTB sponsored "theme" concert cruise (for their fans) is scheduled to depart MiamiFL and go to the Bahamas and return to Miami FL from May 15-18 2009. The group also announced the Full Service Tour for 2009. [wikipedia]
Neil Percival Young, OM(born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and film director. Young's work is characterized by deeply personal lyrics, distinctive guitar work, and signature falsetto tenor singing voice. Although he accompanies himself on several different instruments—including piano and harmonica, his clawhammer acoustic guitar style and often idiosyncratic electric guitar soloing are the linchpins of a sometimes ragged, sometimes polished sound. Although Young has experimented widely with differing music styles, including swing, jazz,rockabilly, blues, and electronic music throughout a varied career, his best known work usually falls into either of two distinct styles: folk-esque acousticrock ("Heart of Gold", "Harvest Moon" and "Old Man") and electric-charged hard rock (like "Cinnamon Girl", "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)"). In recent years, Young has adopted elements from newer styles like industrial, alternative country and grunge. Young's profound influence on the latter caused some to dub him "the Godfather of Grunge".
Young was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1982. He has been inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: first in 1995 for his solo work, with an induction speech given by Eddie Vedder, and again in 1997 as a member of Buffalo Springfield.
Young's 1989 single "Rockin' in the Free World", which hit #2 on the U.S. charts, and accompanying album, Freedom, rocketed him back into the popular consciousness after a decade of sometimes-difficult genre experiments. The album's lyrics were often overtly political; "Rockin' in the Free World" deals with homelessness, terrorism, and environmental degradation, implicitly criticizing Bush-era government policies.
With CSNY splitting up and Crazy Horse having signed their own record deal, Young began the year 1971 with a solo tour entitled "Journey Through the Past." Later, he recruited a new group of country-music session musicians, whom he christened The Stray Gators, to record much of the new material that had been premiered on tour for the album Harvest (1972). Harvest was a massive hit and "Heart of Gold" became a US number one single; incidentally, to this day it remains the only No. 1 hit in his long career.
Young was nominated for an Oscar in 1994 for his song "Philadelphia" from the film Philadelphia (Bruce Springsteen won the award for his song "Streets of Philadelphia" from the same film). In his acceptance speech, Springsteen said that "the award really deserved to be shared by the other nominee's song." That same night, Tom Hanks accepted the Oscar for Best Actor and gave credit for his inspiration to the song "Philadelphia".[wikipedia]
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn ) is an American singer-songwriter. Diamond is one of pop music's most enduring and successful singer-songwriters. As a successful pop music performer, Diamond scored a number of hits worldwide in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. As of 2001 Diamond has 115 million records sales worldwide,including 48 million records in the U.S. In terms of Billboard chart success, he is the third most successful Adult Contemporary artist ever, ranking behind only Barbra Streisand andElton John. He is known as "the Jewish Elvis." Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984, and in 2000 received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award.
His first release on that label, "Solitary Man," was his first hit. Prior to the release of "Solitary Man," Neil had considered using a stage name; he came up with two possible stage names, "Noah Kaminsky" and "Eice Chary." But when asked by Bang Records which name he was going to use, Noah, Eice, or Neil, he thought of his grandmother, who died prior to the release of Solitary Man. Thus he told Bang Records, "...go with Neil Diamond and I'll figure it out later." Diamond followed it with "Cherry, Cherry," "Kentucky Woman," "Thank the Lord for the Night Time," "Do It," and others.
His sound mellowed, with such songs as "'Cracklin' Rosie," "Sweet Caroline," "Holly Holy," and the country-and-western tinged "Song Sung Blue," which reached #1 on the Hot 100. "Sweet Caroline" was Diamond's first major hit after his slump. Diamond recently admitted in 2007 that he had written "Sweet Caroline" for Caroline Kennedy after seeing her on the cover of Life Magazine in an equestrian riding outfit. It took him just one hour, in a Memphis hotel, to write and compose it. The 1971 "I Am...I Said" was a top five hit in both the U.S. and UK, and was his most intensely personal effort to date, taking upwards of four months to complete.
In February 1979, "Forever in Blue Jeans," an up-tempo selection by Diamond, which he wrote and composed in collaboration with his guitarist, Richard Bennett, was released as a single by Columbia. It was taken from You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Diamond's album from the previous year.
According to Cotton Incorporated, "Neil Diamond might have been right when he named his 1979 #1 hit 'Forever in Blue Jeans:' 81% of women are planning their next jeans purchase to be some shade of blue." The song has been used to promote the sale of blue jeans, most notably via Will Ferrell, impersonating Neil Diamond singing, for The Gap. Ironically, Diamond himself had performed in radio ads for H.I.S. brand jeans in the 1960s, more than a decade before he and Bennett jointly wrote and composed, and he originated, the selection.
In January 1987, Diamond sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl. His song "America" was the theme song for the Michael Dukakis 1988 Presidential campaign. In 2007, Diamond was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. [wikipedia]
Neil Sedaka (born March 13, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American pop singer, pianist, and songwriter often associated with the Brill Building. He teamed up with Howard Greenfield to write hits for himself and others. His father, Mac Sedaka, a taxi driver, was the son of Turkish-Jewish immigrants; his mother, Eleanor (Appel) Sedaka, was of Polish-Russian Jewish descent.
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.
Oh Carol, I am but a fool
Darling, I love you though you treat me cruel
You hurt me and you make me cry
But if you leave me I will surely die
Darling there will never be another
Cause I love you so,
Don't ever leave me,
Say you'll never go
I will always want you for my sweetheart
No matter what you do
Oh! Carol, I'm so in love with you.
(¯`*•.¸¸PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION ¸¸.•*´¯)
Neil Sedaka fans believe it's high time for Neil to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.
PLEASE, CLICK HERE to sign the petition, started by Neil Sedaka fans!
The best-known Billboard Hot 100 hits of his early career are "The Diary" (#14, 1958), a song that he offered to Little Anthony and the Imperials; "Oh! Carol" (#9, 1959); "You Mean Everything to Me" (#17, 1960); "Calendar Girl" (#4, 1960); "Stairway to Heaven" (#9, 1960); "Run Samson Run" (top 30, 1960); "Little Devil" (#11, 1961); "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" (#6, 1961); "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" (#1, 1962); and "Next Door To An Angel" (#5, 1962). "Oh! Carol" refers to Sedaka's Brill Building compatriot and former girlfriend Carole King. King responded with her answer song, "Oh, Neil", which used Sedaka's full name. A Scopitone exists for "Calendar Girl". Sedaka wrote another hit, "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen".
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 so far, "Amarillo".
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in October 2006.
In 1975, Sedaka recorded a new version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." The 1962 original was fast-tempo and bouncy teen pop, but the remake was slower and in the style of a jazz/torch piano arrangement. Lenny Welch had recorded the song in this style in 1970. It reached #8 on the pop charts in early 1976, making him the second artist to hit the US Top Ten twice with separate versions of the song, and the only artist to return to the Top Ten with a remake of their own #1 hit. Sedaka's second version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.
He worked with Elton John, who signed him to his Rocket Records label. Sedaka returned with a flourish, topping the charts twice with "Laughter in the Rain" and "Bad Blood" (both 1975). John provided backing vocals for the latter song. The flipside of "Laughter in the Rain" was "The Immigrant" (US pop #22, US AC #1), a wistful, nostalgic piece dedicated to John Lennon, which recalled the by-gone era when America was welcoming of immigrants, in contrast to the U.S. government's then-refusal to grant Lennon permanent resident status.
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, and a son, Marc, a screenwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife Samantha and three children. True to label to his song "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". [wikipedia]
'N Sync' (often stylized *NSYNC) was an American pop group. The group's launch to fame was financed by the boy band mogul Lou Pearlman. Since 1995, 'N Sync has sold over 56 million records worldwide. Formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995 and launched in Germany in 1996 by BMG Ariola Munich, the group consisted of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick. The name is derived from the last letter of the members names: Justi-N, Chri-S, Joe-Y, Lanste-N (though originally the 'N' came from an original member named Jason before he was replaced by Lance), J-C.
After heavily publicized legal battles with their former manager Lou Pearlman and former record label Sony BMG, the group's 3rd album No Strings Attached sold 1.1 million copies in one day and 2.4 millon copies in one week, giving it the highest first week album sales ever in US and #5 worldwide. In addition to a host of Grammy nominations, 'N Sync has performed at the Academy Awards, the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Olympics, and sang or recorded duets with the likes of Aerosmith, Mary J Blige, Britney Spears, Nelly, Michael Jackson, The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, and Gloria Estefan. The group also appeared as themselves on The Simpsons, in an episode entitled "New Kids on the Blecch", which aired on February 25, 2001.
After being signed to BMG Ariola Munich, the group was sent to Germany to begin working on their debut album with the help of producers, including Denniz Pop and Max Martin. The album's official lead single, "I Want You Back", was released in Germany on October 7, 1996 and became a top 10 hit in Germany. With a record deal finally secured, the boys began touring first in German speaking countries and later in other European territories. Their self-titled debut album was initially released by BMG Ariola Munich on March 26, 1997 in Germany, peaking at number one in its first week of release, and the group soon became an overnight success throughout much of Europe. The album also charted successfully both in Switzerland and Austria.
The group released their second and third single, "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "Here We Go", both reaching the top ten in Europe. The group captured the attention of Vincent DeGiorgio, an A&R rep for RCA Records. After seeing the group perform in Budapest, they were eventually signed to RCA in 1998. The label had the group record some new tracks to adjust their album for the U.S. market.
'N Sync's 1998 hit, 'Tearin' Up My Heart' was also featured as #30 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of The 90's" in 2007, nine years later. On November 10, 1998, the group released a holiday album, Home for Christmas. The album peaked at #7 and sold over 2 million copies. With this, 'N Sync achieved the rare feat of having two albums in the Billboard Top 10 at the same time. The group scored their first top 10 on the Hot 100 with their third single, "God Must Have Spent A Little More Time on You", which peaked at #8 in February 1999. Country group Alabama later re-recorded the song and released it as a single that featured vocals from 'N Sync.
The fourth and final single from the album, "I Drive Myself Crazy", was a modest chart hit, but a mainstay on TRL. In September 1999 the group collaborated with Gloria Estefan on a song for the soundtrack for her movie, Music of the Heart. The track, "Music of My Heart", reached #2 on Billboard's Top-100 single chart and served as a stopgap between album releases.
With their legal woes behind them, 'N Sync refocused and worked on tracks for their second album. In January 2000, the group released "Bye Bye Bye", an upbeat dance track, which shot into the top 5 of the Hot 100 and would spend 5 weeks atop the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song is often considered the group's signature song. They performed at the Latin Grammy show in 2001 singing the Spanish version of their song, This I Promise You, "Yo Te Voy A Amar."
The accompanying album, No Strings Attached, was released on March 21, 2000. It sold a record 2.4 million in its first week of release. An estimated 1.1 million of those sales were attributed to the first day of release, another record. By the end of 2000, it had sold over 9.9 million copies, a record for most albums ever sold in a single year. No Strings Attached is currently the eighth best selling album of the SoundScan era which received a Diamond Certification from RIAA for sales of over 11,099,000. The album also broke the Amazon sales records. Their second single, "It's Gonna Be Me", became the group's first #1 single in US.
The third and final single, "This I Promise You" reached the Top-5 on Billboard's Top-100 single chart. The group also embarked on a World No Strings Attached Tour that year. The group's third album, Celebrity, released on July 24, 2001, holds the record for the second-highest first full week of sales. The album produced three singles: "Pop" (#19 US), "Gone" (#11 US) and "Girlfriend" (#5 US). While 'N Sync announced a "temporary hiatus" in spring 2002, the band has not recorded new material since. The group's official website shut down in summer of 2006, and in 2007, Lance Bass confirmed that the group has "definitely broken up." [wikipedia]
Murray Head (born Murray Seafield Saint-George Head, 5 March 1946, London ) is an English actor and singer, most recognized for his hit song, "One Night in Bangkok". Head was born to Seafield Head, a documentary-maker, and Helen Shingler, an actress. Head was educated at the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and Hampton School in Hampton, London.
Head began acting and writing songs as a child, and by the mid 1960s he had a London based recording contract. He had limited success until asked by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber to play Judas Iscariot on the original concept album version of Jesus Christ Superstar (singing the hit "Superstar").
Head won a leading role in the Oscar nominated film, Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), alongside Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson. Despite these successes, he received little public attention in the next ten years (except for his single release, "Say It Ain't So Joe" in 1975).
Head reappeared in the spotlight in 1984, as the American on the concept album for the musical, Chess. The song "One Night in Bangkok", from Chess, featured Head on lead vocal, and became the last significant Broadway/West End number to be a hit on American and German radio up until "No Matter What" by Boyzone in 1996. "One Night in Bangkok" was a major pop hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
After "One Night in Bangkok", Head had little recording success in the UK or The United States. This fact would later be underscored in a radio segment featured on The Kevin and BeanShow on Los Angeles's KROQ FM, in which the hosts would phone Head in the morning to find out "What's up with Murray Head?" But, fluent in French, he has released a number ofalbums in that language and is more popular in France and Canada. Noticeably, the song "Une femme un homme", a duet with Marie Carmen released in 1993 became a radio hit in French-speaking Canada. [wikipedia]
Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), best known by his stage names MC Hammer, Hammer and Hammertime, is a rapper, entertainer and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. Remembered for a rapid rise to fame before losing a majority of his fortune, he is also known for his successful hit records, flamboyant dance techniques and trademark Hammer pants.
As a legendary icon in pop culture, Hammer was considered a forefather and innovator of pop rap, but due to his mainstream appeal since the late 1980s, Hammer would later be considered a sell-out rapper by many due in part to over-exposure and as a result of him changing to a grittier image as the landscape of rap changed. Nonetheless, BET ranked Hammer as the #7 "Best Dancer Of All Time". While his talent may be denied, disputed and debated, "Vibe Presents The Best Rapper Ever Tournament" declared Hammer the 17th most favorite of all-time during the first round.
Prior to his mainstream career and "rags-to-riches-to-rags-and-back saga", Hammer formed a Christian rap music group known as Holy Ghost Boy(s), producing songs called "Word", "B-Boy Chill" and later releasing "This Wall" (it was within the lyrics of this song that Kirk Burrell - or "K.B." - first identified himself as M.C. Hammer) with CCM's Jon Gibson (or "J.G."). This rap hit appeared on Gibson's album Change of Heart, and "Son of the King" showed up on Hammer's debut album Feel My Power (1987), as well as the updated version Let's Get It Started (1988).
Once signed to Capitol Records, Hammer re-issued his first record with additional tracks added. "Pump It Up", "Turn This Mutha Out", "Let's Get It Started" and "They Put Me in the Mix" were the most popular singles from this album which all charted. But not quite satisfied with this first multi-platinum success, Hammer's music underwent a metamorphosis, shifting from the standard rap format in his upcoming album. The fact that the record has reached this level indicates the genre is growing."
Notorious for dissing rappers in his previous recordings, Hammer appropriately titled his third album (and second major-label release) Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em, which was released January 1, 1990. It was produced, recorded, and mixed by Felton Pilate and James Earley on a modified tour bus (while on tour) in 1989. Interestingly, despite heavy airplay and a #27 chart debut, "U Can't Touch This" stopped at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart due to the fact that it was released only as a twelve-inch single. However, the album was a #1 success for 21 weeks, due primarily to this single, the first time ever for a rap recording on the pop charts.
Follow-up successes included "Have You Seen Her" (a cover of the Chi-Lites) and "Pray" (a beat sampled from Prince's "When Doves Cry" and Faith No More's "We Care a Lot"), which was his biggest hit in the US, peaking at #2. "Pray" was also a major UK success, peaking at #8. The album went on to become the first hip-hop album to earn diamond status, selling more than 18 million units to date. During 1990, Hammer toured extensively in Europe which included a sold-out concert at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. With the sponsorship of PepsiCo, PepsiCo International CEO Christopher A. Sinclair went on tour with him during 1991.
A video for the title song was also produced, featuring many celebrity appearances. "2 Legit 2 Quit" has been ranked as one of the most expensive videos ever made. The song proved to be successful in the U.S., peaking at the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, at #6. The hand motions used within the song and video also became very popular.
Known for his thrilling stage shows, amazing dance talent, catchy pop hits, spectacular choreography performances, flamboyant wardrobe, community outreach commitment and energetic personal style, MC Hammer was not only nominated for his dancing and choreography skills, but is the winner of a multitude of awards including three Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, a People's Choice Award, an NAACP Image Awards and the prestigious Billboard Diamond Award. He has sold more than 50 million records, breaking down numerous doors for rap music and demonstrating that hip-hop had the potential for blockbuster success. The International Album of the Year validated Hammer's talent as a world-class entertainer. Additionally, Hammer was also honored with a Soul Train Music Award (Sammy Davis, Jr. Award for Entertainer of the Year) in 1991. [wikipedia]
A commitment to excellence.. truthfully inspired by Zig Ziglar ~ "You can get anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want". A franchisee of Rockwills Corp since 1998.
CheaHS@n is the NKOTB - "New Kid On The Blog" with his first post on Dec 10, 2008 learning from scratch Step by Step. Dunno much about history, dunno much about algebra but he does know music is part of his life coz great awesome music excites him with overwhelming euphoria. Thanks to YouTube, Wikipedia and with a little help from his friends, has orchestrated that burning desire to make his wishes come true with this compilation and selection of golden hits from Aaliyah::2::Ziggi...
THE WHO - See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me...get connected!
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