ക GO-GO's, We Got The Beat|Our Lips Are Sealed|Vacation|Head Over Heels|Turn To You|Cool Jerk|The Whole World Lost Its Head|

The Go-Go’s are an all-female American pop/new wave band formed in 1978. They made rock history as the first all-woman band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978, the Go-Go's initially consisted of Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Margot Olaverra (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums). They were formed as a punk band, and had roots in the L.A. Punk community; they shared a rehearsal space with X, and under the name "Dottie Danger", Carlisle had briefly been a member of punk-rock band The Germs. (Coincidentally due to illness, she left The Germs before playing a gig.)

The Go-Go's signed to I.R.S. Records in April 1981. Their debut album, Beauty and the Beat, was a surprise hit and topped the U.S. Charts for six weeks and eventually received a double platinum certification. The album was also a success outside the U.S. Charting at #2 in Canada, where it received a platinum certification, and #27 in Australia. "Our Lips Are Sealed" and a new version of "We Got the Beat" were extremely popular singles in North America in early 1982. The Go-Go's became America's sweethearts and started to have a cult following.

In 1982 the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The follow-up album, Vacation, sold well (Gold certification in the U.S.), and spawned another top 10 US hit with the title track. However, the group was forced to go on hiatus when Schock underwent surgery for a congenital heart defect. In 1983 Vacation LP was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Packaging.

In the beginning, they played primarily a pop-inflected form of the emerging punk sound, and later defined themselves with the distinct sound of 1980s rock. The Go-Go’s had five U.S. Top 40 hits. Musical influences include the Ramones, the Shangri-Las, the Buzzcocks, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Blondie. During their career, the Go-Go's have sold more than seven million copies.

1984 saw a return to critical acceptance with the harder-edged Martin Rushent produced album Talk Show, but sales were less successful than their prior albums. Still, album tracks "Head over Heels" and "Turn to You" were both top 40 hits in the US. Nevertheless, personality conflicts and creative differences were also taking a toll. Carlisle and Caffey soon realized their hearts were no longer in the group and decided to disband the Go-Go's in May 1985.

In 1990, the Go-Go's "classic" line-up (Caffey, Carlisle, Schock, Valentine, Wiedlin) reunited to play a benefit concert for the California Environmental Protection Act, a 1990 ballot initiative. This led to more show dates later that year. The band also entered the studio with producer David Z to re-record a cover of "Cool Jerk" for a greatest hits compilation.

In 1994, the same line-up got together again to release the 2-disc retrospective Return to the Valley of The Go-Go's, which featured 3 new recordings. A single pulled from the album, "The Whole World Lost Its Head", only 'bubbled under' on the US charts at #108, but became the band's first and only top 40 hit in the UK, peaking at #29. The band toured again to promote the release; ex-Bangle Vicki Peterson stood in on several dates for Caffey, who was pregnant. [wikipedia]

ക GLORIA ESTEFAN, Conga|Words Get In..|Bad Boy|Anythin For U|Rhythm's Gonna Get U|Can't Stay..|Don't Wanna Lose U|Cuts Both Ways|Comin Out..|Hoy|Oye|

Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo García on September 1, 1957) in Havana, Cuba, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer and songwriter. She is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 90 million albums sold worldwide, 26.5 million of those in the United States. She has won seven Grammy Awards, placing her among the most successful crossover performers in Latin music to date.

Conga - an Afro-Cuban dance of 3 steps and a kick by people in single file, basic steps are (left) 1-2-3-Kick then repeat, opposite.

In the mid-1980s, Gloria Estefan was part of the group Miami Sound Machine. In 1984, Miami Sound Machine released their first Epic/Columbia album, Eyes Of Innocence which contained the dance hit "Dr. Beat" as well as the ballad "I Need Your Love". Their more successful follow-up album Primitive Love was released in 1985 launching three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Conga" (U.S. #10), "Words Get In The Way” (U.S. #5), and "Bad Boy" (U.S. #8) became follow up hits in the U.S. And around the world. "Words Get In The Way" reached #1 on the US Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, establishing that the group could perform pop ballads as successfully as dance tunes. The song "Hot Summer Nights" was also released that year and was part of the blockbuster movie Top Gun.

Their next album, 1987’s Let It Loose, went multi-platinum, with six million copies sold in the US. It featured the following hits: "Anything For You" (#1 Hot 100), "1, 2, 3" (#3 Hot 100), "Betcha Say That" (#36 Hot 100), "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" (#5 Hot 100), and "Can't Stay Away From You" (#6 Hot 100). "Can’t Stay Away From You," "Anything For You" and "1-2-3" were all #1 Adult Contemporary hits as well.

In late 1989, she released her best-selling album to date, Cuts Both Ways. The album included the hit singles "Don't Wanna Lose You" (a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit), "Oye MI Canto (Hear my Voice)", "Here We Are", "Cuts Both Ways" (#1 on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart) and "Get on Your Feet."

While touring in support of Cuts Both Ways on March 20, 1990, near Scranton, Pennsylvania, Estefan was critically injured, suffering a fractured spine when a speeding semi-truck crashed into her tour bus. She was taken to Community Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit and the next day was flown by helicopter to New York City, where surgeons at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases permanently implanted two titanium rods to stabilize her spinal column. Her rehabilitation required almost a year of intensive physical therapy, but she achieved a complete recovery. She returned to an international tour ten months after the accident.

Estefan returned to the charts with a concept album, Into the Light, in 1991. She performed "Coming Out of the Dark" for the first time on the American Music Awards in January 1991, receiving a standing ovation as she took stage. "I was worried so much about crying before I finished that I completely didn't prepare for crying before I started.", Estefan said backstage after the performance. "Coming Out of the Dark" reached #1 in the U.S. As a single a few months later.

In 2003, Estefan released Unwrapped, her first English-language CD in five years. To promote the CD, she toured Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States. The video for the single "Hoy", had been filmed in Machu Picchu, Peru. "Hoy" and "Tu Fotografía" both reached #1 on Billboard’s Latin chart, and "I Wish You" reached the AC top 20.

In addition to her seven Grammys, Estefan has received a number of other awards. In May 1993, she received the Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor, which is the highest award that can be given to a naturalized U.S. Citizen. She has won the Hispanic Heritage Award, an MTV Video Music Award, two cale television ACE Awards and the 1993 National Music Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year award. The singer is the recipient of the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her husband, Emilio, a world-renowned music impresario, received a star adjacent to his wife’s on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.

She was awarded "Person of the Year" at the Latin Grammy Awards in a ceremony aired in November 2008, in recognition of her twenty-five year singing career. She is the first female singer to receive this award. She also received a Latin Grammy for "Best Traditional Tropical Album" for 90 Millas, and a Latin Grammy for "Best Tropical Song" for her single, "Píntame De Colores". This marked the first occasion for Estefan to ever win a Grammy award for a song (either Latin or non-Latin).

On March 12, 2009 she was honored by the BMI Foundation with the "BMI Icon" award. The award was previously given to other singers such as Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Brian Wilson. [wikipedia]

ഉ GLEN CAMPBELL, True Grit|Gentle On My Mind|By The Time I Get..|Wichita Lineman|Galveston|Rhinestone Cowboy|Southern Nights|Try A Little..|

Glen Travis Campbell (born April 22, 1936 in Delight, Arkansas, USA) is a Grammy Award, Dove Award winning, and two time nominated Golden Globe Award American country pop singer, guitarist and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a television variety show called 'The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour' on CBS television.

During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and racked up 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. Of his 75 trips up the charts, 27 landed in the Top 10. Campbell was hand-picked by actor John Wayne to play alongside him in the 1969 film True Grit, which gave Campbell a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer, and gave Wayne his only Academy Award. Campbell sang and had a hit with the title song (by the same name) which was nominated for an Academy Award. He performed it live at that year's Academy Awards Show.

Campbell made history by winning a Grammy in both country and pop categories in 1967: "Gentle On My Mind" snatched the country honors, and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" won in pop. He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the CMA and the ACM, and took the CMA's top honor as Entertainer of the Year.

The overnight success of "Gentle On My Mind" proved Campbell was ready to break through to the mainstream. It was followed by the even bigger triumph of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" later in 1967, and "I Wanna Live" and "Wichita Lineman" in 1968. Campbell would win two Grammy Awards for his performances on "Gentle On My Mind" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix".

"Wichita Lineman" was selected as one of the greatest songs of the 20th century by Mojo magazine in 1997 and by Blender in 2001.

In the mid-1970s, he had more big hits with "Rhinestone Cowboy", "Southern Nights" (both U.S. #1 hits), "Sunflower" (U.S. #39) (written by Neil Diamond), and "Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.) (U.S. #11).

"Rhinestone Cowboy" was Campbell's largest-selling single, initially with over 2 million copies sold in a matter of months. Campbell had heard the songwriter Larry Weiss' version while on tour of Australia in 1974 and felt it was the perfect song for him to record. It was included in the Jaws movie parody song "Mr. Jaws" which also reached the top 10 in 1975. "Rhinestone Cowboy" continues to be used in movie soundtracks and TV shows, including "Desperate Housewives", Daddy Day Care, and High School High. It was the inspiration for the 1984 Dolly Parton/Sylvester Stallone movie Rhinestone. [wikipedia]

"Try a little kindness because when you're kind and you treat people kind you get treated in kind" - Glen Campbell

If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say girl you're going the wrong way

You got to try a little kindness
Show a little kindness
Shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you'll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

Don't you walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
It's gonna help someone along life's way

In 2005, Campbell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.