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A Very Special Christmas 2
''A Very Special Christmas 2'' is the second in the '' A Very Special Christmas'' series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on October 20, 1992, and production was overseen by Jimmy Iovine, Vicki Iovine and Robert Sargent Shriver for A&M Records. Tupac Shakur was supposed to be featured on the album, but due to legal trouble his song was dropped. On December 7, 2001, ''A Very Special Christmas 2'' was certified Double Platinum for shipment of two million copies in the United States since its 1992 release. As of November 2014, it is the 21st best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era of music sales tracking (March 1991 – present), having sold 2,200,000 copies according to SoundScan. Track listing References External links A Very Special Christmas 2at Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Haring
Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his work includes sexual allusions that turned into social activism by using the images to advocate for safe sex and AIDS awareness. In addition to solo gallery exhibitions, he participated in renowned national and international group shows such as ''documenta'' in Kassel, the Whitney Biennial in New York, the São Paulo Biennial, and the Venice Biennale. The Whitney Museum held a retrospective of his art in 1997. Haring's popularity grew from his spontaneous drawings in New York City subways—chalk outlines of figures, dogs, and other stylized images on blank black advertising spaces. After gaining public recognition, he created colorful larger scale murals, many commissioned. He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist—mostly on rhythm guitar and second keyboard. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles including "Breakdown", " American Girl", "Refugee", " The Waiting", " Learning to Fly", and "Mary Jane's Last Dance", among many others, that stretched over several decades of work. The band's music was characterized as both Southern rock and heartland rock, cited alongside artists such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shawn Stockman
Shawn Patrick Stockman (born September 26, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as a member of the vocal group Boyz II Men. In addition to Boyz II Men, Stockman was a member of the group Black Men United. He was also a judge on the NBC television show ''The Sing-Off'' for five seasons (2009-2014). Early life and education Stockman, a native of Southwest Philadelphia, started singing with the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale at the age of 8. He attended CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts High School) in South Philadelphia, where he met the other members of Boyz II Men, originally calling themselves Unique Attraction. Music career Stockman recorded a solo album as a side project during the late 1990s, but the LP was never released. Stockman appeared in the group Black Men United with his group Boyz II Men, while recording their '' II'' album for the hit single "U Will Know" which appeared on the ''Jason's Lyric'' soundtrack (1994). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Morris
Nathan Bartholomew Morris (born June 18, 1971) is an American baritenor, singer, businessman, and the founding member of American band Boyz II Men. He was the host of the show Hit Properties on the DIY Network where he bought and renovated a multi-million dollar home. References Further reading Nathan Morris in-depth interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 2008 External links * Official Nathan Morrisat Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ... {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Nathan American contemporary R&B singers American soul musicians American baritones American tenors 21st-century American businesspeople Boyz II Men members Living people Musicians from Philadelphia 1971 births Singers from Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American male sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song), Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night (Cyndi Lauper song), All Through the Night"—earned Lauper the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, soundtrack for the motion picture ''The Goonies'' and her second record ''True Colors (Cyndi Lauper album), True Colors'' (1986). This album included the number one single "True Colors (Cyndi Lauper song), True Colors" and "Change of Heart (Cyndi Lauper song), Change of Heart", which peaked at number three. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is among the List of best-selling music artists, world's best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. He found success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "Bobby soxer (music), bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, ''The Voice of Frank Sinatra'', in 1946. When his film career stalled in the early 1950s, Sinatra turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best-known concert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haven Gillespie
James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of "You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", "That Lucky Old Sun", " Breezin' Along With The Breeze", " Right or Wrong," " Beautiful Love", "Drifting and Dreaming", and "Louisiana Fairy Tale" (Fats Waller's recording of which was used as the first theme song in the PBS Production of ''This Old House''), each song in collaboration with other people such as Beasley Smith, Ervin R. Schmidt, Richard A. Whiting, Wayne King, and Loyal Curtis. He also wrote the seasonal standard "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town". Life and career Gillespie was one of nine children of Anna (Reilley) and William F. Gillespie. The family was poor and lived in the basement of a house on Third Street between Madison Avenue and Russell Street in Covington, Kentucky. Gillespie dropped out of school in grade four and could not find a job. His ol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Frederick Coots
John Frederick Coots (May 2, 1897 – April 8, 1985) was an American songwriter. He composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for the biggest hit of either man's career, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The song became one of the biggest sellers in American history. In 1934, when Gillespie brought him the lyrics to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Coots came up with the outline of the melody in just ten minutes. Coots took the song to his publisher, Leo Feist, who liked it but thought it was "a kids' song" and didn't expect too much from it. Coots offered the song to Eddie Cantor who used it on his radio show that November and it became an instant hit. The morning after the radio show there were orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music and by Christmas sales had passed 400,000. Career timeline : 1897 May 2 – born in Brooklyn, New York : 1914 (age 17) – began w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
"Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934. This version became an instant hit with orders for 500,000 copies of sheet music and more than 30,000 records sold within 24 hours. The version for Bluebird Records by George Hall and His Orchestra (vocal by Sonny Schuyler) was very popular in 1934 and reached the various charts of the day. The song has been recorded by over 200 artists including Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters, The Crystals, Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Bill Evans, Chris Isaak, The Temptations, The Carpenters, Michael Bublé, Luis Miguel, and The Jackson 5. Melody and lyrics Haven Gillespie's lyrics begin "You better watch out, better not cry / You better not pout, I'm telling you why / Santa C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive Platinum albums and eight Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different times. In 2004, Vandross won a total of four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death, " Dance with My Father". Vandross worked as a backing vocalist in the 1970s, and appeared on albums by artists such as Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Todd Rundgren, Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Stevie Wonder, and Donna Summer. He later became a lead singer of the group Change, which released its Gold-certified debut album, ''The Glow of Love'', in 1980 on Warner/RFC Records. After Vandross left the group, he was signed to Epic Records as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wells (songwriter)
Robert Wells (born Robert Levinson, October 15, 1922 – September 23, 1998) was an American songwriter, composer, screenwriter, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945. Later, he became a prolific writer and producer for television, for such shows as ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', as well as for numerous variety specials, such as ''If They Could See Me Now'', starring Shirley MacLaine. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won six Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Peabody Award. Early life and career Robert Wells was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in 1922 in Raymond, Washington, the son of Edna Irene (Bradford) and Nathan Levinson. He attended a local business college and later the University of Southern California, where he majored in speech and drama. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Bob Wells. Early life Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Torme, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, and Betty Torme (née Sopkin), a New York City native. He graduated from Hyde Park High School. A child prodigy, he first performed professionally at age four with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing "You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. He played drums in the drum-and-bugle corps at Shakespeare Elementary School. From 1933 to 1941, he acted in the radio programs ''The Romance of Helen Trent'' and ''Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy''. He wrote his first song at 13. Three years later his first published song, "Lament to Love", became a hit for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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