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Are A Drag
''Are a Drag'' is the second album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, released in 1999 on the Fat Wreck Chords independent record label. The album is made up mainly of show tunes. The album's title alludes to the fact that most of the songs on the album feature vocalist Spike Slawson singing songs that were originally performed by female characters in their original stage shows/movies (with the exception of the Phantom's part in "Phantom of the Opera", "Science Fiction/Double Feature" which was sung by a female traditionally, but more popularly by Richard O'Brien in ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', and "Rainbow Connection"). The album's cover features the members of the band dressed up, in drag, as five characters from the musicals represented in song: a member of ''A Chorus Line'' ("What I Did For Love"), Annie Mudge from ''Annie'' ("Tomorrow"), Dorothy Gale from ''The Wizard of Oz'' ("Over the Rainbow"), Sandy Dumbrowski from ''Grease'' ("It's Raining on Prom Night"), and Dr. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to just Me First or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, Fat Mike, Joey Cape, and Dave Raun. Chris Shiflett is a former member. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. They specialize in rapid-fire punk interpretations of a wide range of songs, often with a humorous edge. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione. History The band's first release came with 1995's ''Denver'', a 7" single released on band member Fat Mike's record label Fat Wreck Chords, featuring two John Denver covers. The band released four more singles in 1996 and 1997, each on a different label and named after the artist covered on that particular release, as well as some compilation appearances. Their first full-length album, ''Have a Ball'', was released July 29, 1997, and is still their bes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' (lyrics by Yip Harburg), including " Over the Rainbow", Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th century's No. 1 song by the RIAA and the NEA. Life and career Arlen was born in Buffalo, New York, the child of a Jewish cantor. His twin brother died the next day. He learned to play the piano as a youth, and formed a band as a young man. He achieved some local success as a pianist and singer before moving to New York City in his early twenties, where he worked as an accompanist in vaudeville and changed his name to Harold Arlen. Between 1926 and about 1934, Arlen appeared occasionally as a band vocalist on records by The Buffalodians, Red Nichols, Joe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (1924) and ''An American in Paris'' (1928), the songs " Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera ''Porgy and Bess'' (1935), which included the hit " Summertime". Gershwin studied piano under Charles Hambitzer and composition with Rubin Goldmark, Henry Cowell, and Joseph Brody. He began his career as a song plugger but soon started composing Broadway theater works with his brother Ira Gershwin and with Buddy DeSylva. He moved to Paris, intending to study with Nadia Boulanger, but she refused him, afraid that rigorous classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style; Maurice Ravel voiced similar objections when Gershwin inq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 20th century. With George, he wrote more than a dozen Broadway shows, featuring songs such as "I Got Rhythm", "Embraceable You", " The Man I Love" and " Someone to Watch Over Me". He was also responsible, along with DuBose Heyward, for the libretto to George's opera ''Porgy and Bess''. The success the Gershwin brothers had with their collaborative works has often overshadowed the creative role that Ira played. His mastery of songwriting continued after George's early death in 1937. Ira wrote additional hit songs with composers Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Harry Warren and Harold Arlen. His critically acclaimed 1959 book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'', an amalgam of autobiography and annotated anthology, is an important source for studying t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Heyward
Dorothy Heyward (née Kuhns; June 6, 1890 – November 19, 1961) was an American playwright. In addition to several works of her own, she co-authored the play '' Porgy'' (1927) with her husband DuBose Heyward, adapting it from his novel by the same name. Their work is now known best in its adaptation as the opera ''Porgy and Bess'' (1935), with music by George Gershwin. Early life and education She was born in Wooster, Ohio, as Dorothy Kuhns, and lived in New York, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, throughout her childhood years. She was interested in literature from an early age and started writing plays. After graduating from high school, she attended Harvard University, where she studied to become a playwright. In 1922, Kuhns attended MacDowell Colony, where she met DuBose Heyward. They married in September 1923 and she changed her name. Career as a playwright In 1924, Heyward wrote her first play, ''The Dud'', for which she won a Harvard Prize. ''The Dud'' was later r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summertime (George Gershwin Song)
"Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera ''Porgy and Bess''. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel '' Porgy'' on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin. The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt ... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote ... Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of blacks in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century". Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim characterized Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" as "the best lyrics in the musical theater". ''Porgy and Bess'' Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. Gershwin had completed setting DuBose Heyward's poem to music by February 1934, and spent the next 20 months completing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rocky Horror Show
''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, unveiling his new creation, Rocky, a sort of Frankenstein-style monster in the form of an artificially made, fully grown, physically perfect muscle man complete "with blond hair and a tan". The show was produced and directed by Jim Sharman. The original London production of the musical was premièred at the Royal Court Theatre (Upstairs) on 19 June 1973 (after two previews on 16 and 18 June 1973). It later moved to several other locations in London and closed on 13 September 1980. The show ran for a total of 2,960 performances and won the 1973 ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Award for Best Musical. Songs in the musical include "Time Warp" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in continuous production. He also co-wrote the screenplay along with director Jim Sharman for the film adaptation, ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), and appeared on-screen as Riff Raff; the film became an international success and has received a large cult following. O'Brien co-wrote the musical ''Shock Treatment'' (1981) and appeared in the film as Dr. Cosmo McKinley. O'Brien presented four series of the television game show ''The Crystal Maze'' (1990–1993) for Channel 4. He played the voice role of Lawrence Fletcher in the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' (2007–2015), as well as its two films (2011 and 2020). His other acting credits include ''Flash Gordon'' (1980), ''Robin of Sherwood'' (1985), ''Ever After'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction/Double Feature
"Science Fiction/Double Feature" is the opening song to the original 1973 musical stage production, ''The Rocky Horror Show'' as well as its 1975 film counterpart ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', book, music and lyrics by Richard O'Brien, musical arrangements by Richard Hartley. The song is reprised at the end of the show, with lyrics that reflect on the final events of the story. The song is a tribute to and sendup of various B movies and serials parodied in the show itself. Overview The film opens with a title sequence of a disembodied mouth against a black background singing in homage to classic science fiction films. (The image holds inspired impact of both the immobile lips fixed in a Mona Lisa smile in Man Ray's surreal painting ''A l'heure de l'observatoire, les Amoureux,'' and Samuel Beckett's active isolated mouth in his theatre work Not I.) It was sung by Richard O'Brien and lip synced, as the now-iconic pair of red lips, by co-star Patricia Quinn. In its origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evita (musical)
''Evita'' is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and death. The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical. This has been followed by a string of professional tours and worldwide productions and numerous cast albums, as well as a 1996 film adaptation. The musical was revived in London in 2006, and on Broadway in 2012, and toured the UK again in 2013–14 before running for 55 West End performances at the Dominion Theatre in September–October 2014. Synopsis Act I On 26 July 1952, a crowd in a Buenos Aires, Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were successful outside of their parent musicals, such as "Memory" from '' Cats,'' "The Music of the Night" and " All I Ask of You" from ''The Phantom of the Opera'', "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from ''Evita'', and " Any Dream Will Do" from '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.'' In 2001, ''The New York Times'' referred to him as "the most commercially successful composer in history". ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him the "fifth most powerful person in British culture" in 2008, lyricist Don Black writing "Andrew more or less single-ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
