Bethlehem (Brian McKnight Album)
''Bethlehem'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Brian McKnight, his first with Motown Records, released on October 20, 1998. The album is his first Christmas album. ''Bethlehem'' consists of eleven tracks, featuring original songs and cover versions of Christmas standards and carols, several of which are duets featuring recording artists such as Boyz II Men, Michael Sembello, Tim Miner, and Maria Cole as well McKnight's brother Claude and his sons. Critical reception Gina Boldman from AllMusic called ''Bethlehem'' a "joyful, romantic holiday album ..Overall, ''Bethlehem'' is a diverse collection of traditional and modern-day Christmas songs with something for everyone celebrating the season." Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' Bethlehem''. * Bob Becker – viola * Boyz II Men – vocals * Jackie Brand – violin * Denyne Buffum – viola * Bruce Carbone – executive producer, producer * Susan Chatman – violin * Ron Clark ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian McKnight
Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for his songs from albums such as ''Brian McKnight'' (platinum debut), '' Anytime'' and '' Back at One''. His work has earned him 16 Grammy Awards nominations, third only to Zubin Mehta and Snoop Dogg for the record of most Grammy nominations without a win. Early life McKnight was born in Buffalo, New York to Claude McKnight, Jr. and Ruth Elaine Willis. His music experience began in childhood when he became a member of his church choir, which was directed by his grandfather. McKnight explored different genres of music, and in his early teens, he started musical ambitions by composing instrumental material while learning to play several instruments. McKnight formed a band and began performing his original songs at local venues. By the age of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema. ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' The song was written in 1943 for the then-upcoming film ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', for which MGM had hired Martin and Blane to write several songs. Martin was vacationing in a house in the neighborhood of Southside in Birmingham, Alabama that his father Hugh Martin had designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage, located just down the street from his birthplace, and which later became the home of Martin and his family in 1923. The song first appeared in a scene in which a fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Albums Produced By Brian McKnight
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl long-playing (LP) records played at rpm. The album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption from the mid-1960s to the early 21st century, a period known as the album era. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The 8-track tape was the first tape format widely used alongside vinyl from 1965 until being phased out by 1983 and was gradually supplanted by the cassette tape during the 1970s and early 1980s; the popularity of the cassette reached its peak during the late 1980s, sharply declined during the 1990s and had largely disappeared duri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Motown Albums
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' and ''town'', has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover (music), crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most of the Motown (music style), Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop music, pop appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969. Following the events of the 1967 Detro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian McKnight Albums
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meaning "high" or "noble". For example, the element ''bre'' means "hill"; which could be transferred to mean "eminence" or "exalted one". The name is quite popular in Ireland, on account of Brian Boru, a 10th-century High King of Ireland. The name was also quite popular in East Anglia during the Middle Ages. This is because the name was introduced to England by Bretons following the Norman Conquest. Bretons also settled in Ireland along with the Normans in the 12th century, and 'their' name was mingled with the 'Irish' version. Also, in the north-west of England, the 'Irish' name was introduced by Scandinavian settlers from Ireland. Within the Gaelic speaking areas of Scotland, the name was at first only used by professional families of Irish or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Audio Mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via methods such as pressing, duplication or replication). In recent years digital masters have become usual, although analog masters—such as audio tapes—are still being used by the manufacturing industry, particularly by a few engineers who specialize in analog mastering. Mastering requires critical listening; however, software tools exist to facilitate the process. Results depend upon the intent of the engineer, the skills of the engineer, the accuracy of the speaker monitors, and the listening environment. Mastering engineers often apply equalization and dynamic range compression in order to optimize sound translation on all playback systems. It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording—known as a safety copy—in cas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Audio Mixing
Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, or otherwise creative treatment is done in order to produce a finished version that is appealing to listeners. Audio mixing is practiced for music, film, television and live sound. The process is generally carried out by a mixing engineer operating a mixing console or digital audio workstation. Recorded music Before the introduction of multitrack recording, all the sounds and effects that were to be part of a recording were mixed together at one time during a live performance. If the sound blend was not satisfactory, or if one musician made a mistake, the selection had to be performed over until the desired balance and performance was obtained. However, with the introduction of multitrack recording, the production phase of a modern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dave Pensado
Dave Pensado is a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer. His career began in Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s doing live and studio sound engineering. He has lived in Los Angeles since 1990. He mixes between 200 and 250 songs a year at Larrabee Studios in Los Angeles. When recording he usually records at Echo Bar Studios in North Hollywood. On September 12, 2011, mixing engineer Dave Pensado started a weekly show called ''Pensado's Place'', together with Herb Trawick, his manager and business partner. The first part of the show (ITL = Into the lair) is about audio engineering techniques; Dave evaluates - sometimes assisted or even replace by a guest speaker - new plugins, outboard gear like microphones, and he demonstrates in detail how to improve different aspects of the mix. The second part Dave and Herb interview together a(n award winning) mixer, master engineer, producer, label CEO and/or singer-songwriter. Dave asks questions about the general approach and philosophy, and often zoo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tollak Ollestad
Tollak Ollestad is an American harmonica player, singer, keyboardist and songwriter. He is best known for his harmonica feature performance on the Northern Exposure tv series theme and on recordings by artists including Christopher Cross, Al Jarreau, Earth Wind and Fire, Natalie Cole, Gino Vannelli, Dave Grusin, and Billy Idol among others and his live performance with major touring artists. Early life Tollak Ollestad was born in Seward, Alaska and grew up in Seattle, Washington. After starting out in the club scene in Seattle in his early twenties he moved to Los Angeles in 1984. Career He first became known as keyboardist/singer touring with artists Ambrosia and Bobby Caldwell. Around the same time he started gaining notoriety as a session harmonica player, starting with being featured in the theme for the television series Northern Exposure, and then a series of live credits with artists such as Don Henley, Andrea Bocelli, Chet Atkins and Kenny Loggins as well as features on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Executive Producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In films, the executive producer generally contributes to the film's budget and their involvement depends on the project, with some simply securing funds and others being involved in the filmmaking process. Motion pictures In films, executive producers may finance the film, participate in the creative effort, or work on set. Their responsibilities vary from funding or attracting investors into the movie project to legal, scripting, marketing, advisory and supervising capacities. Executive producers vary in involvement, responsibility and power. Some executive producers have hands-on control over every aspect of production, some supervise the producers of a project, while others are involved in name only. The creditin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is operated through Republic Records; in the United Kingdom and Japan (as Mercury Tokyo in the latter country), it is distributed by EMI Records. Since the separation of Island Records, Motown, Mercury Records, and Def Jam Recordings combining the Island Def Jam Music Group, Mercury Records has been placed under Island Records, although its back catalogue is still owned by the Island Def Jam Music Group (now Island Records). Background Mercury Records was started in Chicago in 1945 and over several decades, saw great success. The success of Mercury has been attributed to the use of alternative marketing techniques to promote records. The conventional method of record promotion used by major labels such as RCA Victor, Decca Records, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dave Koz
David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologist and Audrey, a pharmacist. Dave has a brother, Jeff, who is also a musician, and a sister, Roberta. Although he is Jewish, Koz plays both Christmas and occasional Hanukkah songs at his concerts. He attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, performing on saxophone as a member of the school jazz band. He later graduated from UCLA with a degree in mass communications in 1986, and only weeks after his graduation, decided to make a go of becoming a professional musician. Career Within weeks of deciding to be a professional musician, he was recruited as a member of Bobby Caldwell's tour. Koz was originally a rock saxophonist before he moved to smooth jazz in 1989. For the rest of the 1980s, Koz served ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |