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Born To Laugh At Tornadoes
''Born To Laugh at Tornadoes'' is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was (Not Was). ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release. Despite the glowing reviews, ''Tornadoes'' made little commercial impact in a year dominated by Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'' and Prince's ''1999''. (It did manage to become the band's first release to make it onto ''Billboards album chart, peaking at #134 in a nine-week stay in the fall of 1983.) This album boasted an impressive array of guest vocalists, ranging from hard rocker Mitch Ryder (on "Bow Wow Wow Wow"), former Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne ("Shake Your Head"), rock band The Knack's lead vocalist Doug Fieger (on "Betrayal" and "Smile"), Marshall Crenshaw ("The Party Broke Up") and torch song vocalist/songwriter Mel Tormé (lead vocal on the closing song "Zaz Turned Blue"). The album also displayed a wide variety of musical styles, ranging from pop love ballads ("Betrayal") to rock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often featuring guest musicians from across the musical spectrum. The band's most popular period was during the 1980s and early 1990s, with their highest-charting hit, the song "Walk the Dinosaur", released in 1987 as the lead single from their 1988 album '' What Up, Dog?'', becoming a worldwide top-40 hit and peaking at on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The band went on indefinite hiatus in the mid-1990s, but has returned sporadically since the turn of the millennium. Their most recent release was the 2008 album '' Boo!.'' Career Beginnings Weiss and Fagenson were childhood friends who grew up together in suburban Detroit, Michigan, United States. Partly due to Fagenson's poverty they decided to form Was (Not Was) in 1979. The name of the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guest Vocalist
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other performing group. In music, such an outside performer is often referred to as a guest artist. In performance art, the terms guest role or guest star are also common, the latter term specifically indicating the guest appearance of a celebrity. The latter is often also credited as special guest star or special musical guest star by some production companies. In pop music and hip-hop, such guests are often referred to as featured artists or featured guests. Such a performer may be annotated in credits or even in song titles by the abbreviation ''feat.'' or further abbreviation ''ft.''; or by the word ''with'' or abbreviation ''w/''. In a TV series, a guest star is an actor who appears in one or a few episodes (sometimes a story arc). In so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinnie Vincent
Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 makeup period. Vincent was the last member to wear a unique makeup/costume configuration, as the character of The Ankh Warrior (a design created by Paul Stanley), until he and the band were first shown without the makeup during an interview on MTV in September 1983. He founded his own band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, which had minor hits. Early life Vincent John Cusano was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Theresa "Terri" (Ferraro) and Alfonso Cusano, musicians. Both of his parents were of Italian descent. He picked up the guitar at an early age and was inspired by bluegrass and rock and roll. Cusano's first introduction to working with internationally renowned artists was working with Felix Cavaliere (mostly widely known from The R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Out Come The Freaks
"Out Come the Freaks" is the name of a trilogy of songs by art-funk ensemble Was (Not Was). The trilogy consists of three songs that feature the same basic title, tune and chorus lyric: "Out Come the Freaks" (1981), "(Return to the Valley of) Out Come the Freaks" (1983), and "Out Come The Freaks" (1987) (later issued as "Out Come the Freaks (Again)".) Despite the three songs' abundant similarities, each song is distinctive, as differing lyrics in the verses of each song tell stories about different societal outcasts. As well, each recording had a different contemporary sound, a thoroughly different arrangement, and reworked the melody while still retaining the chorus vocal: ''Woodwork squeaks, and out comes the freaks''. Recordings "Out Come the Freaks" (1981) The original recording was the opening song on the group's debut album ''Was (Not Was)''. This version began with the chorus sung several times simultaneously by a number of vocalists before the rhythm section is introduced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. The band gained in popularity when they began touring in 1999 after completing their second album, ''The Christmas Attic'', the year previous. In 2007, the ''Washington Post'' referred to them as "an arena-rock juggernaut" and described their music as "Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall." TSO has sold more than 10 million concert tickets and over 10 million albums. The band has released a series of rock operas: ''Christmas Eve and Other Stories'', ''The Christmas Attic'', ''Beethoven's Last Night'', ''The Lost Christmas Eve'', their two-disc ''Night Castle'' and '' Letters From the Labyrinth''. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also known for their extensive charity work and elaborate c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Kinkel
Robert Kinkel is an American professional session keyboardist and music engineer most known for his role as a co-creator/co-producer/co-composer and touring keyboardist with Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with extensive studio work with the progressive metal band Savatage. He attended Hamilton College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music with a minor in physics.The Composers Trans-Siberian Orchestra website "The World Of Trans-Siberian Orchestra Blogtalkradio weekly podcast", episodes 26 & 27 "Composer Spotlight: Bob Kinkel Parts 1 & 2" July 2011 Life and career Kinkel was born in |
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] |
Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship.Allan Forte, M. R.: ''Listening to Classic American Popular Songs,'' p. 203. Yale University Press, 2001. The term comes from the saying, "Torch#Love, to carry a torch for someone", or to keep aflame the light of an unrequited love. It was first used by the cabaret singer Tommy Lyman in his praise of "My Melancholy Baby". The term is also explicitly cited in the song "Jim (song), Jim", popularized by versions by Dinah Shore, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald: Torch-singing is more of a niche than a genre and can stray from the traditional jazz-influenced style of singing; the American tradition of the torch song typically relies upon the melodic structure of the blues. An example of a collection is B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl," and "Whenever You're on My Mind." He is also the co-author of one of the biggest radio hits of the ‘90s, the Gin Blossoms, "Til I Hear It from You." His music has roots in classic soul music and Buddy Holly, to whom Crenshaw was often compared in the early days of his career, and whom he portrayed in the 1987 film '' La Bamba''. Born in Michigan, Crenshaw performed in the musical ''Beatlemania'' before releasing his self-titled album in 1982. Crenshaw could not replicate the commercial success of ''Marshall Crenshaw'' and follow-up '' Field Day'' (1983) with later albums. Crenshaw has also contributed songs to other artists, writing singles for Kirsty MacColl and the Gin Blossoms. A quote from Trouser Press summed up Marshall Crenshaw's early career: "Although he was seen a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doug Fieger
Douglas Lars Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band The Knack. He co-wrote "My Sharona," the biggest hit song of 1979 in the U.S., with lead guitarist Berton Averre. Life and career Fieger was born in 1952 in Oak Park, Michigan, the son of June Beth (née Oberer) and Bernard Julian Fieger. His father was Jewish and his mother was Norwegian. Doug was the younger brother of Detroit attorney Geoffrey Fieger (most famous for representing Jack Kevorkian), who confirmed Doug's death to ''The Detroit News''. Fieger was born and raised in the 9 Mile/Greenfield area of Oak Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit. He attended Oak Park High School. Before forming The Knack, Fieger played bass and sang lead in the group Sky, which was founded by producer Jimmy Miller (Rolling Stones, Traffic, Blind Faith) who was the "Mr. Jimmy" in the Stones "You Can't Always Get W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Knack
The Knack was an American rock band based in Los Angeles that rose to fame with its first single, "My Sharona", an international number-one hit in 1979. History Founding (1977–1978) Singer Doug Fieger was a native of Oak Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the 9 Mile/Greenfield area. The brother of attorney Geoffrey Fieger (later known for representing Jack Kevorkian in a series of assisted suicide cases) Fieger had previously played in an eclectic rock band called Sky as well as the Sunset Bombers. Although Sky had received a modest amount of acclaim, including being produced by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller, the band broke up without having any chart success. As a result, Fieger made the decision to move to Los Angeles and start another band. Shortly after arriving in L.A., Fieger met Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals and keyboards), and the two started a songwriting partnership. Fieger had also known Bruce Gary (drums) fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shake Your Head
"Shake Your Head" is a song by American pop rock group Was (Not Was). It was originally released in 1983 on the album ''Born to Laugh at Tornadoes''. In 1992, it was re-recorded and remixed by house music producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, and features actress Kim Basinger alongside a re-recorded Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. It appears on the group's compilation album, ''Hello Dad... I'm in Jail''. Background The original version features Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne on lead vocals. A pre-fame Madonna had auditioned for the vocal but was not used on the final release. In 1992, it was re-recorded and remixed by house music producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, and features actress Kim Basinger alongside a re-recorded Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. It appeared on the group's compilation album ''Hello Dad... I'm in Jail''. The original plan was to restore Madonna's vocals to the track for the re-release, but she refused to grant permission, hence Basinger was approached instead. However, Madonna's r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
