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Blue Knights
The Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Denver, Colorado, the Blue Knights are a member corps of Drum Corps International (DCI). History Fred and Fae Taylor were a pair of former vaudeville comedians and musicians who had settled in Denver and operated the Fred and Fae Talent School, where they taught vocal and instrumental music to young people. Fred was an accomplished drummer and a member of the Denver American Legion Grenadiers Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, and he believed that a junior corps would provide an opportunity for their music students to perform before the public. Although the intent was for the corps to be a parade corps, it entered its first field competition during its first season, and in 1959, the corps traveled to the VFW National Championships in Minneapolis. In 1963, the corps joined the Great Plains Drum and Bugle Corps Association and entered into a period extending through the sixties and se ...
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Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United States and the fifth most populous state capital. It is the principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the first city of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Denver is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Its downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, approximately east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It is named after James W. Denver, a governor of the Kansas Territory. It is nicknamed the ''Mile High City'' because its official elevation is exactly one mile () above sea level. The 105th meridian we ...
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Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism and a social activist, particularly for women's suffrage. Early life and education Julia Ward was born in New York City. She was the fourth of seven children. Her father Samuel Ward III was a Wall Street stockbroker, banker, and strict Calvinist Episcopalian. Her mother was the poet Julia Rush Cutler Ward, related to Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" of the American Revolution. She died during childbirth when Howe was five. Howe was educated by private tutors and schools for young ladies until she was sixteen. Her eldest brother, Samuel Cutler Ward, traveled in Europe and brought home a private library. She had access to these books, many contradicting the Calvinistic view. She became well-read, though social as well as scholarly. She met ...
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Buddy Feyne
Buddy Feyne (born Bernard Feinstein, June 9, 1912 – December 10, 1998) was an American lyricist during the swing era. He wrote the lyrics for "Tuxedo Junction", which went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1940 when Glenn Miller recorded it, "Jersey Bounce", which was No. 15 on the ''Cash Box'' Hit Parade of 1942., and "Jumpin' with Symphony Sid". Feyne's songs have been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Jackson, The Manhattan Transfer, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Louis Armstrong, Gene Autry, Frankie Avalon, The Andrews Sisters, George Benson, Nat King Cole, and Boz Scaggs. Biography Feyne was born in New York City, the youngest son of immigrants Solomon and Sarah Feinstein. His older brother, Irving, befriended Milton Berle, who advised Bernard that a Jewish name would prevent him from succeeding in the music industry, and summarily changed his name to Buddy Feyne. Feyne was based at the Brill Building in New York, writing songs for Lewis Music Publishers, one of the ...
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Julian Dash
Julian Dash (April 9, 1916 – February 25, 1974) was an American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist born in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, probably better known for his work with Erskine Hawkins and Buck Clayton. Dash was a member of the Bama State Collegians, which later became the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. He is recognised, with Hawkins and fellow sax player Bill Johnson, in composing the swing tune "Tuxedo Junction", which became an immense hit when recorded by other (mainly white) bands, notably that of Glenn Miller. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Dash recorded for the Sittin' in With label and later was on Vee-Jay Records with his sextets. His renditions of "Devil's Lament" and "Dance of the Mother Bird" on Sittin' In With and his "Zig Zag" on the Vee Jay label were hits in the black community. Dash can be heard at his best in 1953 on two of the Buck Clayton Jam Sessions, in which extended versions of songs ("The Huckle-Buck" to 63 choruses) were recorde ...
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Bill Johnson (reed Player)
William Luther Johnson (September 30, 1912 – July 5, 1960) was an American alto saxophonist, clarinetist, and arranger. Early life and education Johnson studied piano as a child and began playing the alto saxophone at the age of 16. After working with lesser-known bands he studied in conservatories in Wisconsin and Illinois, then attended Marquette University. Career While in Milwaukee, Johnson played with Jabbo Smith and others. He worked with Baron Lee and Tiny Bradshaw, and in 1936 joined Erskine Hawkins, with whom he performed into the early 1940s. His recordings with Hawkins include "Uptown Shuffle"' (1939, Bb 10504) and " Bear Mash Blues" (1942, Bb 30-0813); he also arranged the former title, as well as " Uncle Bud" (1941, Bb 11372), and he composed "Tuxedo Junction "Tuxedo Junction" is a popular song written by Erskine Hawkins, Bill Johnson, and Julian Dash with lyrics by Buddy Feyne. The song was introduced by Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra, a college dance ...
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Erskine Hawkins
Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1939) with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. The song became a hit during World War II, rising to No. 7 nationally (version by the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra) and to No. 1 nationally (version by the Glenn Miller Orchestra). Vocalists who were featured with Erskine's orchestra include Ida James, Delores Brown, and Della Reese. Hawkins was named after Alabama industrialist Erskine Ramsay. Early years Erskine Hawkins was named by his parents after Alabama industrialist Erskine Ramsay who was rewarding parents with savings accounts for them for doing so. Hawkins attended Councill Elementary School and Industrial High School (now known as Parker High School) in Birmingham, Alabama. At Industrial High School, he played in the ban ...
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Sammy Nestico
Samuel Louis Nistico (February 6, 1924 – January 17, 2021), better known as Sammy Nestico, was an American composer and arranger. Nestico is best known for his arrangements for the Count Basie orchestra. Early life and education Samuel Luigi Nistico was born on February 6, 1924, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Luigi Nistico, an Italian immigrant, and Frances Mangone. His father was a railroad worker. During childhood, Sammy Americanized his name to Samuel Louis Nestico. Nestico joined the Oliver High School beginner orchestra in 1937 as a trombonist. In 1939, he wrote his first arrangement. At age 17, Nestico joined the ABC radio station WCAE in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a trombonist. After leaving the military, he completed a degree in music education at Duquesne University. His alma mater later awarded him with an honorary Doctor of Music degree and the Distinguished Alumni award. Career During World War II, Nestico joined the United States Army and served for five years. ...
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Paul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. (born September 19, 1940) is an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Out in the Country", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World", Biff Rose's "Fill Your Heart" and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays". Williams is also known for writing the score and lyrics for ''Bugsy Malone'' (1976) and his musical contributions to other films, including the Oscar-nominated song "Rainbow Connection" from ''The Muppet Movie'', and writing the lyrics to the #1 chart-topping song "Evergreen", the love theme from the Barbra Streisand film '' A Star Is Born'', for which he won a Grammy for Song of the Year and an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He wrote the lyrics to the opening theme for the television show ''The Love Boat'', with music previously composed ...
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Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including ''People (Barbra Streisand album), People'' (1 ...
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Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackle "unexpected themes that range far beyond the enre'straditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication." His shows address "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience," with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life. He was known for his frequent collaborations with Hal Prince and James Lapine on the Broadway stage. Sondheim's interest in musical theater began at a young age, and he was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II. He began his career by writing the lyrics for ''West Side Story'' (1957) and ''Gypsy'' (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics for the theater, with his best-known works including '' A Funny Thing Happened on the ...
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Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history". Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, sixteen Grammy Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors, Kennedy Center Honor. As a composer he wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music and works for the piano. His best-known work is the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''West Side Story'', which continues to be regularly performed worldwide, and has been adapted into two (West Side Story (1961 ...
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