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Dancing In The Dark (Schwartz-Dietz Song)
"Dancing in the Dark" is a popular American song, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz, that was introduced bJohn Barkerwith Tilly Losch dancing in the 1931 revue ''The Band Wagon''. The song was first recorded by Bing Crosby on August 19, 1931 with Studio Orchestra directed by Victor Young, staying on the pop charts for six weeks, peaking at #3, and helping to make it a lasting standard. The 1941 recording by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra earned Shaw one of his eight gold records at the height of the Big Band era of the 1930s and 1940s. It was subsequently featured in the classic 1953 MGM musical ''The Band Wagon'' and has since come to be considered part of the Great American Songbook. In the film it is orchestrally performed to a ballet dance by Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse set in Central Park. The song is given a 'sensual and dramatic' orchestration by Conrad Salinger, choreographed by Michael Kidd. Other recordings *Al Bowlly as part of a medley on a 78r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Schwartz
Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on November 25, 1900. He taught himself to play the harmonica and piano as a child, and began playing for silent films at age 14. He earned a B.A. in English at New York University and an M.A. in Architecture at Columbia. Forced by his father, an attorney, to study law, Schwartz graduated from NYU Law School with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence and was admitted to the bar in 1924. Career While studying law, he supported himself by teaching English in the New York school system. He also worked on songwriting concurrently with his studies and published his first song ("Baltimore, Md., You're the Only Doctor for Me", with lyrics by Eli Dawson) by 1923. Acquaintances such as Lorenz Hart and George Gershwin encouraged him to stick with composing. He att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. Parker was an extremely brilliant virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker's tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber. Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career on the road with Jay McShann. This, and the shortened form "Bird", continued to be used for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Bird Gets the Worm", and "Bird of Paradise". Parker was an icon for the hipster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female artist of the 1950s, selling over 100 million records during a six-decade-long career. She was often introduced as "the Singin' Rage, Miss Patti Page". New York WBBR, WNEW disc-jockey William B. Williams (DJ), William B. Williams introduced her as "A Page in my life called Patti". Page signed with Mercury Records in 1947, and became their first successful female artist, starting with 1948's "Confess (song), Confess". In 1950, she had her first million-selling single "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming", and eventually had 14 additional million-selling singles between 1950 and 1965. Page's signature song, "Tennessee Waltz", was one of the biggest-selling singles of the 20th century, and is recognized today as one of the official songs of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hip Harp
''Hip Harp'' (also released as ''The Best of Dorothy Ashby'') is an album by jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby recorded in 1958 and released on the Prestige label. accessed May 9, 2013 Reception reviewed the album awarding it 4½ stars.Allmusic Reviewaccessed May 9, 2013 Track listing ''All compositions by Dorothy Ashby except as indicated'' # "Pawky" - 7:07 # "[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Ashby
Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished modern jazz harpist," Ashby established the harp as an improvising jazz instrument, beyond earlier use as a novelty or background orchestral instrument, proving the harp could play bebop as adeptly as the instruments commonly associated with jazz, such as the saxophone or piano. Ashby had to overcome many obstacles during the pursuit of her career. As an African American female musician in a male dominated industry, she was at a disadvantage. In a 1983 interview with W. Royal Stokes for his book ''Living the Jazz Life,'' she remarked of her career, "It's been maybe a triple burden in that not a lot of women are becoming known as jazz players. There is also the connection with black women. The audiences I was trying to reach were not inte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellington Indigos
''Ellington Indigos'' is a 1958 jazz album by Duke Ellington. The stereo CD reissue released by Columbia (CK 4444) in 1987 contains a track listing and cover art that is drastically different from the original mono LP. A change in song order and two "new" songs — " Night and Day" and " All The Things You Are" — were added to the CD while " The Sky Fell Down" was omitted. LP (Columbia CL1085) ;Side one #" Solitude" — 4:43 ( Duke Ellington) Soloist is Duke Ellington on piano. Recorded on October 14, 1957. #"Where or When" — 4:02 ( Richard Rodgers) Soloist is Paul Gonsalves on tenor saxophone. Recorded on October 10, 1957. #" Mood Indigo" — 3:07 ( Duke Ellington/ Barney Bigard) Soloist is Shorty Baker on trumpet. Recorded on September 9, 1957. #" Autumn Leaves" — 7:10 (Music: Joseph Kosma, Lyrics: Jacques Prévert/ Johnny Mercer) Vocalist is Ozzie Bailey. Soloist is Ray Nance on violin. R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's " Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multipl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Awards. She was given an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 1989. Critic Scott Yanow wrote that she had "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century". Early life Vaughan was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Asbury "Jake" Vaughan, a carpenter by trade who played guitar and piano, and Ada Vaughan, a laundress who sang in the church choir, migrants from Virginia. The Vaughans lived in a house on Brunswick Street in Newark for Vaughan's entire childhood. Jake was deeply religious. The family was active in New Mount Zion Baptist Church at 186 Thomas Street. Vaughan began piano lessons at the age of seven, sang in the church choir, and played piano for rehearsals and services. She developed an early love for popular music on records and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon MacRae
Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer and radio/television host who appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956) and who played the leading man opposite Doris Day in '' On Moonlight Bay'' (1951) and sequel '' By The Light of the Silvery Moon'' (1953). Early life Born in East Orange in Essex County in northeastern New Jersey, United States, to Scottish parents, MacRae graduated in 1940 from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and he thereafter served as a navigator in IX Troop Carrier Command in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Before this, he attended Nottingham High School in Syracuse, New York. Gordon was descended from the Clan MacRae. Career Singer MacRae was a baritone. Winning a contest enabled him to sing at the 1939 New York World's Fair with the Harry James and Les Brown orchestras. Broadway He made his Broadway deb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
'S Wonderful! (album)
''S Wonderful!'' is a 1956 album by Ray Conniff, his orchestra and (wordless) chorus. It was his first album released under his name. The album was produced completely in Mono by Mitch Miller at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studios in New York City. Critical reception The Allmusic review by William Ruhlmann gave the album 4.5 stars stating "Conniff updated the big band sound to the '50s, retaining its danceable tempos and building upon the unison section innovations of Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ......Employing standards with familiar melodies, the imaginativeness of his work became all the more noticeable." Track listing Recording dates Recording dates based on Ray Conniff's diaries: * November 11, 1955: Stardust/Begin the Beguine (to be releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book. Early career After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann), he joined the Artie Shaw big band and wrote many arrangements for him. After his stint with Shaw, he was hired in 1954 by Mitch Miller, head of A&R at Columbia Records, as the label's home arranger, working with several artists including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray. He wrote a top-10 arrangement for Don Cherry's "Band of Gold" in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies. Among the hit singles Conniff backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway's Best (album)
''Broadway's Best'' is an album by Jo Stafford, released in 1953 by Columbia Records. Stafford sings songs from famous Broadway shows backed by Paul Weston and his Orchestra. This album by Columbia was never re-released on compact disc. An MP3 album was issued in 2008. Track listing ;Side One # "Come Rain or Come Shine" (Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) - 3:13 # "They Say It's Wonderful" (Irving Berlin) - 3:14 # " My Romance" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 3:23 # " Dancing in the Dark" (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz) - 2:39 # "Spring Is Here" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 2:50 # "I'm Your Girl" (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) ;Side Two # "Embraceable You" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 2:34 # "September Song" (Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson) - 3:22 # " Something to Remember You By" (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz) - 3:07 # "All the Things You Are" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II) - 3:05 # " Make the Man Love Me" (Arthur Schwartz, Dorothy Fields) # " Nig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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