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Dave Appell
David Appell (March 24, 1922 – November 18, 2014) was an American musician, musical arranger and record producer born in Philadelphia. Career Appell (pronounced "AP-el") is associated mainly with the Cameo-Parkway record label, in whose history he played a substantial part. He started working as an arranger for several United States Navy big bands in the mid-1940s during his service in World War II, including Jimmie Lunceford's black orchestra. He later arranged for dance orchestras, including Benny Carter and Earl "Fatha" Hines. He recorded for a while on Decca Records as the Dave Appell Four, until Paul Cohen of Decca suggested he change the group name to the Applejacks. Appell also became a publisher, joining ASCAP in 1955, collaborating with Max Freedman. He appeared prominently in the 1956 Alan Freed film, ''Don't Knock the Rock'', and worked for a while as the studio band and music director on the Ernie Kovacs TV and radio shows in Philadelphia. Next Appell and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his death. Kovacs has been credited as an influence by many individuals and shows, including Johnny Carson, ''Laugh-In, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'', Jim Henson, ''Max Headroom (character), Max Headroom'', Chevy Chase, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, ''Captain Kangaroo'', ''Sesame Street'', ''The Electric Company'', ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'', ''The Muppet Show'', Dave Garroway, Andy Kaufman, ''You Can't Do That on Television'', ''Mystery Science Theater 3000, MST3K'', Uncle Floyd, among others. Chase even thanked Kovacs during his acceptance speech for his Emmy award for ''Saturday Night Live''. While Kovacs and his wife Edie Adams received Emmy nominations for best performances in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novelty Song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. Novelty songs are often a parody or humor song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a dance or TV programme. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " contemporary hit radio" is also a radio format. Frequent variants of the Top 40 are the Top 10, Top 20, Top 30, Top 50, Top 75, Top 100 and Top 200. History According to producer Richard Fatherley, Todd Storz was the inventor of the format, at his radio station KOWH in Omaha, Nebraska. Storz invented the format in the early 1950s, using the number of times a record was played on jukeboxes to compose a weekly list for broadcast. The format was commercially successful, and Storz and his father Robert, under the name of the Storz Broadcasting Company, subsequently acquired other stations to use the new Top 40 format. In 1989, Todd Storz was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame. The term "Top 40", describing a radio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Zacherle
John Zacherle ( ; sometimes credited as John Zacherley; September 26, 1918 – October 27, 2016) was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, often broadcasting horror films in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character of "Roland/Zacherley", he also did voice work for films, and recorded the top ten novelty rock and roll song "Dinner With Drac" in 1958. He also edited two collections of horror stories, ''Zacherley's Vulture Stew'' and ''Zacherley's Midnight Snacks''. Biography Zacherle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, the youngest of four children of a bank clerk and his wife. He grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood, where he went to high school. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. In World War II he enlisted in the United States Army and served in N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterfly (1957 Song)
"Butterfly" is a popular song written by Bernie Lowe and Kal Mann and published in 1957. The song is credited to Anthony September as songwriter in some sources. This was a pseudonym of Anthony Mammarella, producer of ''American Bandstand''. The original recording of the song by Charlie Gracie reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Juke Box chart, No. 10 on the R&B chart and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1957. Andy Williams recording A cover version by Andy Williams reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Top 100 chart in 1957. Williams' version also reached No. 1 the UK in May 1957, where it spent two weeks, and also reached No. 14 on the US R&B chart. The Charlie Gracie and Andy Williams versions were ranked #20 on the first Canadian CHUM Chart, May 27, 1957. Other versions *A version recorded by Bob Carroll on Bally Records made the charts in 1957 peaking at No. 61. *The Crests recorded a cover version for their 1960 album, ''The Crests Sing All Biggies''. *Tommy Steele - i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Gracie
Charles Anthony Graci (May 14, 1936 – December 16, 2022), known professionally as Charlie Gracie, was an American rock and roll and rhythm and blues singer and guitarist. His biggest hits were "Butterfly" and " Fabulous", both in 1957. Career Early career Charlie Gracie was born in South Philadelphia to Santo ("Sam") and Mary Graci (née Cappizzi), who were both of Sicilian heritage. At the age of 10, Gracie's father encouraged him to play the guitar. His musical career started at the age of 16 when he appeared on the Paul Whiteman television show in 1952. Gracie performed at weddings, local restaurants, and parties, and on local radio and television. He also won regional talent contests. Charlie graduated from South Philadelphia High School in 1952. The owner of Cadillac Records, Graham Prince, heard one of Gracie's early radio performances, contacted the young musician and signed him to a recording contract. This association yielded the single "Boogie Woogie Blues" backe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hit Record
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' usually refers to a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio airplay audience impressions, or significant streaming data and commercial sales. Historically, before the dominance of recorded music, commercial sheet music sales of individual songs were similarly promoted and tracked as singles and albums are now. For example, in 1894, Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern released ''The Little Lost Child'', which sold more than a million copies nationwide, based mainly on its success as an illustrated song, analogous to today's music videos. Chart hits In the United States and the United Kingdom, a single is usually considered a hit when it reaches the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 or the top 75 of the UK ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sound Engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer... the nuts and bolts." Sound engineering is increasingly seen as a creative profession where musical instruments and technology are used to produce sound for film, radio, television, music and video games. Audio engineers also set up, sound check and do live sound mixing using a mixing console and a sound reinforcement system for music concerts, theatre, sports games and corporate events. Alternatively, ''audio engineer'' can refer to a scientist or professional engineer who holds an engineering degree and who designs, dev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Session Musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band. They work behind the scenes and rarely achieve individual fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. However, top session musicians are well known within the music industry, and some have become publicly recognized, such as the Wrecking Crew, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records. Many session musicians specialize in playing common rhythm section instruments such as guitar, piano, bass, or drums. Others are specialists, and play brass, woodwinds, and strings. Many session musicians play multiple instruments, which lets them play in a wider range of musical situations, genres an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backing Singer
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used in a broad range of popular music, traditional music, and world music styles. Solo artists may employ professional backing vocalists in studio recording sessions as well as during concerts. In many rock and metal bands (e.g., the power trio), the musicians doing backing vocals also play instruments, such as guitar, electric bass, drums or keyboards. In Latin or Afro-Cuban groups, backing singers may play percussion instruments or shakers while singing. In some pop and hip hop groups and in musical theater, they may be required to perform dance routines while singing through headset microphones. Styles of background vocals vary according to the type of song and genre of music. In pop and country songs, backing vocalists may sing harmon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernie Lowe
Bernard Lowe (born Lowenthal, November 22, 1917 – September 1, 1993) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist and bandleader. Born in Philadelphia, Lowe started Teen Records and in 1955 was working with Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. He asked Bell to rewrite the lyrics of " Hound Dog" to appeal to a broader radio audience. Teen Records and the group had a regional hit with this version of the song, which was one of four songs the group did with Lowe. It was this same version that Elvis Presley heard in Las Vegas, Nevada, adopted, recorded, and made his own. Lowe went on to co-pen with Kal Mann the chart-topping song, "Teddy Bear", for the same singer. Lowe sometimes masqueraded as 'Harold Land'. This enabled him to be affiliated with both ASCAP and BMI. Lowe founded Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Cameo Records in 1956, and Cameo was later expanded into the Cameo-Parkway Records label. The owners then signed a then unknown singer, Ernest Evans, to their bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
