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Denis Preston
Sidney Denis Preston (''né'' Prechner, 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffle scenes from the 1940s to the 1960s. Preston worked independently; he was not contracted to a particular record label and would often risk cutting a record before pitching for a deal. He has been described as "Europe's first independent record producer", and as "probably the most important figure to emerge from the British jazz business". Neil Ardley described him as "a rare Diaghilev like figure" who steered many of the key figures of the British jazz scene into the studio when nobody else would record them. Biography He was born Sidney Denis Prechner on 16 November 1916 in Stoke Newington, London, the son of Louis Prechner and Sarah ''née'' Hobsbaum. He changed his surname to Preston by deed poll in 1946. His cousin was the histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The historic core on Stoke Newington Church Street retains the distinct London village character which led Nikolaus Pevsner to write in 1953 that he found it hard to see the district as being in London at all. Boundaries The modern London Borough of Hackney was formed in 1965 by the merger of three former Metropolitan Boroughs, Hackney and the smaller authorities of Stoke Newington and Shoreditch. These Metropolitan Boroughs had been in existence since 1899 but their names and boundaries were very closely based on parishes dating back to the Middle Ages. Unlike many London districts, such as nearby Stamford Hill and Dalston, Stoke Newington has longstanding fixed boundaries; however, to many. the informal perception of Stoke Newington h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" ('' The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848'', '' The Age of Capital: 1848–1875'' and '' The Age of Empire: 1875–1914''), ''The Age of Extremes'' on the short 20th century, and an edited volume that introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions". Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and spent his childhood mainly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London with his adoptive family. After serving in the Second World War, he obtained his PhD in history at the University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. He was pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roaring Lion
Roaring Lion (22 February 190811 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), " Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", which are still performed today. The song "If You Wanna Be Happy", which hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 18 May 1963, as well as the R&B singles chart, is based on Roaring Lion's "Ugly Woman". Early life Lion was born Rafael de Leon in Aroquita, in the Caura Hills of northern Trinidad, to a mother named Basalicion de Leon and a father named Arias Cairi Llama. An illegitimate child, Lion spent some of his earliest years in two orphanages, before being taken in, following his mother's illness, by an elderly woman named Miss Charles who lived on Coffee Street in the southwestern city of San Fernando. Finally, he was presented by Charles to a Muslim Indian family in San Fernando who wanted him; he was adopted by Najeeran Khan, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Is The Place For Me
"London Is the Place for Me" is a 1948 calypso song by Aldwyn Roberts. Roberts, under his calypso stage name Lord Kitchener, sang the first two stanzas of "London Is the Place for Me" on camera for reporters upon arrival at Tilbury Docks on the , and was recorded by Pathé News cameras. Roberts, as Lord Kitchener, did not record the song until 1951. The song was also popularised during the 1950s (1954) by bandleader Edmundo Ros. ''London Is the Place for Me'' is also the name of a series of compilation albums from Honest Jon's, featuring the music of young Black London in the years after World War II, particularly the music of West Indian and West African expatriates. As of 2019, the label had released eight titles in the series. Cover versions The song was covered by D Lime – featuring Tobago Crusoe for the 2014 film ''Paddington''. Paul Kelly used the song's music for "Shane Warne". See also *List of calypsos with sociopolitical influences This is a list of calypsos categ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melodisc Records
Melodisc Records was a record label founded by Emil E. Shalit in the late 1940s. It was one of the first independent record labels in the UK and the parent company of the Blue Beat label. History Melodisc records was founded by Austrian-born American citizen Emil Edward Shalit (24 December 1909 – 23 April 1983) and his business partner Jack Chilkes. Melodisc began trading in London, England, in August 1949 and soon became established as one of the first—and, at the time, the largest—independent record labels in the UK. Its offices were in Earlham Street, Covent Garden. The company was founded in 1949 when Shalit was still living in New York City, with the initial purpose of licensing American jazz for release in the UK. In London, Melodisc was managed by Jack Chilkes until a disagreement with Shalit led to his departure and a subsequent lawsuit in late 1952; According to Chilkes, Shalit had tricked him into believing that he owned the rights to material actually o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Granz
Norman Granz (August 6, 1918 – November 22, 2001) was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo. Granz was acknowledged as "the most successful impresario in the history of jazz"."Norman Granz" (obituary) '''', November 26, 2001 He was also a champion of racial equality, insisting, for example, on integrating audiences at concerts he promoted. Biography Born in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, Granz was the son of |
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parlophone Company Limited (the Parlophone Co. Ltd.), which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a jazz record label. On 5 October 1926, the Columbia Graphophone Company acquired Parlophone's business, name, logo, and release library, and merged with the Gramophone Company on 31 March 1931 to become Electric & Musical Industries Limited (EMI). George Martin joined Parlophone in 1950 as assistant to Oscar Preuss (who had set up the London branch of the company in 1923), the label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. Martin produced and released a mix of recordings, including by comedian Peter Sellers, pianist Mrs Mills, and teen idol Adam Faith. In 1962, Martin signed the Beatles, a beat group from Liverpool who earlier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, which owned it until Universal Music Group (UMG) took control of part of it in 2013. It is ultimately owned by UMG subsidiary Virgin Records Limited (until 2013 by EMI Records Limited, nowadays known as Parlophone Records and owned by UMG's competitor Warner Music Group). The studio's most notable client was the Beatles, who used the studio – particularly its Studio Two room – as the venue for many of the innovative recording techniques that they adopted throughout the 1960s. In 1976, the studio was renamed from EMI in honour of their final recorded album, ''Abbey Road''. In 2009, Abbey Road came under threat of sale to property developers. In response, the British Government protected the site, granting it English Herita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Beginner
Egbert Moore (1904–1981), known as Lord Beginner, was a popular calypsonian. Biography Moore was born in Port-of-Spain in Trinidad. According to AllMusic: "After attracting attention with his soulful singing in Trinidad and Tobago, Lord Beginner was sent by expatriate Portuguese businessman Edward Sa Gomes to New York City, along with Attila The Hun and Growling Tiger, to record for the Port-Of-Spain label in May 1934."Craig Harris"Artist Biography" Allmusic. These recordings by Moore with other leading members of Trinidad's "Old Brigade" of calypsonians helped to spark a renaissance of the calypso genre in the 1940s and '50s, and introduce the music to the world. In July 1948, Lord Beginner emigrated to England with fellow calypsonians Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts) and Lord Woodbine (Harold Philips). They arrived near London on the ''Empire Windrush'', the first of many voyages conveying West Indians wishing to start a new life in Britain. Beginner began playing clubs thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Kitchener (calypsonian)
Aldwyn Roberts HBM DA (18 April 1922 – 11 February 2000), better known by the stage name Lord Kitchener (or "Kitch"), was a Trinidadian calypsonian. He has been described as "the grand master of calypso" and "the greatest calypsonian of the post-war age".Thompson, Dave (2002), ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 149–154Talevski, Nick (2010) ''Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries'', Omnibus Press, , p. 343. Early life Roberts was born in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, the son of a blacksmith, Stephen, and housewife, Albertha. He was educated at the Arima Boys Government School until he was 14, when his father died, leaving him orphaned. His father had encouraged him to sing and taught him to play the guitar, and he became a full-time musician, his first job playing guitar for Water Scheme labourers while they laid pipes in the San Fernando Valley.Pareles, Jon (14 February2000)"Lord Kitchener, 77, Calypso Songwriter Who Mixed Party Tunes With Deeper Messag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Oliver
Paul Hereford Oliver MBE (25 May 1927 – 15 August 2017) was an English architectural historian and writer on the blues and other forms of African-American music. He was equally distinguished in both fields, although it is likely that aficionados of one of his specialties were not aware of his expertise in the other. He wrote some of the first scholarly studies of blues music, and his commentary and research have been influential. Early life and career Oliver was born in Nottingham, the son of architect W. Norman Oliver. In the late 1930s, his family lived in Pinner, in North London where he attended Longfield Primary School in Rayners Lane and then went to Harrow County School for Boys between 1938 and 1942. He attended Harrow Art School, where he met his wife Valerie. He initially trained as a painter and sculptor, but because of allergies to some art materials concentrated on graphic design. After a period in the War Office, Oliver gained his Art Teacher's Diploma at Golds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. In 1937, anticipating Nazi Germany, Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca and the link between the U.K. and U.S. Decca labels was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group. The U.S. Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG (Universal Music Group). Label name The name dates back to a portable phonograph, gramophone called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
