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Diane Brooks, Eric Mercury And The Soul Searchers
The Soul Searchers were an important part of Canadian soul music history. The group contained notable artists such as Diane Brooks, Eric Mercury, William "Smitty" Smith, Steve Kennedy and Eric "Mouse" Johnson. At times they are also referred to Diane Brooks, Eric Mercury and The Soul Searchers or Eric Mercury and the Soul Searchers. Background They were a jazzy R&B ensemble which moved up from the teen clubs to licensed bars in Toronto. Playing at many of the clubs around Ontario and Québec and over the US border to venues in Buffalo, they also performed at The Scene club in New York. They also appeared multiple times on Canadian television on the ''Music Hop'' television show. Singer Brenda Russell who opened for the group said "They were the ''"most stunning things"'' she'd ever seen and that the group was the biggest soul band in the country and ''"there was nobody like them"''. Two members of the group, Steve Kennedy and William Smith would later on be founding memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diane Brooks
Gwendolyn Dianne Brooks (January 3, 1939 – April 29, 2005), was a soul, r&b and jazz singer from New Jersey. With the Three Playmates, Brooks recorded several songs in 1957. She moved to Toronto shortly thereafter. Her part in Canadian soul music history began when the group Diane Brooks, Eric Mercury and the Soul Searchers was formed. As a solo singer, she recorded two albums and several singles of her own. Her biggest solo hit was " Walkin' on My Mind" in 1969. She was also a prolific session singer. As a vocalist, she provided backing vocals on albums by a multitude of artists that include Anne Murray, Gino Vannelli and Richie Havens. She was also a song-writer. Background Brooks was born in New Jersey and grew up there singing gospel music. Things started for her at three years of age when she was singing in her New Jersey church. Taking note of Dianne's talent, her mother eventually sent her to New York City to study voice. Brooks was a teenager when she joined the group, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verve Forecast
Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage of the popularity of folk music. To broaden the label's appeal, the named was changed from Verve Folkways to Verve Forecast in 1967. Schoenbaum was president of the label. History Schoenbaum left in 1969, and Verve Forecast was closed by its parent company, MGM, in 1970. After PolyGram bought MGM, the Verve Forecast catalog was incorporated into Polydor. The label was revived in the 1990s for smooth jazz releases by Chris Botti, Jeff Lorber, and Will Downing. When PolyGram merged with Universal, the imprint was deactivated and its roster was transferred to GRP. In 2004, Verve Forecast was revived again to replace Blue Thumb to handle acts outside of jazz. Roster Verve Forecast signed pop, rock, folk, and blues musicians such as The Blues Project, Caravan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leon Hayward
Leon Hayward (born 23 April 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand field hockey player, who plays as a goalkeeper. Personal life Leon Hayward was born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory. He is the older brother of Australia men's national field hockey team, Kookaburras defender, Jeremy Hayward. His mother, Ellie, is of New Zealand descent. Career Domestic leagues Australian Hockey League Leon Hayward made his debut in the Australian Hockey League for the NT Stingers during the 2012 Men's Australian Hockey League, 2012 tournament in Canberra, Australia, Canberra. He was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament during 2014 Men's Australian Hockey League, 2014 edition in Adelaide, South Australia, Adelaide. New Zealand National Hockey League In 2019, Hayward represented the Auckland (men's field hockey team), Auckland men's team in the New Zealand National Hockey League in Tauranga, New Zealand, Tauranga. National teams Australia Under-21 In 2009, Hayward represented the 'Aust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and in 2007 his jazz/rock composition "Spinning Wheel" was enshrined in the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame. In 2010, Clayton-Thomas received his star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Clayton-Thomas began his music career in the early 1960s, working the clubs on Toronto's Yonge Street, where he discovered his love of singing and playing the blues. Before moving to New York City in 1967, Clayton-Thomas fronted a couple of local bands, first The Shays and then The Bossmen, one of the earliest rock bands with significant jazz influences. But the real success came only a few difficult years later when he joined Blood, Sweat & Tears. Early life Clayton-Thomas was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, Englan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinoceros (band)
Rhinoceros was an American rock band established in 1967 through auditions conducted by Elektra Records, rather than organic formation by musicians. The band, while well respected in many circles, did not live up to the record label's expectations. It was also poorly received by fans, producing a slow selling debut album and two even less successful LPs before breaking up. One reviewer commented, "Despite the fact that the band could not live up to the expectations that were raised by Elektra Records' publicity machine, Rhinoceros' contributions to rock still deserve more credit than subsequent rock histories give it." Formation Paul A. Rothchild, then Elektra Records' talent scout and house producer, and fellow producer Frazier Mohawk (formerly Barry Friedman), decided to individually sign talented young musicians and form them together into a group in this fashion. While Mohawk had been instrumental in coordinating band membership for what became Buffalo Springfield (encour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Clayton Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas (born David Henry Thomsett, 13 September 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Clayton-Thomas has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and in 2007 his jazz/rock composition "Spinning Wheel" was enshrined in the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame. In 2010, Clayton-Thomas received his star on Canada's Walk of Fame. Clayton-Thomas began his music career in the early 1960s, working the clubs on Toronto's Yonge Street, where he discovered his love of singing and playing the blues. Before moving to New York City in 1967, Clayton-Thomas fronted a couple of local bands, first The Shays and then The Bossmen, one of the earliest rock bands with significant jazz influences. But the real success came only a few difficult years later when he joined Blood, Sweat & Tears. Early life Clayton-Thomas was born in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grant Smith & The Power
Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian (from Toronto) rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards' "Keep On Running" (previously a big hit for The Spencer Davis Group) and was also a training ground for musicians who went on to the likes of McKenna Mendelson Mainline and Motherlode. Group replaces Eddie Spencer with Grant Smith Forming early in October 1966, vocalist Eddie Spencer, organist Val Stevens, guitarist Les Morris, bassist Mike Harrison, drummer Charlie Miller, (his brother) trumpeter Ralph Miller, and Jerry Mann (Shymanski) on tenor saxophone performed in popular Toronto R&B venues as Eddie Spencer & The Power. On 31 December 1966, the band announced that a new frontman, vocalist Ellis Grant Smith, would replace Eddie Spencer, and that guitarist Jim Pauley would take over from Les Morris. Smith and Pauley were both from popular London (Ontario) band E. G. Smith & The Express. Shortly after, the band's advisor, Brian "Otis" A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richie Havens
Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings). He was the opening act at Woodstock, and also the voice-over for the GeoSafari toys. Early life Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, Havens was the oldest of nine children. He was of Native American ( Blackfoot) descent on his father's side and of the British West Indies on his mother's. His grandfather was Blackfoot of the Montana/South Dakota area. Havens's grandfather and great-uncle joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, moved to New York City thereafter, and settled on the Shinnecock Reservation on Long Island. Havens's grandfather married, then moved to Brooklyn. As a youth, Havens began organizing his neighborhood friends into a street corner doo-wop group. At age 16, he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivy Jo Hunter
George Ivy Hunter (August 28, 1940 – October 6, 2022), known as Ivy Jo Hunter, was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for Motown in the 1960s. Life and career Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Hunter was trained in orchestral music — primarily trumpet and keyboards. After a stint in the United States Army, Hunter began performing as a singer in the proto-soul venues around Detroit, where he became friends with songwriter Hank Cosby. Cosby introduced him to Motown's first A&R man, William "Mickey" Stevenson. Hunter played keyboards on Motown sessions before Stevenson began working with him as a songwriter. He became a principal in the Motown Records house band, and began to write some of the most significant hits of the early Motown years. Hunter's songs included The Spinners' " Truly Yours" and "Sweet Thing"; The Temptations' " Sorry Is a Sorry Word"; The Isley Brothers' " Behind a Painted Smile" and "My Love Is Your ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William "Mickey" Stevenson
William "Mickey" Stevenson (born January 4, 1937) is an American former songwriter and record producer for the Motown group of labels from the early days of Berry Gordy's company until 1967. Life and career He was born William Stevenson and, after spending his formative years recording doowop and gospel music, joined Tamla/Motown in 1959, the year it was founded. He was head of the A&R department there during the company's "glory" years of the mid-1960s when artists such as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder and Martha & the Vandellas came to the fore. Stevenson was also responsible for organizing and establishing the company's in-house studio band, which came to be known as the Funk Brothers. He wrote and produced many hit records for Motown, some with co-writer and producer Ivy Jo Hunter. They included his biggest successes, "Dancing in the Street", which he co-wrote with Hunter and Marvin Gaye; " It Takes Two" (Gaye and Weston), " Ask the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Doors
The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, partly due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the counterculture of the 1960s, era's counterculture. The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley's book ''The Doors of Perception'', itself a reference to a quote by William Blake. After signing with Elektra Records in 1966, the Doors with Morrison recorded and released six studio albums in five years, some of which are generally considered among the greatest of all time, including The Doors (album), their self-titled debut (1967), ''Strange Days (The Doors album), Strange Days'' (1967), and ''L.A. Woman'' (1971). They were one of the most successful bands during that tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiny Tim (musician)
Herbert Butros KhauryTiny Tim: Tiptoe Through A Lifetime', Lowell Tarling, Generation Books, 2013, p. 29, (April 12, 1932 November 30, 1996), also known as Herbert Buckingham Khaury, and known professionally as Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. He is best remembered for his cover hits "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" and "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight", which he sang in a falsetto voice. Early life Khaury was born in Manhattan, New York City, on April 12, 1932. His mother Tillie (née Staff), a Polish-Jewish garment worker, was the daughter of a rabbi. She had immigrated from Brest-Litovsk, present-day Belarus, as a teen in 1914. Khaury's father, Butros Khaury, was a textile worker from Beirut, present-day Lebanon, whose father was a Maronite Catholic priest. Khaury displayed musical talent at a very young age. At the age of five, his father gave him a vintage wind-up Gramophone and a 78-RPM record of "Beautiful Ohio" by H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
