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Don Randi
Don Randi (born February 25, 1937) is an American keyboard player, bandleader, and songwriter who was a member of the Wrecking Crew. Career Randi was born February 25, 1937 in New York City. He was raised in the Catskill Mountains and studied classical music. In 1954, he moved to Los Angeles and became a studio musician. During the next year, he began working at record distribution company where he was influenced by jazz musicians, particularly Horace Silver. He began his career as a pianist and keyboard player in 1956, gradually establishing a reputation as a leading session musician. In the early 1960s, he was musician and arranger for record producer Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. He played piano on "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra and on her albums, as well as being a member of her touring band for decades. He performed on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows". His piano can be heard on the Buffalo Springfield songs "Expecting to Fly" and " ...
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God Only Knows
"God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typical pop music formula. It is often praised as one of the greatest songs ever written and as the Beach Boys' finest record. The song's musical sophistication is demonstrated by its three contrapuntal vocal parts and weak tonal center (competing between the keys of E and A). Lyrically, the words are expressed from the perspective of a narrator who asserts that life without their lover could only be fathomed by God—an entity that had been considered taboo to name in the title or lyric of a pop song. It marked a departure for Wilson, who attributed the impetus for the song to Asher's affinity for standards such as " Stella by Starlight". Some commentators interpret "God Only Knows" as promoting suicidal ideations, although such an interpret ...
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The Wrecking Crew (music)
The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of Los Angeles-based session musicians whose services were employed for a great number of studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including hundreds of top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly recognized in their era, but were viewed with reverence by industry insiders. They are now considered one of the most successful and prolific session recording units in music history. Most of the players associated with the Wrecking Crew had formal backgrounds in jazz or classical music. The group had no official name in its active years, and it remains a subject of contention whether or not they were referred to as "the Wrecking Crew" at the time. Drummer Hal Blaine popularized the name in his 1990 memoir, attributing it to older musicians who felt that the group's embrace of rock and roll was going to "wreck" the music industry. Some of Blaine's colleagues corroborated his account, while guitarist/bassist Carol Kaye contended that they ...
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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 ...
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Guitar Center
Guitar Center is an American musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center oversees various subsidiaries including Musician's Friend, AVDG, Music & Arts, Woodwind & Brasswind, and Giardinelli. History The company was founded in Hollywood by Wayne Mitchell in 1959 as The Organ Center, a retailer of electronic organs for home and church use. In 1964, after one of Mitchell's suppliers informed him that in order to continue receiving organs he would have to also carry Vox guitar amplifiers, Mitchell added the amps and changed the store's name to The Vox Center, capitalizing on the popularity of The Beatles and their association with the Vox brand. Toward the end of the 1960s, as other brands like Marshall rose in popularity, Mitchell once again changed the name, this time to Guitar Center. By 1972, Guitar Center had expanded to eight stores, a ...
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Los Angeles (magazine)
''Los Angeles'' magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to covering Los Angeles. Founded in the spring of 1961 by David Brown, the magazine is currently owned and published by Hour Media Group, LLC. Los Angeles magazine's combination of feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design has earned the publication three National Magazine Awards. The magazine covers people, lifestyle, culture, entertainment, fashion, art and architecture, and news. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA). Led by editor-in-chief Maer Roshan, the magazine has been the recipient of four National Magazine Awards. History ''Los Angeles'' was first published in 1961. It was purchased by CHC in 1973. ABC bought the magazine in 1977. ABC was eventually bought by The Walt Disney Company, which sold ''Los Angeles'' to Emmis Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Trut ...
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Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the music industry worldwide. It was originally called the Gramophone Awards, as the trophy depicts a gilded Phonograph, gramophone. The Grammys are the first of the Big Three television networks, Big Three networks' major music awards held annually, and is considered one of the EGOT, four major annual American entertainment awards, alongside the Academy Awards (for films), the Emmy Awards (for television), and the Tony Awards (for theater). The 1st Annual Grammy Awards, first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honor the musical accomplishments of performers for the year 1958. After the 2011 ceremony, the Recording Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. History The Grammys ...
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Studio City
Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, now known as Radford Studio Center. History Originally known as Laurelwood, the area that Studio City occupies was formerly part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California, granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio F. de Celis. This land changed hands several times during the History of the San Fernando Valley, late 19th century, and was eventually owned by James Boon Lankershim (1850–1931), and eight other developers, who organized the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company. In 1899, however, the area lost most water rights to Los Angeles, so subdivision and sale of land for farming became untenable. Construction of the Los Angel ...
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The Baked Potato
The Baked Potato is a prominent jazz club on Cahuenga Boulevard in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, opened by Don Randi (father of bassist Leah Randi) in 1970. Randi formed his own group, Don Randi and Quest, as the house band. Over the years it has hosted many live recordings from jazz fusion artists. Larry Carlton recorded ''Last Nite'' there in 1986. In 2010 The Baked Potato was named the Best Jazz Club in Los Angeles by ''Los Angeles'' magazine. They have cited it as a "mainstay for session players since 1975". Nick Menza Nicholas Menza (July 23, 1964 – May 21, 2016) was an American musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1989 to 1998. He recorded drums on four of Megadeth's albums: ''Rust in Peace'' (1990), ''Countdown to Extin ... of Megadeth collapsed and died while playing here with his band OHM (band), OHM on May 21, 2016. The club is mentioned in the 2016 musical film ''La La Land (film), La La Land''. References External ...
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Santee (film)
''Santee'' is a 1973 American Color Western film directed by Gary Nelson and starring Glenn Ford. It was one of the first motion pictures to be shot electronically on videotape, using Norelco PCP-70 portable plumbicon NTSC cameras and portable Ampex VR-1200 2" VTRs, before being transferred to film at Consolidated Film Industries in Hollywood. It was the only film to be produced by Edward Platt (of ''Get Smart'' fame). Plot Jody Deakes joins up with his father after many years, just to discover that his dad is part of an outlaw gang on the run from a relentless bounty hunter named Santee. Jody is orphaned soon after Santee catches up to the gang, and follows Santee in hopes of taking vengeance for his father's death. Instead, however, Jody discovers that Santee is a good and loving man, tormented by the death of his young son at the hands of another outlaw gang. Santee and his wife take Jody in and a father and son relationship begins to grow. Then the gang that shot Santee's s ...
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Stacey (film)
''Stacey'' is a 1973 exploitation film directed by Andy Sidaris. Half the budget was provided by Roger Corman for New World Pictures; the rest was raised by Sidaris. It was re-released in 1975 as ''Stacy and Her Gangbusters''.Christopher T Koetting, ''Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures'', Hemlock Books. 2009 p 54-55 Plot The protagonist is Stacey Hanson ( Anne Randall), a private eye and race car driver. She is hired by aging heiress Florence Chambers (Marjorie Bennett) to investigate the close members of her family who live in her mansion. Stacey is to determine whether the members of Florence's family are worthy to be included in her will. They are three: Florence's nephew John ( Stewart Moss), his wife Tish ( Anitra Ford), and Florence's grand-niece Pamela (Cristina Raines).Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 As it happens, all three potential heirs have something to hide. John is a discreet homosexual, Tish is having an affair with the houseboy, a ...
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Up In The Cellar
''Up in the Cellar'' is a 1970 American comedy film directed by Theodore J. Flicker and starring Wes Stern, Larry Hagman, Joan Collins, Judy Pace, David Cargo, and Joan Darling. The plot concerns a man who decides to bed three women. It was described by AIP as "as near a sequel to ''Three in the Attic'' as possible" and was originally known as ''The Late Boy Wonder''. Plot A suicidal college student is saved by a university president, against his wishes. To get even, the student decides to seduce women in the president's life, including his wife and mistress. Cast * Wes Stern as Colin Slade * Joan Collins as Pat Camber * Larry Hagman as Maurice Camber * Judy Pace Judy Lenteen Pace (born June 15, 1942) is an American actress known for her roles in films and television shows, particularly blaxploitation films. Pace portrayed Vickie Fletcher on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969) and Pat Walters on ... as Harlene References External links * {{IMDb title, 0066512 ...
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Bloody Mama
''Bloody Mama'' is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman and starring Shelley Winters in the title role, with Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, Robert Walden, Alex Nicol, and Robert De Niro in supporting roles. It was very loosely based on the real story of Ma Barker, who is depicted as a corrupt, mentally-disturbed mother who encourages and organizes the criminality of her four adult sons in Depression-era southern United States. Corman considers the film one of his favorite in his filmography. Plot In rural Arkansas during the Depression, middle-aged Kate 'Ma' Barker, disturbed by the childhood incestuous rape she experienced at the hands of her father and brothers, also brutalizes those around her, while indulging in her monstrous sexual appetites. She is devoted to her four young adult sons: the pragmatic Arthur, sadistic Herman, homosexual Fred, and loyal, drug-addicted Lloyd. Ma decides to leave her husband, George, and her Arkansas home to embark ...
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