|
Empty Sky (play)
''Empty Sky'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released on 6 June 1969. It was not issued in the United States until January 1975 (on MCA), with different cover art, well after John's fame had been established internationally. Background Recorded during the winter of 1968 and spring of 1969 in a DJM Records 8-track studio, ''Empty Sky'' is the only album in the early part of Elton John's career not produced by Gus Dudgeon, instead helmed by friend and DJM staffer Steve Brown. The album was released in the UK in both stereo and mono, the latter now being a rare collector's item. John plays harpsichord on several tracks, including " Skyline Pigeon", which John has described as being "the first song Bernie and I ever got excited about that we ever wrote." John used musicians who were friends either of him or of Brown. Guitarist Caleb Quaye and drummer Roger Pope, both at the time members of the band Hookfoot, played on many of the tracks. (Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 31 albums since 1969. Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967, John is acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s, and his lasting impact on the music industry. John's music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music. His songwriting partnership with Taupin is one of the most successful in history. John was raised in the Pinner suburb of London and learned to play piano at an early age, forming the blues band Bluesology in 1962. After leaving Bluesology in 1967 to embark on a solo career, John met Taupin after they both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spencer Davis Group
The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK number ones "Somebody Help Me" and "Keep on Running" (both written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards), " I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'", which reached #2 in the UK and #7 in the US. Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form rock band Traffic. After releasing a few more singles, the band ceased to be active in 1969. Davis revived the group on two more occasions, without the involvement of the Winwood brothers, first in 1973–1974 for two more albums, and again from 2006, since when they had primarily been a touring act. Davis died on 19 October 2020, effectively ending the band. History Formation The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in Birmingham after the Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis encountered vocalist and organist Steve Winwood (then ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hohner Pianet
The Hohner Pianet is a type of electric piano, electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany and designed by Ernst Zacharias. The Pianet was a variant of his earlier reed-based Hohner electric piano, the Cembalet, which, like the Pianet, was intended for home use. Hohner offered both keyboards in their range until 1968. The Pianet production consisted of two distinctly different mechanism groups with characteristically different sound. The first group, lasting from introduction to 1977, had ground stainless steel reeds, a pick-up using variable capacitance, and leather-faced activation pads. The second group from 1977 until the end of production used rolled spring-steel reeds, electro-magnetic pick-ups, and moulded silicone rubber activation pads. Features The Hohner Pianet is an electro-mechanical instrument, and needs to be connected to an amplifier to produce an audible sound. It had 61 keys ranging from F1 - F6 (43.6 Hz – 1396.9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
It's Me That You Need
"It's Me That You Need" is a song by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. Release and performances It was his third single, released almost four months after "Lady Samantha". It has a light pop sense and was penned by critics to be a radio hit. However, it actually performed worse than his previous two singles and also failed to chart in the U.S. and the UK. The song did become a hit in Japan two years later, peaking at the No. 13 on the country's Oricon sales chart, and No. 2 on the international chart. It had been the most commercially successful song for Elton in that country, until the double A-side single "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" topped the chart in October 1997. John played a solo version live as the first song on his 1971 tour of Japan. It was heavily applauded, as it was his first single to be released there. Since then, it has not been played anywhere. Composition Musical structure It opens with a st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lady Samantha
"Lady Samantha" is a song by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was released on 17 January 1969 as his second single, six months before his first album, ''Empty Sky'', came out. It appeared on its 1995 reissue as a bonus track. Performances Recorded in December 1968 along with its B-side, "All Across the Havens," it was performed on several radio broadcasts including John's first BBC radio airing on 28 October 1968, with Caleb Quaye on guitar but forgotten afterward. Despite the performances, John never played it in concert. Chart performance and releases John's first single, "I've Been Loving You," did not fare well on the British charts. This song went the same way. It was praised by critics, and yielded what producer Gus Dudgeon, who became a fan of the song upon hearing it on the radio, later called "a turntable hit." The song garnered a fair amount of airplay, but sold few copies and failed to chart. It was John's final single on the Philips label. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disc (magazine)
''Disc'' was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into ''Record Mirror''. It was also known for periods as ''Disc Weekly '' (1964–1966) and ''Disc and Music Echo '' (1966–1972). Background It first published on 8 February 1958, with the main competition being ''Record Mirror''. It gained a reputation for its emphasis on pop music as reflected in the music charts, in comparison with its more music-industry-focused rivals ''Melody Maker'' and ''New Musical Express''. Its pop music charts were based on its own sample of shops, initially no more than 25 in number, but expanding to about 100 by the mid-1960s. It also awarded silver discs (for UK sales of 250,000) and gold discs (for UK sales of 1,000,000) from 1959 until 1973. Awards were based on sales figures submitted by record companies. In 1973, ''Discs awards were superseded by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) setting up an 'official' certification award ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize. Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1967. His first album, ''Songs of Leonard Cohen'' (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: ''Songs from a Room'' (1969), ''Songs of Love and Hate'' (1971) and ''New Skin for the Old Ceremony'' (1974). His 1977 record '' Death of a Ladies' Man'', co-written and produced by Phil Spector, was a move away f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Here And There (Elton John Album)
''Here and There'', released in 1976, is a live album by English musician Elton John; it is his fourteenth official album release. The title refers to the two concerts represented on the album: "Here" is a concert recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in London during the summer of 1974; "There" is a concert recorded at New York City's Madison Square Garden on 28 November 1974. Track listing Original LP and CD Notes * LP sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–9 on the earliest CD releases of the album. 1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue Personnel Track numbering refers to the 2-CD expanded reissues of the album. *Elton John – Piano, Vocals *Ray Cooper – Tambourine (CD No. 1 tracks 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12; CD No. 2 tracks 1, 2, 4, 7, 9–13), Congas (CD No. 1 tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12; CD No. 2 tracks 3, 5, 6, 8), Bells (CD No. 1 track 6; CD No. 2 track 9), Vibes (CD No. 1 track 7; CD No. 2 track 2), Duck Call on "Honky Cat", Organ on "Crocodile Rock" *Lesley Dunc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel (Elton John Song)
"Daniel" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was first released on John's 1973 album ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player''. In the United Kingdom, the song reached No. 4 in the official chart. In the United States, the song reached No. 2 on the pop charts (only held from number one by " My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings) and No. 1 on the adult contemporary charts for two weeks in the spring of 1973. In the US, it was certified gold in September 1995 and platinum in May 2018 by the RIAA. In Canada, it became his second No. 1 single, following "Crocodile Rock" earlier in the year, holding the position for two weeks in the ''RPM 100 ''national singles chart. John and Taupin received the 1973 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. The song appeared on the soundtrack of the 1974 film ''Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore''. Composition Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics after reading an artic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player
''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', released nine months later), and was his second straight No. 1 album in the US and first No. 1 album in the UK. The lead single "Crocodile Rock" yielded John his first No. 1 single in both the US and Canada. "Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian No. 1 single on the ''RPM'' Top Singles Chart and No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching No. 4 in the UK, one place higher than achieved by "Crocodile Rock". Background The team returned to France to record at the Château d'Hérouville, also known at the time as "Strawberry Studios", which was how the studio was credited in the album's sleeve; ''Honky Château'', the previous Elton John album, had been recorded there. The album featured h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
21 At 33
''21 at 33'' is the fourteenth studio album by English musician Elton John and his 21st album in total, made when John was 33 years old, hence the title. ''21 at 33'' was recorded at Super Bear Studios, Nice, France, in September 1979 and at Rumbo Recorders and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California, from January to March 1980. Three singles were released from the album, including "Little Jeannie", his highest-charting U.S. single in 5 years. The album sold over 900,000 copies in the United States, missing a Platinum certification. Background The two other founding members of the original Elton John Band (active 1969–1975), drummer Nigel Olsson and bass player Dee Murray, reunited with him for two songs. His keyboardist James Newton Howard returned and performed on almost every track, as was the case on '' Rock of the Westies'' and ''Blue Moves''. Other musicians included members of the Eagles and Toto, as well as Peter Noone from Herman's Hermits and Bill Champlin an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
