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First Take (album)
''First Take'' is the debut album by the American soul singer Roberta Flack. It was released on June 20, 1969, by Atlantic Records. After a track from this album, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", was included by Clint Eastwood in his 1971 film ''Play Misty for Me'' with the song becoming a number 1 hit in the United States, the album reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' album chart and ''Billboard'' R&B album chart. In the 2020 edition of ''Rolling Stone''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, the album was ranked number 451. In 2019, Flack's website announced that ''First Take'' would be remastered and re-released as a limited deluxe edition of only 3,000 copies commemorating the album's fiftieth anniversary. The set includes one vinyl LP and two compact discs: one CD is the remastered album and the other contains "rare and unreleased recordings". The set was released on July 24, 2020. Track listing Personnel *Roberta Flack – piano, vocals *Bucky Pizzarelli – gu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You", the latter two duets with Donny Hathaway. Flack is also noted for her influence on the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm, along with her interpretations of songs by various songwriters, such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles. Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive years: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won in 1973 and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" won in 1974. Early life Flack was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, to parents Laron Flack, a Veterans Administration draftsman, and Irene (Council) Flack a church organist, on February 10, 1937 (some sources have cited 1939 but the 1940 Census gives Rob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene McDaniels
Eugene Booker McDaniels (February 12, 1935 – July 29, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter. He had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s, reaching number three on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart with "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and number five with " Tower Of Strength," both hits in 1961. He had continued success as a songwriter with titles including " Compared to What" and Roberta Flack's " Feel Like Makin' Love". Background Born in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, McDaniels grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. As well as singing gospel music in church, he developed a love of jazz, and learned to play the saxophone and trumpet. After forming a singing group, the Echoes of Joy, later known as the Sultans, in his teens, he studied at the University of Omaha Conservatory of Music before joining the Mississippi Piney Woods Singers, with whom he toured in California. Career 1960s–1970s In California, McDaniels began singing in jazz clubs, achie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Allen
Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of '' The Tonight Show'', which was the first late-night television talk show. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best known for his extensive network television career. He gained national attention as a guest host on '' Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.'' After he hosted '' The Tonight Show'', he went on to host numerous game and variety shows, including his own '' The Steve Allen Show'', ''I've Got a Secret'', and ''The New Steve Allen Show''. He was a regular panel member on CBS's '' What's My Line?'' and, from 1977 until 1981, he wrote, produced, and hosted the award-winning public broadcasting show '' Meeting of Minds'', a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format. Allen was a pianist and a prol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Could Be The Start Of Something
"This Could Be the Start of Something" (generally known as "This Could Be the Start of Something Big") is a popular song by Steve Allen, published in 1956. Background Originally, the song was written as part of the score for the 1954 television musical production of ''The Bachelor''. This score earned Allen a Sylvania Award (awarded "For Outstanding Contribution to Creative Television Technique"). In 1956, "This Could be the Start of Something" replaced the original opening theme to Allen's NBC talk show, ''Tonight Starring Steve Allen'', until Allen left the show in 1957 to be replaced by Jack Paar. It became something of a personal theme song for him, being used as the opening to his other talk and variety shows, as well as during the opening of both the CBS and syndicated versions of ''I've Got a Secret'' during his time as host. Cover versions A number of performers have covered this song, including: *Count Basie *Tony Bennett *Bobby Darin *Ella Fitzgerald * Aretha Frankl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Van Heusen
James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and career Born in Syracuse, New York, Van Heusen began writing music while at high school. He renamed himself at age 16, after the shirt makers Phillips-Van Heusen, to use as his on-air name during local shows. His close friends called him "Chet".Coppula, C. (2014). ''Jimmy Van Heusen: Swinging on a Star''. Nashville: Twin Creek Books. Jimmy was raised Methodist. Studying at Cazenovia Seminary and Syracuse University, he became friends with Jerry Arlen, the younger brother of Harold Arlen. With the elder Arlen's help, Van Heusen wrote songs for the Cotton Club revue, including "Harlem Hospitality". He then became a staff pianist for some of the Tin Pan Alley publishers, and wrote "It's the Dreamer in Me" (1938) with lyrics by Jimmy Dorsey. Coll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area. He and his collaborators had a series of hit recordings with Frank Sinatra during the singer's tenure at Capitol Records, but also enjoyed hits with Dean Martin, Doris Day and many others. He played the piano and violin, and won an Oscar four times for his songs, including the popular hit " Three Coins in the Fountain". Among his most enduring songs is "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", cowritten with Jule Styne in 1945. Life and career Cahn was born Samuel Cohen in the Lower East Side of New York City, the only son (he had four sisters) of Abraham and Elka Reiss Cohen, who were Jewish immigrants from Galicia, then ruled by Austria-Hungary. His sisters, Sadye, Pearl, Flo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All The Way (Frank Sinatra Song)
"All the Way" is a song published in 1957 by Maraville Music Corporation. The music was written by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. Frank Sinatra recording In 1957, a recording of "All the Way", was made famous by Frank Sinatra It was introduced in the film ''The Joker Is Wild.'' Sinatra also had the best-selling recorded version of the song. Aside from this song, he also sang "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" for the movie. It wound up as the flipside of "All the Way" when Capitol Records released the song as a single. The single reached #15 in sales and #2 in airplay in Billboard's charts. The track peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song in its orchestral arrangement by Nelson Riddle received the 1957 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra rerecorded the song, with a Nelson Riddle arrangement, for his 1963 album ''Sinatra's Sinatra''. Translations Mina performed "Si, amor", the Italian version of the song, in ''Canzonissima'', a 1968 RAI musical variety ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph MacDonald
Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was a Trinbagonian-American percussionist, songwriter, musical arranger, record producer, steelpan virtuoso and philanthropist. His compositions include "Where Is the Love", a Grammy Award winner for the duet of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway; " Just the Two of Us", recorded by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.; and "Mister Magic" recorded by Grover Washington Jr. Career Growing up in Harlem, New York, United States, under the close mentorship of his Trinbagonian father, Patrick MacDonald (a calypsonian and bandleader originally from Trinidad and Tobago who used the stage name "Macbeth the Great"), MacDonald began showing his musical talent, particularly with the steelpan, and when he was 17 years old started playing pan for the Harry Belafonte show. He remained with the Belafonte band for a decade before deciding to strike out on his own. In 1967, together with Bill Eaton and William Salter, he formed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Wolf
Thomas Joseph Wolf Jr. (1925 – 1979) was an American composer and piano player. He was best known for his songwriting collaboration with Fran Landesman. Life Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Wolf met Fran Landesman while playing piano at the Jefferson Hotel there. She showed him a poem which he set to music. The resulting song "This Little Love of Ours" began a collaboration that continued for more than a decade. Wolf's albums include " Wolf at Your Door," and " Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most", both recorded for Fraternity Records. After moving to California, he was a rehearsal pianist, working on the Andy Williams and Red Skelton television shows, and numerous musical specials, most memorably the award-winning Fred Astaire show "Evenings." Several of Wolf's songs, including " Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most", have become jazz Jazz standards, and have been recorded by artists such as Kurt Elling, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, and Ella Fitzgerald. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fran Landesman
Fran Landesman (October 21, 1927 – July 23, 2011) was an American lyricist and poet. She grew up in New York City and lived for years in St. Louis, Missouri, where her husband Jay Landesman operated the Crystal Palace nightclub. One of her best-known songs is " Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most". Early life and education She was born Frances Deitsch in New York City in 1927, Her mother was a journalist and a father was a dress manufacturer. Her brother, Sam Deitsch, founded and operated some neighborhood bars in St. Louis and, with his partner Ed Moose, later founded the Washington Square Bar and Grill in San Francisco. Deitsch attended private schools through high school. For college, she studied at Temple University in Philadelphia and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. There she initially worked in the fashion industry, as her father did. While in New York, Deitsch met writer Jay Landesman, the publisher of the short-lived ''Neurotica'' magazine, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson (born June 4, 1945) is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of R&B vocal group The Impressions. His music concerns '70s soul, as noted in the June 29, 2006 issue of ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. He is the father of producer JR Hutson. Biography Early years As a teenager, Hutson formed the Nu-Tones, a four-man vocal group based in New Jersey. They won several talent shows during his high school years. The other members of the Nu-Tones were Ronald King, Bernard Ransom, Ed Davis, and Irving Jenkins. In 1968, as part of the duo Sugar & Spice, Lee Hutson and Deborah Rollins recorded for Kapp Records. They recorded several singles with some success. Their single "In Love Forever" ranked the "Best New Record Of The Week" in the local newspaper column "Soul Sauce". Two other singles recorded were "Ah Ha Yeah" and "Dreams". College years Initially attending Howard University in Washingto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ewan MacColl
James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the instigators of the 1960s folk revival as well as for writing such songs as " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Dirty Old Town". MacColl collected hundreds of traditional folk songs, including the version of " Scarborough Fair" later popularised by Simon & Garfunkel, and released dozens of albums with A.L. Lloyd, Peggy Seeger and others, mostly of traditional folk songs. He also wrote many left-wing political songs, remaining a steadfast communist throughout his life and engaging in political activism. Early life and early career MacColl was born as James Henry Miller at 4 Andrew Street, in Broughton, Salford, England, to Scottish parents, William Miller and Betsy (née Henry), both socialists. William Miller was an iron m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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