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Gabriel Mekler
Gabriel Mekler (2 December 1942 – 4 September 1977) was an American songwriter, musician, and record producer who attained fame in the 1960s, helming albums for Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, and Janis Joplin. He also collaborated with R&B singer Etta James for two critically acclaimed albums in the early 1970s, mixing blues, soul, land then topped it off with Genya Ravan production jazz and rock. Career Born in Palestine (pre-1948 Israel) Mekler was a classically trained pianist. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, California, Mekler sought out Dunhill Records and was hired as a staff producer, despite his lack of production experience or familiarity with rock and roll and pop music. His first project at Dunhill was with folk-pop band The Lamp of Childhood, where he oversaw studio sessions, contributed songs and played piano. The group's three singles flopped but Mekler's next project, Steppenwolf, made music history. It was Mekler who suggested the name "Steppenwolf" to the band's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. A songwriter who mainly writes the lyrics for a song is referred to as a lyricist. The pressure from the music industry to produce popular hits means that song writing is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with the task of creating original melodies. Pop songs may be composed by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own music publishers, while others have external publishers. The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by university degrees, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Born To Be Wild
"Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is most notably featured in the 1969 film ''Easy Rider''. It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style but rather a motorcycle). Composition "Born to Be Wild" was written by Mars Bonfire as a ballad. Bonfire was previously a member of the Sparrows, the predecessor band to Steppenwolf, and his brother was Steppenwolf's drummer. Although he initially offered the song to other bands — The Human Expression, for one — "Born to Be Wild" was first recorded by Steppenwolf in a sped-up and rearranged version that AllMusic's Hal Horowitz described as "a roaring anthem of turbo-charged riff rock" and "a timeless radio classic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
August 1967
The following events occurred in August 1967: August 1, 1967 (Tuesday) *After its construction at the Pullman Company yards in Chicago, the UAC TurboTrain was sent eastward on August 1, 1967, at regular speed and without passengers, to Providence, Rhode Island in order for UAC Aircraft Systems engineers to tear it down, study it for further development, and then eventual high-speed testing on a specially-built track between Trenton and New Brunswick, New Jersey. *Nine Japanese high school students were killed by a bolt of lightning that struck them while they were descending Mount Nishihodaka, a peak in Japan's Hida Mountains, near Nagano. Ten others were injured, and the other 31 members of the group were unhurt. *The U.S. State Department lifted restrictions on American travel to Algeria, Libya and the Sudan, imposed after the Six-Day War, but still limited travel to Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Yemen. August 2, 1967 (Wednesday) *The Turkish soccer football team Trab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Early life Ruth Lee Jones was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Alice and Ollie Jones, and moved to Chicago as a child. She became deeply involved in gospel music and played piano for the choir in St. Luke's Baptist Church while still in elementary school. She sang gospel music in church and played piano, directing her church choir in her teens and was a member of the Sallie Martin Gospel Singers. When she joined the Sallie Martin group, she dropped out of Wendell Phillips High Sch ... [...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] |
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world music (notably calypso). He has lived in Scotland, Hertfordshire (England), London, California, and—since at least 2008—in County Cork, Ireland, with his family. Emerging from the British folk scene, Donovan reached fame in the United Kingdom in early 1965 with live performances on the pop TV series ''Ready Steady Go!''. Having signed with Pye Records in 1965, he recorded singles and two albums in the folk vein for Hickory Records, after which he signed to CBS/Epic in the US—the first signing by the company's new vice-president Clive Davis—and became more successful internationally. He began a long and successful collaboration with leading British independent record producer Mickie Most, scoring multiple hit singles and albums in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. Cher is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety of styles and appearances throughout her six-decade-long career. Cher gained popularity in 1965 as one-half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher after their song "I Got You Babe" peaked at number one on the US and UK charts. Together they sold 40 million records worldwide. Her solo career was established during the same time, with the top-ten singles "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" and "You Better Sit Down Kids". She became a television personality in the 1970s with her CBS shows; first ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'', watched by over 30&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celebrate (Three Dog Night Song)
"Celebrate" is a song written by Gary Bonner and Alan Gordon and performed by Three Dog Night. It was featured on their 1969 album, ''Suitable for Framing'' and was produced by Gabriel Mekler. In the US, "Celebrate" peaked at #15 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1970. Outside the US, "Celebrate" reached #8 in Canada. Retrieved January 30, 2015 Background The song featured the horn section from the rock band , who at that time, were known as the Chicago Transit Authority.Other versions * Plastic P ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easy To Be Hard
"Easy to Be Hard" is a song from the 1967 rock musical ''Hair''. It was written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni, who put the musical together in the mid-1960s. The original recording of the musical featuring the song was released in May 1968 with the song being sung by Lynn Kellogg, who performed the role of Sheila on stage in the musical. The song was first covered by American band Three Dog Night on their 1969 album ''Suitable for Framing'', with the lead vocal part sung by Chuck Negron, and was produced by Gabriel Mekler. Three Dog Night's version of the song reached number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1969, and was ranked number 33 on ''Billboards Hot 100 songs of 1969. A decade later, in 1979, the film version of ''Hair'', directed by Miloš Forman was released, with "Easy to Be Hard" sung by Cheryl Barnes. Chart history Weekly charts Year-end charts Other versions * Stony Brook People released the song as a demo only single in April, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eli's Comin'
"Eli's Comin" is a song written and recorded in 1967 by American singer-songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro. The song was first released in 1968 on Nyro's album, ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession''. Other versions *The song was recorded by Three Dog Night in 1969, on their 1969 albums ''Suitable for Framing'' (for which see note on piano outro) and ''Captured Live at the Forum''. Their studio version reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 4 in Canada's RPM Magazine charts. *Don Ellis released a version in 1969 on his album '' The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground''. *The Friends of Distinction released a version in 1969 on their album ''Grazin'''. *Honey Ltd. released a version in 1969 as a single on the LHI label. *Maynard Ferguson released a version in 1970 on his album '' M.F. Horn''. *Affinity released a version in 1970 as a single (also included in later pressings of their self-titled album). *The 5th Dimension released a version on their 1971 album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Try A Little Tenderness
"Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Original version It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorded in 1932, was made by Charlie Palloy & his Orchestra. Ted Lewis (Columbia 2748 D) and Ruth Etting (Melotone 12625) had hits with it in 1933. Bing Crosby also recorded it on January 9, 1933, for Brunswick Records. A version by Bob and Alf Pearson was also released in 1933. The song appeared on Frank Sinatra's debut album, ''The Voice of Frank Sinatra'', in 1946. Otis Redding version A popular version in an entirely new form was recorded by soul artist Otis Redding in 1966. Redding was backed on his version by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and Stax staff producer Isaac Hayes worked on the arrangement. Bowman, Rob (1997). ''Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records.'' New York: Schirmer Trade. . Pg. 105-1072 Redding's recording features a slo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One (Harry Nilsson Song)
"One" is a song by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson from his 1968 album '' Aerial Ballet''. It is known for its opening line "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do". Nilsson wrote the song after calling someone and getting a busy signal. He stayed on the line listening to the "beep, beep, beep, beep..." tone, writing the song. The busy signal became the opening notes. A better-known cover version, recorded by Three Dog Night, reached number five on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1969 and number four in Canada. In 1969, the song was also recorded by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, reaching number four on the ''Go-Set'' National Top 40 Chart. Three Dog Night version Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ... released ''On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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