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Harry Balk
Harry Balk (October 1, 1925 – December 3, 2016) was an American A&R man, record producer and record label executive. He discovered Little Willie John, Johnny and the Hurricanes, and Rodriguez; co-produced Del Shannon's 1961 hit " Runaway"; established several record labels; and became head of A&R at Motown where he was particularly influential on the career of Marvin Gaye. Biography The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Balk was born in the 12th Street area of Detroit, Michigan. Obituary for Harry Balk, ''HebrewMemorial.org'' Retrieved January 28, 2017 As a young man he managed the Krim Theatre, owned by his uncle, and began running talent contests through which he discovered Little Willie John in the early 1950s. Balk became his manager, and guided John to a successful career w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area, and the 14th-largest in the United States. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. ''Time'' named Detroit as one of the fifty World's Greatest Places of 2022 to explore. Detroit is a major port on the Detroit River, one of the four major straits that connect the Great Lakes system to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The City of Detroit anchors the second-largest regional economy in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Top Records
Bigtop Records was an American record label started by music executive Johnny Bienstock (brother of Freddy Bienstock) and the major music publisher Hill & Range Music and was co-owned along with Big Top Record Distributors (sic). Hit artists included Del Shannon, Johnny and the Hurricanes, Lou Johnson, Sammy Turner, Don Covay, Don and Juan and Toni Fisher. Big Top Record Distributors also distributed Paul Case's Dunes Records label in the early 60's, which had hits from Ray Peterson ("Corrina, Corrina") and Curtis Lee ("Pretty Little Angel Eyes"), both records produced by Phil Spector. Bell Records briefly distributed Bigtop prior to the label closing, around 1966. Bigtop also released two ''Mad'' magazine music parody themed albums; ''Mad Twists Rock 'n' Roll'' and ''Fink Along with Mad'' in 1963. In the UK, Bigtop licensed its records to London Records. Its current UK licensees are Ace Records (United Kingdom). There was a subsidiary, Big Hill Records, which only issued a fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on the list of best-selling music artists. His ''Bat Out of Hell'' trilogy — ''Bat Out of Hell'' (1977), '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' (1993), and '' Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose'' (2006) — has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years, still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and is on the list of best-selling albums. After the commercial success of ''Bat Out of Hell'' and ''Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell'', and earning a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love", Aday nevertheless experienced some difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. The key to this succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Just Want To Celebrate
"I Just Want to Celebrate" is a song recorded by American rock band Rare Earth. It was the lead single on their 1971 album '' One World'' and was the band's fifth single overall. Personnel *Peter Rivera – lead vocals and backing vocals, drums *Ray Monette – electric guitar and backing vocals *Mark Olson – organ and backing vocals *John Persh – bass and backing vocals *Gil Bridges – tambourine and backing vocals *Ed Guzman – congas Appearances "I Just Want to Celebrate" has been included on numerous 1970s compilation albums. Reception The song was among the most popular hits of the 1970s. Joe Viglione at Allmusic noted that without its inclusion on ''One World'', "the album would've been an instant bargain-bin candidate." It reached #7 on the pop charts and was Rare Earth's final top 10 single, as well as peaking at #30 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. It was the opening song on their live album, '' Rare Earth in Concert'', released later that year; and, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Get Ready (The Temptations Song)
"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by The Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer. The Temptations version The original Temptations version of "Get Ready", produced by Smokey Robinson, was designed as an answer to the latest dance craze, "The Duck". The Temptations' falsetto Eddie Kendricks sings lead on the song, which Robinson produced as an up-tempo dance number with a prominent rhythm provided by Motown drummer Benny Benjamin. The song made it to No. 1 on the U.S. R&B singles chart, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rare Earth (band)
Rare Earth was an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan. According to ''Louder'', "Rare Earth’s music straddles genres and defies categorisation, slipping seamlessly between the two seemingly disparate worlds of classic rock and R&B." The band was signed to Motown's Rare Earth record label. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members. (None of the previously signed all-white acts, the Rustix, the Dalton Boys or the Underdogs, had any hits.) History 1960s The group formed in 1960 as the Sunliners and changed its name to Rare Earth in 1968. The band felt the name "Rare Earth" was more in keeping with the names other bands were adopting, such as Iron Butterfly, more "with it." After recording an unsuccessful debut album, ''Dream/Answers'', on the Verve label in 1968, the group was signed to Motown in 1969. The band was one of the first acts signed to a new Motown impri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades. As a songwriter, he composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" ( Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (the Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" ( Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC". As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Searching For Sugar Man
''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which had never achieved success in the United States, had become very popular in South Africa, although little was known about him in that country. On 10 February 2013, the film won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in London and two weeks later, it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards in Hollywood. Production Initially using Super 8 film to record stylised shots for the film, director Malik Bendjelloul ran out of money for more film to record the final few shots. After three years of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sixto Rodriguez
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (born July 10, 1942), known professionally as Rodriguez, is an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Africa, Australia (touring the country twice), and New Zealand. Unbeknownst to him for decades, his music was extremely successful and influential in South Africa, where he is believed to have sold more records than Elvis Presley, as well as other countries in southern Africa. Information about him was scarce, and it was incorrectly rumored there that he had committed suicide shortly after releasing his second album. In the 1990s, determined South African fans managed to find and contact Rodriguez, which led to an unexpected revival of his musical career. This was told in the 2012 Academy Award-winning documentary film ''Searching for Sugar Man'' and helped give Rodriguez a measure of fame in his home country. In May 2013, Rodriguez received an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oh How Happy
Oh How Happy is a song written by Edwin Starr. It was a hit for the group The Shades of Blue. In the early 1980s, it was a minor hit for New Zealand based New York City soul singer Herb McQuay. Many artists have covered the song. It has been covered by numerous artists. Background "Oh How Happy" was first recorded by The Shades of Blue. While the band was at Golden World recording background vocals and some demos, Edwin Starr - who happened to be there and liked their sound - approached them with an unfinished song of his. He sat down with the group to work out the chorus and wording. According to member Nick Marinelli, the band actually had an active role in the final product, but they were not credited. Starr cited Shades of Blue's youth and inexperience for not knowing how the assigning of credit worked. The song was recorded in the late fall of 1965 and the group took the record to Harry Balk at Impact Records, who signed them into a contract. Chart performance The record wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shades Of Blue
The Shades of Blue were an American blue-eyed soul vocal group from Livonia, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The band started in high school as the Domingos. Original group members included Nick Marinelli, Ernie Dernai, Linda Allen and Bob Kerr. By 1965, The Domingos signed a recording contract for the Detroit-based Golden World label. John Rhys, a sound engineer, suggested a name change and the Shades of Blue was the result. Their biggest hit was the song "Oh How Happy", recorded in the fall of 1965 and released in early 1966, written by Edwin Starr, which reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, number 16 on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart and the Top 10 in Canada. That same year, the song "Lonely Summer", again written by Starr, reached number 72, and then "Happiness" peaked at number 78 in the Hot 100. Taste in popular music changed in the late 1960s, and the group's later single efforts failed to chart and they disbanded in 1970. In 2003, original member Nick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Master Recording
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via methods such as pressing, duplication or replication). In recent years digital masters have become usual, although analog masters—such as audio tapes—are still being used by the manufacturing industry, particularly by a few engineers who specialize in analog mastering. Mastering requires critical listening; however, software tools exist to facilitate the process. Results depend upon the intent of the engineer, the skills of the engineer, the accuracy of the speaker monitors, and the listening environment. Mastering engineers often apply equalization and dynamic range compression in order to optimize sound translation on all playback systems. It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording—known as a safety copy—in case ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
