Holiday (Madonna Song)
"Holiday" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eponymous debut album, ''Madonna'' (1983). Sire Records released it as the album's third single on September 7, 1983. Written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of Pure Energy, the track was offered to Madonna by her producer John "Jellybean" Benitez when she was looking for a potential hit track to include on her debut album. After accepting the song, she and Benitez worked on it and altered its composition by the addition of a piano solo performed by their friend, Fred Zarr. "Holiday" features instrumentation from guitars, electronic handclaps, a cowbell, and a synthesized string arrangement, while its lyrics speak about the universal sentiment of taking a holiday. Receiving highly positive reviews from critics, the song became Madonna's first mainstream hit single in the United States, peaking at number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the Dance Club Songs chart. It also became her first top-ten ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. She has pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music, while continuing to maintain control over every aspect of her career. Her works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A prominent cultural figure crossing both the 20th and 21st centuries, Madonna remains one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age", with a broad amount of scholarly reviews and literature works on her, as well as an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her named Madonna studies. At 20 years old, Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States. The weekly tracking period for sales was initially Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. This tracking period also applies to compiling online streaming data. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming, is readily available on a real-time basis, is also tracked on a Friday to Thursday cycle effective with the chart dated July 17, 2021 (previously Monday to Sunday and before July 2015, Wednesday to Tuesday). A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by ''Billboard'' on Tuesdays but post-dated to the following Saturday. The first number-one song of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 was " Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the villanelle, the virelay, and the sestina. In popular music, the refrain or chorus may contrast with the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically; it may assume a higher level of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. Chorus form, or strophic form, is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly. Usage in history In music, a refrain has two parts: the lyrics of the song, and the melody. Sometimes refrains vary their words slightly when repeated; recognizability is given to the refrain by the fact that it is always sung to the same tune, and the rhymes, if present, are preserved despite the variations of the words. Such ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Record Producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as Composer: Shaping the Sounds of Popular Music'' (Cambridge, MA & London, UK: MIT Press, 2005).Richard James Burgess, ''The History of Music Production'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014)pp 12–13Allan Watson, ''Cultural Production in and Beyond the Recording Studio'' (New York: Routledge, 2015)pp 25–27 The record producer, or simply the producer, is likened to film director and art director. The executive producer, on the other hand, enables the recording project through entrepreneurship, and an audio engineer operates the technology. Varying by project, the producer may or may not choose all of the artists. If employing only synthesized or sampled instrumentation, the producer may be the sole artist. Conversely, some artists ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Demo (music)
A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed format, such as cassette tape, compact disc, or digital audio files, and to thereby pass along those ideas to record labels, producers, or other artists. Musicians often use demos as quick sketches to share with bandmates or arrangers, or simply for personal reference during the songwriting process; in other cases, a songwriter might make a demo to send to artists in hopes of having the song professionally recorded, or a publisher may need a simple recording for publishing or copyright purposes. Background Demos are typically recorded on relatively crude equipment such as "boom box" cassette recorders, small four- or eight-track machines, or on personal computers with audio recording software. Songwriters' and publishers' demos are recorded ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Blogcritics
Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn. Blogcritics features more than 100 original articles every week, and maintains an archive of all its published content. History The site was founded in 2002 with 50 members and has substantially increased that number by allowing anyone to contribute. A team of editors reviews every article prior to publication on the site. In August 2008, the blog search engine, Technorati, acquired Blogcritics for an undisclosed amount of money. As a result, publisher Olsen and technical director Winn became full-time Technorati employees. One of the first collaborative ventures of the two entities was for Blogcritics writers to begin writing descriptions of Technorati tags. In April 2009, Blogcritics underwent a complete site redesign and switched content management systems. In his official email newsletter, sent during the week of 12 Sep 2010, publisher Eric Ol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prism Records
Prism Records was an American record label formed in 1978 by Len Fichtelberg (d. November 4, 2010). It was originally an independent label, focusing on the New York City R&B and disco scene of the day with groups like Erotic Drum Band and disco dance legends Lime. When Cold Chillin' Records was formed in 1986, it was initially distributed by Prism, but label head Tyrone Williams and Fichtelberg decided to merge their companies. As a result, in 1989, the Prism name was phased out in favor of the new name. In 1987, Cold Chillin' signed a 5-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. The first two Cold Chillin' releases through Warner Bros. (which, incidentally, were the second and third overall Cold Chillin' albums to be released) had the legend ''A Prism Records Production'' written on them. As Warner Bros. Records' premier hip-hop-based subsidiary label, Cold Chillin' released many classic records in the late 1980s and early 1990s from such notable acts as Big Daddy Kane, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful American vocal group, vocal band, with List of Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones#Most number-one singles, 12 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Most of these hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland–Dozier–Holland. It is said that their breakthrough made it possible for future African American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul musicians to find mainstream success. ''Billboard'' ranked the Supremes as the 16th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time. Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson (singer), Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, and Betty McGlown, the original members, were all from the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects, Brewster-Douglass public housing proje ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson (March 6, 1944 – February 8, 2021) was an American singer. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of The Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard''s Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocalist, backing vocals. Wilson remained with the group following the departures of the other three original members Barbara Martin (singer), Barbara Martin (in 1962), Florence Ballard (in 1967), and Diana Ross (in 1970), though the subsequent group disbanded following Wilson's own departure in 1977. Wilson later became a The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times'' best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, ''Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme'', wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phyllis Hyman
Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" (1979), "Living All Alone" (1986) and " Don't Wanna Change the World" (1991). Hyman also performed on Broadway in the 1981 musical based on the music of Duke Ellington, ''Sophisticated Ladies'', which ran from 1981 until 1983. The musical earned her a Theatre World Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. After an extended struggle with her mental health, Hyman died by suicide in 1995 at her New York City apartment. Early life and early career The eldest of seven children, Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Phillip, a World War II veteran, and Louise Hyman, a waitress at a local night club, and grew up in St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh. Hyman's pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Bray
Stephen Pate Bray (born December 23, 1956) is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer. He is best known for his collaborations with Madonna, being a member of the band Breakfast Club, and for winning the 2017 Grammy Award for the Best Musical Theater Album of the Tony Award-winning revival of ''The Color Purple''. Bray owns and operates Saturn Sound recording studios and the Soultone Records label. Career Bray began studying music through private instruction in Detroit, attended Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor. He continued his education at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1978. Collaborations with Madonna Bray dated Madonna before her fame when she was attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for dance in 1976. He moved to New York after receiving a call from Madonna in November 1980; at that time she was a member of the band Breakfast Club in Queens. Madonna wanted to form a new band and invited Bray to play the drums. They formed the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Everybody (Madonna Song)
"Everybody" is the debut single by American singer Madonna, released on October 6, 1982, under the label Sire Records. The single was featured on her debut studio album ''Madonna'' (1983). Madonna had recorded a demo of the song with Steve Bray. She urged DJ Mark Kamins, who DJed at Danceteria, to play it. He was impressed by the song and took her to Sire Records, who signed her for a two-song deal. However, after the recording of the two singles was over, Sire executive Michael Rosenblatt was not interested in the other song produced and decided to release only "Everybody". By incorporating R&B-infused beats in the music and not including her image on the cover artwork, marketing for the song gave the impression that Madonna was a black artist. That impression did not last long as Madonna would later convince Sire executives to shoot a music video for the song. The low-budget video directed by Ed Steinberg showed Madonna and her friends in a club singing and dancing to the song ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |