It's The Talk Of The Town
   HOME
*



picture info

Popular Music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia'' It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional or "folk" music. Art music was historically disseminated through the performances of written music, although since the beginning of the recording industry, it is also disseminated through recordings. Traditional music forms such as early blues songs or hymns were passed along orally, or to smaller, local audiences. The original application of the term is to music of the 1880s Tin Pan Alley period in the United States. Although popular music sometimes is known as "pop music", the two terms are not interchangeable. Popular music is a generic term for a wide variety of genres of music that appeal to the tastes of a large segment of the population, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized and was active again with his band from then until his death in 1983. He was especially known among musicians for his technical proficiency as well as his Tone (musical instrument), tone, and was influential on new trumpet players from the late 1930s into the 1940s. He was also an actor in a number of films that usually featured his band. Early life Harry James was born in Albany, Georgia, United States, the son of Everett Robert James, a bandleader in a traveling circus, the Mighty Haag Circus, and Myrtle Maybelle (Stewart), an acrobat and horseback rider. He started performing with the circus at an early age, first as a contortionist at age of four, then playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six. It was at this age ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the " King of Soul" for his distinctive vocals, notable contributions to the genre and significance in popular music. Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and later relocated to Chicago with his family at a young age, where he began singing as a child and joined the Soul Stirrers as lead singer in the 1950s. Going solo in 1957, Cooke released a string of hit songs, including "You Send Me", " A Change Is Gonna Come", "Cupid", " Wonderful World", " Chain Gang", "Twistin' the Night Away", " Bring It On Home to Me", and "Good Times". During his eight-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top Ten of ''Billboard'' Black Singles chart. In ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Lonely Girl (album)
''Lonely Girl'' is an LP album by Julie London, released by Liberty Records under catalog number LRP-3012 as a monophonic recording in 1956, and later in rechanneled stereo under catalog number LST-7029 in 1959. The album (minus "What'll I Do") was reissued, combined with London's 1957 album '' Make Love to Me'', on compact disc on January 28, 2003, by EMI. Track listing Personnel * Julie London – Vocals * Al Viola – Guitar * Bobby Troup Robert William Troup Jr. (October 18, 1918 – February 7, 1999) was an American actor, jazz pianist, singer, and songwriter. He wrote the song " Route 66" and acted in the role of Dr. Joe Early with his wife Julie London in the television progr ... – Producer * John Neal – Engineer * Ray Jones – Cover photography * Chris Ingham – Liner Notes ;For the reissue * Andy Morten – Producer, design * Joe Foster – Producer, recreation * Norman Blake – Recreation * Bob Norberg – Remastering Charts Notes References * ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Julie London
Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums of pop and jazz standards between 1955 and 1969. Her recording of " Cry Me a River", a track she introduced on her debut album, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In addition to her musical notice, London was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1974 for her portrayal of nurse Dixie McCall in the television series ''Emergency!''. Born in Santa Rosa, California, to vaudevillian parents, London was discovered while working as an elevator operator in downtown Los Angeles, and she began her career as an actress. London's 35-year acting career began in film in 1944, and included roles as the female lead in numerous westerns, co-starring with Rock Hudson in '' The Fat Man'' (1951), with Robert Taylor and John Cassavetes in '' ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Jack Pleis Orchestra
Jack K. Pleis (May 11, 1917 – December 5, 1990) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, Pleis worked with many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Benny Goodman, Earl Grant, Brenda Lee, and Joe Williams. Between 1950 and 1976, more than 150 songs were arranged by Pleis. His surname is pronounced "Pleece" (to rhyme with "fleece"). Early life and education Jack Pleis was born in Philadelphia on May 11, 1917. Starting at the age of four, he began his training in classical piano. He first performed in concert when he was seven. By the time he was eleven, he appeared on radio programs for children. Pleis enrolled in college intending to study medicine. To support his studies, he played piano in jazz and popular music bands. Eventually he left school and moved to New York City, wher ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


The Four Aces
The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Fountain", " Stranger in Paradise", " Tell Me Why", and "(It's No) Sin". Other big sellers included "Shangri-La", "Perfidia", and " Sincerely". The original members, responsible for every song made popular by the group, included Al Alberts, Dave Mahoney, Lou Silvestri, and Rosario "Sod" Vaccaro. Career Alberts went to South Philadelphia High School and Temple University and served in the United States Navy, where he met Mahoney. Originally, Alberts sang with Mahoney playing behind him, and later they added Vaccaro on trumpet and Silvestri on drums. They played locally in the Philadelphia area, and Alberts started his own record label, Victoria Records, when they could not find a distributor to release their first record, "(It's No) Sin". It ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lester Young
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most influential players on his instrument. In contrast to many of his hard-driving peers, Young played with a relaxed, cool tone and used sophisticated harmonies, using what one critic called "a free-floating style, wheeling and diving like a gull, banking with low, funky riffs that pleased dancers and listeners alike". Known for his hip, introverted style, he invented or popularized much of the hipster jargon which came to be associated with the music. Early life and career Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi, on August 27, 1909. to Lizetta Young (née Johnson), and Willis Handy Young, originally from Louisiana. Lester had two siblings – a brother, Leonidas Raymond, known as Lee Young, who became a drummer, and a sister, Irma ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Joni James
Giovanna Carmella Babbo (September 22, 1930 – February 20, 2022), known professionally as Joni James, was an American singer of traditional pop music. Biography Giovanna Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illinois, on September 22, 1930, as one of six children supported by her widowed mother. As an adolescence, adolescent, she studied drama and ballet, and on graduating from Bowen High School, located in the South Chicago neighborhood, went with a local dance group on a tour of Canada. She then took a job as a chorus girl in the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. After doing a fill-in in Indiana, she decided to pursue a singing career, and picked the stage name Joni James at the urging of her managers. Some executives at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) spotted her in a television commercial, and she was signed by MGM in 1952. Her first hit record, hit, "Why Don't You Believe Me?", sold over two million copies. She had a number of hits following that one ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




So Smooth
''So Smooth'' is Perry Como's first RCA Victor 12" long-play album, recorded and originally released in 1955. This was also Perry's first album recorded at Webster Hall in New York City, and his first album with the Ray Charles Singers who would support him generally throughout the remainder of his recording career. ''So Smooth'' was released in the UK as ''We Get Letters Volume 2'' as Perry's popularity gained international appeal during the late 1950s; under this title, the album peaked at number 4 in the ''Record Mirror'' album chart, entering on 28 June 1958 and spending seven weeks within the Top 5.''British Hit Singles & Albums'' 18th edition, Guinness World Records 2005, page 117 Although RCA Victor issued several LP collections by Como prior to this album, this was Como's first album of all-new material recorded especially for an LP release. Como viewed the LP format differently from the singles market, eschewing the kind of popular novelty songs he often recorded for ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing with the label in 1943. He recorded primarily vocal pop and was renowned for recordings in the intimate, easy-listening genre pioneered by multi-media star Bing Crosby. "Mr. C.", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world. In the official RCA Records Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all." Como received five Emmy Award, Emmys from 1955 to 1959, and a Christopher Award in 1956. He also shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He received a Kennedy Cente ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Johnnie Ray
John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music, and his animated stage personality. Tony Bennett called Ray the "father of rock and roll", and historians have noted him as a pioneering figure in the development of the genre. Born and raised in Dallas, Oregon, Ray, who was partially deaf, began singing professionally at age fifteen on Portland radio stations. He gained a local following singing at small, predominantly African-American nightclubs in Detroit, where he was discovered in 1949 and subsequently signed to Okeh Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. He rose quickly from obscurity in the United States with the release of his debut album ''Johnnie Ray'' (1952), as well as with a 78 rpm single, both of whose sides reached the ''Billboard'' magazine's Top ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]