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Johnny Rotella
Johnny Rotella (November 4, 1920 – September 11, 2014) was an American woodwind player, session player, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than six decades, he wrote over 200 songs, including the Frank Sinatra standard “Nothing but the Best”. Early life Rotella was born into a musical family in Jersey City, New Jersey on November 4, 1920. He grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey and married Ann Graziano in 1947. Songwriting career Rotella joined ASCAP in 1954. He studied the Schillinger composition method with Disney film composer Franklyn Marks. Rotella wrote regularly with popular lyricists of the 20th century, including Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, Ray Gilbert, Sidney Clare, Claude Baum, Franz Steininger, Jerry Gladstone, and Abbey Lincoln. His songs were recorded by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day, and Frankie Avalon, Slim Whitman, and Ray Conniff Singers. His work is also featured in the films '' That’s My Boy'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is among the List of best-selling music artists, world's best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. He found success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "Bobby soxer (music), bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, ''The Voice of Frank Sinatra'', in 1946. When his film career stalled in the early 1950s, Sinatra turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best-known concert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Conniff Singers
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book. Early career After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann), he joined the Artie Shaw big band and wrote many arrangements for him. After his stint with Shaw, he was hired in 1954 by Mitch Miller, head of A&R at Columbia Records, as the label's home arranger, working with several artists including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray. He wrote a top-10 arrangement for Don Cherry's "Band of Gold" in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies. Among the hit singles Conniff backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a male chorus) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddy Baker (composer)
Norman Dale "Buddy" Baker (January 4, 1918 – July 26, 2002) was an American composer who scored many Disney films, including ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' in 1975, ''The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again'' in 1979, ''The Shaggy D.A.'' in 1976, ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh'' in 1977, and ''The Fox and the Hound'' in 1981. He also composed scores for Disney theme park attractions, including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and The Haunted Mansion. Biography Baker was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, and got his degree in music from Southwest Baptist College. He moved to the West Coast in the 1930s to arrange music scores for radio, and became the musical director for Bob Hope's radio show. Career One of Baker's first hits as a big band arranger was "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" for the Stan Kenton Orchestra. He later became a professor at L.A. City College in the early 1950s. Among his early students were film composer Jerry Goldsmith and jazz drummer Loui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Gray (arranger)
Jerry Gray (July 3, 1915 – August 10, 1976) was an American violinist, arranger, composer, and leader of swing dance orchestras (big bands) bearing his name. He is widely known for his work with popular music during the Swing era. He worked with the bandleaders Artie Shaw and Glenn Miller. Early life Jerry Gray was born Generoso Graziano in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. His father, Albert Graziano, was a music teacher who began teaching his son violin at age seven. As a teenager Graziano studied with and was a soloist with the Boston Junior Symphony Orchestra. Early career In 1936, Gray joined Artie Shaw, who was calling himself Art Shaw, and his "New Music" orchestra as lead violinist. He studied musical arrangement under Shaw and became a staff arranger a year later. During the next two years he penned some of the band's most popular arrangements, including "Carioca", " Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise", "Any Old Time", and "Begin the Beguine." In November 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was cancelled in May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, but the duo reunited in 1976 for the similarly formatted ''The Sonny & Cher Show'' (a title sporadically used during the run of the ''Comedy Hour''), which ran for two seasons, ending August 29, 1977. ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' (1971–1974) By 1971, Sonny & Cher had stopped producing hit singles as a duet act. Cher's first feature film, ''Chastity'', was not a success, and the duo decided to sing and tell jokes in nightclubs across the country. CBS head of programming Fred Silverman saw them one evening and offered them their own show. ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was originally supposed to be a summer replacement series, but high ratings gave Silverman sufficient reason t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombone playing. His theme song was "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You". His technical skill on the trombone gave him renown among other musicians. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey. After Dorsey broke with his brother in the mid-1930s, he led an extremely successful band from the late 1930s into the 1950s. He is best remembered for standards such as "Opus No. 1, Opus One", "Song of India (song), Song of India", "Marie", "On Treasure Island", and his biggest hit single, "I'll Never Smile Again". Early life Born in Mahanoy Plane, Pennsylvania, Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. was the second of four children born to Thomas Francis Dorsey Sr., a bandleader, and Theresa (née Langton) Dorsey. He and Jimmy, his older brother by slightly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City on January 16, 1938, is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music." Goodman's bands started the careers of many jazz musicians. During an era of racial segregation, he led one of the first integrated jazz groups, his quartet and quintet. He performed nearly to the end of his life while exploring an interest in classical music. Early years Goodman was the ninth of twelve children born to poor Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire. His father, David Goodman (1873–1926), came to the United States in 1892 from Warsaw in partitioned Poland and became a tailor. His mother, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is familiar to millions because Carl Stalling adapted it in over 120 Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and other Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. His compositions may also be heard in ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' (which uses Scott's recordings in twelve episodes), ''The Simpsons'', ''Duckman'', ''Animaniacs'', ''The Oblongs'', ''Batfink'', and '' Bluey''. The only time he composed to accompany animation was three 20-second commercial jingles for County Fair Bread in 1962. Early life and career Scott was born in Brooklyn, New York to Russian Jewish immigrants, Joseph and Sarah Warnow. His older brother, Mark Warnow, was a conductor, violinist, and musical director for the CBS radio program ''Your Hit Parade'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinatra And Swingin' Brass
''Sinatra And Swingin' Brass'' is a 1962 studio album by Frank Sinatra. This is the first time Sinatra worked with arranger/composer Neal Hefti on an album project, following a single-only session that took place in April 1962. For ''Sinatra and Swingin' Brass'', the singer re-recorded a number of songs he had previously recorded for Capitol. "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and "I Get a Kick Out of You" had been recorded eight years earlier for ''Songs for Young Lovers'', "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" had been recorded six years prior for ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers'', and " At Long Last Love" had been recorded five years earlier for ''A Swingin' Affair!''. Track listing #"Goody Goody" (Johnny Mercer, Matty Malneck) – 1:47 #"They Can't Take That Away from Me" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:41 #" At Long Last Love" (Cole Porter) – 2:14 #"I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Johnny Hodges, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Don George) – 2:34 #"Don'cha Go 'Way ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rusty Draper
Farrell Haliday "Rusty" Draper (January 25, 1923 – March 28, 2003) was an American country and pop singer-songwriter and radio and TV host who achieved his greatest success in the 1950s. Biography Born in Kirksville, Missouri, United States, and nicknamed "Rusty" for his red hair, he began performing on his uncle's radio show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid-1930s. Draper moved on to work at radio stations in Des Moines, Iowa—sometimes filling in for sports announcer Ronald Reagan—and in Illinois before settling in California. There, he began to sing in local clubs, becoming resident singer at the Rumpus Room in San Francisco. By the early 1950s, he had begun appearing on national TV shows, including ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' (CBS) and ''Ozark Jubilee'' (ABC). In 1952, Draper signed to Mercury Records and issued his debut single, "How Could You (Blue Eyes)". The following year, after a national club tour, his cover version of Jim Lowe's "Gambler's Guitar" made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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