|
Kay Twomey
Kathleen G. "Kay" Twomey (April 27, 1914 in Boston, Massachusetts – September 26, 1995 in Wellesley, Massachusetts) was an American songwriter and music arranger. Twomey co-wrote '' Serenade of the Bells'', which reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on November 7, 1947 and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at #3, and in a separate recording reached the Billboard's Best Seller chart on December 26, 1947 at #13. She also co-wrote ''Wooden Heart'', best known for its use in the 1960 Elvis Presley film ''G.I. Blues''. A cover version by Joe Dowell made it to number one in the US charts at the end of August 1961. Dowell's version also spent three weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart. Other songs by Twomey include the 1961 Elvis Presley single '' Put the Blame on Me'', '' Lend Me Your Comb'' and '' In the Beginning'', as well as songs recorded by Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Carl Smith, Don Cornell, Jill Corey, Eddy Arnold, Eartha Kitt, Caterina Valente, Guy Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jill Corey
Jill Corey (born Norma Jean Speranza; September 30, 1935 – April 3, 2021) was an American popular standards singer. She was discovered and signed on one day when she was 17. She went on to have her own radio shows and to star in a feature film. Biography Italian-American, Corey was born in Avonmore, Pennsylvania, a coal mining community about forty miles east of Pittsburgh. Her father, Bernard Speranza, was a coal miner, and she was the youngest of five children. Her mother died when she was four years old. She was a 1953 graduate of Bell-Avon High School. Corey began singing as an imitator of Carmen Miranda at family gatherings, on amateur shows in grade school, and contralto in the local church choir. At the age of 13, she began to develop her own style. She won first prize at a talent contest sponsored by the Lions Club, which entitled her to sing a song on WAVL in Apollo, Pennsylvania. This got her an offer to have her own program. By the age of 14 she was working seven n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eli Radish Band
The Eli Radish Band was a Cleveland, Ohio-based band active from 1968 to 1973. They were considered pioneers of " outlaw country" and "alt-country" music. The group signed with Capitol Records in 1969 and released its only album ''I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier'' which featured updating of World War I and II era type patriotic/anti-war songs. After recording for Capitol Records and Olympia Records, the group eventually disbanded in 1973. Career Eli Radish's founder and bassist Danny Sheridan continued to compose and produce songs for David Crosby, Scarlet Rivera, actress Amy Madigan and other CD, TV and film projects. He helped to launch his then girlfriend Nina Blackwood's MTV career, and Sheridan continues to produce her national radio shows and oversee her SiriusXM career. He co-hosted a talk show on 97.1 KLSX in Los Angeles and is a frequent speaker on various songwriter and music industry panels, often performing for charity events including Farm Aid and the Los A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Sandpipers
The Sandpipers were an American easy listening trio who carved a niche in 1960s folk rock with their vocals and innovative arrangements of international ballads and pop standards. They are best remembered for their cover version of "Guantanamera", which became a transatlantic top 10 hit in 1966, and their top 20 hit " Come Saturday Morning" from the soundtrack of the film ''The Sterile Cuckoo'' in 1970. Singing in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Latin, and Tagalog, the Sandpipers had seven separate album entries in the ''Billboard'' 200 from 1966-1970, and over a dozen charted singles. Career Founding members Jim Brady (born August 24, 1944, Los Angeles), Mike Piano (born October 26, 1944, Rochester, New York) and Richard Shoff (born April 30, 1944, Seattle) first performed together in the Mitchell Boys Choir, before forming the Four Seasons with friend Nick Cahuernga. Due to the rising popularity of a group with that name from New Jersey, they changed their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earl Grant
Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Career Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. Though he would be known later for his keyboards and vocals, Grant also played trumpet and drums. Grant attended four music schools, eventually becoming a music teacher. He augmented his income by performing in clubs during his army service, throughout which he was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas. Grant signed with Decca Records in 1957 and his first single "The End" reached number 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The album ''Ebb Tide (And Other Instrumental Favorites)'' sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status. He recorded six more singles that made the charts, including "Swingin' Gently" (from ''Beyond the Reef''), and six additional albums (on the Decca label) through 1968. He also recorded the album ''Yes Sirree!'' and the instrumental album ''Trade Winds'', single-tracked on the Hammond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hayley Mills
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her performance in the British crime drama film ''Tiger Bay'' (1959), the Academy Juvenile Award for Disney's ''Pollyanna'' (1960) and Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress in 1961. During her early career, she appeared in six films for Walt Disney, including her dual role as twins Susan and Sharon in the Disney film '' The Parent Trap'' (1961). Her performance in '' Whistle Down the Wind'' (a 1961 adaptation of the novel written by her mother) saw Mills nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress and she was voted the biggest star in Britain for 1961. In the late 1960s, Mills began performing in theatrical plays, making her stage debut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Ray Ellis
Ray Ellis (July 28, 1923 – October 27, 2008) was an American record producer, arranger, conductor, and saxophonist. He was responsible for the orchestration in Billie Holiday's ''Lady in Satin'' (1958). Biography Raymond Spencer Ellis was born in Philadelphia. He arranged many hit records in the 1950s and 1960s. Included are classics such as "A Certain Smile" and "Wild is the Wind" by Johnny Mathis, "Broken Hearted Melody" by Sarah Vaughan, and " Standing on the Corner" by the Four Lads. In 1970, he produced Emmylou Harris' debut LP ''Gliding Bird''. Ellis' work encompassed all areas of music, from records to film, commercials, and television. In the early 1960s, Ellis had a contract to produce his own easy listening record albums with RCA Victor, MGM, and Columbia, the most popular probably being ''Ellis in Wonderland''. His television credits include theme music for ''NBC News At Sunrise'' with Connie Chung and the background and incidental music for the first season ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Backus
Donald Edgar "Gus" Backus (September 12, 1937 – February 21, 2019) was an American singer. He started his career as a member of The Del-Vikings and later became a successful Schlager singer in Germany. Life and career Backus was born on Long Island and started his music career with the Del-Vikings, the first notable doo-wop group with both black and white members which had two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten hits. After he was stationed as an Airman in the U.S. Air Force at Wiesbaden Air Base in 1957, Backus had to leave The Del-Vikings and started singing Schlager music in 1960s West Germany. He sang all his songs in German with an American accent. 19 of his songs between 1960 and 1967 made the charts, including eight Top Ten hits. He landed a Number 1 hit in the German charts with his song "Der Mann im Mond" ("The Man in the Moon") in 1961. Backus also did German cover versions of songs by Elvis Presley, whom he met at one time, Paul Anka, and Conway Twitty. In addition to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Hyland
Brian Hyland (born November 12, 1943) is an American pop singer and instrumentalist who was particularly successful during the early 1960s. He continued recording into the 1970s. AllMusic journalist Jason Ankeny says "Hyland's puppy-love pop virtually defined the sound and sensibility of bubblegum during the pre- Beatles era." Although his status as a teen idol faded, he went on to release several country-influenced albums and had additional chart hits later in his career. Biography Hyland was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York City. He studied guitar and clarinet as a child, and sang in his church choir. When aged 14 he co-founded the harmony group the Del-Fi's, which recorded a demo but failed to secure a recording contract. Hyland was eventually signed by Kapp Records as a solo artist, issuing his debut single, "Rosemary", in late 1959. The label employed the Brill Building songwriting duo of Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance to work with Hyland on the follow-up, "Four Little ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. In the fall of 1957, Mitchell starred on the eponymous ABC's ''The Guy Mitchell Show''. He appeared as George Romack on the 1961 NBC western detective series ''Whispering Smith''. Life and career Born of Croatian immigrants in Detroit, Michigan, at age 11 he was signed by Warner Brothers Pictures, to be a child star, and performed on the radio on KFWB in Los Angeles, California. After leaving school, he worked as a saddlemaker, supplementing his income by singing. Dude Martin, who had a country music broadcast in San Francisco, hired him for his band. Mitchell served in the United States Navy for two years in World War II, then sang with Carmen Cavallaro's big band. In 1947 he recorded for Decca with Cavallaro's band, but left due to food poiso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
