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Kelly Gordon
Kelly Gordon (November 19, 1932 – August 1, 1981) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Work After recording some unsuccessful solo singles for Mercury Records, Gordon was employed by Capitol Records as a staff producer. One of his first productions was Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe", where he took her demo of the song and overdubbed a string arrangement by Jimmie Haskell. The song was an immediate hit, with nine Grammy Awards nominations in 1968 and three wins. ''Rolling Stone'' eventually put it at position 419 of its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" listing. Gordon and Gentry became close friends and collaborators on her music. With considerable input from Gentry, Gordon produced the albums ''Ode to Billie Joe'' (1967), ''The Delta Sweete'' (1968), and '' Local Gentry'' (1968) and co-produced '' Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell'' (1968) with Campbell's then-producer, Al De Lory. His success with Gentry led to Gordon being given the chance to record ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is operated through Republic Records; in the United Kingdom and Japan (as Mercury Tokyo in the latter country), it is distributed by EMI Records. Since the separation of Island Records, Motown, Mercury Records, and Def Jam Recordings combining the Island Def Jam Music Group, Mercury Records has been placed under Island Records, although its back catalogue is still owned by the Island Def Jam Music Group (now Island Records). Background Mercury Records was started in Chicago in 1945 and over several decades, saw great success. The success of Mercury has been attributed to the use of alternative marketing techniques to promote records. The conventional method of record promotion used by major labels such as RCA Victor, Decca Records, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs and recruit diverse astronauts, including some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts. Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. She trained in dance, and began her career as a dancer, singer, and model in Chicago. She went into stage acting, and had a television and film career. Early life Grace Dell Nichols was born the third of six children on December 28, 1932, in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to Samuel Earl Nichols, a factory worker who was elected both town mayor of Robbins in 1929 and its chief magistrate, and his wife, Lishia (Parks) Nichols, a hom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burke's Law (1963 TV Series)
''Burke's Law'' is an American detective series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1966. The show starred Gene Barry as millionaire captain of Los Angeles Police homicide division Amos Burke, who is chauffeured around to solve crimes in his 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II complete with an early car phone. The original series was converted into a spy drama, ''Amos Burke Secret Agent'', in its third and final season. The series was revived in 1994–1995 on CBS, with Barry reprising the role of the millionaire detective. Premise The show shares stylistic similarities with Barry's previous series, ''Bat Masterson'', in which he played a debonair lawman of the Old West. During the opening credits, as the title flashes onscreen, a woman's voice seductively pronounces the words "It's Burke's Law!" The title also reflects Burke's habit of dispensing wisdom to his underlings in a professorial manner, ''e.g.'', "Never ask a question unless you already know the answer. Burke's Law." The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Star Television
Four Star Television, also called Four Star International, was an American television production company. Founded in 1952 as Four Star Productions by prominent Hollywood actors Dick Powell, David Niven, Charles Boyer, and Joel McCrea, it was inspired by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz founding Desilu Productions a year earlier. McCrea left soon after its founding to continue in films, television and radio, and was replaced by Ida Lupino as the fourth star—although Lupino did not own stock in the company. Four Star produced several popular programs in the early days of television, including ''Four Star Playhouse'' (its first series), ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'', ''Stagecoach West'', ''The June Allyson Show'' (also known as ''The DuPont Show Starring June Allyson''), ''The Dick Powell Show'', '' Burke's Law'', '' The Rogues'' and ''The Big Valley''. Despite its stars sharing equal billing, Powell played the biggest role in the company's early success and growth. Powell became ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Johnson
Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson (October 16, 1927 – January 13, 1995) was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as "Ray Johnson, 67, Pop Artist Known for His Work in Collage" by Carol Vogel, ''The New York Times'', January 19, 1995 "New York's most famous unknown artist". Johnson also staged and participated in early events as the founder of a far-ranging |
Herschel Burke Gilbert
Herschel Burke Gilbert (April 20, 1918 – June 8, 2003) was an American orchestrator, musical supervisor, and composer of film and television scores and theme songs, including ''The Rifleman'' (starring Chuck Connors), ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater'', and ''The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor''. Gilbert once estimated that his compositions had been used in at least three thousand individual episodes of various television series. Early years and education Gilbert was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Samuel Gilbert and Bertha Shevinsky, both born in the Russian Empire. At the age of nine, he began studying the violin in Shorewood in Milwaukee County. By the time he was 15, he had formed his own dance band. He attended Milwaukee State Teachers College (now University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) and studied for four years: two as an undergraduate and two as a graduate, from 1939–1943 at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. After Juilliard, Gilbert won a music schola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shorty Rogers
Milton "Shorty" Rogers (born Milton Rajonsky; April 14, 1924 – November 7, 1994) was an American jazz musician, one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played trumpet and flugelhorn and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Biography Rogers was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States. He worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and Red Norvo. From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with Woody Herman and in 1950 and 1951 he played with Stan Kenton. On June 7, 1953, Rogers and his orchestra, including Johnny "Guitar" Watson, performed for the famed ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, Earl Bostic, Nat "King" Cole, and Louis Armstrong and his All Stars with Velma Middleton. From 1953 through 1962, Rogers recorded a series of albums for RCA Victor (later reissued on RCA's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Scott (musician)
Robert William Scott (January 29, 1937 – November 5, 1990) was an American musician, record producer, and songwriter. Biography Scott was born in Mount Pleasant, New York, United States, and became a pianist, vibraphonist, and singer, and could also play the accordion, cello, clarinet, and double bass. He studied under Edvard Moritz at the La Follette School of Music at the age of eight, and was working professionally at 11. In 1952, he began touring with Louis Prima, and also toured and performed with Gene Krupa, Lester Young, and Tony Scott in the 1950s. In 1956 he hit the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with the song " Chain Gang", peaking at number 13. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Career and Grammy Award As a bandleader, he did sessions for Verve, ABC-Paramount, Bethlehem, and Musicmasters. As a songwriter, he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition for the song " A Taste of Honey". In addition to "A Taste of Honey", Scott al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Russell (songwriter)
Bob Russell (April 25, 1914 – February 18, 1970) was an American songwriter (mainly lyricist) born Sidney Keith Rosenthal in Passaic, New Jersey. Career Russell attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked as an advertising copywriter in New York; for a time, his roommate there was Sidney Sheldon, later a novelist. He turned to writing material for vaudeville acts, and then for film studios, ultimately writing complete scores for two movies: ''Jack and the Beanstalk (1952 film), Jack and the Beanstalk'' and ''Reach for Glory''. The latter film received the Locarno International Film Festival prize in 1962. A number of other movies featured compositions by Russell, including ''Affair in Trinidad'' (1952), ''The Blue Gardenia, Blue Gardenia'' (1953), ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956), ''The Girl Most Likely'' (1957), ''A Matter of WHO'' (1961), ''Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd'' (1952), ''Sound Off (film), Sound Off'' (1952), ''That Midnight Kiss'' (1949 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike McKinley (musician)
Peter Michael McKinley (born January 1954) is an American diplomat. A career Foreign Service Officer, McKinley served as U.S. Ambassador to Peru (2007–2010), Colombia (2010–2013), Afghanistan (2015–2016), and Brazil (2017–2018), and then as Senior Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State (2018–2019). Early life and education McKinley was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and grew up in Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. McKinley earned a B.A. from Southampton University and an M.Phil. and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford. He was a member of Linacre College, Oxford. Career McKinley joined the Foreign Service in 1982. He was based in Bolivia from 1983 until 1985 and had three tours of duty at the State Department's headquarters in Washington from 1985 until 1990. He then served in the U.S. Embassy in London from 1990 until 1994 and as deputy chief of mission and ''chargé d'affaires'' at U.S. Embassies in Mozambique, Uganda, and Belgium fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe South
Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for " Games People Play" and was again nominated for the award in 1972 for "Rose Garden". Career South had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publisher and radio personality. He began his recording career in Atlanta with the National Recording Corporation, where he served as staff guitarist along with other NRC artists Ray Stevens and Jerry Reed. South's earliest recordings have been re-released by NRC on CD. He soon returned to Nashville with The Manrando Group and then on to Charlie Wayne Felts Promotions. (Charlie Wayne Felts is the cousin of Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductee and Grand Ole Opry Member, Narvel Felts.) South had his first top 50 hit in July 1958 with a cover version of the b-side of The Big Bopper's hit sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Majors
Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. Majors portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series ''The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin in the American television science fiction action series ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' (1973–1978), and Colt Seavers in American television action series ''The Fall Guy'' (1981–1986). Early life Majors was born in Wyandotte, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. His parents, Carl and Alice Yeary, were both killed in separate accidents. (His father died in a work accident six months prior to his birth, and his mother was killed in a car accident when he was almost eighteen months old.) At the age of two, Majors was adopted by his uncle and aunt, Harvey and Mildred Yeary, and he moved with them to Middlesboro, Kentucky. He participated in track and football at Middlesboro High School. He graduated in 1957, and earned a scholarship to Indiana University, where he again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
