Ken Kragen
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Ken Kragen
Kenneth Allan Kragen (November 24, 1936 – December 14, 2021) was an American music manager, television producer, author, speaker, and non-profit consultant, best known for his role in organizing the 1985 benefit record "We Are the World" and the 1986 charity event Hands Across America. Life and career Kenneth Allan Kragen was born on November 24, 1936, the son of Billie Bercovich, a professional violinist, and Adrian Kragen, a noted tax lawyer. His birthplace has been variously cited as Alameda, California, Alameda or Berkeley, California. He attended the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard Business School. Kragen was personal manager to numerous musicians, including country music stars Trisha Yearwood, Travis Tritt, Dottie West, and Kenny Rogers for many years. When Kragen was the executive producer of ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'', he met Kenny Rogers and The First Edition and became their manager. Kragen was the executive producer of their show Rollin' o ...
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Alameda County, California
Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alameda County is in the San Francisco Bay Area, occupying much of the East Bay region. The Spanish word ''alameda'' means either "a grove of poplars...or a tree lined street." The name was originally used to describe the Arroyo de la Alameda. The willow and sycamore trees along the banks of the river reminded the early Spanish explorers of a road lined with trees. Although a strict translation to English might be "Poplar Grove Creek," the name of the principal stream that flows through the county is now simply " Alameda Creek." Alameda County is part of the San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. History The county was formed on Mar ...
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We Are The World (album)
''We Are the World'' is a 1985 album that contains USA for Africa's "We Are the World", a superstar charity recording for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. The album was released on April 23, 1985, by Columbia Records. In addition to the title track, the album includes nine previously unreleased songs by donating artists, including Prince, Steve Perry, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (a rendition of Jimmy Cliff's obscure "Trapped" recorded live at Meadowlands Arena on their Born in the U.S.A. Tour, which achieved considerable album-oriented rock radio airplay and topped the Mainstream Rock chart), Tina Turner and others. The album also includes another famine relief fundraising song, "Tears Are Not Enough", which was performed by Canadian supergroup Northern Lights. Prince and The Revolution recorded "4 the Tears in Your Eyes" for the album. A rare live version of the song, done for Live Aid, was included on Prince's ''The Hits/The B-Sides''. Chicago's contr ...
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David Mathison
David Mathison is an author, blogger, speaker, entrepreneur, new media activist and event producer. He is best known for his book, ''Be The Media'', an encyclopedic guide to how individuals, organizations, and non-profits can use new media platforms to become content creators and distributors and reach audiences previously reserved for giant corporations. Life and early career Mathison was born in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, earned his B.A. in international affairs and political science from the State University of New York at Brockport in 1984, and received a Master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University in 1995. After earning his B.A., he worked in the early software industry and, in 1994, joined Reuters NewMedia, where he pioneered online content syndication, creating and launching a service called ''Target News'' in 1998. In 1999, he founded the Kinecta Corporation, which provided infrastructure that streamlined internet content delivery and syndicati ...
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People (magazine)
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the largest audience of any American magazine, but it fell to second place in 2018 after its readership significantly declined to 35.9 million. ''People'' had $997 million in advertising revenue in 2011, the highest advertising revenue of any American magazine. In 2006, it had a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by ''Advertising Age'' in October 2005, for excellence in editorial, circulation, and advertising.Martha Nelson Named Editor, The People Group
, a January 2006 ...
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Harry Chapin
Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy Award-winning artist and Grammy Hall of Fame inductee, has sold over 16 million records worldwide. Chapin recorded a total of 11 albums from 1972 until his death in 1981. All 14 singles that he released became hits on at least one national music chart. As a dedicated humanitarian, Chapin fought to end world hunger. He was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger in 1977. In 1987, Chapin was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his humanitarian work. Biography Harry Forster Chapin was born on December 7, 1942 in New York City, the second of four children of legendary percussionist Jim Chapin and Jeanne Elspeth, daughter of the literary critic Kenneth Burke. His brothers, Tom and ...
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Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii (also the last ones admitted to the Union), and all other offshore insular areas, such as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The colloquial term "Lower48" is used also, especially in relation to just Alaska (Hawaii is farther south). The related but distinct term continental United States includes Alaska (which is also on the continent of North America but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia and Yukon of Canada), but excludes the Hawaiian Islands and all U.S. territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The greatest distance (on a great-circle route) entirely within the contiguous U.S. is 2,802 miles (4,509 km), between Florida and the State of Washington; th ...
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Human Chain (politics)
A human chain is a form of demonstration in which people link arms or hands as a show of political solidarity. The chains can involve thousands of people, with the world record being claimed in 2020 by Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ..., India, which was estimated to include 51.7 million people across , to support the government's efforts towards environment conservation and eradication of social evils. List of notable human chains References {{DEFAULTSORT:Human Chain * ...
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Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing pop hit records for Lesley Gore in the early 1960s (including " It's My Party") and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between the jazz artists Frank Sinatra and Count Basie in the same time period. In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Eyes of Love" from the film '' Banning''. Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film ''In Cold Blood'', making him the ...
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Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song), Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night (Cyndi Lauper song), All Through the Night"—earned Lauper the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, soundtrack for the motion picture ''The Goonies'' and her second record ''True Colors (Cyndi Lauper album), True Colors'' (1986). This album included the number one single "True Colors (Cyndi Lauper song), True Colors" and "Change of Heart (Cyndi Lauper song), Change of Heart", which peaked at number three. I ...
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Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originator of heartland rock, combining mainstream rock musical styles with narrative songs about working class American life. Nicknamed "the Boss", his career has spanned six decades. Springsteen is known for his poetic, socially conscious lyrics and energetic stage performances, sometimes lasting up to four hours. In 1973, Springsteen released his first two albums, '' Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' and '' The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle'', neither of which earned him a large audience. He changed his style and reached worldwide popularity with ''Born to Run'' in 1975. It was followed by ''Darkness on the Edge of Town'' (1978) and '' The River'' (1980), which topped the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. After the solo recording, ''Neb ...
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Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded musician in history. The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his public debut in 1964 with his older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album '' Off the Wall''. His music videos, incl ...
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USA For Africa
United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a U.S. and UK number one for the collective in April of that year. The idea started when Harry Belafonte was inspired by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Belafonte then contacted Ken Kragen to recruit participants. Soon after, Quincy Jones was hired to conduct and co-produce the album. The considerable profits from the enterprise went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which used them for the relief of famine and disease in Africa and specifically to 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. USA for Africa also held a benefit event, Hands Across America, in which approximately seven million people held hands in a human chain for fifteen minutes along a path across the continental United States. Participants paid ten dollars to stand in line and the money raised w ...
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