Ken Ascher
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Ken Ascher
Kenneth Lee Ascher (born October 26, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema production.''Who's Who in Rock Music'', by William York, Charles Scribner's Sons (1982); With Paul Williams, he wrote the song "Rainbow Connection" for ''The Muppet Movie''. Both Williams and Ascher received Oscar nominations for the 1979 Academy Awards for Best Original Song ("Rainbow Connection") and Best Original Score (''The Muppet Movie'' Soundtrack). The song was also nominated for the Golden Globes for "Best Original Song" that same year. His work Ascher's work through the years has included keyboard parts and string arrangements on John Lennon's albums ''Mind Games'', ''Walls and Bridges'' and ''Rock 'n' Roll'' and Yoko Ono's ''A Story'', music for several songs from Barbra Streisand's remake of '' A Star Is Born'' (where he also served ...
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Washington, D
Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States Washington may also refer to: Places England * Washington, Tyne and Wear, a town in the City of Sunderland metropolitan borough ** Washington Old Hall, ancestral home of the family of George Washington * Washington, West Sussex, a village and civil parish Greenland * Cape Washington, Greenland * Washington Land Philippines *New Washington, Aklan, a municipality *Washington, a barangay in Catarman, Northern Samar *Washington, a barangay in Escalante, Negros Occidental *Washington, a barangay in San Jacinto, Masbate *Washington, a barangay in Surigao City United States * Washington, Wisconsin (other) * Fort Washington (other) ...
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John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's work was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit of his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history. Born in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager. In 1956, he formed The Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Beatle", he was initially the group's de facto leader, a role gradually ceded to McCartney. Lennon soon expanded his work into other media by participating in numerous films, including '' How I Won the War'', and authoring '' In His Own Write'' and '' A Spaniard in the Works'', both collections of nonsense writings and line dr ...
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The Break-Up
''The Break-Up'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peyton Reed, starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. It was written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick from a story by them and Vaughn, and produced by Universal Pictures. Plot Gary Grobowski and Brooke Meyers meet at Wrigley Field during a Chicago Cubs game and begin dating, eventually buying a condominium together. Gary works as a tour guide in a family business with his brothers, Lupus and Dennis. Brooke manages an art gallery owned by eccentric artist Marilyn Dean. Their relationship comes to a head after the latest in an escalating series of arguments. Brooke, feeling unappreciated, criticizes Gary's perceived immaturity and unwillingness to work on improving their relationship. Gary is frustrated by Brooke's perceived controlling, perfectionistic attitude, and expresses his desire to have a little more independence, particularly when arriving home from work, wanting to unwind. Brooke becomes i ...
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The Rainbow Connection
"Rainbow Connection" is a song from the 1979 film ''The Muppet Movie'', with music and lyrics written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. The song was performed by Jim Henson – as Kermit the Frog – in the film. "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1979, with the song remaining in the Top 40 for seven weeks total. Williams and Ascher received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards. In 2020, "Rainbow Connection" was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Production Williams and Ascher, who had previously collaborated on several songs for the 1976 film '' A Star Is Born'', were tasked with writing the songs for ''The Muppet Movie''. For the song that became "Rainbow Connection", Jim Henson told them that the opening scene should feature Kermit the Frog by himself, singing and play ...
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Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Utopia. He is known for his sophisticated and often unorthodox music, his occasionally lavish stage shows, and his later experiments with interactive entertainment. He also produced music videos and was an early adopter and promoter of various computer technologies, such as using the Internet as a means of music distribution in the late 1990s. A native of Philadelphia, Rundgren began his professional career in the mid 1960s, forming the psychedelic band Nazz in 1967. Two years later, he left Nazz to pursue a solo career and immediately scored his first US top 40 hit with " We Gotta Get You a Woman" (1970). His best-known songs include " Hello It's Me" and " I Saw the Light" from '' Something/Anything?'' (1972), which get frequent air ti ...
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Bat Out Of Hell
''Bat Out of Hell'' is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. It is one of the best-selling albums in history. The album was developed from a musical, ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of ''Peter Pan'', which Steinman wrote for a workshop in 1974. It was recorded during 1975–1976 at various studios, including Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released in October 1977 by Cleveland International/Epic Records. ''Bat Out of Hell'' spawned two Meat Loaf sequel albums: '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' (1993) and '' Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose'' (2006). ''Bat Out of Hell'' has sold over 43 million copies worldwide. It is certified 14× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is the best-selling album in Australia. As of June 2019, it has spent 522 weeks in the UK Albums Chart, the second longest chart run by a studio album. ''Rolling Stone' ...
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Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on the list of best-selling music artists. His ''Bat Out of Hell'' trilogy — '' Bat Out of Hell'' (1977), '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' (1993), and '' Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose'' (2006) — has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. The first album stayed on the charts for over nine years, still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and is on the list of best-selling albums. After the commercial success of ''Bat Out of Hell'' and ''Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell'', and earning a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song " I'd Do Anything for Love", Aday nevertheless experienced some difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. The key to this su ...
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Jim Steinman
James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, musical theater, and film score genres. He produced albums for Bonnie Tyler and for Meat Loaf, including ''Bat Out of Hell'' (one of the best-selling albums in history) and '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell''. His most successful chart singles include Tyler's " Total Eclipse of the Heart", Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", the Sisters of Mercy's " This Corrosion" and " More", Barry Manilow's " Read 'Em and Weep", Celine Dion's cover of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (originally released by Steinman's project Pandora's Box) and Boyzone's " No Matter What" (the group's first and only single to be popular and chart in the US). Steinman's only solo album ''Bad fo ...
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Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart with 11 albums—a record for a woman—including ''People'' (1964), ''The Way We Were'' (1974), ''Guilty'' (1980), and ''The Broadway Album'' (1985). She also achieved five num ...
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A Story (album)
''A Story'' is an album by Yoko Ono, recorded in 1974, during the "lost weekend" sessions in which John Lennon produced ''Walls and Bridges''. It was unreleased until the 1992 box set ''Onobox'', which featured material from ''A Story'' on disc six. It was only properly released as an individual album 23 years later in 1997, with the reissuing of Ono's back catalogue by Rykodisc. The reissue added three bonus tracks, including home demos and a live recording from the '' Starpeace'' tour. Track listing ;Bonus tracks Track information Many of the tracks on ''A Story'' made it onto subsequent albums in a re-recorded form: *"Loneliness" and "Tomorrow May Never Come" were included on ''It's Alright (I See Rainbows)''. *"Will You Touch Me", "Dogtown" and "She Gets Down on Her Knees" were included on '' Season of Glass''. *"Hard Times Are Over" was included on ''Double Fantasy''. *"It Happened" was released as a different mix as the B-side to "Walking on Thin Ice". *"Yes, I'm a Wit ...
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Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York City in 1953 with her family. She became involved with New York City's downtown artists scene in the early 1960s, which included the Fluxus group, and became well known in 1969 when she married English musician John Lennon of the Beatles. The couple used their honeymoon as a stage for public protests against the Vietnam War. She and Lennon remained married until he was murdered in front of the couple's apartment building, the Dakota, on 8 December 1980. Together they had one son, Sean, who later also became a musician. Ono began a career in popular music in 1969, forming the Plastic Ono Band with Lennon and producing a number of avant-garde music albums in the 1970s. She achieved commercial and critical ...
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