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Magic (Four Tops Album)
''Magic'' is an album recorded by the Four Tops, released in 1985 on Motown Records. The album reached No. 23 on the Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart and No. 33 on the ''Billboard'' Top US R&B Albums chart. Overview Half of the Magic album was produced by Reggie Lucas, which was the idea of Iris Gordy, who felt his work on the debut double-platinum Madonna album reminded her of an updated Holland-Dozier-Holland sound. The other half was handled by Willie Hutch. Reggie Lucas produced the song "Maybe Tomorrow", a duet between Levi Stubbs and Phyllis Hyman, which received substantial urban contemporary airplay. Singles "Sexy Ways" peaked at No. 21 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart. Track listing Personnel * Levi Stubbs - lead vocals * Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, The Andantes - backing vocals * Reggie Lucas Reginald Grant Lucas (February 25, 1953 – May 19, 2018) [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four Tops
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, performing from 1953 until 1997 without a change in personnel. The Four Tops were among a number of groups, including the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, who established the Motown Sound heard around the world during the 1960s. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors. The group was the main male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who crafted a stream of hit singles fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 positions but was shortened to 50 positions in October 2012. The chart is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, rock and roll, soul, and funk, it is today dominated by contemporary R&B and hip hop. Since its inception, the chart has changed its name many times in order to accurately reflect the industry at the time. History Beginning in 1942, ''Billboard'' published a chart of bestselling black music, first as the Harlem Hit Parade, then as Race Records. Then in 1949, ''Billboard'' began publishing a Rhythm and Blues chart, which entered "R&B" into mainstream lexicon. These three charts were consolid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valerie Simpson
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York City. Afterwards, his family relocated to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he became a member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. While there, he sang with a group called the Hammond Singers (named after the founding minister, James Hammond). Later, Nickolas attended and graduated from Willow Run High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before pursuing his professional career, where he would ultimately meet his wife, Valerie. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1964. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined an aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Joshie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label, where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nickolas Ashford
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York City. Afterwards, his family relocated to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he became a member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. While there, he sang with a group called the Hammond Singers (named after the founding minister, James Hammond). Later, Nickolas attended and graduated from Willow Run High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before pursuing his professional career, where he would ultimately meet his wife, Valerie. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1964. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined an aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Joshie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label, where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So Go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Del Barrio
Eduardo Gutiérrez del Barrio, known professionally as Eddie del Barrio, is an Argentinian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pianist. He is a founding member of the jazz fusion band Caldera. He has collaborated with Earth, Wind & Fire, Stan Getz, Herb Alpert, and Dianne Reeves. Early life Eduardo del Barrio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1937. In 1942 his family moved to Mendoza, where his father started a music school. Del Barrio is a classically trained pianist. At seventeen he led a jazz band, playing in clubs. In 1965 he moved to the United States. His brother Jorge del Barrio was classically trained and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as an arranger. Career Eduardo del Barrio and Jorge Strunz of Costa Rica were the founding members of Caldera, a jazz fusion group. Caldera was composed of Del Barrio on keyboards, Strunz on guitar, Dean Cortez on bass and Steve Tavaglione on saxophone, Cuban drummer Carlos Vega, and Brazilian percussionist Mike Azevedo. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roxanne Seeman
Roxanne Joy Seeman is an American songwriter and lyricist. She is best known for her songs by Billie Hughes, Philip Bailey, Phil Collins, Earth, Wind & Fire, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, The Sisters of Mercy, The Jacksons, Jacky Cheung, and in film and television. She has two Emmy nominations. Seeman is a writer and producer of the Japan Grand Prix Gold Disk Award for International Single of the Year "Welcome To The Edge" by Billie Hughes. Seeman has written songs for Chinese artists including Jacky Cheung, Yang Kun, Super Vocal, Rainie Yang and productions by Zhang Yadong and Gao Xiaosong. Seeman is a producer of the Broadway shows To Kill a Mockingbird and The Waverly Gallery. Early life and education Seeman was born in New York to Jewish parents, Murray Seeman, a lawyer and real estate developer, and his wife, Lee (née Sachs). Her father was a scholar, World War II veteran, and former mayor of Great Neck Estates, where they lived. Of Czechoslavakian descent, thirty- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawrence Payton
Lawrence Albert Payton (March 2, 1938 – June 20, 1997) was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops. In 1997, at 59 years old, Payton died of liver cancer. Biography Payton and Renaldo Benson both attended a Northern High School in Detroit and met Levi Stubbs and Abdul Fakir at a school birthday party. The four teenagers began singing in 1953 as The Four Aims but later changed their name to the Four Tops. Although successful in the local area as a performance group, recording success eluded them until signing with the newly established Motown label in 1963. They then became one of the biggest recording acts of the sixties, charting more than two dozen hits through to the early eighties. Payton is credited for the vocal arrangements and the "smooth seamless harmony" of the Tops' sound. He also sang lead on several songs such as "Feel Free" (from the ''Catfish'' album) and "Until You Love Someon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Bridges
Fred Bridges (October 8, 1938-January 19, 2018) was an American record producer and musician. His parents Thomas Jones and Clara Law moved to Detroit as part of the Great Migration. Bridges became interested in music at an early age and created his first band in middle school, called the Melody Skylarks. Throughout high school, Bridges created other bands and joined singing competitions. In 1956, Bridges married and soon had two children. In 1958, he entered the United States Air Force where he also created a band, THE MARCELS. In 1960, Bridges left the Air Force and traveled back to Detroit where he got a job as a machine operator. This lasted for four years, but Bridges spent most of his time trying to enter into the music industry. He started writing music in 1961. Bridges son met up with Robert Bateman. In 1963, Bridges met up with Aron Hicks and Bridges soon produced many albums of his own. Richard Knight (soon to be replaced by Ben Knight), Robert Eaton, and Bridges were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Holland
Edward Holland Jr. (born October 30, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Although he was an early Motown artist who recorded minor hit singles such as "Jamie", he started working behind the scenes due to stage fright. He was a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team responsible for much of the Motown Sound and hit records by Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers, among others. He has written or co-written 80 hits in the UK and 143 in the US charts. Holland served as the team's lyricist, and also worked with producer Norman Whitfield on lyrics for the songs he produced for the Marvelettes and the Temptations, like "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep "Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" is a 1966 song, written by Norman Whitfield and Edward Holland, Jr., and produced by Whitfield. Norman Whitfield recorded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Holland
Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Holland, along with Lamont Dozier, served as the team's musical arranger and producer. He has written or co-written 145 hits in US and 78 in the UK. Holland was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. For a short time, he partnered with Robert Bateman, and together they were known as "Brianbert", collaborating on such hits as " Please Mr. Postman" for The Marvelettes. Holland has also had an on-and-off career as a performer. He released a solo single in 1958 under the name of "Briant Holland". He and longtime friend and future songwriting partner Freddie Gorman were in a short-lived group called the Fidalatones, and he was later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Herbert Dozier (; June 16, 1941 – August 8, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He co-wrote and produced 14 US ''Billboard'' number-one hits and four number ones in the UK. Career Dozier was a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers. Along with Brian Holland, Dozier served as the team's musical arranger and producer, while Eddie Holland concentrated mainly on lyrics and vocal production. Along with the Holland Brothers, Dozier followed his work for Motown Records as founder and owner of Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, producing top-charting hits for acts Freda Payne, Honey Cone, Chairmen of the Board, and 100 Proof Aged in Soul. Early years Dozier recorded a few unsuccessful records for various Detroit labels before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivy Jo Hunter
George Ivy Hunter (August 28, 1940 – October 6, 2022), known as Ivy Jo Hunter, was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and singer, most associated with his work for Motown in the 1960s. Life and career Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Hunter was trained in orchestral music — primarily trumpet and keyboards. After a stint in the United States Army, Hunter began performing as a singer in the proto-soul venues around Detroit, where he became friends with songwriter Hank Cosby. Cosby introduced him to Motown's first A&R man, William "Mickey" Stevenson. Hunter played keyboards on Motown sessions before Stevenson began working with him as a songwriter. He became a principal in the Motown Records house band, and began to write some of the most significant hits of the early Motown years. Hunter's songs included The Spinners' " Truly Yours" and "Sweet Thing"; The Temptations' " Sorry Is a Sorry Word"; The Isley Brothers' " Behind a Painted Smile" and "My Love Is Your ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
