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Mary's Boy Child
"Mary's Boy Child", also known as "Mary's Little Boy Child", is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. It is widely performed as a Christmas carol. History The song had its genesis when Hairston was sharing a room with a friend. The friend asked him to write a song for a birthday party.''Boney M'', John Shearlaw and David Brown, Hamlin Paperbacks, 1979 , page 105 Hairston wrote the song with a calypso rhythm because the people at the party would be mainly West Indians. The song's original title was "He Pone and Chocolate Tea", pone being a type of corn bread. It was never recorded in this form. Some time later Walter Schumann, at the time conducting Schumann's Hollywood Choir, asked Hairston to write a new Christmas song for his choir. Hairston remembered the calypso rhythm from his old song and wrote new lyrics for it. Harry Belafonte heard the song being performed by the choir and sought permission to record it. It was recorded in 1956 and released as a single th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album '' Calypso'' (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. Belafonte is best known for his recordings of "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature "Day-O" lyric, " Jump in the Line", and " Jamaica Farewell". He has recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He has also starred in several films, including ''Carmen Jones'' (1954), '' Island in the Sun'' (1957), and ''Odds Against Tomorrow'' (1959). Belafonte considered the actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson a mentor, and was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. As he later recalled, "Paul Robes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling Single (music), singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and music streaming, streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV (Official UK Top 40), is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a Single (music), single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Brothers Four
The Brothers Four is an American folk singing group, founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, and known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields." History Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the University of Washington, where they were members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity in 1956 (hence the "Brothers" appellation). Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a gig. Even though they were not expected at the club, they were allowed to sing a few songs and were subsequently hired. Flick recalls them being paid "mostly in beer". They left for San Francisco in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager. Lewis became their manager and later that year secured them a contract with Columbia Records. Their second single, "Greenfields", released in January ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird" (1970). Murray is also well known for her Grammy Award-winning 1978 number 1 US hit "You Needed Me". She is often cited as one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album '' A Little Good News''. Murray has received four Grammys, a record 24 Junos, three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards, and three Canadian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evie (singer)
Evelyn Tornquist Karlsson (born Evelyn Tornquist on March 29, 1956), mononymously known as Evie, is an American contemporary Christian music singer who was known in the late 1970s and early 1980s for songs such as "Mirror", "Step into the Sunshine" and "Four Foot Eleven". Born in the United States to Norwegian immigrants, Evie began her singing career as a young teenager while visiting her parents' homeland. She released her English language debut album at 16 in 1972, and went on to release more than 30 albums, including several in various Scandinavian languages. Evie was recognized as the Dove Award recipient of Female Vocalist of the Year for 1977 and 1978. In November 1978, she become the first gospel artist to achieve a gold album in Australia for ''Gentle Moments''. She married Swedish pastor and musician Pelle Karlsson in 1979 and retired from performing music in 1981 to pursue other avenues of ministry, such as Sky Angel. Evie later became a mentor to Christian musician ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahalia Jackson
Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the development and spread of gospel blues in black churches throughout the U.S. During a time when racial segregation was pervasive in American society, she met considerable and unexpected success in a recording career, selling an estimated 22 million records and performing in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world. The granddaughter of enslaved people, Jackson was born and raised in poverty in New Orleans. She found a home in her church, leading to a lifelong dedication and singular purpose to deliver God's word through song. She moved to Chicago as an adolescent and joined the Johnson Singers, one of the earliest gospel groups. Jackson was heavily influenced by musician-composer Thomas Dorsey, and by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Four Lads
The Four Lads was a Canadian male singing quartet which, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; "No, Not Much"; "Who Needs You?" and "Istanbul". The Four Lads appeared on many television shows, including ''The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom'' (1958); Perry Como's show ''Perry Presents'' (1959); '' Frankie Laine Time'' (1956); and the award-winning PBS special, ''Moments to Remember: My Music.'' The most recent incarnation of the group featured lead tenor Don Farrar, second tenor Aaron Bruce, baritone Alan Sokoloff, and bass singer Frank Busseri. The original quartet grew up together in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and were members of St. Michael's Choir School, where they learned to sing. The founding and core members were Corrado "Connie" Codarini, bass; John Bernard "Bernie" Toorish, tenor and vocal arranger; James F. "Jimmy" Arnold, lead; and Frank "Frankie" Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merry Christmas (Andy Williams Album)
The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating at least Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. It also is associated with a period of shopping which comprises a peak season for the retail sector (the "Christmas (or holiday) shopping season") and a period of sales at the end of the season (the "January sales"). Christmas window displays and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies when trees decorated with ornaments and light bulbs are illuminated are traditions in many areas. In Western Christianity, the Christmas season is synonymous with Christmastide, which runs from December 25 (Christmas Day) to January 5 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve), popularly known as the 12 Days of Christmas, or in the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hosted ''The Andy Williams Show'', a television variety show, from 1962 to 1971, along with numerous TV specials. ''The Andy Williams Show'' won three Emmy Awards. He sold more than 45 million records worldwide, including more than 10 million certified units in the United States. Williams was active in the music industry for over 70 years until his death from bladder cancer in 2012, at the age of 84. Early life and education Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa, to Florence (''née'' Finley) and Jay Emerson Williams, who worked in insurance and the post office. While living in Cheviot, Ohio, Williams attended Western Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He finished high school at University High School, in West Los Angeles, because of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Official Charts Company
The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts include ones for singles, albums and films, with the data compiled from a mixture of downloads, purchases (of physical media) and streaming. The OCC produces its charts by gathering and combining sales data from retailers through market researchers Kantar, and claims to cover 99% of the singles market and 95% of the album market, and aims to collect data from any retailer who sells more than 100 chart items per week. The OCC is operated jointly by the British Phonographic Industry and the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) (formerly the British Association of Record Dealers (BARD)) and is incorporated as a private company limited by shares jointly owned by BPI and ERA. The Chart Information Network (CIN) took over as compilers of the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord
"Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" is a 1978 Christmas single by Boney M., a cover of Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit "Mary's Boy Child", put in medley with the new song "Oh My Lord". The single had its premiere on 2nd November 1978 on the German TV-show "Starparade" (Episode 44) which aired on ZDF. It topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks and became Christmas number one in the UK, spending eight weeks in the charts. It has sold 1.89 million units as of November 2015. It was the second single for the group in the UK's all-time best selling singles list. The song was later included in the group's ''Christmas Album'', issued in 1981. In the United States, the track reached number 85 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Boney M's last of four singles to chart there. In 2017, it experienced somewhat of a resurgence and peaked at number 89 on the Holiday 100. In certain areas of the U.S., the medley can sometimes be heard during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season on radio station ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boney M
Boney M. was a German- Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's official line-up were Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett from Jamaica, Maizie Williams from Montserrat, and Bobby Farrell from Aruba. The group was formed in 1976 and achieved popularity during the disco era of the late 1970s. Since the 1980s, various line-ups of the band have performed with differing personnel. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and is known for international hits including " Daddy Cool", "Ma Baker", "Belfast", " Sunny", "Rasputin", " Mary's Boy Child/Oh My Lord" and "Rivers of Babylon". 1970s German singer-songwriter Frank Farian recorded the dance track "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" in December 1974. Farian sang the repeated line "Do you do you wanna bump?" in a deep voice (entirely studio creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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