Merry Christmas Darling
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Merry Christmas Darling
"Merry Christmas, Darling" is a Christmas song by the Carpenters (music by Richard Carpenter, lyrics by Frank Pooler), and originally recorded in 1970. It was first available on a 7-inch single that year (A&M Records 1236), and was later re-issued in 1974 (A&M 1648) and again in 1977 (A&M 1991). The single went to number one on '' Billboard's'' Christmas singles chart in 1970 (and did so again in 1971 and 1973) and peaked at number 41 in '' Cashbox''. In 1978, the Carpenters issued their '' Christmas Portrait'' album, which contained a new version of "Merry Christmas Darling". The original 1970 mix continued to be used for all single releases, however. The major difference between the 1970 and 1978 versions is a newly recorded vocal by Karen Carpenter on the latter, which was done at her request. Richard Carpenter himself calls the original recording one of his sister's very best. The original single version of the song can be found on the compilation albums ''From the Top'' and ...
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The Carpenters
The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging, and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 10 albums along with numerous singles and several television specials. The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio followed by the Middle of the road (music), middle-of-the-road group Spectrum. Signing as Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969, they achieved major success the following year with the hit si ...
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Glee (TV Series)
''Glee'' (stylized as ''glee'') is an American musical film, musical comedy-drama television series that aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from May 19, 2009, to March 20, 2015. It centers on the glee club called the New Directions at the fictional William McKinley High School which competes as a show choir while its disparate members deal with social issues, especially regarding human sexuality, sexuality, Race (human classification), race, family, teen relationships and teamwork. The initial twelve-member cast included Matthew Morrison as club director and Spanish teacher Will Schuester, Jane Lynch as scheming cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, Jayma Mays as guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, Jessalyn Gilsig as Will's wife Terri Schuester, Terri, and the eight original club members, including Dianna Agron as Quinn Fabray, a popular cheerleader whose biggest struggle is her teenage pregnancy; Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, a gay boy who feels co ...
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Tenor Saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while the alto is pitched in the key of E), and written as a transposing instrument in the treble clef, sounding an octave and a major second lower than the written pitch. Modern tenor saxophones which have a high F key have a range from A2 to E5 (concert) and are therefore pitched one octave below the soprano saxophone. People who play the tenor saxophone are known as "tenor saxophonists", "tenor sax players", or "saxophonists". The tenor saxophone uses a larger mouthpiece, reed and ligature than the alto and soprano saxophones. Visually, it is easily distinguished by the curve in its neck, or its crook, near the mouthpiece. The alto saxophone lacks this and its neck goes straight to the mouthpiece. The tenor saxophone is most recognized for it ...
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Drum Kit
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks, one in each hand, and uses their feet to operate a foot-controlled hi-hat and bass drum pedal. A standard kit may contain: * A snare drum, mounted on a stand * A bass drum, played with a beater moved by a foot-operated pedal * One or more tom-toms, including rack toms and/or floor toms * One or more cymbals, including a ride cymbal and crash cymbal * Hi-hat cymbals, a pair of cymbals that can be manipulated by a foot-operated pedal The drum kit is a part of the standard rhythm section and is used in many types of popular and traditional music styles, ranging from rock and pop to blues and jazz. __TOC__ History Early development Before the development of the drum set, drums and cymbals used in military and orchestral m ...
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Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one. Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Blaine moved with his family to California in 1943 and began playing jazz and big band music before taking up rock and roll session work. He became one of the regulars in Phil Spector's de facto house band, which Blaine nicknamed " the Wrecking Crew". Some of the records Blaine played on include the Ronettes' single "Be My Baby" (1963), which contained a drum beat that became widely imitated, as well as works by popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, Neil Diamond, and the Byrds. Blaine's workload declined in the 1980s as recording and musical practices changed ...
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Bass Guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings or courses. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music. The four-string bass is usually tuned the same as the double bass, which corresponds to pitches one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar (typically E, A, D, and G). It is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, or with a pick. To be heard at normal performance volumes, electric basses require external amplification. Terminology According to the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', an "Electric bass guitar sa Guitar, usually with four heavy strings tuned E1'–A1'–D2–G2." It also defines ''bass'' as "Bass (iv). A contraction of Double bas ...
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Joe Osborn
Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Joe Osborn, Wrecking Crew Bassist, Dies at 81
''Billboard''. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
) was an American player known for his work as a in with the Wrecking Crew and in

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Orchestration
Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orchestration is the assignment of different instruments to play the different parts (e.g., melody, bassline, etc.) of a musical work. For example, a work for solo piano could be adapted and orchestrated so that an orchestra could perform the piece, or a concert band piece could be orchestrated for a symphony orchestra. In classical music, composers have historically orchestrated their own music. Only gradually over the course of music history did orchestration come to be regarded as a separate compositional art and profession in itself. In modern classical music, composers almost invariably orchestrate their own work. However, in musical theatre, film music and other commercial media, it is customary to use orchestrators and arrangers to ...
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Wurlitzer Electric Piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to the Rhodes piano, though the sound is different. The instrument was invented by Benjamin Miessner, who had worked on various types of electric pianos since the early 1930s. The first Wurlitzer was manufactured in 1954, and production continued until 1983. Originally, the piano was designed to be used in the classroom, and several dedicated teacher and student instruments were manufactured. However, it was adapted for more conventional live performances, including stage models with attachable legs and console models with built-in frames. The stage instrument was used by several popular artists, including Ray Charles, Joe Zawinul and Supertramp. Several electronic keyboards include an emulation of the Wurlitzer. As the Wurli ...
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Celesta
The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box (three-octave). The keys connect to hammers that strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates or bars suspended over wooden resonators. Four- or five-octave models usually have a damper pedal that sustains or damps the sound. The three-octave instruments do not have a pedal because of their small "table-top" design. One of the best-known works that uses the celesta is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from ''The Nutcracker''. The sound of the celesta is similar to that of the glockenspiel, but with a much softer and more subtle timbre. This quality gave the instrument its name, ''celeste'', meaning "heavenly" in French. The celesta is often used to enhance a melody line played by another instrument or sect ...
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Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. Description The word "piano" is a shortened form of ''pianoforte'', the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ''clavicembalo col piano e forte'' (key cimbalom with quiet and loud)Pollens (1995, 238) and ''fortepiano''. The Italian musical terms ''piano'' and ''forte'' indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the grea ...
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Backing Vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used in a broad range of popular music, traditional music, and world music styles. Solo artists may employ professional backing vocalists in studio recording sessions as well as during concerts. In many rock and metal bands (e.g., the power trio), the musicians doing backing vocals also play instruments, such as guitar, electric bass, drums or keyboards. In Latin or Afro-Cuban groups, backing singers may play percussion instruments or shakers while singing. In some pop and hip hop groups and in musical theater, they may be required to perform dance routines while singing through headset microphones. Styles of background vocals vary according to the type of song and genre of music. In pop and country songs, backing vocalists may sing harmo ...
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