Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz fusion realm, appearing with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter and Weather Report, and Allan Holdsworth. After being mentored by Quincy Jones, he transitioned into a role as a songwriter and producer, working in the 1980s and 1990s with numerous R & B acts such as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, as well as other singers across a number of genres. In 2020, he became the drummer for Journey, replacing Steve Smith. In 2021, he became one of two drummers in the band alongside the returning Deen Castronovo prior to leaving in 2022. He appears on the band's album ''Freedom'' (2022), having co-produced and played on the album before his departure. Biography Walden was born i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 335,340 in 2015. Kalamazoo is equidistant from Chicago and Detroit, being about 140 miles (225 kilometers) away from both. One of Kalamazoo's most notable features is the Kalamazoo Mall, an outdoor pedestrian shopping mall. The city created the mall in 1959 by closing part of Burdick Street to auto traffic, although two of the mall's four blocks have been reopened to auto traffic since 1999. Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University, a large public university, Kalamazoo College, a private liberal arts college, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, a two-year community college. Name origin Originally known as Bronson (after founder Titus Bronson) in the township of Arcadia, the na ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respect to melody and harmony. His music incorporates a vast array of complex chord progressions, often using unusual chord shapes in an abstract way based on his understanding of "chord scales", and intricate improvised solos, frequently across shifting tonal centres. He used myriad scale forms often derived from those such as the Lydian, diminished, harmonic major, augmented, whole tone, chromatic and altered scales, among others, often resulting in an unpredictable and dissonant " outside" sound. His unique legato soloing technique stemmed from his original desire to play the saxophone. Unable to afford one, he strove to use the guitar to create similarly smooth lines of notes. He also became associated with playing an early form of gu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lisa Fischer
Lisa Fischer (born December 1, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album ''So Intense'', which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back-up singer for a number of famous artists, including Sting, Luther Vandross, and Tina Turner, and she toured with The Rolling Stones from 1989 to 2015. Early life Fischer was born in the Fort Greene neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Fischer's mother gave birth to her at age 16 and had a total of three children by the time she was 19. Fischer has fond memories of singing with her mother (a homemaker), her father (a warehouse worker and security officer), and her two younger brothers. She attended The High School of Music & Art in Manhattan. When Fischer was 14 her father left the family and when Fischer was 17, her mother died. In an interview with Christian Wikane of ''PopMatters'', Fischer stated she was influenced by Freda P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Angela Bofill
Angela Tomasa Bofill (born May 2, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter of Cuban- Puerto Rican origins. A New York native, Bofill began her professional career in the mid-1970s. Bofill is most known for singles such as, "This Time I'll Be Sweeter", "Angel of the Night", and "I Try". Bofill's career spans over four decades. Biography Early life and education Bofill was born on May 2, 1954, in the Brooklyn area of New York City to a Cuban father and a Puerto Rican mother. Raised in The Bronx, Bofill grew up listening to Latin music and was also inspired by African-American performers. During Bofill's childhood, her weekends were taken up studying classical music and singing in New York City's All City Chorus, which featured the best singers from all of the high schools in the five boroughs. For high school, Bofill attended Hunter College High School; graduating in 1972. Bofill later studied at the Manhattan School of Music, receiving a Bachelor of Music degree in 1976. Career B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career The 1979 song "Ring My Bell" was originally written for then twelve-year-old Lattisaw, as a teenybopper song about kids talking on the telephone. When Lattisaw signed with a different label, Anita Ward was asked to sing it instead, and it became Ward's only major hit. Lattisaw recorded her first album for Cotillion Records at the age of 12 in 1979, under the direction of record producer Van McCoy. However, it was not until she affiliated with Narada Michael Walden, a former drummer with the Mahavishnu Orchestra who was just beginning a career as a producer, that she found larger success. Under Walden's direction, she scored several R&B hit albums between 1981 and 1986. She also opened for the Jacksons' Triumph Tour in 1981. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Lattisaw had several US R&B hit singles, and a 1980 top 3 hit in the UK with her song ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single " Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music. Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit under the name ''the Elgins''. The founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffin, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patti Austin
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have referred to themselves as her godparents. When Austin was four years old, she performed at the Apollo Theater. As a teenager she recorded commercial jingles and worked as a session singer in soul and R&B. She had an R&B hit in 1969 with "Family Tree". She sang backing vocals on Paul Simon's 1975 number-one hit " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". The jazz label CTI released her debut album, ''End of a Rainbow'', in 1976. She sang "The Closer I Get to You" for Tom Browne's album ''Browne Sugar'', a duet with Michael Jackson for his album '' Off the Wall'', and a duet with George Benson on "Moody's Mood for Love". After singing on Quincy Jones's album '' The Dude'', she signed a contract with his record labe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Freedom (Journey Album)
''Freedom'' is the fifteenth studio album by the American rock band Journey, released on July 8, 2022, through BMG Rights Management and Frontiers Records. It is the band's second album to date not to feature founding bassist Ross Valory, who was dismissed in 2020; he is replaced by Randy Jackson, who was last on ''Raised on Radio'' (1986). With fifteen songs and a run time of one hour and thirteen minutes, it is the longest Journey album ever released, excluding compilations. Upon its release ''Freedom'' received mixed critical reviews – despite the performances and musicianship receiving near-universal praise, criticism was directed at its production, mixing and length. Background and title The album's 11-year gap from ''Eclipse'' (2011) marked the longest between two Journey studio albums to date. It is the only Journey album to feature drummer and producer Narada Michael Walden, as well as the first album to feature bassist Randy Jackson since ''Raised on Radio'' (1986). ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Deen Castronovo
Deen J. Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer, best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Journey, Generation Radio and the Revolution Saints. He has been a touring and studio player for Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, Paul Rodgers, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler's GZR. Early life Deen Castronovo was born in the city of Westminster, California and started drumming at the age of 6. He grew up in Keizer, Oregon., where he attended South Salem High School. Castronovo said time in band during high school gave him identity and confidence. Deen cites Steve Smith, Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio, Kiss, Rush, Van Halen and AC/DC as musical influences. Career Castronovo is the former drummer for bands Wild Dogs, Bad English, Hardline, Ozzy Osbourne, and GZR. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands Generation Radio, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steve Smith (musician)
Steven Bruce Smith (born August 21, 1954) is an American drummer best known as a member of the rock band Journey across three stints: 1978 to 1985, 1995 to 1998 and 2015 to 2020. ''Modern Drummer'' magazine readers have voted him the No. 1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row. In 2001, the publication named Smith one of the Top 25 Drummers of All Time, and in 2002 he was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey on April 7, 2017. Early life Smith received his first drum kit at age two and in 1963 he began taking formal lessons with local Boston area drum teacher Bill Flanagan, who played in big bands in the swing era. Smith got his first "real" drum set when he was 12 years old. On many nights, Steve could be heard practicing in a small shed in the backyard of his Harvard Street home. Smith performed in the usual school band program and garage bands while in his teens, including Clyde, a South Shore s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whistle register. Carey rose to fame in 1990 with her debut album '' Mariah Carey''. She was the first artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions". For the enduring popularity of her holiday music, particularly the 1994 Christmas song " All I Want for Christmas Is You", she has also been dubbed the "Queen of Christmas". Carey's self-titled debut album was released under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, who married her three years later. She gained further worldwide success with the albums ''Music Box'' (1993) and ''Daydream'' (1995), with singles including "Hero", " Without You", "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", and "One Sweet Day", which ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists. As a child, Franklin was noticed for her gospel singing at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she was signed as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While her career did not immediately flourish, Franklin found acclaim and commercial success once she signed with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", " Respect", " (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer", propelled Franklin past her musical peers. Franklin continued to record acclaimed albums such as ' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |