Neal E. Boyd
Neal Evans Boyd (November 18, 1975 – June 10, 2018) was an American singer who developed an interest in opera after listening to the performances of the Three Tenors. Despite being raised in conditions of poverty within the U.S. state of Missouri, he achieved a degree in music and eventually entered the third season of ''America's Got Talent'', winning that year's competition. In addition to music, he also became involved in politics and conducted performances at many state-wide events across Missouri. Boyd died in June 2018, following complications brought on in his battle against liver disease. His funeral included tributes to his performance, including clips from his participation on ''America's Got Talent''. Early life and education Boyd was born in Sikeston, Missouri, in 1975 and grew up there. His father is black, and his mother is white. Boyd and his brother were raised solely by their mother and subsequently endured poverty conditions. Boyd discovered operatic musi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sikeston, Missouri
Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the state of Missouri, United States. It is situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way of Interstate 55, Interstate 57, and U.S. Route 60, Sikeston is close to the halfway point between St. Louis and Memphis and three hours from Nashville. The city is named after John Sikes, who founded it in 1860. It is the principal city of the Sikeston Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of all of Scott County, and has a total population of 41,143. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 16,318, making it the fourth-most populous city in Missouri's 8th Congressional district behind Cape Girardeau, Rolla, and Poplar Bluff and just ahead of Farmington. Before the 2010 census, it had been the second-most populous city in the district. History The first explorers and settlers came to a region of cypress swamps and foreste ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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University Of Phoenix
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree levels. It is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has an open enrollment admissions policy for many undergraduate programs. The school is owned by Apollo Global Management, an American private-equity firm. History Foundation and rapid growth (1970s - 2000s) University of Phoenix was founded in 1976 by John Sperling and John D. Murphy. In 1980, it expanded to San Jose, California, and launched its online program in 1989. Much of UoPX's revenue came from employers who were subsidizing the higher education of their managers. Academic labor underwent a process of unbundling, in which "various components of the traditional faculty role (e.g., curriculum design) are divided among different entities, while others (e.g., ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated areas and the Municipal corporation, incorporated cities of Burbank, California, Burbank, Calabasas, California, Calabasas, Glendale, California, Glendale, Hidden Hills, California, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando, California, San Fernando. The valley is well known for its iconic film studios such as Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studio and Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Studios. In addition, it is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Geography The San Fernando Valley is about bound by the Santa Susana Mountains to the northwest, the Simi Hills to the west, the Santa Monica Mountains and Chalk Hills to the south, the Verdugo Mountains to the east, and the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Studio City, Los Angeles
Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, now known as Radford Studio Center. History Originally known as Laurelwood, the area that Studio City occupies was formerly part of Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California, granted in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Eulogio F. de Celis. This land changed hands several times during the late 19th century, and was eventually owned by James Boon Lankershim (1850–1931), and eight other developers, who organized the Lankershim Ranch Land and Water Company. In 1899, however, the area lost most water rights to Los Angeles, so subdivision and sale of land for farming became untenable. Construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct began in 1908, and water ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CBS Studio Center
Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The lot has 18 sound stages from , of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. The triangular site is bisected by the Los Angeles River. In 2021, ViacomCBS sold Studio Center to real estate investment companies Hackman Capital Partners and Square Mile Capital Management. The company also previously had ownership of two other studios in the area: CBS Television City and Columbia Square. History Mack Sennett, a silent film producer and director, came to the San Fernando Valley and opened his new movie studio at this location (at what is now Ventura Boulevard and Radford Avenue) in May 1928. He previously operated a smaller studio on Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park (then called Edendale) where he produced films featuring the Keystone Kops, Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Buster Keaton, W. C. Fields, and Fatty Arbuckl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting from a football accident. After performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests, Bocelli signed his first recording contract with the Sugar Music label. He rose to fame in 1994, winning the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing "Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 75 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts. His album ''Romanza'' is one of the best-selling albums of all time, while '' Sacred Arias'' is the biggest selling classical album by any solo artist in history. ''My Chr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, gospel, and classical music. Born into a large family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in her home country with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland. After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, ''Unison'', establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world. Her recordings since have been mainly in English and French although ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New York State Of Mind
"New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel that initially appeared on the album ''Turnstiles'' in 1976. Although it was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite and a song that Joel plays regularly in concert. Joel famously played the song at The Concert for New York City, the October 2001 benefit concert for the New York City Fire and Police Departments and the loved ones of families of first responders lost during the terrorist attack on New York City on 9/11. He reprised that theme, playing it during his set at '' 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief'' at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 12, 2012, where he changed lyrics to include the likes of "Breezy Point". Inspiration Joel wrote the song after returning to the East Coast from Los Angeles, where he had spent the previous three years. In fact, most of ''Turnstiles'' deals with Joel's cross-country relocation, including "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", "I've Loved These Days", " S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 pop and rock studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album of classical compositions in 2001. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the seventh-best-selling recording artist and the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 160 million records sold worldwide. His 1985 compilation album, ''Greatest Hits (Billy Joel albums), Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2'', is one of the List of best-selling albums in the United States, best-selling albums in the United States. Born in The Bronx, Joel grew up on Long Island, where both places influenced his music. Growing up, he took piano lessons at his mother's insi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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University Of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in 1839 and was the first public university west of the Mississippi River. It has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1908 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". To date, the University of Missouri alumni, faculty, and staff include 18 Rhodes Scholars, 19 Truman Scholars, 141 Fulbright Scholars, 7 Governors of Missouri, and 6 members of the U.S. Congress. Enrolling 31,401 students in 2021, it offers more than 300 degree programs in thirteen major academic divisions. Its well-known Missouri School of Journalism was founded by Walter Williams (journalist), Walter Williams in 1908 as the world's first journalism school; It publishes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Opera Memphis
Opera Memphis is a Memphis, Tennessee non-profit arts organization chartered in 1956 by a group of Memphians interested in producing regional opera. Charter signatories included noted Memphians Philip Belz and Walter Chandler. Early productions consisted mainly of local singers and local directors. During this initial period the Metropolitan Opera Company toured regularly through the area and performed in Memphis two to three times per year. As the company grew, the performers and directors became more regional and the sets and costumes more professional. By the mid-1970s, Opera Memphis began bringing in well-known singers like Leontyne Price, Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Sherrill Milnes, and Birgit Nilsson to perform in lead roles. Opera Memphis is widely respected for its education and outreach programs, which currently reach over 25,000 children and adults per season. From 1993 to 1995, the company was the recipient of an Arts Plus Grant from the National Endowment for th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most populous city in the country. The city boundaries encompass an area of about and a population of 675,647 as of 2020. It is the seat of Suffolk County (although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999). The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country. A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to approximately 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States. Boston is one of the oldest ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |