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Pierce Knox
Pierce Knox (June 1, 1921 - September 19, 1985) was a blind xylophone and marimba player who toured from coast to coast and in Canada during the 1940s and 1950s. He achieved fame by winning the $5,000 grand prize on the Horace Heidt Original Youth Opportunity television show by performing the "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" on the xylophone. Biography Born in Washington, Iowa, Pierce Knox lost his sight at the age of 4 after contracting spinal meningitis. Knox attended public schools in Iowa and for a time attended a state school for the blind where he learned to read Braille and to otherwise cope with his permanent blindness. He had a natural talent for music and experimented with the drums. When he was 12 his parents purchased a marimba for him and he was soon playing the instrument, a close cousin to the xylophone. The family relocated to California and Knox entered the public school system and graduated from high school. He became somewhat of a local celebrity playing at assemblie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African and Asian instruments, diatonic in many western children's instruments, or chromatic for orchestral use. The term ''xylophone'' may be used generally, to include all such instruments such as the marimba, balafon and even the semantron. However, in the orchestra, the term ''xylophone'' refers specifically to a chromatic instrument of somewhat higher pitch range and drier timbre than the marimba, and these two instruments should not be confused. A person who plays the xylophone is known as a ''xylophonist'' or simply a ''xylophone player''. The term is also popularly used to refer to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marimba
The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre of the marimba is warmer, deeper, more resonant, and more pure. It also tends to have a lower range than that of a xylophone. Typically, the bars of a marimba are arranged chromatically, like the keys of a piano. The marimba is a type of idiophone. Today, the marimba is used as a solo instrument, or in ensembles like orchestras, marching bands (typically as a part of the front ensemble), percussion ensembles, brass and concert bands, and other traditional ensembles. Etymology and terminology The term ''marimba'' refers to both the traditional version of this instrument and its modern form. Its first documented use in the English language dates back to 1704. The term is of Bantu origin, deriving from the prefix meaning 'many' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horace Heidt
Horace Heidt (May 21, 1901 – December 1, 1986) was an American pianist, big band leader, and radio and television personality. His band, Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights, toured vaudeville and performed on radio and television during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years Born in Alameda, California, Heidt attended Culver Academies. At the University of California, Berkeley, he was a guard on the football team. A broken back suffered in a practice session caused him to give up football, leading him to turn his attention to music. He and some classmates formed a band, The Californians. Career From 1932 to 1953, he was one of the more popular radio bandleaders, heard on both NBC and CBS in a variety of different formats over the years. He began on the NBC Blue Network in 1932 with Shell Oil's ''Ship of Joy'' and ''Answers by the Dancers''. During the late 1930s on CBS he did ''Captain Dobbsie's Ship of Joy'' and ''Horace Heidt's Alemite Brigadiers'' before returning to NBC for 193 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierce Knox 1950
Pierce may refer to: Places Canada * Pierce Range, a mountain range on Vancouver Island, British Columbia United States * Pierce, Colorado * Pierce, Idaho * Pierce, Illinois * Pierce, Kentucky * Pierce, Nebraska * Pierce, Texas * Pierce, West Virginia * Pierce, Wisconsin * Mount Pierce (New Hampshire), a peak in the White Mountains * Pierce County (other), several places Organizations * Pierce Biotechnology, an American biotechnology company focused on protein biology * Pierce Manufacturing, an American manufacturer of fire trucks * Franklin Pierce Law Center, a law school in Concord, New Hampshire * Franklin Pierce University, a liberal arts college in Rindge, New Hampshire People * Pierce (given name) * Pierce (surname) Other uses * Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company * Pierce Washington, one of the main characters of '' Saints Row 2'' and '' Saints Row: The Third'' * Pierce oscillator, an electronic oscillator * Pierce's disease, a grape disease * Pierce Protein Assay, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington, Iowa
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,352 at the time of the 2020 census. History Washington was founded in 1839 as the county seat of the newly established Washington County. In 1854 it became the home of a United Presbyterian College, which was dissolved in 1864. As of 2014, the town has celebrated its 175th anniversary, only 5 years behind the oldest city in Iowa, Dubuque, Iowa. In 2016, the Guinness World Book of Records certified the State Theatre in Washington, Iowa, as the "world's oldest continually operating cinema theatre". Geography Washington is located at (41.299941, -91.689175). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Climate Demographics 2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 7,266 people, 3,048 households, and 1,861 families living in the city. The population densit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ripley's Believe It Or Not
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums and a book series. The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions, the Orlando, Florida-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a division of the Jim Pattison Group a Canadian global company with an annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters and games. Syndicated feature panel Ripley first called his cartoon feature, originally involving sports feats, ''Cham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1921 Births
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * 19 (film), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * Nineteen (film), ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * 19 (Adele album), ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD (rapper), MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album ''63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * XIX (EP), ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * 19 (song), "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle. * "Nineteen", a song by Bad4Good from the 1992 album ''Refugee (Bad4Good album), Refugee'' * "Nineteen", a song by Karma to Burn from the 2001 album ''Almost Heathen''. * Nineteen (song), "Nineteen" (song), a 2007 song by American singer Billy Ray Cyrus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1985 Deaths
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a new agreement on fishing rights. * January 7 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches ''Sakigake'', Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union. * January 15 – Tancredo Neves is elected president of Brazil by the Congress, ending the 21-year military rule. * January 20 – Ronald Reagan is privately sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. * January 27 – The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is formed, in Tehran. * January 28 – The charity single record "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. February * February 4 – The border between Gibraltar and Spai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blind Musicians
Blind musicians are singers or instrumentalists, or in some cases singer-accompanists, who are legally blind. Resources Historically, many blind musicians, including some of the most famous, have performed without the benefit of formal instruction, since such instruction relies extensively on written musical notation. However, today there are many resources available for blind musicians who wish to learn Western music theory and classical notation. Louis Braille, the man who created the braille alphabet for the blind, also created a system of classical notation for the blind called Braille music. This system allows the blind to read and write music much as the sighted do. The largest collection of Braille musical scores is located at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Outside the U.S., the largest collection of braille music scores is stored at the National Library for the Blind in England. Computer technology and the Internet make it possible in theory for blind m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Marimbists
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musicians From Iowa
A musician is a person who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who write both music and lyrics for songs, Conducting, conductors who direct a musical performance, or Performing arts#Music, performers who perform for an audience. A music performer is generally either a singer who provides singing, vocals or an instrumentalist who plays a musical instrument. Musicians may perform on their own or as part of a Musical ensemble, group, band or orchestra. Musicians specialize in a musical style, and some musicians play in a variety of different styles depending on cultures and background. A musician who Sound recording and reproduction, records and Music release, releases music can be known as a recording artist. Types Composer A composer is a musician who creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
