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Play A Simple Melody
"Play a Simple Melody" is a song from the 1914 musical, '' Watch Your Step'', with words and music by Irving Berlin. The show was the first stage musical that Berlin wrote. It ran for 175 performances at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City. The one song from the show that is well-remembered today is "Play a Simple Melody," one of the few true examples of counterpoint in American popular music — a melody running against a second melody, each with independent lyrics. Two other of Berlin's so-called "double" songs are "You're Just in Love," and "An Old-Fashioned Wedding". In the printed music, first the "simple melody" plays alone. Then comes the contrasting melody. Finally, the two play together. The lyrics of "Play a Simple Melody" also track the counterpoint duet in that one singer yearns for the music which mother sang (the style of a bygone generation), but the other singer disdains such classic fare as lacking interest and rhythm. When "Play a Simple Melody" was published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simple Melody Cover
Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by Johnny Mathis from the 1984 album '' A Special Part of Me'' * "Simple", a song by Collective Soul from the 1995 album ''Collective Soul'' * "Simple", a song by Katy Perry from the 2005 soundtrack to ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' * "Simple", a song by Khalil from the 2017 album ''Prove It All'' * "Simple", a song by Kreesha Turner from the 2008 album '' Passion'' * "Simple", a song by Ty Dolla Sign from the 2017 album ''Beach House 3'' deluxe version * ''Simple'' (video game series), budget-priced console games Businesses and organisations * Simple (bank), an American direct bank * SIMPLE Group, a consulting conglomeration based in Gibraltar * Simple Shoes, an American footwear brand * Simple Skincare, a British brand of soap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam's Song (song)
"Sam's Song (The Happy Tune)" is an American pop song written in 1950 with music by Lew Quadling and lyrics by Jack Elliott. It was first released as a Capitol single by Joe "Fingers" Carr and the Carr-Hops in May 1950. By June of that year, Carr's single had made it to all three of '' Billboard''s music popularity charts, and several other artists had released the song, including bandleaders Freddy Martin and Victor Young. Gary and Bing Crosby's release of the song in July 1950 was a hit, ranked as the 4th best selling record of 1950 according to Billboard. Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. also released a recording of the song which hit the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. Recording history The first recording of the song, released in May 1950 by Joe "Fingers" Carr and the Carr-Hops, stayed on the ''Billboard'' charts for 13 weeks, peaking at #7 on the Jukebox chart and #8 on the Best Sellers chart. On June 23, 1950, Bing Crosby's son Gary Crosby recorded the song for Decca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horst Jankowski
Horst Jankowski (30 January 1936 – 29 June 1998) was a classically trained German pianist, most famous for his internationally successful easy listening music. Biography Born in Berlin, Jankowski studied at the Berlin Music Conservatory and played jazz in Germany in the 1950s, serving as bandleader for singer Caterina Valente. Jankowski's fame as a composer of easy listening pop peaked in 1965 with his tune "Eine Schwarzwaldfahrt", released in English as "A Walk in the Black Forest". The tune became a pop hit, reaching #1 on the US easy listening chart, #12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and #3 on the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The track was featured on the BBC's review of the 1960s music scene, ''Pop Go The Sixties'', broadcast on BBC One and ZDF, on 31 December 1969. It can be heard years before 1965 in episodes of ''Perry Mason (1957 TV series)''. ''The Genius of Jankowski'' album, released in 1965, was also a millio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as well as an emblem of the era's sexual revolution. She was a top-billed actress for a decade, and her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $ billion in ) by the time of her death in 1962. Long after her death, Monroe remains a major icon of pop culture. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her sixth on their list of the greatest female screen legends from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited Monroe as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monroe spent most of her childhood in a total of 12 foster homes and an orphanage; she married at age sixteen. She was working in a factory during World War II when she met a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitzi Gaynor
Mitzi Gaynor (born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber; September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include '' We're Not Married!'' (1952), '' There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), '' The Birds and the Bees'' (1956), and ''South Pacific'', the 1958 motion picture adaptation of the stage musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Early life Mitzi Gaynor was born as Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in Chicago to Henry de Czanyi von Gerber, a violinist, cellist, and music director of Hungarian descent, and his wife, Pauline, a dancer. By her father's second marriage, she became stepsister to anti-war activist Donald W. Duncan. The family first moved to Elgin, Illinois, and then to Detroit, and later when she was eleven, on to Hollywood. She trained as a ballerina as a child and began her career in the corps de ballet. At 13, she was singing and dancing with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera company. She lied about her address so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnnie Ray
John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music, and his animated stage personality. Tony Bennett called Ray the "father of rock and roll", and historians have noted him as a pioneering figure in the development of the genre. Born and raised in Dallas, Oregon, Ray, who was partially deaf, began singing professionally at age fifteen on Portland radio stations. He gained a local following singing at small, predominantly African-American nightclubs in Detroit, where he was discovered in 1949 and subsequently signed to Okeh Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. He rose quickly from obscurity in the United States with the release of his debut album ''Johnnie Ray'' (1952), as well as with a 78 rpm single, both of whose sides reached the ''Billboard'' magazine's Top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule. His best-known works came in the film ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), for which O'Connor was awarded a Golden Globe. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award from four nominations and received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Early years Though he considered Danville, Illinois, to be his hometown, O'Connor was the 200th child born in St. Elizabeth Hospital in Chicago. Often, both of his parents struggled to remember where and when exactly O'Connor was born, due to the family's extensive travel as a Vaudeville team. Indeed, his parents, Effie Irene (née Crane) and John Edward "Chuck" O'Connor, were vaudeville entertainers; she was a bareback rider and he was a circus strongman and acrobat. His father's family was from Ireland. O'Connor later s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Dailey
Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as ''Mother Wore Tights'' (1947). Biography Early life Dailey was born on December 14, 1915, in New York City, to Daniel James Dailey Sr. and Helen Theresa (née Ryan) Dailey. His younger sister was actress Irene Dailey. Theatre He appeared in a minstrel show in 1921 and later appeared in vaudeville. He worked as a golf caddy and shoe seller before his first big break, working for a South American cruise line in 1934. He made his Broadway debut in 1937 in ''Babes in Arms''. He followed it with ''Stars in Your Eyes'' and ''I Married an Angel''. MGM In 1940, he was signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to make films and, although his past career had been in musicals, he was initially cast in the drama '' Susan and God'' (1940). He also played a Nazi in ''The Mortal Storm'' (1940). Dailey was the juveni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary ''Variety'', February 22, 1984. She has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage". Over her distinguished career in theater she became known for her performances in shows such as ''Anything Goes'', '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''Gypsy'', and '' Hello, Dolly!'' She is also known for her film roles in ''Anything Goes'' (1936), ''Call Me Madam'' (1953), ''There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954), and ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963). Among many accolades, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Call Me Madam'', a Grammy Award for ''Gypsy'' and Drama Desk Award for '' Hello, Dolly!'' Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm" (from ''Girl Crazy''); ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
There's No Business Like Show Business (film)
''Irving Berlin's There's No Business Like Show Business'' is a 1954 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Walter Lang. It stars an ensemble cast, consisting of Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Marilyn Monroe, Dan Dailey, Johnnie Ray, and Mitzi Gaynor. The title is borrowed from the famous song in the stage musical (and MGM film) '' Annie Get Your Gun''. The screenplay was written by Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron, based on a story by Lamar Trotti; and the movie was Fox's first musical in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color. O'Connor later called the film the best picture he ever made. Summary The story opens in 1919 and chronicles the ups and downs in the careers of Terence and Molly Donahue, a husband-and-wife vaudeville team. Throughout the years, the Donahues reconcile a stable family life with professional success. Their children, Steve, Katy, and Tim, join the act one by one, and they eventually become known as The Five Donahues. However, as the children mature, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1954 In Film
The year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones. Top-grossing films United States The top ten 1954 released films by box office gross in the United States are as follows: International Events * A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed. * May 12 — The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda. The two were married in 1927. * September 29 — '' A Star is Born'' premieres and marks Judy Garland's comeback after her termination from her contract at MGM. An astounding success with critics and audiences, ''A Star is Born'' not only marked the first time that legendary director George Cukor had made a film musical and film that is in Technicolor and in the anamorphic widescreen format, but also it has been regarded as one of the Garland's best performances in her film career. * November 3 — The film ''Godzilla'' premieres in Japan. It became a huge success and became the first in series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Harris
Wonga Philip Harris (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American actor, comedian, musician and songwriter. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with ''The Jack Benny Program'', then in ''The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show'' in which he co-starred with his wife, singer-actress Alice Faye, for eight years. Harris is also noted for his voice acting in animated films. As a voice actor, he played Baloo in ''The Jungle Book'' (1967), Thomas O'Malley in ''The Aristocats'' (1970), Little John in ''Robin Hood'' (1973), and Patou in '' Rock-a-Doodle'' (1991). As a singer, he recorded a #1 novelty hit record, "The Thing" (1950). Early life and career Harris was born in Linton, Indiana, but grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and identified himself as a Southerner. His hallmark song was " That's What I Like About the South." He had a trace of a Southern accent and in later years made self-deprecating jokes over the air about his heritage. His parents ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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