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Rufus (Rufus Album)
''Rufus'' is the debut album by American R&B and funk band Rufus, released on the ABC Records label in 1973 fronted by singers Chaka Khan and Ron Stockert. The album is notable for an upbeat rock/soul sound that would be replaced by a more heavy direction into funk and jazzy-styled recordings. History Rufus was formed in 1969 by Kevin Murphy and Al Ciner from the background of two rival bands in Chicago. The band was a group in transition by the time they signed their deal with ABC in 1972 after a brief period with Epic. The biggest change in the group occurred that year when Paulette McWilliams, the group's original frontwoman, opted to leave the group and had friend Chaka Khan, who had provided background vocals as a session singer for the band, replace her as the sole frontwoman. Though not entirely focused on Khan's talents – the band's artistic direction was led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Ron Stockert – Khan added something missing from the group, a dive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rufus (band)
Rufus is an American funk band from Chicago, Illinois, best known for launching the career of lead singer Chaka Khan. They had several hits throughout their career, including "Tell Me Something Good", " Sweet Thing", "Do You Love What You Feel" and "Ain't Nobody". Rufus and Chaka Khan were one of the most popular and influential funk bands of the 1970s, with four consecutive number one R&B albums, ten top 40 pop hits and five number one R&B singles, among other accolades. Biography Origins In 1968, the American Breed ( Gary Loizzo, guitar/vocals; Al Ciner, guitar; Charles "Chuck" Colbert, bass; and Lee Graziano, drums) had a top ten hit with the classic rock single, "Bend Me, Shape Me". After much success, Colbert and Graziano (without Loizzo who pursued a successful production career) created a new group, adding later day American Breed members Kevin Murphy (keyboards) and Paulette McWilliams (vocals), plus James Stella (vocals) and Vern Pilder (guitar) from the bar band Circu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid-20th century. It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths. Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized the downbeat—with a heavy emphasis on the first bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singing
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir. Singers may perform as soloists or accompanied by anything from a single instrument (as in art song or some jazz styles) up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Different singing styles include art music such as opera and Chinese opera, Indian music, Japanese music, and religious music styles such as gospel, traditional music styles, world music, jazz, blues, ghazal, and popular music styles such as pop, rock, and electronic dance music. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged, or improvised. It may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual as part of music education or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He was ranked number 28 in ''Rolling Stone''s 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"''Rolling Stone'The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time2003-08-27. and number 47 in the 2011 list. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice with his groups on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to Neil Young, "Stephen is a genius." Beginning his professional career with Buffalo Springfield, he composed "For What It's Worth", which became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s. Other notable songs he contributed to the band were "Sit Down, I Think I Love You", "Bluebird", and "Rock & Roll Woman". According to bandmate Richie Furay, he was "the heart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sit Yourself Down
"Sit Yourself Down" is a song written by Stephen Stills that was released on his 1970 solo debut album ''Stephen Stills''. It was also released as the second single from the album, following the Top 20 hit "Love the One You're With." and reached the Top 40, peaking at #37. Music and lyrics "Sit Yourself Down" has a gospel-based melody. It was inspired by Stills' new relationship with Rita Coolidge, who also provided backup vocals on the song. Five other backing vocalists were used on the bridge and refrain, including Graham Nash, David Crosby, John Sebastian and Cass Elliott. The refrain was propelled by Stills piano playing. The lyrics discuss aging, maturing and settling down. They capture Stills' conflict between wanting to push himself harder and wanting to find peace. According to author David Browne, the music, and particularly the way the lead guitar line plays off the melody, also capture Stills' conflict. Reception Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald called "Sit Your ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love The One You're With
"Love the One You're With" is a song by folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1971. David Crosby and Graham Nash, Stills' fellow members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, provide background vocals on the song. The song was also covered by a number of artists, notably the Isley Brothers, The Meters, Bucks Fizz, Luther Vandross, Bob Seger and Richard Clapton. Background Stills wrote the song after being inspired by the tag line — "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with" which was a frequent remark by musician Billy Preston. Stills explained in 1991: "This song has been very good to me. The title came from a party with Billy Preston. I asked him if I could pinch this line he had, and he said, 'Sure. ' So I took the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allen Toussaint
Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, described as "one of popular music's great backroom figures".Richard Williams"Allen Toussaint obituary" ''The Guardian'', November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015. Many musicians recorded Toussaint's compositions. He was a producer for hundreds of recordings, among the best known of which are " Right Place, Wrong Time", by his longtime friend Dr. John, and "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle. Biography Early life and career The youngest of three children, Toussaint was born in 1938 in New Orleans and grew up in a shotgun house in the Gert Town neighborhood, where his mother, Naomi Neville (whose name he later adopted pseudonymously for some of his works), welcomed and fed all manner of musicians as they practiced and recorded with her son. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, Gospel music, gospel, funk, and jazz. A virtual one-man band, Wonder's use of synthesizers and other electronic musical instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of Contemporary R&B, R&B. He also helped drive such genres into the album era, crafting his LP record, LPs as cohesive and consistent, in addition to socially conscious statements with complex compositions. Visual impairment, Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11, where he was given the professional name Little Stevie Wonder. Wonder's single "Fingertips" was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1963, at the age of 13, making him the List o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashford & Simpson
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, and Simpson in the Bronx, New York City. Afterwards, his family relocated to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he became a member of Christ Temple Baptist Church. While there, he sang with a group called the Hammond Singers (named after the founding minister, James Hammond). Later, Nickolas attended and graduated from Willow Run High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, before pursuing his professional career, where he would ultimately meet his wife, Valerie. They met at Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church in 1964. After having recorded unsuccessfully as a duo, they joined an aspiring solo artist and former member of the Ikettes, Joshie Jo Armstead, at the Scepter/Wand label, where their compositions were recorded by Ronnie Milsap ("Never Had It So G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs, and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox, phonograph, and radio became commonplace. Many topics it covered were spun-off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation SONAM, headquartered in New York City, manages the company's US-based businesses. Sony's principal U.S. business ..., the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical music label in 1953, but later expanded its scope to include a more diverse range of genres, including pop music, pop, Rhythm and blues, R&B, rock music, rock, and hip hop music, hip hop. History Beginnings Epic Records was launched in 1953 by the Columbia Records unit of CBS, for the purpose of marketing jazz, pop music, pop, and European classical music, classical music that did not fit the theme of its more mainstream Columbia Records label. Initial classical music r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name1 = Illinois , subdivision_name2 = Cook and DuPage , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title2 = Incorporated (city) , established_date2 = , founder = Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , government_type = Mayor–council , governing_body = Chicago City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Lori Lightfoot ( D) , leader_title1 = City Clerk , leader_name1 = Anna Valencia ( D) , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_tot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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