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Singin' In The Rain (song)
"Singin' in the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Introduced by Doris Eaton Travis in ''The Hollywood Music Box Revue'', then months later by Cliff Edwards and the Brox Sisters in ''The Hollywood Revue of 1929'', the song was subsequently recorded by many contemporary artists. The musical film of the same name, ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), was "suggested by" the song. The performance by Gene Kelly dancing through puddles in a rainstorm garnered the song the third spot on the American Film Institute ranking of 100 Years...100 Songs. Song form The song has an unusual form: the 32-bar chorus, rather than being preceded by a verse and containing an internal bridge as was becoming standard at the time, opens the song and then is followed by a 24-bar verse that has the feeling of a bridge before the chorus repeats. Covers B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra recorded the song possibly as early as 1928 but perhaps 1929. The song wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. In addition, he produced and was also a co-lyricist for the now-iconic film '' Singin' in the Rain''. Early life Freed was born to a Jewish family in Charleston, South Carolina, and wrote poetry while a high schooler at Phillips Exeter Academy. After graduating in 1914, he began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago. After meeting Minnie Marx, he sang as part of the act of her sons, the Marx Brothers, on the vaudeville circuit, and also wrote material for the brothers. He soon began to write songs, and was eventually hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. For years, he wrote lyrics for numerous films, many set to music by Nacio Herb Brown. Career In 1939, after working (uncredited) in the role of associate producer on '' The Wiza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). She attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled ''Judy at Carnegie Hall''. Garland began performing as a child with her two older sisters, in a vaudeville group " The Gumm Sisters" and was later signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. She appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM. Garland was a frequent on-screen partner of both Mickey Rooney and Gene Kelly and regularly collaborated w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francisco Canaro
Francisco Canaro (November 26, 1888 – December 14, 1964) was a Uruguayan violinist and tango orchestra leader. Canaro was born in San José de Mayo, Uruguay, in 1888. His parents were Italian immigrants, and later, when he was less than 10 years old, they emigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina in the late nineteenth century. As a young man he found work in a factory, where an empty oil can, in his skilled hands, became his first violin. Performing in seedy bars initially, he ultimately forged a career that spanned many decades, and his orchestra was one of the most recorded. His introduction to the tango came by orquesta típica leader Vicente Greco in 1908, and in 1912 he composed "Pinta brava" ("Fierce Look"). Canaro composed the music for the 1915 Argentine classic film '' Nobleza gaucha''. He later was romantically attached to Argentine actress and tango vocalist Ada Falcón, but the relationship, which began in the early 1920s, grew apart a decade later. In 1920 Canaro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odeon Records
Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus and Zuntz bought the company from Carl Lindström that he had founded in 1897. They transformed the Lindström enterprise into a public company, the Carl Lindström A.G. and in 1903 purchased Fonotipia Records, including their Odeon-Werke International Talking Machine Company. International Talking Machine Company issued the Odeon label first in Germany in 1903 and applied for a U.S. trademark the same year. While other companies were making single-side discs, Odeon made them double-sided. In 1909 it created the first recording of a large orchestral work — and what may have been the first record album — when it released a 4-disc set of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite with Hermann Finck conducting the London Palace Orche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film '' Three Little Words''. Her breakout role was her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952). Her other successes include ''The Affairs of Dobie Gillis'' (1953), '' Susan Slept Here'' (1954), ''Bundle of Joy'' (1956 Golden Globe nomination), ''The Catered Affair'' (1956 National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Winner), and ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' (1957), in which her performance of the song " Tammy" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' music charts. In 1959, she released her first pop music album, titled ''Debbie''. She starred in ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), '' How the West Was Won'' (1962), and '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' (1964), a biographical film about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture, Lewis was nicknamed "The King of Comedy". Starting in 1946, he teamed with singer Dean Martin to form the famous Martin and Lewis, then in 1956, went on as a solo act on stage, top-grossing movie star, a staple on television and filmmaker. He starred in 60 films, directed 13 movies and was an early and prominent user of video assist, which allows real-time review of how a scene looks on camera. During his years as national chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Lewis supported fundraising for muscular dystrophy research and hosted ''The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, The Jerry Lewis Telethon'', which raised $2.6 billion. Early life Lewis was born Joseph Levitch on March 16, 1926, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Colgate Comedy Hour
''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series are archived at the UCLA Library in their Special Collections. Synopsis The program evolved from NBC's first TV variety showcase, ''Four Star Revue,'' sponsored by Motorola. The "running gag" sketches were dropped in favor of more performing acts. The weekly show was proposed to be hosted by four comedians in a four-week rotation to provide competition for Ed Sullivan's ''Toast of the Town'' on CBS. The first episode, starring Hans Conried, Rosemary DeCamp and Dick Foran, was written and produced by the then 22-year-old Peggy Webber, who appeared in over 100 episodes of '' Dragnet'' with Jack Webb. The new format was heavily backed by its sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive, to the tune of $3 million in the first year, and the 8:00 p.m. E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films. Following an acrimonious ending of the partnership in 1956, Martin pursued a solo career as a performer and actor. Martin established himself as a singer, recording numerous contemporary songs as well as standards from the Great American Songbook. He became one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas and was known for his friendship with fellow artists Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., who together with several others formed the Rat Pack. Starting in 1965, Martin was the host of the television variety program ''The Dean Martin Show'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valaida Snow
Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904. Other presumed birth years are 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, and 1907 – May 30, 1956) was an American jazz musician and entertainer who performed internationally. She was also known as "Little Louis" and "Queen of the Trumpet," a nickname given to her by W. C. Handy. Biography Snow was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her mother, Etta, was a Howard University-educated music teacher and her father, John, was a minister who was the leader of the Pickaninny Troubadours, a group mainly consisting of child performers. Raised on the road in a show-business family, where starting from the age of five, she began performing with her father's group. By the time she was 15, she learned to play cello, bass, banjo, violin, mandolin, harp, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone. She also sang and danced. Her solo career began when she joined a popular revue called ''Holiday in Dixieland'', after exiting an abusive marriage. She then held a residency at a Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob And Alf Pearson
Bob and Alf Pearson were an English musical variety double act, consisting of brothers Robert Alexander Pearson (15 August 1907 – 30 December 1985) and Alfred Vernon Pearson (15 June 1910 – 7 July 2012), who were mainly known for their singing of songs as a duo in close-harmony. Their career together lasted over 50 years, spanning stage, radio, television and gramophone records. During the 1930s, they became one of the most popular acts in Britain, and had sold over a million records by 1936. Their fame continued into the post-war period, when they regularly appeared on the BBC Radio show ''Ray's a Laugh'' with comedian Ted Ray. Introducing themselves with their signature tune, "My Brother and I", audiences heard the brothers performing well-known songs, with Bob accompanying on piano. Ray would ask, "Why, it's a little girl, what's your name?" with Bob replying, "Jennifer", followed by a comedy routine. Bob's turn as 'Jennifer' became closely associated with their act. Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Lucas
Dominic Nicholas Anthony Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982), known professionally as Nick Lucas, was an American jazz guitarist and singer. Known as the Crooning Troubadour, he was the first jazz guitarist to record as a soloist. His popularity during his lifetime came from his signature song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips". Career Lucas was born into an Italian family in Newark, New Jersey, United States. In 1922, at the age of 25, he gained renown with his hit renditions of "Pickin' the Guitar" and "Teasin' the Frets" for Pathé. In 1923, Gibson Guitars proposed to build him a concert guitar with a deeper body. Known as the "Nick Lucas Special," it became a popular model with guitarists such as Bob Dylan. It was this guitar's outline that was later used as the basis for the Gibson Les Paul solid body electric guitar. Also in 1923, he began recording for Brunswick and remained one of their exclusive artists until 1932. In 1929, Lucas co-starred in the Warner Bros. two-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, and William Shakespeare, and was the first five-time Academy Award acting nominee, winning Best Actress for ''The Divorcee'' (1930). Reviewing Shearer's work, Mick LaSalle called her "the exemplar of sophisticated 1930s womanhood ... exploring love and sex with an honesty that would be considered frank by modern standards". He described her as a feminist pioneer, "the first American film actress to make it chic and acceptable to be single and not a virgin on screen". Early life Shearer was of Scottish, English, and Irish descent. Her childhood was spent in Montreal, where she was educated at Montreal High School for Girls and Westmount High School. Her life was one of privilege, due to the success of her father's construction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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