|
Sylvia (Focus Song)
"Sylvia" is a 1972 song by Dutch progressive rock band Focus. It was released on their 1972 album ''Focus 3'' and as a UK single on 27 January 1973. The single became the band's biggest international hit, reaching number 4 in the UK Singles Chart and number 89 in the US Billboard chart. Background First released as a single in The Netherlands in April 1972, the song was subsequently included on the album ''Focus 3'' in November. On 12 December, the band recorded a session for the BBC's ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', including "Sylvia" segueing into the yodeling of " Hocus Pocus". Aside from Thijs van Leer's short section of falsetto vocalising, the song is instrumental. In 1968, while in the four-piece backing band and vocal group ''Shaffy Chantant'' with lead singer Ramses Shaffy, Thijs composed the melody of the song with words by Linda Van Dijck for Sylvia Alberts to sing. It had the long winded title "''I Thought I Could Do Everything On My Own, I Was Always Stripping Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focus (band)
Focus is a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band has undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised Van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to Van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves ''Focus'' and initially worked for a Dutch production of the rock musical ''Hair''. Their debut album '' Focus Plays Focus'' (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, '' Moving Waves'' (1971), and its lead single " Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with '' Focus 3'' (1972) and '' Hamburger Concerto'' (1974), the former containing their second hit single, " Sylvia". After recording t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramses Shaffy
Ramses Shaffy (29 August 1933 – 1 December 2009) was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder", "We zullen doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Sammy" and "Laat me". He frequently collaborated with Dutch singer Liesbeth List. Biography Shaffy was born on 29 August 1933 in Paris, in the suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine. His father was an Egyptian diplomat Ramsès Shaffy Bey, and his mother was a Polish-Russian countess Alexandra de Wysocka. He grew up with his mother in Cannes. When she was infected with tuberculosis, Shaffy was sent to an aunt in Utrecht (city), Utrecht. Eventually, he ended up in a foster family in Leiden. He did not finish high school, but he was accepted at the Amsterdam school of theatre arts in 1952. In 1955, he made his debut with the ''Nederlandse Comedie''. He went to Rome in 1960 aspiring to be a film actor, but was unsuccessful in the endeavour. In the 1960s, Sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focus (band) Songs
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel * ''Focus'' (2015 film), a 2015 film about con artists Music * Focus (music), a musical technique also known as modal frame * Focus..., American music producer * Focus (band), Dutch progressive rock band Albums * ''Focus'' (Stan Getz album), 1961 jazz album * ''Focus'' (Bill Hardman album), 1984 jazz album * ''Focus'' (Jan Akkerman & Thijs van Leer album), 1985 * ''Focus'' (Cynic album), 1993 metal album * ''Focus'' (Chico Freeman album), 1994 jazz album * ''Focus'' (Souls of Mischief album), 1998 alternative hip-hop album * ''Focus'' (Holly Starr album), 2012 CCM album * ''Focus'' (Arthur Blythe album), 2002 jazz album * ''Focus'' (Diaura album), 2013 Japanese visual kei album Songs * "Focus" (Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1973 Singles
Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. * January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Nixon is the only person to have been sworn in twice as President (First inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1969, Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1973) and Vice President of the United States (First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, Second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957). * January 22 ** George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight world boxing championship. ** A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Van Der Linden
Pierre van der Linden (born 19 February 1946) is a Dutch drummer, songwriter and member of the band, Focus. Biography Van der Linden was influenced by his childhood hero Buddy Rich. He finds inspiration in French philosophers and classical composers of the twentieth century. For drumming, he is influenced by Tony Williams and Elvin Jones. Van der Linden practises his drumming technique each day, at least one hour on his practise pad. He avoids modern tuning and prefers to use open tuning, closer to a jazz than a rock drummer, and adopts a mix of matched grip and traditional grip. Away from music, van der Linden enjoys painting and writing poetry. In the 1990s he joined the free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ... group Advance Warning and played on four alb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bert Ruiter
Focus is a Dutch progressive rock band formed in Amsterdam in 1969 by keyboardist, vocalist, and flutist Thijs van Leer, drummer Hans Cleuver, bassist Martijn Dresden, and guitarist Jan Akkerman. The band has undergone numerous formations in its history; since December 2016, it has comprised Van Leer, drummer Pierre van der Linden, guitarist Menno Gootjes, and bassist Udo Pannekeet. They have sold one million RIAA-certified albums in the United States. After the addition of Akkerman to Van Leer's rock trio in late 1969, the band named themselves ''Focus'' and initially worked for a Dutch production of the rock musical '' Hair''. Their debut album ''Focus Plays Focus'' (1970) gained little attention but the follow-up, '' Moving Waves'' (1971), and its lead single " Hocus Pocus", earned the band international recognition. Their success continued with ''Focus 3'' (1972) and ''Hamburger Concerto'' (1974), the former containing their second hit single, " Sylvia". After recording two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman (born 24 December 1946) is a Dutch guitarist. He first found international commercial success with the band Focus, which he co-founded with Thijs van Leer. After leaving Focus, he continued as a solo musician, adding jazz fusion influences. Biography The son of a scrap iron trader, Akkerman was born in Amsterdam. He started playing the accordion before turning to the guitar. Around age ten he took guitar lessons and his first single, with the Friendship Sextet, was released in 1960, when he was thirteen years old. Akkerman won a scholarship to study at the Amsterdam Music Lyceum for five years, developing his composition and arranging skills. At fourteen he was in the rock band Johnny and his Cellar Rockers with his friend Pierre van der Linden. Both then joined The Hunters. After seeing a performance by classical guitarist Julian Bream, he became interested in renaissance music and the lute. He started the band Brainbox with Van der Linden, Kaz Lux, and And ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammond Organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive a speaker cabinet. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker. Around two million Hammond organs have been manufactured. The organ was originally marketed by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, or instead of a piano. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians in organ trios—small groups centered on the Hammond organ. Jazz club owners found that organ trios were cheaper than hiring a big band. Jimmy Smith's use of the Hammond B-3, with its additional harmonic percussion feature, inspired a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
At The Rainbow
''At the Rainbow'' (re-released as ''Live at the Rainbow'') is the first live album from the Netherlands, Dutch rock band Focus (band), Focus, released in October 1973 on Imperial Records. The album was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on 5 May 1973 by The Pye Mobile Unit, recording engineer Alan Perkins. A studio album was initially slated for release, but it was shelved due to disagreements within the band. (An album compiled from the tapes of these sessions was later released with the title ''Ship of Memories''.) ''At the Rainbow'' was released instead. Track listing Vinyl release CD release 1988 Performed at the show, but unreleased # "Anonymus 2" # "House of the King" (Instrumental) (filmed) # Lute solo ("Britannia" by John Dowland) Personnel ;Focus * Thijs van Leer – keyboard instrument, keyboards, Western concert flute, flute, singing, vocals * Jan Akkerman – guitar * Bert Ruiter – bass guitar * Pierre van der Linden – drum kit, drums Charts C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Gui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Thompson (author)
David Thompson (born 4 January 1960, aka Dave Thomas) is an English writer who is the author of more than 100 books, largely dealing with rock and pop music, but also covering film, sports, philately, numismatics and erotica. He wrote regularly for ''Melody Maker'' and ''Record Collector'' in the 1980s, and has since contributed to magazines such as ''Mojo'', '' Q'', ''Rolling Stone'' and '' Goldmine''."Dave Thompson" . Retrieved 14 April 2021. Thompson was born in in Devon. In the late 1970s, he wrote and published a [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Harris (radio Presenter)
Robert Brinley Joseph Harris (born 11 April 1946), popularly known as "Whispering Bob" Harris, is an English music presenter known for being a host of the BBC2 music programme ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', and as a co-founder of the listings magazine ''Time Out''. Harris has been broadcasting on the BBC for 50 years and has been recognised with the Americana Music Association of America Trailblazer Award, a UK Heritage Award, and a MOJO Medal, as well as his OBE for services to broadcasting. Early life Born on 11 April 1946 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, Harris first followed in his father's footsteps and joined Northamptonshire Police as a cadet for two years. Harris's father was from Pontardawe in South Wales. He then helped found ''Time Out'' magazine, as co-editor. Years later, he still refers to himself as "a journalist who can broadcast".''Old Grey Whistle Test'' DVD Vol 3; Bob Harris speaking before Track 3 Career Early career He began at BBC Radio 1 in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Hammond Organ")
