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Safe Men
''Safe Men'' is a 1998 American criminal comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg (in his directorial debut), and stars Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn as a pair of aspiring lounge singers who are mistaken for ace safe crackers, and get mixed up with a Jewish mobster, Big Fat Bernie Gayle ( Michael Lerner) and Big Fat's intern, Veal Chop (Paul Giamatti). Reception In August 1998, ''The New York Times'' called it a "low-energy comedy with sufficient signs of willingness to stray off the beaten track to indicate that somewhere down the line its writer and director, John Hamburg, will create something far better." Roger Ebert gave the film one star out of four, saying it "whirls wildly from one bright idea to the next, trying to find a combo that will hold the movie together. No luck." Mick LaSalle gave it "There's no dramatic urgency, no distinct point of view, no question of plot to keep an audience interested. All ''Safe Men'' has is the charm of the actors and the occasion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Hamburg
John Liman Hamburg (born May 26, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. Personal life Hamburg was born to a Jewish family in Manhattan, the son of New York City radio personality Joan Hamburg and Morton I. Hamburg. He graduated from Brown University in 1992 with a degree in history. He then attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Hamburg is married to actress Christina Kirk. Career After screening his 1996 short film ''Tick'' at the Sundance Film Festival, Hamburg wrote and directed the 1998 film '' Safe Men''. Hamburg then found greater success co-writing '' Meet the Parents'' and ''Zoolander'', and returned to the director's chair with '' Along Came Polly'', which he also wrote. He also co-wrote the sequel '' Meet the Fockers''. In 2009, Hamburg wrote and directed the hit comedy ''I Love You, Man''. He wrote the second sequel to '' Meet the Parents'', entitled ''Little Fockers''. In 2016, Hamburg co-wrote the sequel ''Zoolander ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de Young. The paper is owned by the Hearst Corporation, which bought it from the de Young family in 2000. It is the only major daily paper covering the city and county of San Francisco. The paper benefited from the growth of San Francisco and had the largest newspaper circulation on the West Coast of the United States by 1880. Like other newspapers, it experienced a rapid fall in circulation in the early 21st century and was ranked 18th nationally by circulation in the first quarter of 2021. In 1994, the newspaper launched the SFGATE website, with a soft launch in March and official launch November 3, 1994, including both content from the newspaper and other sources. "The Gate" as it was known at launch was the first large market newspaper ... [...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] |
Rufus & Chaka Khan
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 Circus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Player (band)
Player is an American musical ensemble, rock band that was formed in the late 1970s. The group scored several US Hot 100 hits, three of which went into the top 40; two of those single releases went top 10, including the No. 1 hit "Baby Come Back (Player song), Baby Come Back", written by group members Peter Beckett and J.C. Crowley. Career Player first came together in Los Angeles, California. The original members included Peter Beckett (vocals, guitar), JC Crowley, John Charles "J.C." Crowley (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Ronn Moss (vocals, bass), and John Friesen (drums). Beckett, a transplanted Englishman from Liverpool, had been in a progressive rock group called Paladin (band), Paladin, then Skyband in 1974 with Australian Steve Kipner (who had also played with the Australian band Tin Tin (band), Tin Tin, of which Beckett had also briefly been a member). At that time, Beckett, Kipner and Skyband were based in Los Angeles. After Skyband broke up in 1975, Beckett was s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baby Come Back (Player Song)
"Baby Come Back" is a song by the British-American rock band Player. It was released in late 1977 as the lead single from their 1977 self-titled debut album, and was the breakthrough single for the band, gaining them mainstream success, hitting #1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #10 on the R&B charts in 1978. Their biggest hit single, the song was written and performed by Peter Beckett and J.C. Crowley, the founders of Player. As reported on the ''American Top 40'' replay broadcast of November 5, 1977, "Baby Come Back" was written after two of the band members had broken up with their girlfriends. Personnel *Peter Beckett – lead vocals and backing vocals, electric guitar * J.C. Crowley – acoustic piano, electric piano and backing vocals * Ronn Moss – bass and backing vocals *John Friesen – drums, maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", " I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, " Let's Stay Together". After an incident in which his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music. He later returned to secular music. Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. He was referred to on the museum's site as being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music". He has also been referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers". Green is the winner of 11 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received the BMI Icon award and is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient. He was included in the ''Rolling Stone'' list of the 100 G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Clark (promoter)
Dave Clark (March 6, 1909 – July 22, 1995) in Jacksonville, Florida, was a pioneering African-American record promoter. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, Clark became interested in music after a teacher gave him piano and violin lessons. He later learned band music and performed as a teenager with traveling minstrel shows. He graduated from Lane College in Jackson in 1934 and from the Juilliard School in New York City in 1939. He began promoting for Decca Records in 1938, beginning with Jimmie Lunceford. This launched a career as a promoter for most major labels that recorded African-American music. He worked for Duke/Peacock for 17 years, and also spent time with Chess, Aladdin, Apollo, United, Stax, and TK, before moving to Malaco in 1980. Clark also served as the musical consultant for several movies, including ''The Color Purple''. He wrote a column for ''Down Beat'' magazine during the 1960s called "Swing Row Is My Beat". Clark had over 60 songs to his credit, including B.B. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Hawkins
Ted Hawkins (October 28, 1936 – January 1, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter born in Biloxi, Mississippi. He split his time between his adopted hometown of Venice Beach, California, where he was a mostly anonymous street performer, and Europe and Australia, where he and his songs were better known and well received in clubs and small concert halls. Life and career Hawkins was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. His mother was a prostitute and he never knew the identity of his father. He was sent to a reform school when he was 12 years old. As a teenager Hawkins drifted, hitchhiked, and stole his way across the country for the next dozen years, earning several stays in prison, including a three-year stint for stealing a leather jacket as a teenager. Along the way, he picked up a love of music and a talent for the guitar. "I was sent to a school for bad boys called Oakley Training School in 1949," he wrote in a brief piece of autobiography. "There I developed my voice by sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Booker T
Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944), American musician and frontman of Booker T. and the M.G.'s * Booker T (wrestler) (born 1965), ring name of American professional wrestler Booker Huffman Also * Booker T. Bradshaw (1940–2003), American record producer, film and TV actor, and executive * Booker T. Laury (1914–1995), American boogie-woogie and blues pianist * Booker T. Spicely (1909–1944) victim of a racist murder in North Carolina, United States * Booker T. Whatley (1915–2005) agricultural professor at Tuskegee University * Booker T. Washington White (1909–1977), American Delta blues guitarist and singer known as Bukka White * Booker T. Boffin, pseudonym of Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Packers
The Packers were an American soul group formed by tenor saxophonist Charles "Packy" Axton, who was the son of Stax Records part-owner Estelle Axton.Ron Wynn, The Packersat Allmusic Axton was a former member of the Mar-Keys, as was Steve Cropper, who played on the group's first recording and hit, ostensibly recorded as a 'demo'. Cropper, a member of Booker T. Jones & The MGs and the Stax Records' session band, was also joined by Booker T. on piano and drummer Al Jackson for the recording, while Leon Haywood (on organ) was among those who also played on the group's records. The Packers' first album, ''Hole in the Wall'', reached #7 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart on the strength of the titular single, which reached #5 on the R&B Singles chart and #43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. |
George Clinton (funk Musician)
George Edward Clinton (born July 22, 1941) is an American musician, singer, bandleader, and record producer. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective (which primarily recorded under the distinct band names Parliament and Funkadelic) developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on science fiction, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor. He launched his solo career with the 1982 album '' Computer Games'' and would go on to influence 1990s hip hop and G-funk. Clinton is regarded, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, as one of the foremost innovators of funk music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards. Career Beginnings George Edward Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida. During his t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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