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Songs For Swingin' Sellers
''Songs for Swingin' Sellers'' is the second studio album by the English actor, comedian and singer Peter Sellers. Released on EMI's Parlophone label in December 1959, the album was produced by George Martin with musical direction from Ron Goodwin and features a series of comic sketches showcasing Sellers' satirical humour and mimicry. The album was titled as a play on Frank Sinatra's ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' and much of its contents pointedly satirises popular culture, with musical parodies of Sinatra and Lonnie Donegan among the tracks. Sellers plays a variety of roles alongside contributions from the comic character actress Irene Handl and the singer Matt Monro (credited as "Fred Flange"). A critical and commercial success, the album reached number three in the UK Albums Chart and Martin's elaborate production has been cited as an artistic forerunner to his work with the Beatles. Background After being promoted to head of Parlophone Records in 1955, George Martin began ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in '' The Pink Panther'' series. Born in Southsea, Portsmouth, Sellers made his stage debut at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, when he was two weeks old. He began accompanying his parents in a variety act that toured the provincial theatres. He first worked as a drummer and toured around England as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He developed his mimicry and improvisational skills during a spell in Ralph Reader's wartime Gang Show entertainment troupe, which toured Britain and the Far East. After the war, Sellers made his radio debut in ''ShowTime'', and eventually became a regular performer on vario ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of The Goon Show Cast Members And Characters
This is a list of regular cast members of the 1950s British radio programme ''The Goon Show'' and the characters they portrayed. Harry Secombe Neddie Seagoon Uncle Oscar Uncle of Henry and Min. A very old pensioner (Henry often asks, "What are you doing out of your grave?") who usually jabbers incoherently but soon collapses. When he is coherent, he can be heard enquiring as to the whereabouts of his teeth, or (as in ''The Call Of The West''), he loses them – Henry remarks, "There go his teeth, Min – more dinner for us!" In ''The £50 Cure'', he is the first to be turned into a chicken after drinking Minnie's laundry soup. Private Bogg One of Major Bloodnok's soldiers who is usually picked upon to do all the dangerous/scary jobs that Bloodnok himself is too afraid to do. However, Bogg does appear as a civilian in ''The Greatest Mountain In The World''; he announces himself as 'Sex: male; name: Bogg F, Superintendent, Ministry of Works and Housing', and declares that H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skiffle
Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, it became extremely popular in United Kingdom in the 1950s, where it was played by such artists as Lonnie Donegan, The Vipers Skiffle Group, Ken Colyer, and Chas McDevitt. Skiffle was a major part of the early careers of some musicians who later became prominent jazz, pop, blues, folk, and rock performers, The Beatles and Rory Gallagher amongst them. It has been seen as a critical stepping stone to the second British folk revival, the British blues boom, and the British Invasion of American popular music. Origins in the United States The origins of skiffle are obscure but generally thought to lie in African-American musical culture in the early 20th century. Skiffle is often said to have developed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous ''Music Hall'' and subsequent, more respectable ''Variety'' differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within public houses during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during the 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These theatres were designed chiefly so that people could consume food ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Any Old Iron (song)
"Any Old Iron" is a British music hall song written by Charles Collins, Fred E. Terry and E.A. Sheppard. Harry Champion sang it as part of his act, and recorded it in 1911. Other versions *In 1957, Peter Sellers recorded a rendition in a voice he created for ''The Goon Show'', Willium "Mate" Cobblers. It reached No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart that year. Sellers had previously performed it as Major Dennis Bloodnok (with Spike Milligan as Minnie Bannister) in a 1954 episode of ''The Goon Show'' entitled "The Booted Gorilla". *It was performed on ''The Muppet Show'' by Kermit the Frog, joined by Fozzie Bear, two whatnots, and the audience. eason 2, Episode 14 (Elton John)">Elton_John.html" ;"title="eason 2, Episode 14 (Elton John">eason 2, Episode 14 (Elton John)*It was performed by Roger Daltrey, accompanied by The Chieftains, in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1992. A recording of the performance appears on the album ''An Irish Evening''. *It was included in ''The Boy Friend ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Publishing
A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellectual property of composers. Music print publishing The term music publisher originally referred to publishers who issued hand-copied or printed sheet music. Examples (who are actively in business ) include: * Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, founded 1719 * Schott, Mainz, 1770 * Oxford University Press, Oxford, founded 18th century * Edition Peters, Leipzig, 1800 * Casa Ricordi, Milan, founded 1808 (now owned by Universal Music Publishing Group) * G. Schirmer, Inc., New York, founded 1861 (now owned by Wise Music Group) * Universal Edition, Vienna, 1901 * Bärenreiter, founded 1923 * Boosey & Hawkes, London, founded 1930 (now owned by Concord) * Hans Sikorski, Hamburg, 1935 (now owned by Concord) * PWM, Kraków, founded 1945 * G. Henle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unchained Melody
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodriguez The 1950s' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Rock & Roll Rebels ''Brassey's'', p.90. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages. In 1955, three versions of the song (by Les Baxter, Al Hibbler, and Roy Hamilton) charted in the ''Billboard'' top 10 in the United States, and four versions (by Al Hibbler, Les Baxter, Jimmy Young, and Liberace) appeared in the top 20 in the United Kingdom simultaneously, a record for any song. The song continued to chart in the 21st century, and it was the only s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. In 1937, anticipating Nazi Germany, Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca and the link between the U.K. and U.S. Decca labels was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group. The U.S. Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG (Universal Music Group). Label name The name dates back to a portable phonograph, gramophone called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons. The name "Decca" was coined by Wilfred S. Samuel by merging the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Goon Show
''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 1951, was titled ''Crazy People''; subsequent series had the title ''The Goon Show''. The show's chief creator and main writer was Spike Milligan, who performed the series alongside Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and (for the first two series) Michael Bentine. The scripts mixed ludicrous plots with surreal humour, puns, catchphrases and an array of bizarre sound effects. There were also light music interludes. Some of the later episodes feature electronic effects devised by the fledgling BBC Radiophonic Workshop, many of which were reused by other shows for decades. Elements of the show satirised contemporary life in 1950s Britain, parodying aspects of show business, commerce, industry, art, politics, diplomacy, the police, the military, educ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radio Comedy
Radio comedy, or comedy, comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketch comedy, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be conveyed on a small budget with just a few sound effects or some simple dialogue. Radio comedy began in the United States in 1930, based on the fact that as most United Kingdom music hall comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel progressed to silent films, they moved to cinema of the United States, Hollywood and fed the radio comedy field. Another British music hall comic, George Formby, stayed in the British movie industry, and in 1940 joined the Entertainments National Service Association to entertain British World War II troops. UK radio comedy therefore started later, in the 1950s. Background and history Radio comedy began in the United States in 1930, and got a much later start in the United Kingdom becaus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart'', became a bestseller and reached number one on the ''Billboard'' pop album chart; it remains the 20th-best-selling comedy album in history. The follow-up album, ''The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!'', was also a success, and the two albums held the ''Billboard'' number one and number two spots simultaneously. Newhart later went into acting, starring as Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley in ''The Bob Newhart Show'' during the 1970s, and then as Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon on the 1980s series ''Newhart''. He also had two short-lived sitcoms in the 1990s, ''Bob'' and ''George and Leo''. Newhart had film roles such as Major Major in ''Catch-22'' and Papa Elf in ''Elf''. He provided the voice of Bernard in the Disney ani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
