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The Grand Tour (album)
''The Grand Tour'' is an album by the American country music artist George Jones, released in 1974 as his fifth album for Epic Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Country Albums chart and contained the hit title track, which reached a peak of #1 in August 1974. Background When Jones left Musicor for Epic Records in 1971, he had been on the downswing of a remarkably successful decade when his name was a fixture on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart. By the end of the decade, the singer was unhappy with the sloppy production quality of his records and had signed with Epic in the hopes that producer Billy Sherrill could re-establish his music. However, after three albums with Sherrill, Jones still had not scored a solo number one (he had gone to the top of the charts in 1973 with " We're Gonna Hold On", a duet with his then-wife Tammy Wynette). Indeed, Jones had not had a number one song since the ballad "Walk Through This World With Me" in 1967. As Jones biographer Bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Jones
George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", as well as his distinctive voice and phrasing. For the last two decades of his life, Jones was frequently referred to as the greatest living country singer. Country music scholar Bill Malone writes, "For the two or three minutes consumed by a song, Jones immerses himself so completely in its lyrics, and in the mood it conveys, that the listener can scarcely avoid becoming similarly involved." The shape of his nose and facial features earned Jones the nickname "The Possum". Jones has been called and had more than 160 chart singles to his name from 1955 until his death in 2013. Born in Texas, Jones first heard country music when he was seven, and was given a guitar at the age of nine. His earliest influences were Roy Acuff and Bill Monroe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth name that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York. Bennett began singing at an early age. He fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater. Afterward, he developed his singing technique, signed with Columbia Records and had his first number-one popular song with " Because of You" in 1951. Several tracks such as "Rags to Riches" followed in early 1953. He then refined his approach to encompass jazz singing. He reached an artistic peak in the late 1950s with albums such as ''The Beat of My Heart'' and ''Basie Swings, Bennett Sings''. In 1962, Bennett recorded his signature song, "I Left My ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Paycheck
Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greatest success in the 1970s as a force in country music's " outlaw movement" popularized by artists Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard. In 1980, Paycheck appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' (season 5). But during that decade, his music career slowed due to drug, alcohol, and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000. In autographs, Paycheck signed his name "PayCheck". Early life Johnny Paycheck was born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in Greenfield, Ohio. By age 9, Lytle was already playing in talent contests. He was singing professionally by age 15. Career After a stint in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Once You've Had The Best
"Once You've Had the Best" is a ballad written and originally recorded by Johnny Paycheck. It is best remembered for the rendition recorded by George Jones, who scored a #3 hit with it in late 1973. "Once You've Had the Best" originally appeared on Paycheck's 1973 album ''Mr. Lovemaker''. The Jones version, which contains a more optimistic tone, became the singer's second Top 5 solo hit with 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 .... Paycheck's first big break came when he was hired as the bass player for Jones' backing band the Jones Boys in the mid 1960s before beginning his own successful solo career a few years later. The pair would also record a duet album, '' Double Trouble'', in 1980. "Once You've Had the Best" became a live staple for Jones, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grady Martin
Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' "El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Coal Miner's Daughter" and Sammi Smith's "Help Me Make It Through the Night". During a nearly 50-year career, Martin backed such names as Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Johnny Burnette, Don Woody and Arlo Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Bing Crosby. He is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in March 2015. Biography Grady Martin was born in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, United States. He grew up on a farm with his oldest sister, Lois, his older brothers, June and Bill, and his parents, Claude and Bessey; and had a horse he named Trigger. His mother played the piano and encouraged his musical talent. At age 15, Martin was invited to perform regularly on WLAC-AM in Nashville, Te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hank Cochran
Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy Arnold, and others. Cochran was also a recording artist between 1962 and 1980, scoring seven times on the '' Billboard'' country music charts, with his greatest solo success being the No. 20 "Sally Was a Good Old Girl." In 2014, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Biography Hank Cochran was born August 2, 1935, in Isola, Mississippi, during the Great Depression. By the time he turned three, Cochran already had pneumonia, whooping cough, measles, and mumps. The doctor feared he wouldn't survive to adulthood. His parents divorced when he was nine years old. He then moved with his father to Memphis, Tennessee, and was placed in an orphanage. After running away twice, he then was sent to live with his grandparents, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)
"Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)" is a song written by H.B. Hall that has been recorded multiple times. It was originally recorded and released as a single by American country and Latin singer Johnny Rodriguez. His version of the song became a top ten in North America. In 1980, it was released as a single by American country artist Janie Fricke, whose version reached the top 40 in North America. Background and recording Johnny Rodriguez was discovered in Texas by Bobby Bare and Tom T. Hall. In a short period of time, Rodriguez signed a recording contract with Mercury Records and started releasing music shortly afterward. In his first recording sessions, Rodriguez cut "Pass Me (If You're Only Passing Through)", a song composed by H.B. Hall. Along with two other selections, the song was cut at the Mercury Custom Studio in Nashville by producer Jerry Kennedy. The session was held in September 1972. Release and chart performance A month after his recording session, Mercury ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Griff
John Raymond David Griff (April 22, 1940 – March 9, 2016) was a Canadian country music singer and songwriter, born in Vancouver and raised in Toronto. His songwriting credits reached over 2500 songs, many of which were recorded by Nashville's top recording artists. Early life and career Griff was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Winfield, Alberta. He began songwriting in the early 1960s and had early cuts by Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, and others. Griff moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1964 to pursue his music career full-time. His first records as a singer were released in the late 1960s and Griff had his first hit, " Patches", a remake of the Clarence Carter soul hit in 1970 which peaked at No. 26 in '' Billboard''. Griff recorded for the small country label Royal American and later moved on to Dot Records without much success. His stint at Capitol Records from 1975-1979 proved more successful, racking up eight more country top 40 hits, the mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norro Wilson
Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was an American country music singer-songwriter, producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including songs for David Houston (singer), David Houston, Jean Shepard, Charlie Rich, Charley Pride, George Jones, and Tammy Wynette, among many others. He also produced or co-produced songs for dozens of artists, including early Reba McEntire, Joe Stampley, Margo Smith, Sara Evans, Kenny Chesney, and Shania Twain. Earlier in his career, Wilson also charted ten singles on the ''Billboard magazine'' Hot Country Songs chart. The biggest of his three Top 40 hits was "Do It to Someone You Love" (written by Tom T. Hall) which reached No. 20 in 1970. He also recorded two songs, "Hey, Mister!" and "Mama McClusky", that were the basis for Charlie Rich's 1973 number one song, "The Most Beautiful Girl". He died on June 8, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Grand Tour (song)
"The Grand Tour" is a song made famous by country music singer George Jones. Originally released in 1974, the song was the title track to his album released that year. The song became Jones' sixth No. 1 song (fifth if only solo entries are considered) on '' Billboard''s Hot Country Singles chart in August 1974, and was the fourth-biggest hit of the year. In 2014, ''Rolling Stone'' named the song number 38 on its "40 Saddest Country Songs of All Time". Recording and composition The song is widely hailed as one of the finest performances in country music history. Genre historian Bill C. Malone, in his liner notes for '' Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection'', called it a "perfect matching of lyrics and performance" and "one of the great modern songs of divorce". Throughout the song, the lyrics mix the singer's tour of a home that once held many personal, private, and happy memories ("Step right up, come on in ...") with foreshadowing to set the final stop on the stroll†... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In The Wee Small Hours
''In the Wee Small Hours'' is the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra. It was released in April 1955 by Capitol and produced by Voyle Gilmore with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. All the songs on the album deal with themes such as loneliness, introspection, melancholy, desolation, lost love, failed relationships, depression, and night life. The cover artwork reflects these themes, portraying Sinatra alone on an eerie and deserted city street at night awash in blue-tinged street lights. ''In the Wee Small Hours'' has been called one of the first concept albums.Annotated liner notes, Pete Welding. ''In the Wee Small Hours''. Capitol Records, 1998 CD release. Sinatra had been developing the idea of an album with a consistent theme since 1946 with his first album, ''The Voice''. He would successfully continue releasing "concept" albums with later releases such as ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'', ''No One Cares'', and ''Only the Lonely''. ''In the Wee Small Hours'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is among the List of best-selling music artists, world's best-selling music artists with an estimated 150 million record sales. Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. He found success as a solo artist after signing with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "Bobby soxer (music), bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, ''The Voice of Frank Sinatra'', in 1946. When his film career stalled in the early 1950s, Sinatra turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best-known concert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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