|
Tommy West (producer)
Thomas Picardo Jr. (August 17, 1942 – May 2, 2021), known professionally as Tommy West, was an American record producer and singer-songwriter. Early career Thomas Picardo Jr. was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. West's career as a performing artist began in 1958 when he co-founded the doo-wop group The Criterions with Tim Hauser, a classmate of his at St. Rose High School in Belmar, New Jersey. In 1959, the group hit the pop charts with "I Remain Truly Yours". West is a 1963 graduate of Villanova University. While attending Villanova, he became student conductor of the school's glee club, The Villanova Singers. West formed a sub-group of the Singers called The Villanova Spires, a 12-man group who performed folk songs with guitar accompaniment. Tim Hauser, also now a student at Villanova, joined the group. In 1961, West auditioned fellow student Jim Croce for The Spires and an enduring friendship was formed. After graduating in 1963, West became a radio announcer and music dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.The Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships in 2010 in New Jersey: 2000 and 2010 , . Accessed November 7, 2011. It is the of and the county's largest city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Davis, Jr
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities.Sammy Davis Jr. Biography Biography.com. Retrieved June 6, 2013.< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life And Times (Jim Croce Album)
''Life and Times'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in July 1973. The album contains the No. 1 ''Billboard'' chart hit " Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". Croce was nominated for two 1973 Grammy awards in the "Pop Male Vocalist" and "Record of the Year" categories for the song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". It was Croce's final album to be released during his lifetime. Production The album was produced by Tommy West and Terry Cashman. Critical reception ''The New Rolling Stone Record Guide'' wrote: "Croce's nostalgic side began to take over and he started to produce strikingly impersonal experiments in the craft of sentiment. It fits him well." Track listing Personnel *Jim Croce – rhythm guitar, vocals *Kenny Ascher – organ on "A Good Time Man Like Me Ain't Got No Business (Singin' the Blues)" *Terry Cashman – backing vocals *Gary Chester – drums *Ellie Greenwich – backing vocals *Michael Kamen – oboe on "Next Time, This Time" *David Spin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Don't Mess Around With Jim
''You Don't Mess Around with Jim'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, released in April 1972. History and release The album was recorded over a three to four-week period for approximately $18,000, with most funding coming from the PolyGram Group in Baarn, the Netherlands, on the basis of hearing an 8-song demo tape assembled by production team Cashman & West. The deal with PolyGram was made after team attorney Phil Kurnit approached a contact within the record company who then had PolyGram executives listen to the demo tape. After having the finished album rejected by up to 40 record labels, Croce was signed to ABC Records after Cashman & West had a chance meeting with ABC promotion man Marty Kupps. Kupps urged label head Jay Lasker to sign Croce after hearing cuts from a cassette tape of the finished album. The record spent 93 weeks on the charts, longer than any other Jim Croce album. Due to the strong performance of the posthumous single releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ABC-Dunhill
ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels before ABC was sold to MCA Records in 1979. ABC produced music in a variety of genres: pop, rock, jazz, country, rhythm and blues, soundtrack, gospel, and polka. In addition to producing records, ABC licensed masters from independent record producers, and purchased regionally released records for national distribution. The label was initially called Am-Par Records (1955), but quickly changed to ABC-Paramount Records (1955–1966), and then renamed ABC Records in 1966. History Background In the 1940s and early 1950s, the Federal Communications Commission took action against the Anti-competitive practices of movie studios and broadcasting companies, forcing the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to sell the Blue Network, the sister network o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Partridge Family
''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from September 25, 1970, until August 24, 1974, on the ABC network as part of a Friday-night lineup, and had subsequent runs in syndication. The family was loosely based on the real-life musical family the Cowsills, a popular band in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Premise In the pilot episode, a group of musical siblings in the fictitious city of San Pueblo, California (said to be "40 miles from Napa County" in episode 24, "A Partridge By Any Other Name") convinces their widowed mother, bank teller Shirley Partridge, to help them out by singing as they record a pop song in their garage. Through the efforts of precocious 10-year-old Danny they find a manager, Reuben Kincaid, who helps make the song a Top 40 hit. After more persuading, Shirley ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue includes close to 500 songs that he wrote, produced and/or published. One of his earliest successes, ''Boys'' (co-written with Luther Dixon), appeared on the B-side of the Shirelles' 1960 number-one hit ''Will You Love Me Tomorrow'', and in 1963 was covered by the Beatles for their debut album ''Please Please Me''. Farrell's biggest chart hit as a composer – the McCoys' 1965 US number one ''Hang On Sloopy'' (a reworking of "My Girl Sloopy", co-written with Bert Russell) – remains one of the most performed songs in the history of popular music, according to the RIAA.. In 1985, ''Hang On Sloopy'' became the official state rock song of the State of Ohio. Other Farrell pop hits include the Animals' UK debut single '' Baby Let Me Take You Home'' (co-wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, with Tim Hauser the only person to be part of both. The first group consisted of Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalia, and Gene Pistilli. The second version of the group, formed in 1972, consisted of Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé. In 1979, Massé left the group after being badly injured in a car accident and was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. The group's long-time pianist, Yaron Gershovsky, accompanied the group on tour and served as music director. Trist Curless from the Los Angeles a cappella group m-pact became a permanent member in October 2014 following Hauser's death. Early years In 1969, Tim Hauser formed a vocal group in New York City called The Manhattan Transfer after the novel by John Dos Passos. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maury Muehleisen
Maurice T. "Maury" Muehleisen (January 14, 1949 – September 20, 1973) was an American musician, songwriter, and artist best known for his studio work, live accompaniment, and impact on the music of Jim Croce. He died in the same plane crash that killed Croce. Early life Maurice T. Muehleisen was born into a large family in Trenton, New Jersey on January 14, 1949. He received classical piano training at the age of nine and began playing guitar at age 17. Muehleisen briefly attended Glassboro State College in Glassboro, New Jersey. Recording Muehleisen had written several songs and was introduced to producers Terry Cashman and Tommy West, who offered to produce an album of his songs. At that time, Jim Croce was out of the music industry and was working a series of odd jobs. Muehleisen and Croce were introduced by a mutual friend, Joe Salviuolo, and developed an immediate and lasting rapport. With steady gigs and a growing fan base, Muehleisen invited Croce to back him up as a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim & Ingrid Croce
''Jim & Ingrid Croce'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, the only one performed as a duo with his wife Ingrid. It was originally released in 1969 and has been subsequently re-released with alternate titles such as ''Bombs over Puerto Rico'', ''Another Day, Another Town'' and ''Approaching Day''. Track listing The album was re-released on Capitol Records as ''Jim & Ingrid Croce: Another Day Another Town'', with two songs omitted and the tracks rearranged in the following order:Pickwick/33 By Arrangement with Capitol Records SPC 3332 Personnel *Jim Croce – guitar, keyboards, vocals, 12-string guitar *Ingrid Croce – vocals *Gary Chester – drums *Harry Katzman – violin *Ann Minogue – triangle *Gene Pistilli – guitar, keyboards *John Stockfish – bass *Eric Weissberg – mandolin *Dick Weissman – banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ingrid Croce
Ingrid Croce (née Jacobson, born April 27, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter and restaurateur. She is the widow of the singer-songwriter Jim Croce and the mother of the singer-songwriter A.J. Croce. Between 1964 and 1971, Ingrid and Jim Croce performed as a duo. In 1969, Capitol Records released their album, ''Jim & Ingrid Croce''. Their song "Age" won a country music award in the late 1970s. Biography Early life Croce was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a Jewish family. When she was eight, she worked at her grandmother's dress store in South Philadelphia. Her mother, Shirley, played piano on her own local television show. She learned to cook with her and started singing in local clubs and on television by the time she was 10. Her father, Sidney Jacobson, was a general practitioner with his medical office in their home in West Philadelphia. By the age of 15, she was employed as the junior art therapist assisting her father at the University of Pennsylvani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nik Venet
Nick Venet (born Nikolas Kostantinos Venetoulis, 3 December 1936 – 2 January 1998) was an American record producer, who began his career at age 19 with World Pacific Jazz. He is best known for signing The Beach Boys to Capitol Records and producing the band's earlier material including the song "Surfin' Safari". Brian Wilson has credited Venet with helping him learn the craft of production. Career Mentored by Lee Gillette, John Hammond, and Richard Bock, he worked with such musicians as Chet Baker, Lord Buckley, Nat "King" Cole, Stan Getz, Chico Hamilton, Stan Kenton, Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, Peggy Lee, Gerry Mulligan, Ravi Shankar, and Kay Starr. In his early twenties, he joined Capitol Records.Bull Sessions With the Big Daddy, Stephen J. McParland, CMusic Books, p. 285 As well as being a producer, he was head of A&R at Capitol. Venet produced a number of important Capitol clients, including Ray Anthony, The Buddies, Glen Campbell, Cashman, Pistilli, and West, Jim C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
