Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
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Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band is an American soul and funk band. Formed in the early 1960s, they had the most visibility from 1967 to 1973 when the band had 9 singles reach Billboard's pop and/or rhythm and blues charts, such as " Do Your Thing", " Till You Get Enough", and " Love Land". They are best known for their biggest hit on Warner Bros. Records, 1970's " Express Yourself", a song that has been sampled by rap group N.W.A and others. History Charles Wright and the Wright Sounds Charles Wright was born on April 6, 1940, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1950s, playing guitar and singing in several doo-wop groups including the Turks, the Twilighters, the Shields and the Gallahads. He also briefly worked in A&R for Del-Fi Records and was responsible for the 1961 hit record " Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)" by Little Caesar & the Romans. In 1962, he formed his own band Charles Wright & the Wright Sounds, which ...
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Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world's most populous megacities. Los Angeles is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With a population of roughly 3.9 million residents within the city limits , Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic and cultural diversity, being the home of the Hollywood film industry, and its sprawling metropolitan area. The city of Los Angeles lies in a basin in Southern California adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the west and extending through the Santa Monica Mountains and north into the San Fernando Valley, with the city bordering the San Gabriel Valley to it's east. It covers about , and is the county seat of Los Angeles County, which is the most populous county in the United States with an estim ...
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Express Yourself (Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band Song)
"Express Yourself" was written by Charles Wright and performed by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. It became their signature song after its release in 1970 on their album, ''Express Yourself''. The song was produced by Wright. It reached #12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was also their biggest hit on the U.S. R&B chart, reaching #3. The single was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1971, losing to The Delfonics song "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" and ranked #57 on ''Billboard's'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970. Chart performance Covers and samples *Idris Muhammad on his 1971 album, '' Black Rhythm Revolution!'' *N.W.A sampled it in their 1989 song also titled " Express Yourself". It reached #40 on the U.S. R&B chart and #50 on the UK Singles Chart. and was featured on their 1988 album, ''Straight Outta Compton''. *Kurtis Blow on his 1988 album, '' Back by Popular Demand''. *Saccharine Tru ...
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Go-go Dancing
Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at nightclubs or other venues where music is played. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s at the French bar Whisky a Gogo located in Juan-les-Pins. The bar's name was taken from the French title of the Scottish comedy film '' Whisky Galore!'', which was titled ''Tight Little Island'' in the United States. The French bar then licensed its name to the very popular West Hollywood rock club Whisky a Go Go, which opened in January 1964 and chose the name to reflect the already popular craze of go-go dancing. Many 1960s-era clubgoers wore miniskirts and knee-high, high-heeled boots, which eventually came to be called go-go boots. Nightclub promoters in the mid‑1960s then conceived the idea of hiring women dressed in these outfits to entertain patrons. Etymology The term ''go-go'' derives from the phrase "go-go-go" for a high-energy person, and was influenced by the French expression '' à gogo'', meaning "in a ...
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Hollywood, Los Angeles
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures, are located near or in Hollywood. Hollywood was incorporated as a municipality in 1903. It was Merger (politics), consolidated with the city of Los Angeles in 1910. Soon thereafter a prominent film industry emerged, having developed first on the East Coast. Eventually it became the most recognizable in the world. History Initial development H.J. Whitley, a real estate developer, arranged to buy the E.C. Hurd ranch. They agreed on a price and shook hands on the deal. Whitley shared his plans for the new town with General Harrison Gray Otis (publisher), Harrison Gray Otis, ...
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Dyke And The Blazers
Dyke and the Blazers was an American funk band led by Arlester Christian. The band was formed in 1965, and recorded up until Christian's death in 1971. Among their most successful records were the original version of "Funky Broadway" (1966) and " Let a Woman Be a Woman" (1969). Career Arlester Christian (June 13, 1943 – March 13, 1971), nicknamed "Dyke", was born (according to most sources) in Buffalo, New York. He attended Burgard High School. In 1960, he started playing bass in a Buffalo band, Carl LaRue and his Crew, who played local bars and clubs and released a single, "Please Don't Drive Me Away", on the KKC label in March 1962. In 1964, LaRue was invited by Phoenix, Arizona-based disc jockey, Eddie O'Jay, to take his band to that city, to provide the backing for the vocal group that he managed there, The O'Jays. By 1965, however, the O'Jays and their manager had moved elsewhere, and LaRue's band fell apart. LaRue returned to Buffalo, but Christian and two other members ...
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Captain & Tennille
Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum and scored numerous hits on the US singles charts, the most enduring of which included "Love Will Keep Us Together", "Do That to Me One More Time", and "Muskrat Love". They hosted their own television variety series on ABC in 1976–77. Early history and collaboration In 1972, Toni Tennille was the co-writer of an ecology-themed musical, ''Mother Earth''. At that time, Daryl Dragon (son of composer Carmen Dragon) was working as a keyboardist for the Beach Boys, where thanks to his habit of wearing a ship captain's hat while performing he got his stage name "Captain". When Tennille's show was preparing to move from San Francisco's Marines Memorial Theatre to Southern California's South Coast Repertory, a call was put out for a replacement ...
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Daryl Dragon
Daryl Frank Dragon (August 27, 1942 – January 2, 2019) was an American musician, known as Captain from the pop musical duo Captain & Tennille with his then-wife, Toni Tennille. Career Born into a musical family, Dragon was the son of Eloise (Rawitzer) and conductor, composer, and arranger Carmen Dragon, and the elder brother of Dennis Dragon, a member of the 1960s pop combo The Dragons and the 1980s surf band the Surf Punks. His godfather was actor and comedian Danny Thomas. Dragon suffered from megalocornea, a condition which results in large eyeballs. It forced him to wear ever-present sunglasses. Dragon's familiar image and stage name came from his time as a keyboard player with The Beach Boys from 1967 to 1972. Beach Boys lead singer Mike Love gave him the nickname "Captain Keyboard", and it stuck; Dragon began wearing a nautical captain's hat to go along with the name. As Captain in Captain & Tennille, Dragon was frequently silent and a man of very few words, ...
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Little Caesar & The Romans
Little Caesar & the Romans were an American musical group from Los Angeles, California, United States, active briefly in the 1960s. The Romans minus Little Caesar began recording in 1959 as The Cubans, but changed their name to The Upfronts after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. They had three hits: the first and biggest was the nostalgic tune " Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)", a No. 9 Pop and No. 28 R&B hit in 1961.Billboard Singles AllMusic They appeared on the television show ''American Bandstand'' in 23 May 1961, performing their hit. It was written by Nick Curinga and Paul Politi. Charles Wright, the leader of Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, at the time was A&R Director for Del-Fi Records. Wright played both piano and bass on the original "hit" recording of "Those Oldies But Goodies (Reminds Me of You)". The follow-up, "Hully Gully Again", hit No. 54, and subsequent release "Memories of Those Oldies but Goodies" bubbled under at No. 101.Biography A ...
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Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me Of You)
"Those Oldies but Goodies (Remind Me of You)" is a song written by Nick Curinga and Paul Politi and performed by Little Caesar & the Romans. It reached #9 on the U.S. pop chart and #28 on the U.S. R&B chart in 1961. The song ranked #69 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1961. Other versions *Nino and the Ebb Tides released a version of the song as a single in 1961, but it did not chart. * Ted Knight released a version of the song on his 1975 album ''Hi Guys''. *John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is an American rock band from Rhode Island which began its career in 1972, and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, they got their name from a paint can. The clas ... released a version of the song on the 1983 soundtrack album for the film '' Eddie and the Cruisers''. Kenny Vance sang lead on the song. References 1961 songs 1961 debut singles Songs about nostalgia Songs abo ...
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Del-Fi Records
Del-Fi Records was an American record label based in Hollywood, California and owned by Bob Keane. The label's first single released was "Caravan" by Henri Rose released in 1958, but the label was most famous for signing Ritchie Valens. Valens' first single for the label was "Come On Let's Go", which was a hit. His next single, "Donna (Ritchie Valens song), Donna"/"La Bamba (song), La Bamba", was an even bigger hit, and brought national notoriety to the label. Johnny Crawford, the co-star of the television series ''The Rifleman'', was the Del-Fi artist who recorded the most hit singles. History In 1966, legal action was taken against Del-Fi by attorney Al Schlesinger for Anthony Music, which filed a $122,000 suit over breach of contract, fraud and money owed. The principal stockholder of the company, Anthony Hilder, claimed the dispute was over royalties not being paid as per an alleged agreement for the masters of albums by The Centurians, Dave Myers and The Surftones, and The Sen ...
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Artists And Repertoire
Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalists, bands, and so on) and songwriters. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label or publishing company; every activity involving artists to the point of album release is generally considered under the purview, and responsibility, of A&R. Responsibilities Finding talent The A&R division of a record label is responsible for finding new recording artists and bringing those artists to the record company. A&R staff may go to hear emerging bands play at nightclubs and festivals to scout for talent. Personnel in the A&R division are expected to understand the current tastes of the market and to be able to find artists that will be commercially successful. For this reason, A&R people are often young and many are musicians, mus ...
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Doo-wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to a simple beat with little or no instrumentation. Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge, a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables (such as "doo-wop") is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until the early 1960s, but continued to influence performers in other genres.Hoffmann, FRoots of Rock: Doo-Wop In ''Survey of American Popular Music'', modified for the web by Robert Birklin ...
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