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Winifred Atwell
Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her year of birth as 1914, but her gravestone states that she died at the age of 73, suggesting that she was born in 1910. – 28 February 1983) was a Trinidadian pianist who enjoyed great popularity in Britain and Australia from the 1950s with a series of boogie-woogie and ragtime hits, selling over 20 million records."Atwell, Winifred", in David Dabydeen, John Gilmore, Cecily Jones (eds), ''The Oxford Companion to Black British History'', Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 33. She was the first black woman to have a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart and is still the only female instrumentalist to do so. Biography Childhood Atwell was born in Tunapuna in Trinidad and Tobago. She and her parents lived in Jubilee Street. Her family owned a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunapuna
Tunapuna is a town in the East–West Corridor of the island of Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. Town Tunapuna is located between St. Augustine, Tacarigua and Trincity. Tunapuna is the largest town between San Juan and Arima. It is an important market and commercial centre, and is the seat of the Tunapuna–Piarco Regional Corporation. The Tunapuna Parliamentary seat is a marginal, hence popular wisdom dictates: ''"If you win Tunapuna, you win the elections."'' Carnival For more than one hundred years, Tunapuna has been a Carnival venue. Each year this regional carnival, which is a showcase for traditional and conventional mas, steel band, and stick fighting, is organised by the Tunapuna Carnival Committee. Notable people The renowned writer and scholar C. L. R. James was born and is buried here, and popular 1950s pianist Winifred Atwell was born here. The song ''Tuna Puna Trinidad'' was the B-side of a single released by Petula Clark in 1955. Songwriter, composer, writer a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garret
A garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally, small, dismal, and cramped, with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a building, at the very top of the stairs. Etymology The word entered Middle English through Old French with a military connotation of watchtower, garrison or billet a place for guards or soldiers to be quartered in a house. Like garrison, it comes from an Old French word of ultimately Germanic origin meaning "to provide" or "defend". History In the later 1800s, garrets became one of the defining features of Second Empire architecture in Paris, France, where large buildings were stratified socially between different floors. As the number of stairs to climb increased, the social status decreased. Garrets were often internal elements of the mansard roof, with skylights or dormer windows. A "bow garret" is a two-story "outhouse" situate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, but completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The Government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation. The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels together with their associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world. Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battersea
Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Battersea is mentioned in the few surviving Anglo-Saxon geographical accounts as ''Badrices īeg'' meaning "Badric's Island" and later "Patrisey". As with many former parishes beside tidal flood plains the lowest land was reclaimed for agriculture by draining marshland and building culverts for streams. Alongside this was the Heathwall tide mill in the north-east with a very long mill pond regularly draining and filling to the south. The settlement appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Patricesy'', a vast manor held by St Peter's Abbey, Westminster. Its ''Domesday'' Assets were: 18 hides and 17 ploughlands of cultivated land; 7 mills worth £42 9s 8d per year, of meadow, woodland worth 50 hogs. It rendered (in total): £75 9s 8d. The p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tack Piano
A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the hammers hit the strings, giving the instrument a tinny, more percussive sound. It is used to evoke the feeling of a honky-tonk piano. Tack pianos are commonly associated with ragtime pieces, often appearing in Hollywood Western saloon scenes featuring old upright pianos. The instrument was originally used for classical music performances as a substitute for a harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism .... Honky-tonk piano A honky-tonk piano has a similar tone as a tack piano, however, the method of obtaining its sound is di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honky-tonk
A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) used to play such music. Bars of this kind are common in the South and Southwest United States. Many eminent country music artists, such as Jimmie Rodgers, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Horton, and Merle Haggard, began their careers as amateur musicians in honky-tonks. The origin of the term "honky-tonk" is disputed, originally referring to bawdy variety shows in areas of the old West (Oklahoma, the Indian Territories and mostly Texas) and to the actual theaters showing them. The first music genre to be commonly known as honky-tonk was a style of piano playing related to ragtime but emphasizing rhythm more than melody or harmony; the style evolved in response to an environment in which pianos were often poorly cared for, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black And White Rag
The "Black and White Rag" is a 1908 ragtime composition by George Botsford. The song was recorded widely for both the phonograph and player piano, and was the third ragtime composition to sell over one million copies of sheet music. The song was first recorded in 1909, as performed by the Victor orchestra for a Victor disc release. The first known cylinder recording of this piece was by Albert Benzler, recorded on Lakeside/U.S.Everlasting Cylinder #380 in June 1911. This recording is somewhat rare (Lakeside/U.S.Everlasting cylinders, though molded celluloid on a wax/fiber core, were made in small batches). Edison featured the "Black and White Rag" on one of his Early Diamond Disc Records (50116) from 1913 played by a Brass Orchestra. Pianist Wally Rose revitalized interest in the song with his 1941 recording, leading to the one of the best-known versions: a 1952 recording by Trinidadian pianist Winifred Atwell, which helped her to establish an international profile. Originall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Botsford
George Botsford (February 24, 1874 – February 1, 1949) was an American composer of ragtime and other forms of music. Early life and education Botsford was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but grew up mostly in Clermont, Iowa. He married singer Della Mae Wilson, and in 1900, they began touring with the Hoyle Stock Company troupe. An ad promoting Botsford and his wife as musicians appeared in the New York Clipper in 1901, which may indicate the first time that Botsford visited New York City. Career Botsford's first copyrighted number was "The Katy Flyer", published in 1899 in Centerville, Iowa. Other early numbers followed themes of relaxation and wide open space, with "Dance of the Water Nymphs", which was sold as Hawaiian mood music, and Western-themed "In Dear Old Arizona" and " Pride of the Prairie". This would change when Botsford moved to New York City, where he joined an assortment of Tin Pan Alley composers and began writing ragtime almost exclusively. Botsford secur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A-side And B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides. Use of this language has largely declined in the 21st century as the music industry has transitioned away from analog recordings towards digital formats without physical sides, such as CDs, downloads and streaming. Nevertheless, some artists and labels continue to employ the terms ''A-side'' and ''B-side'' metaphorically to describe the type of content a particular release features, with ''B-side'' sometimes representing a "bonus" track or other material. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jezebel (Frankie Laine Song)
"Jezebel" is a 1951 popular song written by American songwriter Wayne Shanklin. It was recorded by Frankie Laine with the Norman Luboff Choir and Mitch Miller and his orchestra on April 4, 1951 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39367. The record reached number 2 on the ''Billboard'' chart and was a million seller. The B-side, "Rose, Rose, I Love You", was a hit too and reached number 3. Background The title refers to the biblical woman Jezebel, a wicked, Baal-worshipping Phoenician princess who ruled Israel as queen to King Ahab. Jezebel's story is recounted in I Kings 16-20 and II Kings 9, books of the Old Testament. Covers * In November 1951 Edith Piaf recorded the French-language version, with lyrics by Charles Aznavour. In 1951 Winifred Atwell charted in the UK with an instrumental version. * In 1956 Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps performed their version of the song on their debut album. *In 1962, Marty Wilde had a UK Top 20 hit with his version of the song. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Mendl
Hugh Rees Christopher Mendl (6 August 1919, London – 7 July 2008) was a British record producer, A&R representative, and manager who worked for Decca Records for over 40 years. Mendl attended Radley College and then University College, Oxford, where he studied history. After falling in love with jazz music in the late 1930s, he abandoned his career in foreign affairs for sound recording and reproduction. Mendl's grandfather, who was chairman of the Decca Gramophone Company, landed him his first position in the business. During World War II he worked as an announcer for jazz radio in Jerusalem and on news broadcasts in the Mediterranean. He applied for a job at the BBC after the war but soon returned to Decca. He worked as a song plugger in the late 1940s, and began producing in 1950, working early in his career with Reggie Goff (his first recording), Winifred Atwell (producing her classic recording of "Black And White Rag") and Josh White. Mendl produced Lonnie Donegan's first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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