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The Heartbeats
The Heartbeats were a 1950s American doo-wop group best known for their song "A Thousand Miles Away", which charted at No. 53 in the US ''Billboard'' listings in 1957. Career The Heartbeats began as a quartet in early 1953 in Jamaica, Queens as "The Hearts", consisting of baritone Vernon Sievers, bass Wally Roker, first tenor Albert Crump, and second tenor Robbie Tatum. When it was later discovered that there was a female group of the same name (who scored a minor ''Billboard'' hit with "Lonely Nights"), the male group extended their name to "Heartbeats". They were signed shortly after James "Shep" Sheppard joined the group as lead vocalist and were shuffled between various production companies and record labels over the next few years. The group split up in 1959 and Sheppard went on to form Shep and the Limelites. Roker remained in the music business as a promoter while the other group members went on to other professions. James Sheppard died in his automobile under mysterious ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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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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A Thousand Miles Away
"A Thousand Miles Away" is a 1956 song recorded by the American doo-wop group The Heartbeats. The song was written by James Sheppard and William H. Miller. Background Sheppard co-wrote the song after his ex-girlfriend moved away to Texas. Track listing 7" Vinyl # a. "A Thousand Miles Away" - 2:22 # b. "Oh Baby Don't" - 2:25 Chart performance *"A Thousand Miles Away" reached #5 on the R&B Singles chart and #52 in the US on The Billboard Hot 100. *A 1960, reissue had the song peak at #96 on the Hot 100. Cover versions Other artists who have released a cover versions of the song are: *The Fleetwoods *The Diamonds *Harry Nilsson released a cover version of the song. In popular culture The song was featured in the 1973 film "American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed ...
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AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ...
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Record Chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include record sales, the amount of radio airplay, the number of music download, downloads, and the amount of streaming media, streaming activity. Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to a particular geographical location. The most common period covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure the commercial success of individual songs. A common format of radio and television programmes is to run down a music chart. Chart hit A ''chart hit'' is a recording, identified by its inclu ...
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Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music industry. Its music charts include the Hot 100, the 200, and the Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in different genres of music. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs, and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox, phonograph, and radio became commonplace. Many topics it covered were spun-off ...
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Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Rochdale Village to the southeast; South Jamaica to the south; Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park to the west; Briarwood to the northwest; and Kew Gardens Hills, Jamaica Hills, and Jamaica Estates to the north. Jamaica, originally a designation for an area greater than the current neighborhood, was settled under Dutch rule in 1656. It was originally called ' before it took its current name. Subsequently, under English rule Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica". It was the first county seat of Queens County, holding that title from 1683 to 1788, and was also the first incorporated village on Long Island. When Queens was incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898, both the Town of Jamaica and the Vil ...
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Wally Roker
Christian Waldemar "Wally" Roker (April 14, 1937 – December 2, 2015) was an American vocal group singer, best known as a member of The Heartbeats and sometimes called "The Godfather of Doo-Wop". He helped establish Scepter Records, worked in promotion and management for several other record labels, and helped set up the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame. Life and work He was the son of Danish-born Frederik Waldemar Frederiksen, and Edna Hennemann, born in the Virgin Islands, who took the name Roker from a later marriage. Wally Roker was brought up by his mother and stepfather in New York City. He started singing in a vocal group, the Hearts, with Vernon Sievers, Albert Crump and Robbie Tatum, in Jamaica, Queens, in 1953. With Roker handling bass vocals, they added lead singer James Sheppard (later of Shep and the Limelites), and changed their name to the Heartbeats when they found out there was another group of the same name. The group first recorded in 1955, and had their bigges ...
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Shep And The Limelites
Shep and the Limelites was an American doo-wop trio of the early 1960s, composed of James "Shep" Sheppard (September 24, 1935 – January 24, 1970), Clarence Bassett (March 13, 1936 – January 25, 2005) and Charles Baskerville (July 6, 1936 – January 18, 1995). They are best known for their 1961 hit recording, " Daddy's Home", co-written by Sheppard. Career Sheppard and Bassett, both from Queens, New York, and Baskerville, originally from Virginia, organized a group in Queens in 1960. This was billed initially as Shane Sheppard And The Limelites, but quickly became Shep and the Limelites. All three had previous experience in other groups: Shep with The Heartbeats (notable for "A Thousand Miles Away"); Bassett with The Five Sharps and then, with Baskerville, in The Videos ("Trickle, Trickle" - later covered by The Manhattan Transfer). Shep & The Limelites' recording sessions for Hull Records started in August 1960. They recorded the original version of " Daddys Home" on Februa ...
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American Rhythm And Blues Musical Groups
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ...
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Jubilee Records Artists
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of years have passed. Religious usage The Jubilee ( he, יובל ''yovel'') year (every 50th year) and the Sabbatical year (every seventh year) are Biblical commandments concerning ownership of land and slaves. The laws concerning the Sabbatical year are still observed by many religious Jews in the State of Israel, while the Jubilee has not been observed for many centuries. According to the Hebrew Bible, every seventh year, farmers in the land of Israel are commanded to let their land lie fallow, and slaves were freed. The celebration of the Jubilee is the fiftieth year, that is, the year after seven Sabbatical cycles. In Roman Catholic tradition, a Jubilee is a year of remission of sins and also the punishment due to sin. Terms for anniv ...
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Apex Records Artists
Apex Records was a Canadian record label owned by the Compo Company which lasted as late as 1980. Compo established the Apex label in July 1921 in Toronto. It released American recordings from Okeh Records and Gennett Records, among others. It also released recordings by Canadian artists for both the Anglophone and Francophone communities. After Compo began a distribution arrangement with Decca Records (USA) in 1935, the Apex name was dropped. Apex was revived in 1942 to market Canadian recordings. American Decca bought Compo in 1951. In 1952, Apex resumed issuing American recordings from the various independent American record companies which were established after World War II. Compo was renamed MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ... (Canada) in 1970, reta ...
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