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Al Ham
Albert W. Ham (February 6, 1925 in Malden, Massachusetts — October 4, 2001 in Spring Hill, Florida) was an American composer and jingle writer. He was notable as the composer of the '' Move Closer to Your World'' music package used since the 1970s on WPVI-TV's Action News broadcasts in Philadelphia, and, most notably, WKBW-TV's Eyewitness News, as well as on many other newscasts in the United States throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He was also notable as creator of the adult standards radio format ''Music of Your Life''. Biography Ham began as bass player for Artie Shaw when he was 17. While attending Amherst College after WWII, Ham arranged and played double bass for the Tony Pastor Orchestra when the featured singers were Rosemary Clooney and her sister Betty. When Tex Beneke re-formed the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Ham joined as arranger and bass player, working with Henry Mancini, then on staff as arranger. While working for Beneke he met and married Mary Mayo, who was sing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden is a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River that was settled by Puritans in 1640 on land purchased in 1629 from the Naumkeag people, Mystic tribe of the Pawtucket tribe, Pawtucket Confederation, with a further grant in 1639 by the Squaw Sachem of Mistick and her husband Webcowet. The area was originally called the “Mistick Side” and was a part of Charlestown, Massachusetts, Charlestown. It was incorporated as a separate town in 1649 under the name "Mauldon". The name Malden was selected by Joseph Hills, an early settler and landholder, and was named after Maldon, Essex, Maldon, England. The city originally included the adjacent cities of Melrose, Massachusetts, Melrose (until 1850) and Everett, Massachusetts, Everett (until 1870). At the time of the Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina), Botch-a-Me", "Mambo Italiano (song), Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There", "This Ole House", and "¿Quién será?, Sway". She also had success as a jazz vocalist. Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly because of problems related to bipolar disorder and drug addiction, but revived in 1977, when her ''White Christmas (film), White Christmas'' co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002. Early life Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky, the daughter of Marie Frances (née Guilfoyle) and Andrew Joseph Clooney. She was one of five children. Her father was of Irish and German descent, and he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as an album artist, with several of his albums achieving Music recording certification, gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts. Mathis has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three recordings. Although frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes traditional pop, Latin American, soul music, soul, rhythm and blues, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, soft rock, blues, country music, and even a few disco songs for his album ''Mathis Magic'' in 1979. Mathis has also recorded seven albums of Christmas music. In a 1968 interview, he cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences. Early life and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Vale
Jerry Vale (born Gennaro Louis Vitaliano; July 8, 1930 – May 18, 2014) was an American traditional pop singer. During the 1950s and 1960s, he reached the top of the pop charts with his interpretations of romantic ballads, including a cover of Eddy Arnold hit " You Don't Know Me" (1956) and " Have You Looked into Your Heart" (1964). Vale, who was of Italian descent, sang numerous songs in Italian, many of which were used in soundtracks of films by Martin Scorsese. Vale showed his love of Italian music with his albums, ''I Have But One Heart'' (1962) and ''Arrivederci, Roma'' (1963), full of Italian standards such as " Amore, Scusami", " Ciao, Ciao, Bambina", " Arrivederci, Roma", and " O Sole Mio". His renditions of " Volare", " Innamorata (Sweetheart)", and " Al di là" became classic Italian-American songs. Early life Vale was born Gennaro Louis Vitaliano in the Bronx, New York, to Italian immigrant parents and grew up in the Wakefield section of the Bronx, which at the time w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Percy Faith
Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian–American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listening" or "mood music" format. He became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Although his professional orchestra-leading career began at the height of the swing era, he refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s. Biography Faith was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the oldest of eight children. His parents, Abraham Faith and Minnie, née Rottenberg, were Jewish. He played violin and piano as a child, and played in theatres and at Massey Hall. After his hands were badly burned in a fire, he turned to conducting, and his live orchestras used the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vic Damone
Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and other hits such as "On the Street Where You Live" (from ''My Fair Lady'') and "I Have But One Heart". Life and work Early life He was born June 12, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York to Rocco and Domenica (Damone) Farinola. When his father was injured at work, Damone had to drop out of Lafayette High School (New York City), Lafayette High School. He worked as an usher and elevator operator at the Paramount Theatre (New York City), Paramount Theater in Manhattan. Career Damone met Perry Como while at the Paramount Theater. Damone stopped the elevator between floors and sang for him. Como was impressed and referred him to a friend for an audition. He began his career at the New York radio station WHN when he was 17, singing on the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book. Early career After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II (where he worked under Walter Schumann), he joined the Artie Shaw big band and wrote many arrangements for him. After his stint with Shaw, he was hired in 1954 by Mitch Miller, head of A&R at Columbia Records, as the label's home arranger, working with several artists including Rosemary Clooney, Marty Robbins, Frankie Laine, Johnny Mathis, Guy Mitchell and Johnnie Ray. He wrote a top-10 arrangement for Don Cherry's "Band of Gold" in 1955, a single that sold more than a million copies. Among the hit singles Conniff backed with his orchestra (and eventually with a ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artists And Repertoire
Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label or publishing company. 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 Musical ensemble, 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 who will be commercially successful. An A&R executive is authorized to offer a record contract, often in the form of a "deal memo" – a short, informal document that establishes a business relationship between the recording artist and the record company. The actual contract negot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Music Group, an American division of multinational conglomerate Sony. Founded in 1889, Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, along with Epic Records, RCA Records and Arista Records. History Beginnings (1888–1929) The Columbia Phonograph Company was founded on January 15, 1889, by stenographer, lawyer, and New Jersey native Edward D. Easton (1856–1915) and a group of investors. It derived its name from the District of Columbia, where it was headquartered. At first it had a local monopoly on sales and service of Edison ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Mayo
Mary Mayo (20 July 1924 – December 1985) was an American singer who was a member of The Hillside Singers and performed at New York City nightclubs including Michael's Pub and the Copacabana. Early life Mayo was born in Statesville, North Carolina to Lois Long and Franklin Riker, both opera singers who had returned to Long's hometown to operate the Dixie Dame Co., which manufactured "pickles with a pedigree." She attended the Juilliard School, where she studied classical singing. Career In 1946 Mayo won a talent show run by Arthur Godfrey and worked for him briefly. After spending time performing at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal and alongside pianist Frankie Carle, she joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra where she was a "moonlight serenader" and performed solos. While performing with Miller, she met and married composer Al Ham. Although the marriage was initially a secret due to a prohibition on marriages within the band, it became public after Walter Winchell broke the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
