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Al Kooper
Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song " Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano on the Rolling Stones song " You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's " The Lady's Not for Sale". He also formed and named Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share in its subsequent popularity. Kooper produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the '' Super Session'' album that saw him work separately with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. Kooper was selected for induction to the R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled Strings (music), strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of eight strings. A variety of string types are used, with steel strings being the most common and usually the least expensive. The courses are typically tuned in an interval of perfect fifths, with the same tuning as a violin (G3, D4, A4, E5). Also, like the violin, it is the soprano member of a Family (musical instruments), family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello and mandobass. There are many styles of mandolin, but the three most common types are the ''Neapolitan'' or ''round-backed'' mandolin, the ''archtop'' mandolin and the ''flat-backed'' mandolin. The round-backed version has a deep bottom, constructed of strips of wood, glued together into a bowl. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band), Manassas. As both a solo act and member of three successful bands, Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He was ranked number 28 in ''Rolling Stone''s 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"''Rolling Stone'The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.2003-08-27. and number 47 in the 2011 list. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to Neil Young, "Stephen is a genius". Beginning his professional career with Buffalo Springfield, he composed "For What It's Worth", which became one of the most recognizable songs of the 1960s. Other notable songs he contributed to the band were "Sit Down, I Think I Love You", "Bluebird (Buffalo Spr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village also contains several subsections, including the West Village west of Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District in the northwest corner of Greenwich Village. Its name comes from ''Groenwijck'', Dutch language, Dutch for "Green District". In the 20th century, Greenwich Village was known as an artists' haven, the Bohemianism, bohemian capital, the cradle of the modern LGBTQ social movements, LGBTQ movement, and the East Coast birthplace of both the Beat Generation and counterculture of the 1960s. Greenwich Village contains Washington Square Park, as well as two of New York City's private colleges, New York University (NYU) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gene Pitney
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, including 11 in the top ten. Among Pitney's most famous hits are " Town Without Pity", " (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance", " Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa", " I'm Gonna Be Strong", " It Hurts to Be in Love", and " Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". He also wrote the early-1960s hits " Rubber Ball" recorded by Bobby Vee, " Hello Mary Lou" by Ricky Nelson, and " He's a Rebel" by the Crystals. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Early years Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, on February 17, 1940, as the son of Anna A., née Orlowski, and Harold F. Pitney. The third of five children of a lathe operator, Pitney lived with his family in Rockville, Connecticut (now part of Ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
I Must Be Seeing Things
''I Must Be Seeing Things'' is the ninth studio album released by American singer Gene Pitney, released on the Musicor label in the United States in 1965. The album was released as ''Looking Thru the Eyes of Love'' on the Stateside label in the United Kingdom. Background At the time of this album's release, Musicor Records was in the middle of a distribution transformation. Art Talmadge, an employee of Musicor's parent United Artists Records, had recently bought the label from UA and ran it (along with fellow UA employee Harold "Pappy" Daily) under his newly created Talmadge Productions company. Although all album covers bear the Talmadge Productions name, labels of first pressings still included the United Artists byline at the bottom. Once Musicor's transformation from UA to Talmadge was completed, the byline was changed on the label (which also underwent some other cosmetic changes) and the ''I Must Be Seeing Things'' album continued circulation. Original copies with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gary Lewis And The Playboys
Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s pop and rock group, fronted by musician Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one single "This Diamond Ring", which was the first of a string of hit singles they had in 1965 and 1966. The band had an earnest, boy-next-door image similar to British invasion contemporaries such as Herman's Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The group folded in 1970, but a version of the band later resumed touring and continues to tour, often playing for veterans' benefits. 1960s fame The group began life as Gary & the Playboys. Gary Lewis started the band with four friends of his when he was 18. Joking at the lateness of his bandmates to practice, Lewis referred to them as " playboys", and the name stuck. They auditioned for a job at Disneyland without telling Disneyland employees about Lewis' celebrity father. They were hired on the spot, audiences at Disneyland quickly accepted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
This Diamond Ring
"This Diamond Ring" is a 1965 song written by Al Kooper, Bob Brass and Irwin Levine. The original demo was sung by Jimmy Radcliffe. It was first released as a single by Sammy Ambrose on Musicor #1061, then by Gary Lewis & the Playboys on Liberty #55756. Lewis' version charted first, number 101 on the January 2, 1965, Billboard "Bubbling Under" chart. Both versions charted on January 9, Lewis still at number 101 and Ambrose at number 117. Ambrose dropped off the chart at that point, but Lewis made number 65 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart the next week (January 16) and his version continued to climb until it reached number 1 on February 20, 1965. Gary Lewis & the Playboys version According to David Brackett, Lewis' vocals were heavily supported by Ron Hicklin's overdubs. The session drummer was Hal Blaine, Joe Osborn played bass and Leon Russell played keyboards and arranged the music. The song was produced by Snuff Garrett. Lewis has denied claims that the Playboys did not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Irwin Levine
Irwin Jesse Levine (March 23, 1938 – January 21, 1997) - accessed April 11, 2012 was an American songwriter, who co-wrote the song "" with L. Russell Brown. The song was a worldwide hit for as it reached number one on both the US and UK charts for four weeks in April 1973 and number one on the Australian charts for seven weeks from May to July 1973. It was the top-selling single in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Short Shorts
"Short Shorts" is a song written and performed by Tom Austin, Bill Crandell, Bill Dalton, and Bob Gaudio, members of The Royal Teens. It reached #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, U.S. R&B chart and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, U.S. pop chart in 1958. The group originally released the track on the small New York label Power Records in 1957. In an interview with Newsweek, Dalton explained how the song came to be written: "We were practicing one night at my house, and one guy started putting some notes together. Another guy picked it up and added some more. Before we knew it we had a tune. During the next three weeks we added and changed and polished until we had it the way we wanted it. Later, the four of us were riding down the street in Bergenfield ... It was a warm day and we saw this girl in shorts walking down the street. That gave us the idea for the lyrics." The record ranked #35 on Billboard year-end top 50 singles of 1958, ''Billboard's'' Year-End top 50 singles of 1958. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Novelty Song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. Novelty songs are often a parody or humor song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a dance or TV program. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song " They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Royal Teens
The Royal Teens were an American rock and roll band that formed in New Jersey in 1956 and originally consisted of Bob Gaudio on piano, Tom Austin on drums, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Billy Crandall on saxophone. The group is best known for its single "Short Shorts", which was a number 3 hit in the United States in 1958. The follow-up single, 1959's "Believe Me", hit number 26. They never recorded an album, and broke up in 1965. History The term "Short Shorts" in the song referred specifically to very short cutoff jeans as worn by teenage girls. The term appears to have originated with Bob Gaudio and Tom Austin. According to the group's website, they coined the term in 1957, and hit on using it as a song theme and title that summer when they saw two girls in cutoffs leaving a local teen spot. Originally, the group's name was simply "The Royals", but they were persuaded to add the word "Teens" in order to avoid having the same name as an existing band. The performers on the 1957 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Hollis Hills, Queens
Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose, Queens and Elmont, Nassau County to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north. Shopping in the community is located along Braddock Avenue, Hillside Avenue, Hempstead Avenue, Jamaica Avenue ( NY 25), Francis Lewis Boulevard, and Springfield Boulevard. Located just east of Queens Village, in Elmont, Nassau County, is the Belmont Park race track. Close to the neighborhood are Cunningham Park and Alley Pond Park, as well as the historic Long Island Motor Parkway (LIMP), home of the turn of the century racing competition, the Vanderbilt Cup. The LIMP was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt, a descendant of the family that presided over the New York Central Railroad and Western Union; it is now part of the Brooklyn–Queens Greenway. Queens Village is located in Queens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
