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An Acapella Christmas
''An Acapella Christmas'' is the twentieth studio album released by The Manhattan Transfer in 2005 on the King Records label. The album was initially released in Japan and was later released in the U.S. on October 3, 2006, on Rhino Records. Track listing # "Jingle Bells" (James Lord Pierpont) - 3:40 # " White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) - 4:18 # "Christmas Time Is Here" (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson) - 5:13 # "Good King Wenceslas" (traditional, lyrics by John Mason Neale) - 1:56 # "Toyland" (Victor Herbert, Glen MacDonough) - 4:54 # " My Grown-Up Christmas List" (David Foster, Linda Thompson-Jenner) - 4:18 # "Merry Christmas Baby" (Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore) - 3:17 # "I'll Be Home for Christmas" (Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram) - 3:39 # "Christmas Is Coming" (traditional) - 1:49 # "Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith) - 2:46 Personnel The Manhattan Transfer * Cheryl Bentyne – vocals * Tim Hauser – vocals, vocal arrangements (9) * Alan Paul – vocals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, with Tim Hauser the only person to be part of both. The first group consisted of Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalia, and Gene Pistilli. The second version of the group, formed in 1972, consisted of Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé. In 1979, Massé left the group after being badly injured in a car accident and was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. The group's long-time pianist, Yaron Gershovsky, accompanied the group on tour and served as music director. Trist Curless from the Los Angeles a cappella group m-pact became a permanent member in October 2014 following Hauser's death. Early years In 1969, Tim Hauser formed a vocal group in New York City called The Manhattan Transfer after the novel by John Dos Pass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Mason Neale
John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar and hymnwriter. He worked and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most famous hymns is the 1853 '' Good King Wenceslas'', set on Boxing Day. An Anglo-Catholic, Neale's works have found positive reception in high-church Anglicanism and Western Rite Orthodoxy. Life Neale was born in London on 24 January 1818, his parents being the clergyman Cornelius Neale and Susanna Neale, daughter of John Mason Good. A younger sister Elizabeth Neale (1822–1901) founded the Community of the Holy Cross. He was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where (despite being said to be the best classical scholar in his year) his lack of ability in mathematics prevented him taking an honours degree. Neale was named after the Puritan cleric and hymn writer John Mason (1645–94), of whom his mot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Bernard
Felix William Bernard (April 28, 1897 – October 20, 1944) was an American conductor, pianist and a composer of popular music. His writing credits include the popular songs "Winter Wonderland" (with lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith, Richard B. Smith) and "Dardanella". Biography Felix Bernard (Bernhardt) was born to a Jewish family in New York City on April 28, 1897, and died in Los Angeles, California, on October 20, 1944. A professional pianist from childhood, his early musical studies were with his father, and his formal musical education was from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and CR. Bernard wrote professional one-act musical comedies for vaudeville, and he toured throughout the United States with the Orpheum and Keith Vaudeville Circuit, and also abroad. Bernard worked as a pianist for dance orchestras and music publishers before forming his own band. His also had his own radio show which he produced. Best known as a composer, Bernard found success writing musical materia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winter Wonderland
"Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himber, it has been covered by over 200 different artists. The song's lyrics were about a couple's romance during the winter season. A later version of "Winter Wonderland" (which was printed in 1947) included a "new children's lyric" that transformed it "from a romantic winter interlude to a seasonal song about playing in the snow." The snowman mentioned in the song's bridge was changed from a minister to a circus clown, and the promises the couple made in the final verse were replaced with lyrics about frolicking. Singers like Johnny Mathis connected both versions of the song, giving "Winter Wonderland" an additional verse and an additional chorus.Lankford, pp. 110-111 History Smith, a native of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, was reportedly insp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Is Coming
"Christmas Is Coming" is a traditional nursery rhyme and Christmas song frequently sung as a round. It is listed as number 12817 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The most famous version goes as follows: :Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat :Please put a penny in the old man's hat :If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do :If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you! The traditional version of this song uses the melody of the English dance tune "Country Gardens", but other melodies exist. Edith Nesbit Bland composed a popular tune for the lyrics. A few field recordings were made of traditional versions of the song, including one sung by Jack Elliot of Birtley, Durham to Reg Hall in the early 1960s, which is archived within the British Library Sound Archive. The Kingston Trio recorded the song as "A Round About Christmas", on their album '' The Last Month of the Year''. A calypso sounding version was featured on the album '' John Denver and the Muppets: A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buck Ram
Samuel "Buck" Ram (November 21, 1907 – January 1, 1991) was an American songwriter, and popular music producer and arranger. He was one of BMI's top five songwriters/air play in its first 50 years, alongside Paul Simon, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Webb, and Paul McCartney. He is best known for his long association with The Platters and also wrote, produced and arranged for the Penguins, the Coasters, the Drifters, Ike and Tina Turner, Ike Cole, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others. He was also known as Ande Rand, Lynn Paul or Jean Miles. Biography He was born Samuel Ram in Chicago, Illinois in 1907, to Jewish parents. Ram was a talent manager with his own firm, Personality Productions and an A&R man when Tony Williams, the brother of singer Linda Hayes, auditioned for him. Ram was looking for a group to sing the songs he wrote and found the voice he was looking for in Williams. He transformed the Platters and changed their rhythm and blues st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kim Gannon
James Kimball "Kim" Gannon (November 18, 1900 – April 29, 1974) was an American songwriter, more commonly a lyricist than a composer. Biography Gannon was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Irish-American family from Fort Ann in upstate New York, but grew up in New Jersey where he attended Montclair High School and was a member of The Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity. He graduated from St. Lawrence University and, intending to become a lawyer, attended the Albany Law School, passing the bar examination in New York State in 1934. In 1939 he wrote his first song, "For Tonight". His 1942 song, " Moonlight Cocktail", was recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra and was the best-selling record in the United States for 10 weeks. In 1942 he began writing songs for films, beginning with the lyrics of the title song for '' Always in My Heart.'' He subsequently contributed songs to other films, including '' The Powers Girl'' and '' If Winter Comes''. In 1951 he turned to the Broadw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Kent
Walter Kent (born Walter Maurice Kaufman, November 29, 1911 – March 2, 1994) was an American composer and conductor. Some notable compositions are: " I'll Be Home for Christmas", "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" and " (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover". Early life Walter Kent was born to a Jewish family on November 29, 1911 in New York City. He graduated from Townsend Harris Hall High School. Kent received a scholarship to attend the Juilliard School of Music in New York where he chose to pursue advanced study of the violin. Kent was also involved in private music study with Leopold Auer and Samuel Gardner. He also received more formal education at City College of New York. After completion of his university education, Kent conducted his own orchestra in New York, performing in theatres and on the radio. Additionally, Kent became a freelance architect following his education, continuing to write music in his spare time. Career Following his completion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I'll Be Home For Christmas
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent and recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, who scored a top ten hit with the song. Originally written to honor soldiers overseas who longed to be home at Christmas time, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" has since gone on to become a Christmas standard. Theme The song is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II, writing a letter to his family. In the message, he tells his family he will be coming home and to prepare the holiday for him, and requests snow, mistletoe, and presents under the tree. The song ends on a melancholy note, with the soldier saying, "I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams". The flip side of the original recording (Decca 18570B) was "Danny Boy." Writing and copyright The song was written by the lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent. Songwriter and later producer and manager for The Platters, Buck Ram, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merry Christmas Baby
"Merry Christmas Baby" is an R&B Christmas standard credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. In 1947, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers recorded the tune, featuring vocals and piano by Charles Brown. Subsequently, many performers have recorded renditions of the song, including Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ike & Tina Turner, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, and Melissa Etheridge. Background Charles Brown tells the story of the song this way: And Johnny Moore did the deal with Lou Baxter and put his own name on it as well, apparently. Johnny Moore's Three Blazers was one of the hottest blues attractions on the West Coast when their recording of "Merry Christmas Baby" reached number three on ''Billboard'''s R&B Juke Box chart during the Christmas season of 1947. Moore, a guitarist, was accompanied by Brown, bassist Eddie Williams and guitarist Oscar Moore (Johnny's brother, then a member of the King Cole Trio). Brown went on to recor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Thompson (actress)
Linda Diane Thompson (born 1950) is an American songwriter, former actress and beauty pageant winner. Thompson began her acting career as a " Hee Haw Honey" on the American television variety show ''Hee Haw''. She was also a girlfriend of Elvis Presley, before marrying Olympic decathlon champion Caitlyn Jenner, and then music producer David Foster. Early life Thompson was born in 1950 and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Margie (née White) and Sanford Abel Thompson. Her older brother, Sam, was one of Elvis Presley's bodyguards. Career Pageants Thompson was Miss Shelby County (1969) In September 1970, she was named "Miss Mid-South Fair" in Memphis. In 1970, Thompson was named "Miss Memphis State University" and was third runner-up in the 1970 Miss Tennessee pageant (which is the state preliminary to the Miss America pageant). Thompson was Miss Tennessee Universe in 1972, which is also known as Miss Tennessee USA and under the Miss USA and Miss Universe umbrell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans more than five decades, mainly beginning in the early 1970s as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark. Early life and career Foster was born in Victoria, British Columbia, the son of Maurice "Maury" Foster, an office worker, and Eleanor May Foster (née Vantreight), a homemaker. In 1963, at the age of 13, he enrolled in the University of Washington music program.Encyclopedia.com: "Foster, David" Contemporary Musicians , 1995 , Shelton, Sonya In 1965, he auditioned to lead the band in an Edmonton nightclub owned by jazz musician [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
