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Born To Laugh At Tornadoes
''Born to Laugh at Tornadoes'' is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was (Not Was). ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release. Despite the glowing reviews, ''Tornadoes'' made little commercial impact in a year dominated by Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'' and Prince's ''1999''. (It did manage to become the band's first release to make it onto ''Billboards album chart, peaking at #134 in a nine-week stay in the fall of 1983.) This album boasted an impressive array of guest vocalists, ranging from hard rocker Mitch Ryder (on "Bow Wow Wow Wow"), former Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne (" Shake Your Head"), rock band The Knack's lead vocalist Doug Fieger (on "Betrayal" and "Smile") and torch song vocalist/songwriter Mel Tormé (lead vocal on the closing song "Zaz Turned Blue"). The album also displayed a wide variety of musical styles, ranging from pop love ballads ("Betrayal") to rock ("Bow Wow Wow Wow"), psychedelic synth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was) is an American band founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often featuring guest musicians from across the musical spectrum. The band's most popular period was during the 1980s and early 1990s, with their highest-charting hit, the song " Walk the Dinosaur", released in 1987 as the lead single from their 1988 album '' What Up, Dog?'', becoming a worldwide top-40 hit and peaking at on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The band went on indefinite hiatus in the mid-1990s, but has returned sporadically since the turn of the millennium. Their most recent release was the 2008 album '' Boo!.'' Career Beginnings Weiss and Fagenson were childhood friends who grew up together in suburban Detroit, Michigan, United States. Partly due to Fagenson's poverty they decided to form Was (Not Was) in 1979. The name of the band was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thriller (Michael Jackson Album)
''Thriller'' is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 29, 1982, by Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who previously worked with Jackson on his album ''Off the Wall'' (1979). With the ongoing backlash against disco music at the time, he moved in a new musical direction, resulting in a mix of pop music, pop, post-disco, rock music, rock, funk, synth-pop, and contemporary R&B, R&B sounds, and darker themes; Jackson wanted to create an album where "every song was a killer". Paul McCartney appears as the first credited featured artist on a Jackson album. Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a budget of $750,000. Upon its release, ''Thriller'' was lauded by critics. It was Jackson's first number-one album on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it spent a record 37 non-consecutive weeks at number one, from Feb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Kinkel
Robert Kinkel is an American professional session keyboardist and music engineer most known for his role as a co-creator/co-producer/co-composer and touring keyboardist with Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with extensive studio work with the progressive metal band Savatage. He attended Hamilton College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music with a minor in physics.The Composers Trans-Siberian Orchestra website "The World Of Trans-Siberian Orchestra Blogtalkradio weekly podcast", episodes 26 & 27 "Composer Spotlight: Bob Kinkel Parts 1 & 2" July 2011 Life and career Kinkel was born in |
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "the Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arrangement, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") and co-wrote the lyrics with Robert Wells (songwriter), Bob Wells. Tormé won two Grammy Awards and was nominated a total of 14 times. Early life and education Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Tormé (born Wowe Torma, also spelled as Tarme or Tarmo), a History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jewish immigrant from Brest, Belarus, Brest (now Belarus), and Sarah "Betty" Tormé (''née'' Sopkin), a New York City native. Named after the actor Melvyn Douglas, Tormé grew up in a home filled with music and entertainment. His father, whom he recalled as having the pure voice of a cantor, had been an amateur dancer in his youth. His aunt Faye Tormé had risen to local fame in Chicago, where, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torch Song
A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship. The term comes from the saying, " to carry a torch for someone", or to keep aflame the light of an unrequited love. It was first used by the cabaret singer Tommy Lyman in his praise of " My Melancholy Baby". The term is also explicitly cited in the song " Jim", popularized by versions by Dinah Shore, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald: Torch-singing is more of a niche than a genre and can stray from the traditional jazz-influenced style of singing; the American tradition of the torch song typically relies upon the melodic structure of the blues. Examples of a collection are Billie Holiday's 1955 album '' Music for Torching'' and '' Entre eux deux'' by Melody Gardot and Philippe Powell. See also * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doug Fieger
Douglas Lars Fieger (August 20, 1952 – February 14, 2010) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band the Knack. He co-wrote " My Sharona," the biggest hit song of 1979 in the U.S., with lead guitarist Berton Averre. Life and career Fieger was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of June Beth (née Oberer) and Bernard Julian Fieger. His father was Jewish and his mother was Norwegian. Doug was the younger brother of Detroit attorney Geoffrey Fieger, most famous for representing Jack Kevorkian. Fieger was raised in Oak Park, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit, where he attended Oak Park High School. Before forming the Knack, Fieger played bass and sang lead in the group Sky, which was produced by Jimmy Miller. Sky released two albums on RCA Records: ''Don't Hold Back'' 1970 and ''Sailor's Delight'' 1971, co-produced by Miller and Andy Johns. In addition to performing, Fieger produced the Rubber City Rebels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Knack
The Knack was an American power pop band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Doug Fieger (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Berton Averre (lead guitar, backing vocals), Prescott Niles (bass) and Bruce Gary (drums). Spearheaded by the success of their debut single "My Sharona", their first album, ''Get the Knack'' (1979), reached number-one in several countries. However, their next two albums, ''...But The Little Girls Understand'' (1980) and ''Round Trip (The Knack album), Round Trip'' (1981), were less successful, leading the band to disband in 1982. The band reunited in 1986, and released their fourth album, ''Serious Fun (The Knack album), Serious Fun'', in 1991, before breaking up again the following year. After a brief reunion in 1994, the Knack reunited a final time in 1996, recording two more albums, ''Zoom (The Knack album), Zoom'' (1998) and ''Normal as the Next Guy'' (2001). Following Fieger's death in 2010, the Knack permanently disbanded. Their final studio album ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shake Your Head
"Shake Your Head" is a song by American pop rock group Was (Not Was). It was originally released in 1983 by Geffen on their second album, '' Born to Laugh at Tornadoes'' (1983), with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. A 1992 re-recording, remixed by house music producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, with actress Kim Basinger and a re-recorded Osbourne on vocals, was released as a single and on the group's third compilation album, '' Hello Dad... I'm in Jail'' (1992). Background The original version features Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne on lead vocals. A pre-fame Madonna had auditioned for the vocal but was not used on the final release. In 1992, it was re-recorded and remixed by house music producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, and features actress Kim Basinger alongside a re-recorded Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. It appeared on the group's compilation album ''Hello Dad... I'm in Jail''. The original plan for the re-release was to restore Madonna's vocals to the track, but she refused to grant permi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1968, providing lead vocals from Black Sabbath (album), their self-titled debut album in 1970 to ''Never Say Die!'' in 1978. The band was highly influential in the development of heavy metal music, in particular their critically acclaimed releases ''Paranoid (album), Paranoid'', ''Master of Reality'', and ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to problems with alcohol and other drugs. He then began a successful solo career with ''Blizzard of Ozz'' in 1980 and has released Ozzy Osbourne discography, 13 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. He has si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band were previously named Earth, and before that the Polka Tulk Blues Band), they distinguished themselves through Occult, occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and down-tuned guitars. Their first three albums, ''Black Sabbath (album), Black Sabbath'', ''Paranoid (album), Paranoid'' (both 1970), and ''Master of Reality'' (1971), were commercially successful, and are now cited as pioneering albums in the development of heavy metal music. Subsequent albums ''Vol. 4 (Black Sabbath album), Vol. 4'' (1972), ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' (1973), ''Sabotage (Black Sabbath album), Sabotage'' (1975), ''Technical Ecstasy'' (1976), and ''Never Say Die!'' (1978) saw the band explore more Experimental music, experimental and Progressive rock, progressive s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitch Ryder
William Sherille Levise Jr. (born February 26, 1945), known professionally as Mitch Ryder, is an American rock singer who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder was born on February 26, 1945, in Hamtramck, Michigan. He spent his high school years in Warren, Michigan, a suburb north of Detroit. He formed his first band, Tempest, when he was in high school, and the group gained some notice playing at a Detroit soul music club called The Village. Ryder next appeared fronting a band named Billy Lee & The Rivieras, which had limited success until they met songwriter / record producer Bob Crewe. He selected his stage name when he saw "Mitch Ryder" in the Manhattan telephone directory and renamed the group Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels. They recorded several hit records for his DynoVoice Records and New Voice labels in the mid to late 1960s, most notably 1966's " Devil with a Blue Dress On", their highest-charting single at number four, as well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guest Vocalist
The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are distinguished from the other real artists or fictional characters by not being part of or fitting the usual theme of the cast. They are usually recognisable on their own and only appear once or rarely within that cast. By medium Show business In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other performing group. In music, such an outside performer is often referred to as a guest artist. Classical performance arts Guest appearances have been known in theatre, ballet, and classical music for centuries, with guests both from the home country and from ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
