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In The Christmas Spirit
''In the Christmas Spirit'' is the fourth album by the R&B/soul band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released in November 1966. It charted 9 weeks peaking at #13 on ''Billboards Best Bets For Christmas album chart December 2, 1967."Billboard Best Bets For Christmas." Billboard, vol. 79, no. 48, December 2, 1967, p. 8. worldradiohistory.com. The album features instrumental versions of traditional Christmas carols and songs. Track listing ;Side one #"Jingle Bells" (James Lord Pierpont) #"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie) #"Winter Wonderland" (Felix Bernard, Richard Bernhard Smith) #"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) #"The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) #" Silver Bells" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) ;Side two #"Merry Christmas Baby" (Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore) #" Blue Christmas (Bill Hayes, Jay Johnson) #" Sweet Little Jesus Boy" ( Bob MacGimsey) #"Silent Night" (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr) #"We Three Kings" ( John Henry Hopkins Jr.) #"We Wish Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Booker T
Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944), American musician and frontman of Booker T. and the M.G.'s * Booker T (wrestler) (born 1965), ring name of American professional wrestler Booker Huffman Also * Booker T. Bradshaw (1940–2003), American record producer, film and TV actor, and executive * Booker T. Laury (1914–1995), American boogie-woogie and blues pianist * Booker T. Spicely (1909–1944) victim of a racist murder in North Carolina, United States * Booker T. Whatley (1915–2005) agricultural professor at Tuskegee University * Booker T. Washington White (1909–1977), American Delta blues guitarist and singer known as Bukka White * Booker T. Boffin, pseudonym of Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haven Gillespie
James Lamont Gillespie (February 6, 1888 – March 14, 1975) pen name Haven Gillespie, was an American Tin Pan Alley composer and lyricist. He was the writer of " You Go to My Head", "Honey", "By the Sycamore Tree", " That Lucky Old Sun", " Breezin' Along With The Breeze", " Right or Wrong," " Beautiful Love", "Drifting and Dreaming", and " Louisiana Fairy Tale" (Fats Waller's recording of which was used as the first theme song in the PBS Production of '' This Old House''), each song in collaboration with other people such as Beasley Smith, Ervin R. Schmidt, Richard A. Whiting, Wayne King, and Loyal Curtis. He also wrote the seasonal standard " Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town". Life and career Gillespie was one of nine children of Anna (Reilley) and William F. Gillespie. The family was poor and lived in the basement of a house on Third Street between Madison Avenue and Russell Street in Covington, Kentucky. Gillespie dropped out of school in grade four and could not find a job. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers was a popular American vocal group in the 1940s and 1950s. The original members were: *Johnny Moore (John Dudley Moore, October 20, 1906, Austin, Texas – January 6, 1969, Los Angeles, California); * Charles Brown (Tony Russell Brown, September 13, 1922, Texas City, Texas – January 21, 1999, Oakland, California); *Eddie Williams (Edward Earl Williams, June 12, 1912, San Augustine, Texas – February 18, 1995, Los Angeles). Career Johnny Moore and his younger brother Oscar grew up in Texas and then Phoenix, Arizona, where they both started playing guitar and formed a string band. In the mid-1930s they relocated to Los Angeles, where Oscar Moore, who had been influenced by Charlie Christian and turned to jazz, joined the King Cole Trio. Johnny Moore remained devoted to rhythm and blues. His guitar style is considered to have been an influence on Chuck Berry. He joined and formed several groups, before forming the Three Blazers with two ot ... [...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] |
Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison, March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a song-writing duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote music and Evans the lyrics. Early life and career Livingston was born in McDonald, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents. He had an older sister, Vera, and a younger brother, Alan W. Livingston, who became an executive with Capitol Records, and later with NBC television. Livingston studied piano with Harry Archer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he organized a dance band and met Evans, a fellow student in the band. Their professional collaboration began in 1937. Livingston and Evans won the Academy Award for Best Original Song three times, in 1948 for the song " Buttons and Bows", written for the movie '' The Paleface''; in 1950 for the song "Mona Lisa", written for the movie ''Captain Carey, U.S.A.''; and in 1956 f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and song-writing duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films. Evans wrote the lyrics and Livingston wrote the music.Ray Evans papers, 1921-2012 Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania. Biography Evans was born to a Jewish family in Salamanca, New York, to Philip and Frances Lipsitz Evans. He was valedictorian of his high school class, where he played clarinet in the band ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Wells (songwriter)
Robert Wells (born Robert Levinson, October 15, 1922 – September 23, 1998) was an American songwriter, composer, script writer and television producer. During his early career, he collaborated with singer and songwriter Mel Tormé, writing several hit songs, most notably "The Christmas Song" in 1945. Later, he became a prolific writer and producer for television, for such shows as ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', as well as for numerous variety specials, such as ''If They Could See Me Now'', starring Shirley MacLaine. He was nominated for several Academy Awards and won six Emmys and a Peabody Award. Early life and career Robert Wells was born to a Jewish family in 1922 in Raymond, Washington, the son of Edna Irene (Bradford) and Nathan Levinson. He attended a local business college and later the University of Southern California, where he majored in speech and drama. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Both before and after the war, he worke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Tormé
Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, 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 Bob Wells. Early life Melvin Howard Tormé was born in Chicago, Illinois, to William David Torme, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, and Betty Torme (née Sopkin), a New York City native. He graduated from Hyde Park High School. A child prodigy, he first performed professionally at age four with the Coon-Sanders Orchestra, singing " You're Driving Me Crazy" at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant. He played drums in the drum-and-bugle corps at Shakespeare Elementary School. From 1933 to 1941, he acted in the radio programs '' The Romance of Helen Trent'' and '' Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy''. He wrote his first song at 13. Three years later his first published song, "Lament to Love", became a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Christmas Song
"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song in June 1946. At Cole's behestand over the objections of his label, Capitol Recordsa second recording was made in August utilizing a small string section. This version became a massive hit on both the pop and R&B charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with another full orchestra arranged and conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most-loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while the original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. In 2022, the 1961 Nat King Cole recordin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia, Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He published his first song, "Marie from Sunny Italy", in 1907, receiving 33 cents for the publishing rights,Starr, Larry and Waterman, Christopher, American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Oxford University Press, 2009, pg. 64 and had his first major international hit, " Alexander's Ragtime Band", in 1911. He also was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. For much of his career Berlin could not read sheet music, and was such a limited piano player that he could only play in the key of F-sharp; he used his custom piano equipped with a transposing lever when he needed to play in keys other than F-sharp. "Alexander's Ragtime Band" sparked an international dance c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Christmas (song)
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the 1942 musical film '' Holiday Inn''. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards. Since its release, "White Christmas" has been covered by many artists, the version sung by Bing Crosby being the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media) with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby's, sales of the song exceed 100 million. History Origin Accounts vary as to when and where Berlin wrote the song. One story is that he wrote it in 1940, in warm La Quinta, California, while staying at the La Quinta Hotel, a frequent Hollywood retreat also favored by writer-director-producer Frank Capra, although the Arizona Biltmore also claims the song was written there. He often stayed up all night writing. One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
