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Indestructible (Four Tops Album)
''Indestructible'' is a studio album by American soul music vocal group the Four Tops. The album was released on August 25, 1988, their sole release on Arista Records. Recording and release Four Tops joined Motown in the mid-1960s and had several hits before leaving the following decade and experiencing a period of commercial and critical decline. After performing on the television special '' Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' and collaborating with fellow Motown artists The Temptations on a subsequent tour, the Tops resigned to their first label. They were also able to reunite songwriting team Holland–Dozier–Holland to produce one of their 1980s Motown albums and worked with other 1960s collaborators like Willie Hutch and Smokey Robinson. The group re-entered the studio in 1986 with producer David Wolfert, who had previously produced them in many non-Motown releases. Despite working on the release for several months and issuing the single "Hot Nights" in July, ...
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Four Tops
The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together for over four decades, performing from 1953 until 1997 without a change in personnel. The Four Tops were among a number of groups, including the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, who established the Motown Sound heard around the world during the 1960s. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors. The group was the main male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who crafted a stream of hit sing ...
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Huey Lewis
Hugh Anthony Cregg III (born July 5, 1950), known professionally as Huey Lewis, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs. The band is perhaps best known for their third, and best-selling, album ''Sports'', and their contribution to the soundtrack of the 1985 feature film '' Back to the Future''. Lewis previously played with the band Clover from 1972 to 1979. Early life Huey Lewis was born in New York City. His father, Hugh Anthony Cregg Jr., was an Irish-American from Boston, and his mother, Maria Magdalena Barcinska, was Polish, from Warsaw. His grandfather, Hugh Cregg, was district attorney of Essex County, Massachusetts from 1931 to 1959. Lewis was raised in Marin County, California, living in Tamalpais Valley and Strawberry, and attending Strawberry Point Elementary School (where he skipped second grade) and Edna Maguire Junior High ...
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Willie Hutch
William McKinley Hutchison (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005), better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Born in 1944 in Los Angeles, Hutch was raised in Dallas, Texas. He joined the high school choral group, The Ambassadors, as a teenager. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1962, he shortened his surname when he started his music career in 1964 on the Soul City label with the song "Love Has Put Me Down". After his move to Los Angeles, his music came to the attention of the mentor for pop/soul quintet The 5th Dimension, and Hutch was soon writing, producing, and arranging songs for the group. In 1969, he signed with RCA Records and put out two albums before he was asked by Motown producer Hal Davis to write lyrics to " I'll Be There", a song he wrote for The Jackson 5. The song was recorded by the group the morn ...
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Holland–Dozier–Holland
Holland–Dozier–Holland was a songwriting and production team consisting of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s. During their tenure at Motown Records from 1962 to 1967, Dozier and Brian Holland were the composers and producers for each song, and Eddie Holland wrote the lyrics and arranged the vocals. Their most celebrated productions were singles for the Four Tops and the Supremes, including 10 of the Supremes' 12 US No. 1 singles, including " Baby Love", " Stop! In the Name of Love", and " You Keep Me Hangin' On". From 1969 to 1972, due to a legal dispute with Motown, they did not write material under their own names, but instead used the collective pseudonym "Edythe Wayne". When the trio left Motown, they continued to work as a production team (with Eddie Holland being added to the producer credits), and as a songwriting team, until about 1974. ...
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The Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top 10 hit single "Cloud Nine" in October 1968, pioneered psychedelic soul, and was significant in the evolution of R&B and soul music. The band members are known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and dress style. Having sold tens of millions of albums, the Temptations are among the most successful groups in popular music. Featuring five male vocalists and dancers (save for brief periods with fewer or more members), the group formed in 1960 in Detroit under the name ''the Elgins''. The founding members came from two rival Detroit vocal groups: Otis Williams, Elbridge "Al" Bryant, and Melvin Franklin of Otis Williams & the Distants, and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams of the Primes. In 1964, Bryant was replaced by David Ruffi ...
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Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''motor'' and ''town'', has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most of the Motown sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop appeal. Motown was the most successful soul music label, with a net worth of $61 million. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969. Following the events of the Detroit Riots of 1967, and the loss of key songwriting/production team Holland–Dozier� ...
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Vocal Group
A vocal group is a performing ensemble of vocalists who sing and harmonize together. The first well-known vocals groups emerged in the 19th century, and the style had reached widespread popularity by the 1940s. Types Vocal groups can come in several different forms, including: * Boy band — vocal group consisting of (young) males * Co-ed group — vocal group consisting of both males and females, typically in their teens or early twenties * Choir * Doo-wop group * Girl group — vocal group consisting of (young) females * Vocal quartet (as well as vocal trios and quintets) ** Barbershop quartet — a cappella close-harmony A chord is in close harmony (also called close position or close structure) if its notes are arranged within a narrow range, usually with no more than an octave between the top and bottom notes. In contrast, a chord is in open harmony (also c ... vocal group ** Gospel quartet See also * List of vocal groups * Vocal Group Hall of Fame Referen ...
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Soul Music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening, where U.S. record labels such as Motown, Atlantic and Stax were influential during the Civil Rights Movement. Soul also became popular around the world, directly influencing rock music and the music of Africa. It also had a resurgence with artists like Erykah Badu under the genre neo-soul. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the lead vocalist and the chorus and an especially tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls, and auxiliary sounds. Soul music reflects the African-American identity, and it stresses the importance of an African ...
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Christmas Here With You
''Christmas Here with You'' is a 1995 studio album by American soul music vocal group Four Tops, released on Motown. Reception An overview of rhythm and blues Christmas albums for ''Billboard'' by J. R. Reynolds recommends this release and calls it a "festive delight". A similar rundown in ''Ebony'' from 1997 also includes ''Christmas Here with You'' among recommended releases. Editors of AllMusic Guide gave this album three out of five stars, with critic Gina Boldman calling it a "predictable but festive holiday release". It was the last studio album to feature the classic lineup of the group. Track listing #"Christmas Here with You" (Fred Bridges, Lawrence Payton, and George Rountree, Jr.) – 5:08 #"White Christmas" (Irving Berlin) – 4:21 #"The Christmas Song" (Mel Tormé and Robert Wells) – 3:58 #"Away in a Manger" (traditional, James Ramsey Murray version) – 2:45 #"This Christmas" (Donny Hathaway and Nadine McKinnor) – 4:33 #"Silent Ni ...
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Magic (Four Tops Album)
''Magic'' is an album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ... recorded by the Four Tops, released in 1985 on Motown Records. The album reached No. 23 on the Blues & Soul Top British Soul Albums chart and No. 33 on the '' Billboard'' Top US R&B Albums chart. Overview Half of the Magic album was produced by Reggie Lucas, which was the idea of Iris Gordy, who felt his work on the debut double-platinum Madonna album reminded her of an updated Holland-Dozier-Holland sound. The other half was handled by Willie Hutch. Reggie Lucas produced the song "Maybe Tomorrow", a duet between Levi Stubbs and Phyllis Hyman, which received substantial urban contemporary airplay. Singles "Sexy Ways" peaked at No. 21 on the US '' Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles chart. Track listing ...
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Aaron Zigman
Aaron Zigman (born January 6, 1963) is a classically-trained American composer, producer, arranger, songwriter, and musician who has scored music for films including '' The Notebook'', ''The Company Men'', '' Bridge to Terabithia'', ''John Q.'', '' The Proposal'', '' Flicka'', ''For Colored Girls'', '' Flash of Genius'', '' Sex & the City, Alpha Dog,'' and ''Escape from Planet Earth''. He has also written, arranged and produced over 50 hit albums, and co-written songs with legendary and contemporary artists including Quincy Jones, Christina Aguilera, Phil Collins, Was (Not Was), John Legend, Dionne Warwick, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Seal. Early life and career Zigman was born in San Diego, California. His mother, a pianist and harpist, was his first music teacher, and he developed an early interest in jazz and concert music, studying with Rocky Slight, Gene Hartwell (a San Diego jazz player), and Florence Stephenson. A graduate of Point Loma H ...
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