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Lew Douglas
Lew Douglas (August 25, 1912 – November 11, 1997) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor. Background Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Douglas was in the Army during the Second World War and became an arranger and conductor for some of the U.S. Army swing bands. After completing his military service, he moved to Chicago, where he continued his musical education at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He started arranging for big bands such as Ted Weems, Eddy Howard and Dan Belloc. Douglas was taken on by NBC to be one of the staff arrangers for many TV shows, including ''Dave Garroway at Large'' and ''Your Show of Shows''. Subsequently, Douglas moved on to be head arranger and producer for Mercury Records in Chicago, and he was involved in many major hits, including "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" by The Weavers, " The Bible Tells Me So," performed by Nick Noble and the Lew Douglas Orchestra; " Two Hearts, Two Kisses," sung by Pat Boone, "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities in Michigan, second-most populous city in Michigan. The Grand Rapids metropolitan area has a population of 1.16 million and a combined statistical area population of 1.5 million. Grand Rapids is situated along the Grand River (Michigan), Grand River approximately east of Lake Michigan and is the economic and cultural hub of West Michigan. A historic furniture manufacturing center, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed "Furniture City". As a result of the numerous micro and craft breweries, many with notable reputations nationally such as Founders and New Holland which are known globally, Grand Rapids is also known as "Beer City USA". Due to the prominence of the Grand River, many l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Noble (singer)
Nick Noble (born Nicholas Valkan; June 21, 1926 – March 24, 2012) was an American Pop music, pop singer, who was best known for his recordings of "The Tip of My Fingers" and "Moonlight Swim". Born in Chicago, Illinois, Noble was a graduate of Hirsch Metropolitan High School and Loyola University and a navy veteran in the later days of World War II. Noble was popular in the mid-1950s, and he scored four hits on the newly created ''Billboard magazine, Billboard'' pop record chart, charts between 1955 and 1957. His singles remained popular in Chicago and nationwide in the early 1960s, with his 1962 cover version, cover of Carl Belew's "Hello Out There" reaching the WLS Top 15. He regained national chart status in 1978 with the Country music, country and easy listening hit "Stay With Me". He also recorded for Coral Records, Coral, and Columbia Records, Columbia and during his career recorded 109 singles and four albums.. In later years, he was associated with and later owned the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Country Meets The Blues
''Country Meets the Blues'' is an album of jazz interpretations of country music and blues tunes performed by the Ramsey Lewis' Trio which was recorded in 1962 and released on the Argo label. accessed October 9, 2012 Reception awarded the album 4 stars.Allmusic Reviewaccessed October 9, 2012 Track listing # "" ( |
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album ''The In Crowd (Ramsey Lewis album), The In Crowd'' earned Lewis critical praise and the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance. His best known singles include "The 'In' Crowd (song), The 'In' Crowd", "Wade in the Water", and "Sun Goddess (song), Sun Goddess". Until 2009, he was the host of the ''Ramsey Lewis Morning Show'' on the Chicago radio station WNUA. Lewis was also active in musical education in Chicago. He founded the Ramsey Lewis Foundation, established Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program, and served on the board of trustees for the Merit School of Music and The Chicago High School for the Arts. Life and career Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. was born on May 27 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. Cole started his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed the King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Cole's trio was the model for small jazz band, jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, Cole faced intense racial discrimination during his career. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pretend (1952 Song)
"Pretend" is a popular song, written in 1952 by Dan Belloc, Lew Douglas, Cliff Parman and Frank Levere. The best-known recording, by Nat King Cole, was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 2346. It first reached the ''Billboard'' Best Seller chart on January 31, 1953, and lasted 20 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 3. It also reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in May 1953, just behind Frankie Laine's chart topping hit, " I Believe". Cole would later re-record the song for his 1961 album ''The Nat King Cole Story''. The recording by Ralph Marterie was released by Mercury Records as catalog number 70045. It reached the ''Billboard'' Best Seller chart on February 7, 1953 at No. 16, its only week on the chart. The recording by Eileen Barton was released by Coral Records as catalog number 60927. It reached the ''Billboard'' Best Seller chart on March 7, 1953 at No. 18, its only week on the chart. On the ''Cash Box'' chart, where all versions of the song were combi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Have You Heard?
"Have You Heard?" is a popular song written by Lew Douglas, Frank LaVere and LeRoy W. Rodde and published in 1952. The biggest hit version was recorded by Joni James in 1952, charting the next year. The recording by Joni James was released by MGM Records as catalog number 11390. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on December 27, 1952 and lasted 14 weeks on the chart, peaking at #4. The flip side was " Wishing Ring." The Duprees recording The song was revived by the US group, The Duprees and was a hit again in 1963. The version went to #18 on the Hot 100 and #8 on the Middle-Road Singles chart. Other recorded versions * The Belmonts * Tony Brent *Lita Roza * Sonny Til and The Orioles * The Beverley Sisters *Bob Gibson & His Orchestra, Ross Higgins Ross Higgins (14 June 1930 – 7 October 2016) was an Australian vaudevillian, character actor, television host, comedian, singer and voice actor. He was best known for his role as Ted Bullpitt in the 1980s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joni James
Giovanna Carmella Babbo (September 22, 1930 – February 20, 2022), known professionally as Joni James, was an American singer of traditional pop. Biography Giovanna Carmella Babbo was born to an Italian-American family in Chicago, Illinois, on September 22, 1930, as one of six children supported by her widowed mother. As an adolescent, she studied drama and ballet, and on graduating from Bowen High School, located in the South Chicago neighborhood, went with a local dance group on a tour of Canada. She then took a job as a chorus girl in the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. After doing a fill-in in Indiana, she decided to pursue a singing career, and picked the stage name Joni James at the urging of her managers. Some executives at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) spotted her in a television commercial, and she was signed by MGM in 1952. Her first hit, " Why Don't You Believe Me?", sold over two million copies. She had a number of hits following that one, including " Your Cheatin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Why Don't You Believe Me?
"Why Don't You Believe Me?" is a popular song written by Lew Douglas, King Laney, and Roy Rodde and published in 1952. A recording by Joni James (MGM Records catalog number 11333) reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' charts for four weeks in November-December 1952. Competing versions by Patti Page (Mercury Records catalog number 70025, reaching chart position No. 4) and Margaret Whiting (Capitol Records catalog number 2292, reaching chart position No. 29) also charted in 1952. The B-side to Page's version was the well-known song "Conquest". On the ''Cash Box'' Best-Selling Record list, where all versions were combined (co-chart), the song also reached No. 1 that year. Recorded versions *Pat Boone *Bing Crosby sang it on four occasions on his radio show in 1953. *Vic Damone (1965 single) *Dolly Dawn *The Duprees reached No. 37 in 1963. *Maureen Evans *Bobby Goldsboro *Red Ingle *Joni James * Damita Jo *The Kalin Twins *Mickey Katz *Herb Lance *Brenda Lee *Wade Legge *Guy Lombar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Confess (song)
"Confess" is a popular song written by Bennie Benjamin and George David Weiss. The song figures in the early careers of two important female singers: # In 1947, Doris Day was making a transition from a Big band singer, most recently with Les Brown, to a solo vocalist. Her first major record away from the band was a duet with Buddy Clark, with this song on one side and " Love Somebody" on the other. The record became a two-sided hit, the first two of a string of hits for Day that made her one of the top female singers in popular music. # About the same time, Mercury Records was planning to record the song as a vehicle for Frankie Laine. They were persuaded instead to give the song to a young female singer, who had not, at the time, a single hit: Patti Page. Page's manager, Jack Rael, succeeded in getting Mercury to let her record the song, but because of a low budget, a second singer could not be hired, so guitarist George Barnes (musician), whose trio accompanied Page on the rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female artist of the 1950s, selling over 100 million records during a six-decade-long career. She was often introduced as "the Singin' Rage, Miss Patti Page". New York WBBR, WNEW disc-jockey William B. Williams (DJ), William B. Williams introduced her as "A Page in my life called Patti". Page signed with Mercury Records in 1947, and became their first successful female artist, starting with 1948's "Confess (song), Confess". In 1950, she had her first million-selling single "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming", and eventually had 14 additional million-selling singles between 1950 and 1965. Page's signature song, "Tennessee Waltz", is the best selling song of the 1950s by a female artist, one of the biggest-selling singles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Snyder (bandleader)
William P. Snyder (November 7, 1916 – Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, May 11, 2011) was an American pianist, bandleader and songwriter of the 1950s. Snyder studied under Moriz Rosenthal in Paris and served in the Air Force during the Second World War. Snyder first had a massive hit with Lorenz Hart's "Bewitched" in 1950. The song reached the top position on the Cash Box list of "The Nation's Top Ten Juke Box Tunes." Through the 1950s, Snyder was America's most recorded light music pianist with nine gold and one platinum awards for his singles and albums.Billboard - Feb 9, 1957 - Page 26 BEWITCHING HOUR 70 Bill Snyder Ork (1-12") Decca DL 8405 Pianist Snyder is featured on 12 romantic instrumentals, including "Bewitched," "Soft Lights and Sweet Musk" and other equally poignant standards. LP is sequel to Snyder's "The ... Song compositions *'' Chicago, the City of Today'' *''Riding the Off Beat'' *''Window Shopping'' *''Cafe Conversation'' *''Ballerina in Distress'' *''Choppin' up Chopin'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
