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My Life (Billy Joel Song)
"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album '' 52nd Street''. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached No. 2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year, it peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A cover of this song was used as the theme song for the situation comedy TV series, '' Bosom Buddies''. Musical structure The song begins with drums, electric bass, and a left-hand piano part, followed by a keyboard riff in the right hand. The riff is also used as a fill between verse and chorus sections and is also played at the end. The section order is intro-verse-fill-chorus-bridge-v-f-c-b-solo-c-outro. Chicago members Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus performed the backing vocals and sang along with Joel during the bridge and in the outro ("Keep it to yourself, it's my life"). Reception ''Billboard'' described "My Life" as "an infectious uptempo tune guaranteeing a good mood for the listener". ''Cash Box'' said ...
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Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has had a successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s. From 1971 to 1993, he released 12 studio albums spanning the genres of pop and rock, and in 2001 released a one-off studio album of classical compositions. With over 160 million records sold worldwide, Joel is one of the world's List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists and is the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States. His 1985 compilation album, ''Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II'', is one of the List of best-selling albums in the United States, best-selling albums in the United States. Joel was born in the Bronx in New York City and grew up in Hicksville, New York, Hicksville on Long Island, where he began taking piano lessons at his mothe ...
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Fill (music)
In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener's attention during a break between the phrases of a melody. "The terms riff and fill are sometimes used interchangeably by musicians, but hilethe term riff usually refers to an exact musical phrase repeated throughout a song", a fill is an improvised phrase played during a section where nothing else is happening in the music. While riffs are repeated, fills tend to be varied over the course of a song. For example, a drummer may fill in the end of one phrase with a sixteenth note hi-hat pattern, and then fill in the end of the next phrase with a snare drum figure. In drumming, a fill is defined as a "short break in the groove—a lick that 'fills in the gaps' of the music and/or signals the end of a phrase. It's akin to a mini- solo." A fill may be played by rock or pop instruments such as the electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associ ...
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Richie Cannata
Richie Cannata (born March 3, 1949) is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After leaving the band in 1981, he opened Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York. Artists including Celine Dion, Billy Joel, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have recorded in Cannata's studio. Cannata also worked with the Beach Boys for most of the 1990s, touring and occasionally recording with them during this period. Early life Cannata was born March 3, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Ernest (March 26, 1914 – April 14, 1993) and Anna (February 25, 1926 — April 1, 2007) Cannata. Interested in music from a very early age, Cannata was introduced by his family first to the piano at the age of four and later to clarinet and tenor saxophone at the age of eight. He also plays flute and keyboards in addition to alto, soprano and barit ...
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Liberty DeVitto
Liberatori "Liberty" DeVitto (born August 8, 1950) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his work as a drummer for singer-songwriter Billy Joel's recording and touring band. He has been a session drummer on recordings of other artists. He is credited as a drummer on records which have sold a combined total of 150 million units worldwide. Early life and education DeVitto was born in New York City, of Italian ancestry. His father was a police officer in the New York Police Department. Liberty taught himself to play the drums after seeing the Beatles perform on ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' in February 1964. He was also influenced as a teenager by rock drummer Dino Danelli. Career Liberty DeVitto got his big break in the music business when he was hired to play drums for Billy Joel in the mid-1970s. In an online interview, DeVitto describes how Joel's classic late-1970s/early-1980s band first came together: Billy and I used to play the same club in Plainview, Long Island calle ...
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Doug Stegmeyer
Douglas Alan Stegmeyer (December 23, 1951 – August 25, 1995) was an American musician who was best known as a bassist and back-up vocalist for Billy Joel. Stegmeyer also performed as bassist for Debbie Gibson and Hall & Oates. Life and career Stegmeyer was born on December 23, 1951, in Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York. In high school, he met Russell Javors, who at age 15 was performing songs with childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. Along with Howard Emerson, the boys formed the band Topper, which performed songs by Javors and attracted Billy Joel's attention. Joel hired Stegmeyer to play bass in his backing band on the ''Streetlife Serenade'' tour. At Stegmeyer's recommendation a year and a half later, Emerson, Javors, and DeVitto joined Joel in the studio for his '' Turnstiles'' album and for the accompanying tour. Stegmeyer became a core member of Billy Joel's band, playing bass on Joel's studio albums from ''Turnstiles'' through ''The Bridge'' and on the live a ...
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Russell Javors
Russell Javors (born June 13, 1952) is an American rock guitarist. He is best known as a rhythm guitarist for Billy Joel from 1976 to 1989. Career At age 15, Javors was performing songs with his childhood friend Liberty DeVitto. He met Doug Stegmeyer in high school and along with Howard Emerson, formed the band Topper. Together, they performed the songs that Javors wrote. Topper became noticed by Billy Joel. Joel found he needed a bassist on his ''Streetlife Serenade'' tour and invited Stegmeyer to join him. Javors, DeVitto, and Emerson soon followed. With the addition of multi-instrumentalist Richie Cannata, Topper became the Billy Joel Band. Javors played rhythm guitar with Joel from 1975 until 1989. On October 23, 2014, Javors, Cannata, and DeVitto (with Stegmeyer, posthumously) were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, primarily for their work with Joel. Shortly thereafter, Javors, Cannata, and DeVitto officially formed the Lords of 52nd Street band; the band ...
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Yamaha CP-70
The Yamaha CP-70 is an electric piano manufactured by Yamaha Corporation between 1976 and 1985. The instrument was based on earlier electric piano technology, but took advantage of improved pickups along with the company's longstanding experience in manufacturing acoustic pianos. The new technology and a lack of a soundboard gave it a more accurate emulation of an acoustic piano than earlier models. It was well received and used by a number of musicians in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Grateful Dead's Keith Godchaux and Genesis' Tony Banks. It continues to be used in the 21st century by a number of artists, and it is still possible to buy replacement parts. Features The CP-70 has the same piano action as an acoustic instrument, using wooden keys to operate hammers which hit strings, but it does not contain a soundboard. It has a smaller number of specially manufactured strings, reducing the overall weight. In particular, the bass strings are very short comp ...
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Record World
''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin. It ceased publication on April 10, 1982. History Growth ''Music Vendor'' published its first music chart for the week ending October 4, 1954. ''Record World'' was housed in New York City at 1700 Broadway, at 53rd Street, across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theater. Its West Coast editorial offices were located in Los Angeles on Sunset and Vine. Peak ''Record World'' showed musical diversity by printing a "Non-Rock" survey, comparable to ''Billboard's'' "Easy Listening" / "Adult Contemporary" chart. This chart began in the February 4, 1967, issue, and ended on April 1, 1972, having morphed to the name "The MOR Chart" by 1971. Several titles of interest appeared on this 40-position list without ...
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Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener." The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock, R&B, hip hop, dance, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often found in, or consists of, the chorus. A hook can be either melodic or rhythmic, and often incorporates the main motif for a piece of music.Davidson, Miriam; Heartwood, Kiya (1996). ''Songwriting for Beginners'', p.7. Alfred Music Publishing. . Definitions One definition of a hook is "a musical or lyrical phrase that stands out and is easily remembered." Definitions typically include some of the following: that a hook is repetitive, attention-grabbing, memorable, easy to dance to, and has commercial potential and lyrics. A hook has been defined as a "part of a song, sometimes the title or key lyric line, that keeps recurring." Alternatively, the term has been defined as and can be somethin ...
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Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online magazine with weekly charts and occasional special print issues. In addition to the music industry, the magazine covered the amusement arcade industry, including jukebox machines and arcade games. History Print edition charts (1942–1996) ''Cashbox'' was one of several magazines that published record charts in the United States. Its most prominent competitors were ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' and ''Record World'' (known as ''Music Vendor'' prior to April 1964). Unlike ''Billboard'', ''Cashbox'' combined all currently available recordings of a song into one chart position with artist and label information shown for each version, alphabetized by label. Originally, no indication of which version was the biggest seller was given, but f ...
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Billboard (magazine)
''Billboard'' (stylized in letter case, lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to the music industry. Its Billboard charts, music charts include the Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100, the Billboard 200, 200, and the Billboard Global 200, Global 200, tracking the most popular albums and songs in various music genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm and operates several television shows. ''Billboard'' was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson acquired Hennegan's interest in 1900 for $500. In the early years of the 20th century, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. ''Billboard'' began focusing more on the music industry as the jukebox ...
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Conclusion (music)
In music, the conclusion is the ending of a composition and may take the form of a coda or outro. Pieces using sonata form typically use the recapitulation to conclude a piece, providing closure through the repetition of thematic material from the exposition in the tonic key. In all musical forms other techniques include "altogether unexpected digressions just as a work is drawing to its close, followed by a return...to a consequently more emphatic confirmation of the structural relations implied in the body of the work." Perle, George (1990). ''The Listening Composer''. California: University of California Press. . For example: * The slow movement of Bach's '' Brandenburg Concerto No. 2'', where a "diminished-7th chord progression interrupts the final cadence." * The slow movement of Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, where, "echoing afterthoughts", follow the initial statements of the first theme and only return expanded in the coda. * Varèse's '' Density 21.5'', where parti ...
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