Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. His aggressive playing style, poetic songwriting techniques and authorship of two rock operas with the Who, as well as other projects, have earned him critical acclaim. Townshend has written more than 100 songs for 12 of the Who's studio albums. These include concept albums, the rock operas ''Tommy (The Who album), Tommy'' (1969) and ''Quadrophenia'' (1973), plus popular rock radio staples such as ''Who's Next'' (1971); as well as dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilation albums such as ''Odds & Sods'' (1974). He has also written more than 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and Theme music, television theme songs. While known ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth, Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England and Fuller's Brewery, London's largest and oldest brewery. In a meander of the River Thames used for competitive and recreational rowing, with several rowing clubs on the river bank, the finishing post for the Boat Race is just downstream of Chiswick Bridge. Old Chiswick was an St Nicholas Church, Chiswick, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with an agrarian and fishing economy beside the river; from the Early Modern period, the wealthy built imposing riverside houses on Chiswick Mall. Having good communications with London, Chiswick became a popular country retreat and part of the suburban growth of London in the late 19th and early 20th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Front Row (radio Programme)
''Front Row'' is a radio programme on BBC Radio 4 that has been broadcast regularly since 1998. The BBC describes the programme as a "live magazine programme on the world of arts, literature, film, media and music". It is broadcast each weekday between 7:15 pm and 8 pm, and has a podcast available for download. Podcasts consisted of weekly highlights until September 2011, but have been full daily episodes since. Shows usually include a mix of interviews, reviews, previews, discussions, reports and columns. Some episodes however, particularly on bank holidays, include a single interview with prominent figures in the arts or a half-hour-long feature on a single subject. Details ''Front Row'' has been broadcast since 1998. It developed out of BBC Radio 4's previous daily arts programme '' Kaleidoscope'', which ran from 1973 to 1998. The programme's presenters include Tom Sutcliffe, Samira Ahmed, John Wilson, and Kirsty Lang. Former presenters include Stig Abell, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mouthpiece), reed in a frame). The essential characteristic of the accordion is to combine in one instrument a melody section, also called the descant, diskant, usually on the right-hand keyboard, with an accompaniment or Basso continuo functionality on the left-hand. The musician normally plays the melody on buttons or keys on the right-hand side (referred to as the Musical keyboard, keyboard or sometimes the manual (music), ''manual''), and the accompaniment on Bass (sound), bass or pre-set Chord (music), chord buttons on the left-hand side. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist. The accordion belongs to the free-reed aerophone family. Other instruments in this family include the concertina, harmonica, and bandoneon. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans and had African antecedents. In the 19th century, interest in the instrument was spread across the United States and United Kingdom by traveling shows of the 19th-century minstrel show fad, followed by mass production and mail-order sales, including instructional books. The inexpensive or home-made banjo remained part of rural folk culture, but five-string and four-string banjos also became popular for home parlor music entertainment, college music clubs, and early 20th century jazz bands. By the early 20th century, the banjo was most frequently associated with folk, cowboy music, and country music. By mid-century it had come to be strongly associated with bluegrass. Eventu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Theme Music
Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at some point during the program. The purpose of a theme song is often similar to that of a leitmotif. The phrase theme song or signature tune may also be used to refer to a signature song that has become especially associated with a particular performer or dignitary, often used as they make an entrance. Purpose From the 1950s onwards, theme music, and especially theme songs also became a valuable source of additional revenue for Hollywood film studios, many of which launched their own recording arms. This period saw the beginning of more methodical cross-promotion of music and movies. One of the first big successes, which proved very influential, was the theme song for ''High Noon'' (1952). Types Television Theme music has been a featur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Radio Jingles
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television commercials; they can also be used in non-advertising contexts to establish or maintain a brand image. Many jingles are also created using snippets of popular songs, in which lyrics are modified to appropriately advertise the product or service. History The first radio commercial jingle aired in December 1926, for Wheaties cereal. The Wheaties advertisement, with its lyrical hooks, was seen by its owners as extremely successful. According to one account, General Mills had seriously planned to end production of Wheaties in 1929 on the basis of poor sales. Soon after the song "Have you tried Wheaties?" aired in Minnesota, however, sale ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Odds & Sods
''Odds & Sods'' is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK on September 28, 1974, and by Track/ MCA in the US on October 12, 1974. Ten of the recordings on the original eleven-song album were previously unreleased. The album reached No. 10 on the UK charts and No. 15 in the US. The recordings were compiled by Who bassist John Entwistle. Two LPs of songs were considered in 1974, but only one LP was released at the time. "It could have been a double album, there was that much material," Entwistle said. It was one of the first examples of artists compiling such unreleased recordings. The Who, as well as many other artists, later released similar albums, such as '' Who's Missing''. Background In the autumn of 1973, while Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon were preparing for the '' Tommy'' film, Entwistle was put in charge of completing an album to counter the rampant bootlegging that arose from the Who's con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Who's Next
''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971, by Track Records in the United Kingdom and by Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album '' Tommy''. The project was cancelled owing to its complexity and to conflicts with Kit Lambert, the band's manager, but the group salvaged some of the songs, without the connecting story elements, to release as their next album. Eight of the nine songs on ''Who's Next'' were from ''Lifehouse'', with the lone exception being the John Entwistle–penned " My Wife". Ultimately, the remaining ''Lifehouse'' tracks would all be released on other albums throughout the next decade. The Who recorded ''Who's Next'' with assistance from recording engineer Glyn Johns. After producing the song " Won't Get Fooled Again" in the Rolling St ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quadrophenia
''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While He's Away" (1966) and the album '' Tommy'' (1969). Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance. ''Quadrophenia'' is the only Who album entirely written by Pete Townshend. The group started work on the album in 1972 in an attempt to follow up ''Tommy'' and ''Who's Next'' (1971), both of which had achieved substantial critical and commercial success. Recording was delayed while bassist John Entwistle and singer Roger Daltrey recorded solo albums and drummer Keith Moon worked on films. Because a new studio was not finished in time, the group had to use Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. The album makes significant use of Townshend's multi-track synthesizers and sound ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tommy (The Who Album)
''Tommy'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 17 May 1969. Written primarily by guitarist Pete Townshend, ''Tommy'' is a double album and an early rock opera that tells the story of the fictional Tommy Walker and his path to becoming a spiritual leader and messianic figure. Townshend came up with the concept of ''Tommy'' after being introduced to the work of Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba, and he attempted to translate Baba's ideas into music. Recording of the album began in September 1968, but took six months to complete as material needed to be arranged and re-recorded in the studio. The Who promoted the album's release with an extensive tour, including a live version of ''Tommy'', which lasted throughout 1969 and 1970. Key gigs from the tour included appearances at Woodstock, the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival, the University of Leeds, the Metropolitan Opera House, and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. The live performances of ''T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Concept Album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Sometimes the term is applied to albums considered to be of "uniform excellence" rather than an LP with an explicit musical or lyrical motif. There is no consensus among music criticism, music critics as to the specific criteria for what a "concept album" is. The format originates with folk music, folk singer Woody Guthrie's ''Dust Bowl Ballads'' (1940) and was subsequently popularized by traditional pop singer Frank Sinatra's 1940s–50s string of albums, although the term is more often associated with rock music. In the 1960s several well-regarded concept albums were released by various rock bands, which eventually led to the birth of progressive rock and rock opera. Definitions There is no clear definition of a "concept album". Fiona Stur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rock Opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been adapted as rock musicals. The use of various character roles within the song lyrics is a common storytelling device. The success of the rock opera genre has inspired similar works in other musical styles, such as rap opera. History A number of rock artists became interested in the idea of creating a rock opera in the 1960s. Early use of the terms rock opera and teenage opera date from 1963, when Frank Zappa used both phrases to describe a work in progress, ''I Was a Teenage Malt Shop''. Zappa can be heard discussing his rock opera in a radio program: a recording of a which is included on the album '' Joe's Xmasage'', on the track ''The Uncle Frankie Show''. Don Van Vliet was to be cast as a character named “Captain Beefheart”. Zappa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |