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Schizophonia (Mike Batt Album)
''Schizophonia'' is the second solo album by English singer-songwriter Mike Batt, backed with the London Symphony Orchestra. It was released in 1977 by Epic Records. Background and content According to Batt, ''Schizophonia'' was originally a concept album with the title ''The Adventures of God and His Pals'', with God being like Lord Snooty from ''The Beano'' comic magazine. Having started writing songs for that album, Batt thought the theme was "a bit silly", before imagining an Arabic story and then discovering one "about Mohammed the Fifth and the Berber Revolt in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''." ''Schizophonia'' partly contains a theme of Arabic music, which persuaded film producer Elmo Williams to commission Batt to write the score for the 1978 film '' Caravans. Track listing All tracks written by Mike Batt, except where noted. Side one Side two Personnel Adapted from the album's liner notes. Musicians * Mike Batt – vocals (side one: tracks 1, 3, 4; side two: t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Batt
Michael Philip Batt (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director, and conductor. He served as the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Batt created the novelty pop band The Wombles, after recording the theme song for the animated BBC series of the same name. He also composed the song " Bright Eyes" for the 1978 animated film '' Watership Down''. Batt promoted the early career of singer Katie Melua after signing her to his label, Dramatico. He wrote, arranged and produced her debut album '' Call Off the Search'' and her following two albums. Batt has conducted the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and Stuttgart Philharmonic. Early life Michael Philip Batt was born in Southampton, England, and attended Peter Symonds School, in Winchester. Career Batt began his career in pop music when he was 18 while answering an advertisement placed by Ray Williams in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bennie Benjamin
Claude August "Bennie" Benjamin (November 4, 1907 – May 2, 1989) was a Virgin Islands-born American songwriter. He had particularly successful songwriting partnerships with Sol Marcus, with whom he wrote " I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", " When the Lights Go On Again (All Over the World)", and " Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"; and with George David Weiss, with whom he wrote " Oh! What It Seemed to Be" and " Wheel of Fortune". Most of his songs were in the traditional pop idiom. Early life Benjamin was born in Christiansted on the island of St. Croix, then part of the Danish West Indies, and later within the United States Virgin Islands. As his family did not have sufficient funds to allow him to train as a minister, he trained as a tailor and cabinetmaker before moving to New York City in 1927. Music career He studied banjo and guitar at Hy Smith's School of Music, developing a distinctive playing style, and began performing in dance bands. He played guita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbie Flowers
Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. Flowers contributed to recordings by Elton John, Camel, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roy Harper, David Essex, Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, Harry Nilsson, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. He also played bass on '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds''. He created his most famous bassline for Lou Reed's 1972 hit single " Walk on the Wild Side" from the album ''Transformer''. By the end of the 1970s, Flowers had played bass on an estimated 500 hit recordings. Life and career Flowers was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, England, on 19 May 1938. He began his musical training in 1956 when conscripted into the Royal Air Force, electing at first to serve for nine years as a bandsman playing tuba. He took up d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Cox
Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox (born 13 March 1937, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) played Drum kit, drums in the British folk rock bands Pentangle (band), The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums. He also drummed with several other artists, most notably David Bowie and Elton John. He was drummer for Charles Aznavour from 1974 till 1982. In 1973, he had a songwriting partnership with Lynsey de Paul and Lenny Zakatek recorded two of their songs "Get Your Gun" and "Gotta Runaway" that was released as Zakatek on Bell Records. Collaborations *Alexis Korner - ''Sky High'' (1966) *Alexis Korner - ''Blues Incorporated'' (1967) *Alexis Korner - ''Bootleg Him!'' (1972) *Alexis Korner - ''The BBC Radio Sessions'' (1994) *Ashton & Lord - ''First of the Big Bands'' (1974) *Bee Gees - ''Cucumber Castle'' (1970) *Bert Jansch - ''Birthday Blues'' (1968) *Bert Jansch - ''Rosemary Lane'' (1971) *Bread, Love & Dreams - ''Amaryllis'' (1971) * Charles Aznavour - ''Aznavour Live 4: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Cooper
Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as a duo and as a member of his band), Harry Nilsson, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Art Garfunkel. Cooper absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice and John Bonham. Incorporation of unusual instruments for rock drummers of the time such as cowbells, glockenspiel and tubular bells, along with several standard kit elements, helped create a highly varied setup. Continually modified to this day, Cooper's percussion set offers a large array of percussion instruments for sonic diversity such as the tambourine, congas, crash cymbals, cowbells, rototoms, tubu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedal Steel Guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play unlimited glissandi (sliding notes) and deep vibrati—characteristics it shares with the human voice. Pedal steel is most commonly associated with country music and Hawaiian music. Pedals were added to a lap steel guitar in 1940, allowing the performer to play a major scale without moving the bar and also to push the pedals while striking a chord, making passing notes slur or bend up into harmony with existing notes. The latter creates a unique sound that has been popular in country and western music—a sound not previously possible on steel guitars before pedals were added. From its first use in Hawaii in the 19th century, the steel guitar sound became popular in the United States in the first half of the 20th century and spawned a f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clem Cattini
Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini (born 20 August 1937) is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Cliff Richard and Lou Reed, and has featured on 42 UK number one singles. Biography Born to Italian parents living in Stoke Newington, North London, Cattini worked in his father's restaurant before deciding to pursue a career in music. He began as a drummer at The 2i's Coffee Bar, backing performers such as Terry Dene, before joining the touring band known as the Beat Boys, backing singers managed by Larry Parnes,Larkin C., ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), , p.101 including Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. He then joined Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, playing on their hit " Shakin' All Over", and became Joe Meek's in-h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cor Anglais
The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto oboe in F. The cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe (a C instrument). This means that music for the cor anglais is written a perfect fifth higher than the instrument sounds. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe, and oboists typically double on the cor anglais when required. The cor anglais normally lacks the lowest B key found on most oboes, and so its sounding range stretches from E3 (written B) below middle C to C6 two octaves above middle C. Some versions being made today have a Low B key to extend the range down one more note to sounding E3. Description and timbre The pear-shaped bell (called Liebesfuß ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Camden
Anthony Camden (26 April 1938 – 7 March 2006) was the principal oboe and chairman of the board at the London Symphony Orchestra. He was also a founding member of the ensemble London Virtuosi and went on to become the provost and director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane before becoming the dean of music at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He was affectionately known as ''the Whizzer'' in the world of classical music. Early life Camden was born in London to parents Archie and Joyce Camden (born Jan Kerrison) in April 1938. Archie Camden was a celebrated bassoonist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra while Joyce was a cellist, pianist and composer. During World War II the family moved first to Bristol and then Bedford due to the orchestra being relocated. While in Bedford a young Camden fell ill twice with double pneumonia and serious attacks of asthma. The family returned to London, where Camden attended Highgate School. His initial musical instrument ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clavinet
The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and responding to a keystroke by striking a given point on a tensioned string, and was designed to resemble the Renaissance music, Renaissance-era clavichord. Although originally intended for home use, the Clavinet became popular on stage, and could be used to create electric guitar sounds on a keyboard. It is strongly associated with the musician Stevie Wonder, who used the instrument extensively, particularly on his 1972 hit "Superstition (song), Superstition", and was regularly featured in rock music, rock, funk and reggae music throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Modern digital keyboards can emulate the Clavinet sound, but there is also a grass-roots industry of repairers who continue to maintain the instrument. Description The Clavinet is an elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ARP Instruments
ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before declaring bankruptcy in 1981. The company earned a reputation for producing excellent sounding, innovative instruments and was granted several patents for the technology it developed. History Background Alan Pearlman was an engineering student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts in 1948 when he foresaw the coming age of electronic music and synthesizers. He later wrote "The electronic instrument's value is chiefly as a novelty. With greater attention on the part of the engineer to the needs of the musician, the day may not be too remote when the electronic instrument may take its place ... as a versatile, powerful, and expressive instrument." Beginnings Following 21 years of experience in electronic engineering and ent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wurlitzer Electronic Piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to the Rhodes piano, though the sound is different. The instrument was invented by Benjamin Miessner, who had worked on various types of electric pianos since the early 1930s. The first Wurlitzer was manufactured in 1954, and production continued until 1983. Originally, the piano was designed to be used in the classroom, and several dedicated teacher and student instruments were manufactured. It was adapted for more conventional live performances, including stage models with attachable legs and console models with built-in frames. The stage instrument was used by several popular artists, including Ray Charles, Joe Zawinul and Supertramp. Several electronic keyboards include an emulation of the Wurlitzer. As the Wurlitzer is an electromech ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
