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Today (Johnny Hartman Album)
''Today'' is a studio album by American singer Johnny Hartman, released in 1972 by Perception Records. It was Hartman's first recording since 1967 and marked a new phase in his career, with the inclusion of material by more contemporary songwriters such as Jimmy Webb, Kris Kristofferson, and Paul Williams. Musicians on the album include well-known jazz instrumentalists such as George Coleman, Earl May, and Billy Higgins. ''Today'' was the only album by Hartman to ever appear on the pop charts, spending three weeks on the Cash Box Album Charts, where it peaked at No. 160. Reception Initial reception to the album was consistently positive. ''DownBeat'' awarded ''Today'' its highest five-star rating, and reviewer Robert Rusch hailed it as Hartman's "greatest recording to date. . . . Unconditionally recommended." Rusch praised Hartman as "an exceptional ballad singer with beautiful control, sensitivity, and range," and said, "he uses his exceptional shifts in tension and phrasi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Hartman
John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer, known for his rich baritone voice and recordings of ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. Hartman is best remembered for his collaboration in 1963 with saxophonist John Coltrane, '' John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman'', a landmark album for both him and Coltrane. Biography Born to an African American family in Louisiana and raised in Chicago, Hartman began singing and playing the piano by the age of eight. He attended DuSable High School studying music under Walter Dyett before receiving a scholarship to the Chicago Musical College. He sang as a private in the Army's Special Services during World War II, but his first professional break came in September 1946 when he won a singing contest at the Apollo Theater, earning him a one-week engagement with Earl Hines, which lasted a year. Hartman's first recordings were with Marl You ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keep Growing Strong
"Betcha by Golly, Wow" is a song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, originally titled "Keep Growing Strong" and recorded by American actress and singer Connie Stevens under the Bell label in 1970. Stevens' recording runs two minutes and thirty seconds. The composition later became a hit when it was released by the Philadelphia soul group the Stylistics in 1972 under its better known title, "Betcha by Golly, Wow". The Stylistics version One year after Stevens' original version was released, the Stylistics recorded a more successful cover version as an R&B ballad under the name the song is best known, "Betcha by Golly, Wow". It was the third track from the Stylistics' 1971 debut self-titled album; released as a single in 1972, it reached No. 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 18 song for 1972. It also climbed to No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart, and reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart in July 1972. The single sold over one mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Folks Who Live On The Hill
"The Folks Who Live on the Hill" is a 1937 popular song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was introduced by Irene Dunne in the 1937 film '' High, Wide, and Handsome'' and was recorded that year by Bing Crosby for Decca (#1462, mx DLA940A, Los Angeles 9/20/37). Guy Lombardo enjoyed chart success with the song in 1937. It has become particularly associated with Peggy Lee, who sang it on her 1957 album '' The Man I Love''. Lee's version was arranged by Nelson Riddle and conducted by Frank Sinatra. Other notable recordings * Michael Holliday - ''Michael Holliday: Mike'' (1959) * Jo Stafford - '' Jo + Jazz'' (1960) * Johnny Mathis - '' Johnny's Mood'' (1960) * Bill Henderson - '' Bill Henderson with the Oscar Peterson Trio'' (1963) * Gloria Lynne - ''Gloria, Marty & Strings'' (1963) * Sammy Davis Jr. - '' Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays'' (1966) * Johnny Hartman - ''Today'' (1972) * Chris Anderson - '' Love Locked Out'' (1990) * Tony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Help Me Make It Through The Night
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country ballad written and composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album '' Kristofferson''. It was covered later in 1970 by Sammi Smith, on the album '' Help Me Make It Through the Night.'' In 1982, Kris did a re-recording with Brenda Lee for the compilation album The Winning Hand. It has been covered since by many other artists from Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash to Elvis Presley, Joan Baez, Bryan Ferry, Mark Eitzel, Tyler Childers and Engelbert Humperdinck also as a duet between Michael Bublé and Loren Allred. Sammi Smith version Smith's recording of the song (in May 1970) remains the most commercially successful, and best-known, version in the United States. Her recording ranks among the most successful country singles of all time in terms of sales, popularity, and radio airplay. It topped the country singles chart, and was also a crossover hit, reaching number eight on the U.S. pop singles chart. "Help Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music City, Glenn E. Wallichs. He is best known as a Tin Pan Alley lyricist, but he also composed music and was a popular singer who recorded his own as well as others' songs from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. Mercer's songs were among the most successful hits of the time, including "Moon River", "Days of Wine and Roses (song), Days of Wine and Roses", "Autumn Leaves (1945 song), Autumn Leaves", and "Hooray for Hollywood". He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway theatre, Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Awards, Oscar nominations, and won four Academy Award for Best Original Song, Best Original Song Oscars. Early life Mercer was born in 1909, in Savannah, Georgia, where one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summer Wind
"Summer Wind" is a 1965 song, originally released in Germany as "Der Sommerwind" and written by Heinz Meier and German language lyrics by Hans Bradtke. Johnny Mercer re-wrote the song into English along the same themes as the original, which talked of the changing of the seasons using the Southern European sirocco wind as a metaphor. In America, it was first recorded by Wayne Newton and subsequently by Bobby Vinton and Perry Como. The song is best known for a 1966 recording by Frank Sinatra which peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Easy Listening chart. The Sinatra version originally appeared on his album, ''Strangers in the Night''. A variety of singers and bands have covered the song since, including Shirley Bassey, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Michael Bublé and James Dean Bradfield. Barry Manilow, Westlife, and Willie Nelson have included the song on their albums of jazz standards. Background "Der Sommerwind" was a song composed in 1965 by Hei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linda Creed
Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter, lyricist, background singer and record producer who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. Career Linda Diane Creed was born on December 6, 1948, in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia to a Jewish family. Creed was active in music at Germantown High School. During her high school years, she was fronting her own band, Raw Soul, which made frequent appearances at the Philadelphia Athletic Club and at Sid Booker's Highline Lounge. After graduation, Creed left Philadelphia for New York, where she became a secretary at Mills Music, Inc. She also utilized the time to develop her skills as a lyricist, but after eight months of little success, and feeling defeated, she returned to her hometown, which later became the inspiration for the song " I'm Coming Home". Her career was launched in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thom Bell
Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2025, Bell was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence Award category. Background Bell was born on January 26, 1943 in Kingston, Jamaica, to Anna and Leroy Bell, and moved to Philadelphia with his parents when he was four, according to an interview Bell had with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. Both of Bell's parents were from Jamaica. Thomas Bedward Burke, Bell's maternal grandfather, was born in Kingston.His father was a botanist, and his mother a secretary. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe South
Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year in 1970 for "Games People Play (Joe South song), Games People Play" and was again nominated for the award in 1972 for "Rose Garden (Joe South song), Rose Garden". Career South had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery (record producer), Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publisher and radio personality. He began his recording career in Atlanta with the National Recording Corporation, where he served as staff guitarist along with other NRC artists Ray Stevens and Jerry Reed. South's earliest recordings have been re-released by NRC on CD. He soon returned to Nashville with The Manrando Group and then on to Charlie Wayne Felts Promotions. (Charlie Wayne Felts is the cousin of Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductee and Grand Ole Opry Mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Games People Play (Joe South Song)
"Games People Play" is a song written, composed, and performed by American singer-songwriter Joe South, released in August 1968. It entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1969 and won the 1970 Grammy Awards for both Best Contemporary Song and the Song of the Year. In 1994, Jamaican reggae band Inner Circle had a very successful European hit with their cover version of the song. Release "Games People Play" is a protest song whose lyrics speak against various forms of hatred, hypocrisy, inhumanity, intolerance, and irresponsibility, in both interpersonal and social interactions between people. ''Billboard'' favorably reviewed the song some three months after its release and eight weeks before it finally reached the Hot 100. The song was released on South's debut album ''Introspect'' and as a single, reaching No. 12 on the Hot 100. It was also a No. 6 hit in the UK in 1969, No. 4 in Ireland, and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song and the Grammy Award fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
By The Time I Get To Phoenix
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was reinterpreted by American country music singer Glen Campbell on his album of the same name. Released on Capitol Records in 1967, Campbell's version topped '' RPM'' Canada Country Tracks, reached number two on '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart, and won two awards at the 10th Annual Grammys. Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) named it the third most performed song from 1940 to 1990. The song was ranked number 20 on BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century. Frank Sinatra called it "the greatest torch song ever written." It was No. 450 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's Top 500 Songs of All Time. Background and writing The inspiration for "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" originated in Jimmy Webb's breakup with Susan Horton. They remained friends after her marriage to Bobby Ronstadt, a cousin of singer Linda Ronstadt. Their relationship, which peaked in mid-1965, was als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. Erlewine was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is a nephew of the former musician and AllMusic founder Michael Erlewine. He studied at the University of Michigan, where he majored in English, and was a music editor (1993–94) and then arts editor (1994–1995) of the school's paper '' The Michigan Daily'', and DJ'd at the campus radio station, WCBN. He has contributed to ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'' and ''All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap & Hip-Hop''. References External links Erlewine's pageat Pitchfork.com Contributionsto ''Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
