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What Kind Of Fool Am I And Other Show-Stoppers
''What Kind of Fool Am I and Other Show-Stoppers'' is a 1962 studio album by Sammy Davis Jr. Reception Riding off the success of the title single which was at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 after 8 weeks on the chart, the album entered the Billboard Top LPs chart at #82 in the end of October 1962. It peaked at #14, staying on the chart for 22 weeks, the last of which was the week Davis' 1963 live album '' Sammy Davis Jr. at the Cocoanut Grove'' entered the Top LPs chart. Lindsay Planer on AllMusic praised the album for "accentuating avis'undeniable talent and presence," and noted that it was one of the most well-received albums he released during the 1960s.Allmusic review/ref> Track listing Personnel * Sammy Davis Jr. – vocals * Marty Paich - director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sammy Davis Jr
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which toured nationally, and his film career began in 1933. After military service, Davis returned to the trio and became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's (in West Hollywood) after the 1951 Academy Awards. With the trio, he became a recording artist. In 1954, at the age of 29, he lost his left eye in a car accident. Several years later, he converted to Judaism, finding commonalities between the oppression experienced by African-American and Jewish communities.Sammy Davis Jr. Biography Biography.com. Retrieved June 6, 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bye Bye Birdie
''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored by Bill Doyle, which appeared in the May 18, 1957, issue of the ''Saturday Evening Post'' may well have been the genesis of the eventual stageplay. The play book was also influenced by Elvis Presley's conscription into the Army in 1957. The rock star character's name, "Conrad Birdie", is word play on the name of Conway Twitty. Twitty later had a long career as a country music star, but in the late 1950s he was one of Presley's rock 'n' roll rivals. The original 1960–1961 Broadway production was a Tony Award–winning success. It spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film, and a 1995 television production. The show also became a popular choice for high school and college productions due to its v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George David Weiss
George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish family, and originally planned a career as a lawyer or accountant, but out of a love for music he was led to attend the Juilliard School of Music, developing his skills in writing and arranging. After leaving school, he became an arranger for such big bands as those of Stan Kenton, Vincent Lopez, and Johnny Richards. He was a prolific songwriter during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, with many of his songs attaining high rankings on the charts. Although he worked with many collaborators, the largest proportion of his well-known songs were written with Bennie Benjamin. Weiss contributed to a number of film scores: ''Murder, Inc.'' (1960), ''Gidget Goes to Rome'' (1963), ''Mediterranean Holiday'' (1964), and '' Mademoiselle'' (1966). Collabora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Bock
Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical '' Fiorello!'' and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical ''Fiddler on the Roof'' with Sheldon Harnick. Biography Born in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in Flushing, Queens, New York, Bock studied the piano as a child. While a student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he wrote the musical ''Big As Life'', which toured the state and enjoyed a run in Chicago. After graduation, he spent three summers at the Tamiment Playhouse in the Poconos and wrote for early television revues with lyricist Larry Holofcener. One of their songs, the three-part "The Story of Alice," was performed by the Chad Mitchell Trio on their '' Blowin' in the Wind'' album of 1962. Career Bock made his Broadway debut in 1955 when he and Lawrence Holofcen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Too Close For Comfort (1956 Song)
"Too Close for Comfort" is a popular song by Jerry Bock, George David Weiss, and Larry Holofcener. It was written in 1956 as part of the score for the Broadway musical '' Mr. Wonderful'' starring Sammy Davis Jr., who released the song as a single on Decca Records prior to the musical's premiere. Several other pop vocalists, such as Eileen Barton, also recorded their own competing versions around this time, as well as other songs from the musical. Notable versions *A memorable 1956 duet of the song featured Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Williams, although the 1958 recordings by Davis and Frank Sinatra are the best-known versions of the song. *It also was recorded by Jamie Cullum in 2002 for his album ''Pointless Nostalgic'' *Dianne Reeves (in 2005) for the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to ''Good Night, and Good Luck''. Other versions include: *Stan Getz - '' The Steamer'' (1956) *Eydie Gormé - Her single recording charted at #39 in the U.S. (1956) and was included on her album ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks, who are immigrants from Puerto Rico, and the Jets, who are white, vie for dominance of the neighborhood, and the police try to keep order. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, tragic love story, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre. The original 1957 Broadway production, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackle "unexpected themes that range far beyond the [genre's] traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication." His shows address "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience," with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life. He was known for his frequent collaborations with Hal Prince and James Lapine on the Broadway theatre, Broadway stage. Sondheim's interest in musical theater began at a young age, and he was mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II. He began his career by writing the lyrics for ''West Side Story'' (1957) and ''Gypsy (musical), Gypsy'' (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics for the theater, with his best-known works inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history". Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, sixteen Grammy Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor. As a composer he wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music and works for the piano. His best-known work is the Broadway musical '' West Side Story'', which continues to be regularly performed worldwide, and has been adapted into two ( 1961 and 2021) feature films. His works include three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Something's Coming (song)
"Something's Coming" is a song from the 1957 musical '' West Side Story''. It was composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and is sung solo by the male lead character and tenor 'Tony'. The part of Tony was played by Larry Kert in the original Broadway production, Richard Beymer (voiced by Jimmy Bryant) in the 1961 film and Ansel Elgort in the 2021 film. Production In his work ''Leonard Bernstein'', Humphrey Burton explained: "When it was decided to add Tony’s first-act song “Something’s Coming,” Bernstein and Sondheim raided the scene-setting page in Laurents’s outline. “something’s coming,” Laurents had written: “it may be around the corner, whistling down the river, twitching at the dance – who knows?” The lines were incorporated in the lyrics. “We raped Arthur’s play-writing,” Bernstein said. “I’ve never seen anyone so encouraging, let alone generous, urging us, ‘Yes, take it, take it, make it a song.’”" Bernst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Little Show
''The Little Show'' was a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It was the first of 11 musicals that featured the songs of Dietz and Schwartz. The revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on April 30, 1929 and ran for 321 performances until February 1930. History The show grew out of a number of Sunday evening variety shows co-produced by Tom Weatherly with James Pond at the Selwyn Theatre . Weatherly said that they were "really nothing more than high-class vaudeville shows but they were far more artistic than the Sunday night variety programs being offered at the Winter Garden."Green, S., p. 163 Revue elements "This was the first American revue to give wit precedence over spectacle." Fred Allen (who had been a vaudeville headliner as a juggler and ventriloquist) "won acclaim with his sardonic banter", "torch singer Libby Holman smoldered." Clifton Webb, the debonair star, "wanted a number that was more perverse, a number he could delive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Warburg
James Paul Warburg (August 18, 1896 – June 3, 1969) was a German-born American banker. He was well known for being the financial adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt. His father was banker Paul Warburg, member of the Warburg family and "father" of the Federal Reserve system. After World War II, Warburg helped organize the Society for the Prevention of World War III in support of the Morgenthau Plan. Biography Born in Hamburg, Germany, he was educated at Middlesex School and Harvard University. He served in the Navy Flying Corps during World War I before entering a career in business. He was at the First National Bank of Boston between 1919 and 1921. Between 1921 and 1929 he was Vice President at the International Acceptance Bank. He was president at the International Manhattan Company from 1929 to 1931, then president of the International Acceptance Bank from 1931 to 1932. He was Vice Chairman of the Board at Bank of the Manhattan Company between 1932 and 1935. While at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Can't We Be Friends?
"Can't We Be Friends?" is a 1929 song with lyrics by Paul James and music by Kay Swift, introduced on Broadway in '' The Little Show'' by Libby Holman. It was later recorded by many artists including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra. Recordings * Red Nichols & his Five Pennies (recorded 9/6/1929 and released on Brunswick 4510). * Ray Ventura & his Collegians (recorded 10/19/1929) * Smith Ballew (recorded 11/11/1929, and released on Okeh 41304). * The Georgians (recorded 11/22/1929) *Bing Crosby (recorded 9/27/1929, and released on Columbia 2001-D) *Libby Holman (recorded September, 1929 and released on Brunswick 4506). * Sam Wooding & his Chocolate Kiddies (recorded 12/1929) *The Imperial Dance Orchestra (1929) *Al Bowlly with Ray Noble & his Orchestra (recorded 1/16/1931 and released on Decca F2220) ( Al Bowlly Discography) * Frank Sinatra ('' In the Wee Small Hours'' album, 1955) (recorded February 8, 1955, with orchestra conducted by Nelson Riddle) *Illinois Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
