Thursday, September 21, 2017,  1960, 1961, Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented John Entwistle Part One

John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle (9 October 1944 – 27 June 2002) was an English bassist, songwriter, singer, and film and music producer. In a music career that spanned more than 40 years, Entwistle was best known as the original bass guitarist for the English rock band The Who. He was the only member of the band to have formal musical training. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who in 1990.
John Entwistle

Entwistle in 1976
Background information
Birth name
John Alec Entwistle
Also known as
The Ox, Thunderfingers, The Quiet One, Big Johnny Twinkle
Born
9 October 1944
Chiswick, London, England
Died
27 June 2002 (aged 57)
Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Genres
* Rock art rock hard rock power pop
Occupations
* Singer songw...

Thursday, September 21, 2017,  1960, Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Barry White Part One

Barry White
This article is about the American singer, songwriter and record producer. For the US Ambassador to Norway, see Barry B. White.
Barry White (born Barry Eugene Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), was an American singer, songwriter and composer.
Barry White

White at the Grand Gala du Disque Populaire, in 1974.
Background information
Birth name
Barry Eugene Carter
Born
September 12, 1944
Galveston, Texas, United States
Died
July 4, 2003 (aged 58)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres
R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop
Occupations
Singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, musician
Instruments
Piano, harpsichord, keyboards, vocals, drums
Years active
1960–2003
Labels
20th Century, Unlimited Gold, Casablanca, Mercury, Private Musi...

Thursday, September 21, 2017,  Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Ray Davies Part Three

Musicals

Davies “Other People’s Lives” tour Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC 2006
In 1981, Davies collaborated with Barrie Keeffe to write his first stage musical, Chorus Girls, which opened at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, London, starring Marc Sinden and also had a supporting cast of Michael Elphick, Anita Dobson, Kate Williams and Charlotte Cornwell. Directed by Adrian Shergold, the choreography was by Charles Augins and Jim Rodford played bass with the theatre’s “house band”.
Davies wrote songs for a musical version of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days; the show, 80 Days, had a book by playwright Snoo Wilson...

Wednesday, September 20, 2017,  1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Bobbie Gentry Part Two

Stage performances and television work (1968–1981)

Gentry generated a significant fan base in the United Kingdom. In 1968/9 Gentry hosted her own series on BBC-TV in London, which was later widely shown in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and elsewhere. She later signed a million-dollar contract to headline in her own $150,000 nightclub revue in Las Vegas which she produced and choreographed, and for which she wrote and arranged the music. She said,
I write and arrange all the music, design the costumes, do the choreography, the whole thing. I’m completely responsible for it. It’s totally my own from inception to performance...

Wednesday, September 20, 2017,  Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Ray Davies Part Two

Later commercial sound (1976–84)

Ray Davies performing in Toronto, 1977
When the Kinks changed record labels from RCA to Arista in 1976, Davies abandoned his then-recent propensity for ambitious, theatrical concept albums and rock operas—the RCA era (1971–75) had produced Muswell Hillbillies, Everybody’s in Show-Biz, Preservation Act 1 and Act 2, Soap Opera and Schoolboys in Disgrace—and returned to writing more basic, straightforward songs...

Wednesday, September 20, 2017,  1960, 1964, Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Bobbie Gentry Part One

Bobbie Gentry
Roberta Lee Streeter (born July 27, 1944), professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is an American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material. Her songs typically drew on her Mississippi roots to compose vignettes of the Southern United States.
Bobbie Gentry

Gentry in 1970
Background information
Birth name
Roberta Lee Streeter
Born
July 27, 1944 (age 73)
Origin
near Woodland, Mississippi, United States
Genres
Country, pop, soul
Occupations
Singer-songwriter
Instruments
Vocals, guitar
Years active
1964–1981
Labels
Capitol
Associated acts
Glen Campbell
Gentry rose to international fame with her intriguing Southern Gothic narrative “Ode to Billie Joe” in 1967...

Wednesday, September 20, 2017,  1960, 1963, 1964, Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Ray Davies Part One

Ray Davies
For other people named Ray Davies, see Ray Davies (disambiguation).
Sir Raymond Douglas “Ray” Davies, CBE (/ˈdeɪvɪz/ DAY-viz; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave. He has also acted, directed and produced shows for theatre and television.
Sir
Ray Davies
CBE

Davies performing in Toronto, 1977
Background information
Birth name
Raymond Douglas Davies
Born
21 June 1944 (age 73)
Fortis Green, London, England
Genres
Rock, pop
Occupations
Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
Instruments
Vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, piano
Years active
1963–present
Associated acts
The Kinks
Website
www.raydavies.info
Notab...

Tuesday, September 19, 2017,  1960, 1963, Photo, 1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Boz Scaggs

Boz Scaggs

William Royce “Boz” Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a guitarist and occasional lead singer with the Steve Miller Band in the 1960s, and in the 1970s gained fame with several solo Top 20 hit singles in the United States, including the hits “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown” from the critically acclaimed album Silk Degrees (1976), which peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. Scaggs continues to write, record music, and tour.

Boz Scaggs In concert in 2006
Background information
Birth name William Royce Scaggs
Born June 8, 1944 (age 73)
Canton, Ohio, United States
Origin Plano, Texas, United States
Genres Blue-eyed soul, rock, blues rock, soft rock, jazz rock
Occupations Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments Guit...

Tuesday, September 19, 2017,  1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Gladys Knight Part Three

Personal life

Knight has been married four times and has three children. In 1960, she married her high school sweetheart, James Newman. They had one son, James “Jimmy” Newman (1962–1999). She retired from the road to raise their child while the Pips toured on their own. In 1963, after having her only daughter, Kenya, Knight returned to recording with the Pips in order to support her family. In the early 1960s, Gladys, James, and the Pips moved to Detroit, Michigan. Knight and her family lived on Sherbourne in Sherwood Forest, an upscale neighborhood on Detroit’s West Side. She also resided on LaSalle for a time. Her children attended Gesu Catholic Grade School. Newman and Knight divorced in 1973...

Tuesday, September 19, 2017,  1940, 1944, General  No comments

The Talented Patti LaBelle Part Three

Pop culture

LaBelle made some headlines in late 2015 when a vlogger known as James Wright (No Chanel) spoke enthusiastically on YouTube of her brand of sweet potato pies. The video went so viral that one pie was sold every second at Walmart, selling out across the country. She also appeared in two Walmart commercials, one of which was for her sweet potato pie.

Discography

Studio albums
* Patti LaBelle (1977)
* Tasty (1978)
* It’s Alright with Me (1979)
* Released (1980)
* The Spirit’s in It (1981)
* I’m in Love Again (1983)
* Patti (1985)
* Winner in You (1986)
* Be Yourself (1989)
* This Christmas (1990)
* Burnin’ (1991)
* Gems (1994)
* Flame (1997)
* When a Woman Loves (2000)
* Timeless Journey (2004)
* Classic Moments (2005)
* The Gospel According t...