WA2K Radio is now on the air

CHRISTMAS EVE GREETINGS to all a2k listeners .
from " IT'S A SPIKE JONES CHRISTMAS " here is SPIKE with his merrymakers and his whole family playing and singing :



NUTTIN' FOR CHRISTMAS



HAVE A HAPPY ONE !

Ah, hbg, you almost made me smile, buddy. Looks as though I'll be alone this Christmas eve. Hey, Spike, I guess I've been bad as well.

I just learned from C.I. that Oscar Peterson died today. What a fantastic jazz Piano player. Want to listen with me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnrmFMnrxAU

Merry Christmas Eve across the miles, Letty!

Thank you, George. Here's one for all the Roman Catholic folks out there, even the recovering ones. <smile>


"Adeste Fideles (0 Come All Ye Faithful)"

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels!

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels
Sing, in exhaltation
O sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above.

Glory to God -
Glory in the Highest

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

And it is so uplifting to hear it sung.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u3RvSRR-Eg

IN MEMORY OF OSCAR PETERSON







yes , letty , the ranks are getting thinner all the time !

but let's celebrate oscar's life in his own way with ...

Oscar did a lot of good ones, hbg, and thanks for the background, Canada.

Here's a great one that everyone will know, I think. In memory of many.

I've just found joy -
I'm as happy as a baby boy -
When he's playing with a choo-choo toy -
'Cause I'm with my sweet Lorraine.


She's got a pair of eyes -
That are bluer than the summer skies -
When you see them you will realise,
Why I love my sweet Lorraine.

When it's raining I dont miss
the sun -
For it's in my sweeties smile -
Just to think that I'm the lucky
one,
Who's gonna lead her down
the aisle"

Each night I pray -
That nobody steals her heart away -
Just can't wait until that happy day -
When I marry sweet Lorraine.

and guess who is featured, all?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ayQq5AQxF0&feature=related

I recall the first time that I met Craven it was after I did the poem from Emily Dickinson called "This is My Letter to the World."

He was just a kid, then, and I asked if he spoke Portuguese. He did, of course, and then I asked if he knew this song. I sang it on TV way back when.

The Girl From Ipanema
Jobim/Gimbel/DeMoraes
Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah

When she walks, she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ooh

(Ooh) But I watch her so sadly
How can I tell her I love her
Yes I would give my heart gladly
But each day, when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at me

Tall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, I smile - but she doesn't see (doesn't see)
(She just doesn't see, she never sees me,...)

It is as lovely today as it was then, folks. It will be my goodnight song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpmGKbXxaOk

From Letty with love

Achilles' Last Stand

It was an April morning when they told us we should go
As I turn to you, you smiled at me
How could we say no?

With all the fun to have, to live the dreams we always had
Oh, the songs to sing, when we at last return again

Sending off a glancing kiss, to those who claim they know
Below the streets that steam and hiss,
The devil's in his hole

Oh to sail away, To sandy lands and other days
Oh to touch the dream, Hides inside and never seen.

Into the sun the south the north, at last the birds have flown
The shackles of commitment fell, In pieces on the ground

Oh to ride the wind, To tread the air above the din
Oh to laugh aloud, Dancing as we fought the crowd

To seek the man whose pointing hand, The giant step unfolds
With guidance from the curving path, That churns up into stone

If one bell should ring, in celebration for a king
So fast the heart should beat, As proud the head with heavy feet.

Days went by when you and I, bathed in eternal summers glow
As far away and distant, Our mutual child did grow

Oh the sweet refrain, Soothes the soul and calms the pain
Oh Albion remains, sleeping now to rise again

Wandering & wandering, What place to rest the search
The mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth

The mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth
From the earth...

I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way

Oh the mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth.

Led Zeppelin

Good morning, WA2K radio audience.

Welcome back, Rex. What a wonderful song by Led Zepplin, Maine. We all have our achilles tendon, no?

I tried to find Come O Come Emmanuel to play for today, but every version sounded like a dirge. Yikes.

What a surprise to find that Humphrey Bogart was born on this day, folks, so let's hear one from Casablanca and a traditional hymn, ok?

London Boys Singers - Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel

Oh come, Oh come, Emma-a-anuel
And ransom captive I-i-israel
That mourns in lonely e-exile here
Until the Son of Go-o-od appear-ear-ear
Rejoice, rejoice! Emma-a-anuel
Shall come to thee, Oh I-i-israel

Oh come, Thou Rod of Je-e-esse
Free thine own from Satan's tyr-yr-yranny
From depths of hell Thy peo-eople save
And give them victory o-o-o'er the grave
Rejoice, rejoice! Emma-a-anuel
Shall come to thee, Oh I-i-israel

Oh come, Thou Dayspring, co-o-ome and cheer
Our spirits by Thine a-a-advent here
Disperse the gloomy clou-ouds of night
And death's dark shadows pu-u-ut to fli-i-ight
Rejoice, rejoice! Emma-a-anuel
Shall come to thee, Oh I-i-israel

Oh come, Thou Key of Da-a-avid
Come and open wide our hea-eavenly home
Make safe the way that lea-eads on high
And close the path to mi-i-isery
Rejoice, rejoice! Emma-a-anuel
Shall come to thee, Oh I-i-israel

Oh come, Oh come, Thou Lor-or-ord of Might
Who to Thy tribes, on Si-i-inai's height
In ancient times did gi-ive the law
In cloud, and majesty-y-y and awe
Rejoice, rejoice! Emma-a-anuel
Shall come to thee, Oh I-i-israaaeeeel

You must remember this
A kiss is still a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by

And when two lovers woo
They still say, "I love you."
On this you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by

Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
On this you can deny

It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by

"Here's lookin' at you, kid."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_bMFVDu9yo

Breaking news

Renewed peace brings pilgrims to Bethlehem:
For the first time in years, a cheerful Christmas in the town of Jesus' birth

Christian pilgrims wait Monday to enter the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by many to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem.

and, folks, the rest of the story

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22387399/

How "Merry Christmas" is said .....

Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees
Afrikander: Een Plesierige Kerfees
African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats
Albanian:Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic: Milad Majid
Argentine: Feliz Navidad
Armenian: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal
Basque: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali: Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian: Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian: Feliz Natal
Breton: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat
Bulgarian: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo
Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile: Feliz Navidad
Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Choctaw: Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian: Pace e salute
Crazanian: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian: Sretan Bozic
Czech: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish: Glædelig Jul
Duri: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
English: Merry Christmas
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto: Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian: Ruumsaid juulup|hi
Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal
Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish: Hyvaa joulua
Flemish: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French: Joyeux Noel
Frisian: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician: Bo Nada
Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri'cho o Rish D'Shato Brichto
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew: Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi: Shub Naya Baras
Hausa: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaian: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic: Gledileg Jol
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.
Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Lao: souksan van Christmas
Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian: Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian:Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian: Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Macedonian: Sreken Bozhik
Maltese: IL-Milied It-tajjeb
Manx: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo: Merry Keshmish
Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento: Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Pennsylvania German: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!
Peru: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines: Maligayan Pasko!
Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:Feliz Natal
Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha
Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua
Rhetian: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Rumanian: Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Serbian: Hristos se rodi
Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Sami: Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serbian: Hristos se rodi.
Singhalese: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene: Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto
Spanish: Feliz Navidad
Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tami: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian: Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM
Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh: Nadolig Llawen
Yoruba: E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!

Cab Calloway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Background information

Birth name Cabell Calloway III
Born December 25, 1907(1907-12-25) in Rochester, New York
Died November 18, 1994 (aged 86)
Genre(s) Swing, Big band
Occupation(s) Bandleader, Musician
Instrument(s) Singer
Website http://www.cabcallowayllc.com

Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907-November 18, 1994) was a famous African American jazz singer and bandleader. Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States' most popular African American big bands from the start of the 1930s through the late 1940s. Calloway's Orchestra featured performers that included trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon "Chu" Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.




Biography

Early years

Calloway was born Cabell Calloway III in a middle-class family in Rochester, New York, and lived there until 1918, on Sycamore Street. He was later raised in Baltimore, Maryland. His father, Cabell Calloway II, was a lawyer, and his mother, Martha Eulalia Reed, was a teacher and church organist. His parents recognized their son's musical talent, and he began private voice lessons in 1922. He continued to study music and voice throughout his formal schooling. Despite his parents' and vocal teachers' disapproval of jazz, Calloway began frequenting and eventually performing in many of Baltimore's jazz clubs, where he was mentored by drummer Chick Webb and pianist Johnny Jones.

After graduating from high school Cab joined his older sister, Blanche, in a touring production of the popular black musical revue Plantation Days (Blanche Calloway herself would become an accomplished bandleader before her brother did, and Cab would often credit his inspiration to enter show business to her). Cab attended Lincoln University, PA , and left in 1930 without graduating.

When the tour ended in Chicago in the fall, Cab decided to remain in Chicago with his sister, who had an established career as a jazz singer in that city. His parents had hopes of their son becoming a lawyer like his father, so Calloway enrolled in Crane College.

His main interest, however, was in singing and entertaining, and he spent most of his nights at the Dreamland Cafe the Sunset Cafe and the Club Berlin, performing as a drummer, singer and emcee.

At the Sunset Cafe he met and performed with Louis Armstrong who taught him to sing in the "scat" style.


Success


The Cotton Club was the premier jazz venue in the country, and Cab Calloway and his Orchestra (he had taken over a brilliant but failing band called "The Missourians" in 1930) were hired as a replacement for the Duke Ellington Orchestra while they were touring. (There is some speculation that Mafia pressure was responsible for Cab's hiring.)[citation needed] Calloway quickly proved so popular that his band became the "co-house" band with Ellington's, and Cab and his group began touring nationwide when not playing the Cotton Club. Their popularity was greatly enhanced by the twice-weekly live national radio broadcasts on NBC at the Cotton Club. Calloway also appeared on Walter Winchell's radio program and with Bing Crosby in his show at the Paramount Theatre. As a result of these appearances, Calloway, together with Ellington, broke the major broadcast network color barrier.

Unlike many other bands of comparable commercial success, Calloway's gave ample soloing space to its lead members, and, through the varied arrangements of Walter 'Foots' Thomas, provided much more in the way of musical interest.

In 1931, he recorded his most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher". That song, "St. James Infirmary Blues", and "The Old Man Of The Mountain" were performed for the Betty Boop animated shorts Minnie the Moocher, Snow White and The Old Man of the Mountain, respectively. Through rotoscoping, Cab not only gave his voice to these cartoons but his dance steps as well. Cab took advantage of this and timed his concerts in some communities with the release of the films in order to make the most of the attention. As a result of the success of "Minnie the Moocher" he became identified with its chorus, gaining the nickname "The Hi De Ho Man." In 1943 he appeared in the high-profile 20th Century Fox musical film, Stormy Weather.

In 1941 Cab Calloway fired Dizzy Gillespie from his Orchestra after an onstage fracas erupted when Calloway was hit with spitballs. He wrongly accused Gillespie, who stabbed Calloway in the leg with a small knife.

In 1944, The New Cab Calloway's Hepsters Dictionary: Language of Jive was published, an update of an earlier book in which Cab set about translating jive for fans who might not know, for example, that "kicking the gong around" was a reference to smoking opium.


Later years

In the 1950s, Calloway moved his family from Long Island, NY, to Greenburgh, NY to raise the three youngest of his five daughters.

In his later career, Calloway became a popular personality, appearing in a number of films and stage productions that utilized both his acting and singing talents. In 1952, he played the prominent role of "Sportin' Life" in a production of the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess with William Warfield and Leontyne Price as the title characters. Another notable role was "Yeller" in The Cincinnati Kid (1965), with Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret and Edward G. Robinson.


In 1967 Calloway co-starred as Horace Vandergelder in an all-black revival of Hello, Dolly! (even though the original production was still running!) starring Pearl Bailey. This was a major success and led to a cast recording released by RCA. In 1973-1974 he was featured in an unsuccessful Broadway revival of The Pajama Game alongside Hal Linden and Barbara McNair.

1976 saw the release of his autobiography, Of Minnie The Moocher And Me (Crowell). It included his complete Hepsters Dictionary as an appendix.

Calloway attracted renewed interest in 1980 when he appeared as a supporting character in the film The Blues Brothers, performing "Minnie The Moocher", and again when he sang "The Jumpin' Jive" with the Two-Headed Monster on Sesame Street. This was also the year cult movie Forbidden Zone was released, which included rearrangements and parodies of Cab Calloway songs written by Danny Elfman, a Calloway fan.

Calloway helped establish the Cab Calloway Museum at Coppin State College (Baltimore, Maryland) in the 1980s and Bill Cosby helped establish a scholarship in Cab Calloway's name at the New School of Social Research New York City. In 1994, a creative and performing arts school Cab Calloway School of the Arts was dedicated in his name in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1986, Calloway appeared at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s WrestleMania 2 as a guest judge for a boxing match between Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T that took place Nassau Coliseum and in 1990 made a cameo in Janet Jackson's video for "Alright". In the United Kingdom he also appeared in several commercials for the Hula Hoops snack, both as himself and as a voice for a cartoon (in one of these commercials he sang his hit "Minnie The Moocher"). He also made an appearance at the Apollo Theater.


Death

On November 18, 1994, Calloway died after having suffered a major stroke six months earlier. In 1998, The Cab Calloway Orchestra (directed by Cab's grandson C. "CB" Calloway Brooks [1]) was formed to honor Cab Calloway's legacy on the national and international levels.

Tony Martin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Alvin Morris
Born December 25, 1912 (1912-12-25) (age 95)
Oakland, California, United States
Genre(s) Big band music, Traditional Pop
Years active 1930s-1950s
Label(s) Decca, Mercury, RCA Victor

Tony Martin (born December 25, 1912) is an American actor and traditional pop singer.

Martin was born Alvin Morris in Oakland, California to Jewish immigrants from Poland. He received a soprano saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an instrumentalist and a boy soprano singer. He formed his first band, named "The Red Peppers," when he was at Oakland Technical High School, eventually joining the band of a local orchestra leader, Tom Gerun, as a reed instrument specialist, sitting alongside the future bandleader Woody Herman. He attended Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga during the mid-1930s. After college, he left Gerun's band to go to Hollywood to try his luck in films. It was at that time that he adopted the stage name, Tony Martin.

He was a featured vocalist on the George Burns and Gracie Allen radio program. On the show Gracie Allen playfully flirted with Tony, often threatening to fire him. She'd say things like "Oh Tony you look so tired, why don't you rest your lips on mine." In the movies, he was first cast in a number of bit parts, including a role as a sailor in the movie Follow the Fleet (1936), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. He eventually signed with 20th Century-Fox and then Metro Goldwyn Mayer in which he starred in a number of musicals. At the same time, between 1938 and 1942, he made a number of hit records for Decca.

In World War II, he first joined the United States Navy, but as a result of rumors (without any factual basis) that he had gotten an officer's commission through bribery he left the navy and joined the United States Army Air Forces. Though he had an outstanding record in the military, the rumors hurt his professional reputation and the major record labels refused to sign him. He eventually signed with Mercury Records, then a small independent run out of Chicago, Illinois. He cut 25 records in 1946 and 1947 for Mercury, including a 1946 recording of "To Each His Own" which became a million-seller. This prompted RCA Victor records to offer him a contract, which he signed in 1947 after satisfying his contract obligations to Mercury.

In 1937 he married Alice Faye, and in 1941 they were divorced. Martin has been married since 1948 to Cyd Charisse, almost a Hollywood record for marital success. They have one son together - Tony Martin Jr., born in 1950.

He appeared in many film musicals in the 1940s and 1950s. His rendition of "Lover Come Back To Me" with Joan Weldon in Deep in My Heart - based on the music of Sigmund Romberg and starring José Ferrer - was one of the highlights of Hollywood musicals.

Barbara Mandrell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Barbara Ann Mandrell
Also known as The Princess of Steel
Born December 25, 1948 (1948-12-25) (age 58)
Origin Houston, Texas
Genre(s) Country, Country-Pop, Adult Contemp.
Occupation(s) Singer, Songwriter, Actress
Years active 1969 - present
Label(s) Columbia Records
ABC/Dot Records
MCA Records
Capitol Records
Universal Records
Associated
acts Louise Mandrell, David Houston, Lee Greenwood, Lynn Anderson, Dottie West, Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle, Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbitt
Website Barbara Mandrell Official Site

Barbara Mandrell (born Barbara Ann Mandrell on December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer. She is best-known for a series of Top 10 hits from the late 1970s that helped her become one of country music's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s.

Thanks to a string of hit singles and a popular television variety series, Mandrell was arguably the biggest female star in country music in the late '70s and early '80s.[1] She is one of the few females in country music to win the "Entertainer of the Year" award, and she has also won the Country Music Association's "Female Vocalist of the Year" twice.




Biography & career

Early life & rise to fame

Born the oldest daughter into a musical family in Houston, TX, on Christmas Day, 1948, Mandrell was already reading music and playing accordion by the age of five. Just six years later, she was so adept at playing the steel guitar that her father escorted her to a music trade convention in Chicago, where her talents caught the attention of Chet Atkins and Joe Maphis. Soon after, she was a featured performer in Maphis' Las Vegas nightclub show, followed by television performances and tours with Red Foley, Johnny Cash, and Tex Ritter. [2]

While growing up, she was taught the steel guitar and many other instruments, including the accordion, saxophone and banjo. She even played steel guitar for the legendary Patsy Cline. Cline once wrote to a friend in a letter that Mandrell was "a 13 year old blonde doll that plays the steel guitar out of this world! What a show woman!" Mandrell toured as a 13 year old with Cline, Johnny Cash and George Jones. She also played guitar for Joe Maphis in Las Vegas and even on the Town Hall Party show. A couple of years later, Barbara and her sisters, as well as her parents founded the Mandrell Family Band. With this, they toured all over the United States and Asia. The drummer in the band, Ken Dudney became Mandrell's husband shortly after she finished high school.

Later, Dudney enlisted in the Navy, serving as a pilot, and was sent overseas. Mandrell decided that she would become a country singer and moved to Nashville. Her father was now her manager and with his help, she signed on with Columbia Records in 1969. Over the next couple of years, Mandrell had a few minor hits. This was only showing the potential Barbara had inside of her to become successful. Her producer at the time was Billy Sherrill, who was known for producing other well-known singers in Country music like Tammy Wynette, Charlie Rich and Tanya Tucker.


1969 - 1974: Country success

Within 48 hours of a nightclub appearance near the Grand Ole Opry, she received offers for recording contracts from six record companies. In 1969, she signed with CBS Records, and emerged on the record charts with Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long", unveiling a "blue-eyed soul" style that garnered instant radio airplay. She recorded a collection of country hit singles, including her first No. 1 hit, "Midnight Oil". Today, that record is regarded as a major breakthrough in female country music because of its drama and startling frankness [3]

While under Columbia records, Mandrell worked with legendary Country producer, Billy Sherrill, who also produced Charlie Rich and Tammy Wynette. Under Sherrill's direction, Mandrell recorded a lot of Country-Soul material, which really never gained her widespread success, however, she did have hits within the Country Top 40, which would occasionally yield Top 10 hits, like 1971's "Tonight My Baby's Comin' Home", or 1970's "After Closing Time" (a duet with David Houston). Her records barely sold under Columbia. Sherrill later said in the book, How Nashville Became Music City, that he was contiually asked every year by the other Columbia executives why he was keeping Barbara Mandrell because she wasn't selling any records. Sherrill kept Mandrell under their label until 1975.


1975 - 1989: Country-pop

In 1975, she switched to ABC/Dot Records (purchased by MCA Records in 1978). Her first release on that label, "Standing Room Only". Another one of her first hits to reach the top of the country charts was the bubbly "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed". Ther record became a cross-over hit on the pop charts--a forecast of the direction many of her recordings would take. As he 70's drew to a close, Mandrell's style gravitated to a country version of rhythm and blues, and she topped the charts with touchy tunes like "Woman to Woman", "Married But Not to Each Other", "Years", and "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)". She recorded 18 hit albums for MCA Records before moving to Capitol Records in 1986 where she released 6 recordings. [4]

During the 1980s Mandrell had more hits, including "Crackers" and "Wish You Were Here," but perhaps more importantly, in terms of gaining exposure, she started off the decade by starring in her own television variety show, supported on screen by her two sisters, Louise and Irlene, who were also talented on a wide variety of instruments. [5] The show, "Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters," fared extremely well for a variety program, and lasted two seasons. Possibly the increased recognition Mandrell received from being seen by millions of television viewers helped her garner six consecutive People's Choice Awards for Favorite All-Around Female Entertainer during the span from 1982 to 1987. [6]

In 1980 Barbara won the Entertainer of the Year Award from the Country Music Association and won it again in 1981. This was unprecedented as in the several years prior to her, it was understood that it only went to an artist once - but she nabbed it a 2nd year in a row with her non-stop touring, hit records, and popular TV show. This began the huge array of awards and accolades she would win: several CMA, ACM, and MCN awards, 7 American Music Awards, and 9 People's Choice, making her one of the most awarded country acts in history.

During the peak of the Urban Cowboy movement in Country music in 1981, Mandrell released, "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool", a song that is considered her "anthem" or signature song today. The song reached the No. 1 spot on the Country charts in 1981, and the live version of the song (featuring George Jones) is the best-known version. The album the song was put on, Barbara Mandrell Live was one of her biggest-selling albums, certified "Gold" by the RIAA that year.

A collection of duets with Lee Greenwood, Made for Each Other, followed in 1984. Tragedy struck later in the year, however, when Mandrell and two of her children were involved in a nightmarish head-on car crash that left the other driver dead. Though Mandrell and her kids survived, all three faced a long period of recovery. When she finally returned to performing a year later, the country music landscape had changed dramatically, with the "new traditionalist" movement gaining dominance while the glitzier, more pop-influenced music Mandrell favored began falling out of favor. As the 1980s became the 1990s, she began focusing almost exclusively on live performing, where she remained a significant draw. [7]

In 1984, at the height of her popularity Barbara opened a fan-based attraction across from the Country Music Hall of Fame in the heart of music row in Nashville called Barbara Mandrell Country. This museum was to remain a strong tourist attraction for the next decade as it chronicled the life & times of Barbara Mandrell's incredible career.


1984: Motor accident

On the evening of September 11, 1984, Barbara had a major brush with death when a young driver's car drifted across the center line of a street in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and crashed head-on with Barbara's car. Both cars were demolished, and the other driver was killed. Barbara suffered a severe head injury, a broken right leg, broken right ankle, damaged right knee and various cuts and bruises. Her son, Matt and daughter Jaime also suffered injuries. Only minutes before the crash, for some fateful reason, Barbara had suggested that Matt, Jaime and she buckle up. Until that moment, Barbara confesses she had not been a seatbelt user. The accident had brought her skyrocketing career to an abrupt halt. There were months and months of physical pain and mental anguish. Many painful hours were spent in physical therapy. Barbara's head injury was so severe, she has no memory for 2 weeks after the accident. It took well over 2 years for Barbara to recuperate enough to perform again. Barbara debuted her first live performance since the September 1984 accident at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles on February 28, 1986. Now a confirmed seatbelt advocate, she has completed a national Public Service Announcement available on audio, video and poster, strongly urging the public to "Please, buckle up. You may never get a second chance". [8]

On a side note, during the recuperation period, Ms. Mandrell was unable to work and therefore needed to collect on her insurance to pay for medical bills, and to keep her band paid. Ms. Mandrell was informed that under Tennessee law, she had to sue the estate of the other driver in order to collect. It went misunderstood for years - until she was allowed to clarify in 1990 on the The Oprah Winfrey Show. Barbara said she never planned to take a penny from the family of the other driver, who was killed in the accident. Instead, she hoped to collect on the insurance to which she paid such high premiums. But there was a huge immediate backlash, from which she never quite recovered.


1990 - present: Career today

In 1997 she shocked all of her fans by stating she was leaving her Country music career and moving more into her acting career. She held her last concert at the Grand Ole Opry in October 1997, and it was televised on TNN to huge ratings. The title of the show was "The Last Dance." However, despite having retired from the business, she still remains a member of the Grand Ole Opry to this day.

In the middle of 1997 and the beginning of 1998, Barbara had a short recurring role as Alex Mitchum in NBC daytime drama Sunset Beach. Barbara starred in the made-for-TV movie, The Wrong Girl. She followed that success up with 2000's Stolen From the Heart. Barbara also continued her work in episodic television appearances. In October 1999 she was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame with fellow artist, Andy Griffith, Loretta Lynn, Gary S. Paxton, David L Cook, Lulu Roman and Jimmy Snow. [1]

On October 17, 2006 Barbara was honored with the release of a new tribute album titled She Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool: A Tribute To Barbara Mandrell on BNA Records. The album debuted on Billboard's Country Album's chart at an impressive #25. This was on the strength of its featured artists (Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, LeAnn Rimes, Brad Paisley and Gretchen Wilson) and Barbara's strong fan base. GAC (Great American Country channel) had several specials throughout October to promote the album. Barbara even hosted the Grand Ole Opry live on October 28, where several of the artists on the album sang many of her classics.

On November 6, 2006, Barbara made an appearance on the 40th Annual CMA Awards. She presented the same award she won 2 consecutive years, Entertainer of the Year, to Kenny Chesney to close the show. Barbara is also the first country artist (and the only woman) to ever win the CMA Entertainer of the Year Award 2 years in a row -- she received those accolades in 1980 and 1981.

Time Life has recently released a DVD collection called The Best of Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters on May 1, 2007, and that features over 40 guest musical performances including Country superstars Johnny Cash, Alabama, Marty Robbins, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, The Statler Brothers, Ray Charles, John Schneider, Glen Campbell and many more, as well as comedy legends such as Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller and Andy Kaufman. Fans of the original series have been critical of the DVD release, since it cuts out many of the song and dance routines, opening numbers, as well as the sketch comedy that rounded out the series.

Mandrell, along with Vince Gill and Rodney Crowell, was awarded a star on Nashville's WALK OF FAME on Monday, Nov. 5th, 2007.


Acting

In 1980, the TV program Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters premiered on NBC. In addition to hosts Barbara, Louise, and Irlene Mandrell, the show featured musical guests and comedy sketches. Each broadcast also closed with a gospel song, and in 1982 Mandrell released her own inspirational album, He Set My Life to Music. As a result of her busy schedule, she began suffering from vocal strain, and on doctor's orders pulled the plug on the television program in 1982. In 1983, she premiered The Lady Is a Champ, a Las Vegas stage show. [9]

Barbara also focused more on acting. Barbara had the starring role in "Burning Rage" alongside Tom Wopat in 1984 just prior to her car accident. Later, she also had starring guest roles on hit shows such as "Empty Nest", "Diagnosis: Murder", Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Commish, Baywatch, and Walker, Texas Ranger. She even had a recurring featured role in the late 90's on Aaron Spelling's daytime drama, Sunset Beach. Many of these performances can be caught on late-night television or on the DVD box sets of the respective shows. In 1990, she wrote an autobiography called Get to the Heart: My Story, which was a New York Times Bestseller for over 3 months, and in 1997 became a highly rated CBS TV movie of the week starring Maureen McCormick (Marcia on "The Brady Bunch). Barbara faithfully made the talk show rounds to promote her autobiography on shows such as "Sally Jesse Raphaël", "Geraldo", and The Oprah Winfrey Show - whom she shared the "Woman of the World" honor with in 1992. In primetime, she sat on the couches of the "Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson", Ralph Emery's Nashville Now, and she even "rapped" during one of her 3 memorable "Arsenio" visits.


Personal life

Mandrell's daughter Jaime Dudney was Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1993 and placed in the semi-finals at Miss Teen USA 1993. Jaime was Miss Golden Globe in 1996, following a long line of tradition where one son and one daughter of famous parents present the Golden statues. Following this, Jaime played her Aunt Irlene in "Get to the Heart (The Barbara Mandrell Story)" and was seen on the long running CBS daytime drama, As The World Turns, from June 1998 - January 2000.

Sissy Spacek
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Mary Elizabeth Spacek
Born December 25, 1949 (1949-12-25) (age 58)
Quitman, Texas
Spouse(s) Jack Fisk (1974-)
[show]Awards
Academy Awards
Best Actress
1980 Coal Miner's Daughter
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1981 Coal Miner's Daughter
1987 Crimes of the Heart
Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2002 In the Bedroom

Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (born December 25, 1949) is an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer.




Biography

Early life

Spacek was born in Quitman, Texas, the daughter of Virginia Frances (née Spilman) and Edwin Arnold Spacek, Sr., a county agricultural agent.[1] Her paternal grandparents, Mary Cervenka and Arnold A. Spacek (who served as Mayor of Granger, Texas in Williamson County), were of Moravian/Czech/Bohemian descent.[2] Spacek's mother was from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Spacek was given the nickname Sissy by her older brothers. She was greatly affected by the death of her eighteen-year old brother, Robbie, in 1967. Spacek decided life was too short to waste in college and moved to New York City to pursue acting.


Career

Spacek started out as a country singer, recording one single ("John, You Went Too Far This Time", about John Lennon) under the name "Rainbo". With the help of her cousin, actor Rip Torn, she was able to enroll in Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City. Her first credited role was in the 1972 movie Prime Cut, in which she played a young woman sold into sexual slavery. The first role that brought her notice was the 1973 film Badlands, where she met art director Jack Fisk, whom she would later marry.

Her breakout role was in 1976's Carrie, in which she played the title character, an unpopular and emotionally troubled teenager with telekinetic powers. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in the film. She won the Oscar in 1980 for Coal Miner's Daughter, in which she played country music star Loretta Lynn.

She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for her singing on that film's soundtrack album. She made a comeback of sorts in 2001 when she starred as Ruth Fowler in In the Bedroom, winning extraordinary praise and garnering the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Awards for Best Actress. She also put out a much sought after country album in the 80's. It has never been put on cd.


Personal life

Spacek married production designer Jack Fisk in 1974. They have two daughters; Schuyler Elizabeth and Madison Fisk. Schuyler Fisk has appeared in several starring film roles. Spacek and her family live on a horse ranch near the city of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is also an ardent crusader for women's rights.

Some reasons why the English language is hard to learn...



The bandage was wound around the wound.

The farm was used to produce produce.

The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse

We must polish the Polish furniture.

He could lead if he would get the lead out.

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

I did not object to the object.

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

They were too close to the door to close it.

The buck does funny things when the does are present.

A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

After a number of injections my jaw got number.

Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Thanks once again for the bio's and proof why English is the third most difficult language in the world.

Both Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong did this one, folks.

Folks, I'm goin' down to St. James Infirmary,
See my baby there;
She's stretched out on a long, white table,
She's so sweet, so cold, so fair.

Let her go, let her go, God bless her,
Wherever she may be,
She will search this wide world over,
But she'll never find another sweet man like me.

Now, when I die, bury me in my straight-leg britches,
Put on a box-back coat and a stetson hat,
Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain,
So you can let all the boys know I died standing pat.

Folks, now that you have heard my story,
Say, boy, hand me another shot of that booze;
If anyone should ask you,
Tell 'em I've got those St. James Infirmary blues.

Merry Christmas, radio land. It's snowing here in Denver. Keep them melodies coming.

Denver, edgar? Well, buddy, I guess you got your white Christmas after all.

Incidentally, this is now Colorado's state song by none other than that Denver man himself, John.

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin home to a place he'd never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hangin by a song
But the strings already broken and he doesn't really care
It keeps changin fast and it don't last for long

But the colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky mountain high (high colorado) rocky mountain high (high colorado)

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say he got crazy once, and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept his memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky mountain high (high colorado) rocky mountain high (high colorado)

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

And the colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky mountain high

Its a colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
Friends around the campfire and everybodys high
Rocky mountain high (high colorado) rocky mountain high (high colorado)
Rocky mountain high (high colorado) rocky mountain high do de do