My word, folks. I just realized that "Bad Moon Rising" is about lycanthropy.
George, welcome back, buddy, and I really like Polk Salad Annie. Those type songs need to be revisited once in a while, right?
Hey, edgar. Crawfish is a tiny little lobster looking thing, as I recall. Used to fish with their tails, but we called them crawdads I think. Need to check that out. Thanks, Texas.
Dutchy, I recall that song "Gone Fishin'". Our fishin' fishes with flys, however.
edgar, just as Julian is John's son, the other Julian is Bob Marley's son. Loved your song by the son of, Texas. Thanks!
Wow! Dutchy that reggae mix was fabulous, especially "Oh, Baby it's a Wild World", and "Bad Boy." hbg calls it toe tappin', but in my case it's heel tappin'. Thanks, down under man.
Well, today is Charlie Watts birthday, so let's hear one by him, shall we?
Johnny Weissmuller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Peter Johann Weissmüller
June 2, 1904(1904-06-02)
Timisoara, Romania
Died January 20, 1984 (aged 79)
Acapulco, Mexico
Spouse(s) Maria Brock Mandell Bauman
(1963-1984)
Ailene Gates
(1948-1962)
Beryl Scott
(1939-1948)
Lupe Vélez
(1933-1939)
Bobbe Arnst
(1931-1933)
Camilla Louiee
(? - ?)
Johnny Weissmuller (June 2, 1904 - January 20, 1984) was an American swimmer and actor who was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. After his swimming career, he became the sixth actor to portray Tarzan in films, a role he played in twelve motion pictures. Dozens of other actors have also played Tarzan, but Weissmuller is by far the best known. His character's distinctive, ululating Tarzan yell is still often used in films.
Early life
He was registered as Peter Johann Weissmüller, baptized as János Weissmüller. Some sources cite his birthplace as Jászalsószentgyörgy in central Hungary but other as Freidorf (now a district of Timişoara, Romania), then a part of Austria-Hungary[1][2][3], whereas, according to other sources [4][5], he was born in the village of Pardanj (today Međa), in Austria-Hungary (today Serbia, near the Romanian border). He was the son of German-speaking parents of Roman Catholic Petrus Weißmüller and Elisabeth Kersch, according to his birth and (Catholic) baptismal records.
It has been claimed that he was actually named Peter by his parents, but when he arrived in the US he used his brother's name, Johnny, because it was more American. However, János [Hungarian equivalent of Johannes], son of Peter Weissmuller and Elizabeth Kersch, had been baptized 6 May 1904 at St Rochus Church in Freidorf. This matches the names of his parents given in his autobiography. The passenger manifest of the "Rotterdam", which arrived in New York on 26 Jan 1905, lists Peter Weissmuller, a 29yo laborer, his 24yo wife El--iabeth (unclear), and 7mo Johann, The family is listed as Hungarian Germans, last residence: Szabadfalu (Hungarian equivalent of Freidorf) . They are going to join bril [brother-in-law] Johann Ott of Windber, Pa. On 5 Nov 1905, Johann Peter Weissmuller was baptized at St John Cantius Church in Windber. In the 1910 census, Peter and Elizabeth Weisenmuller as well as John and Eva Ott were living at 1521 Cleveland Ave in the 22nd Ward of Chicago, with sons John, age 6, born in "Hun-German" and Peter Jr, age 5, born in Illinois. Peter Weissmuler and John Ott were both brewers, Ott immigrating in 1902, Weismuller in 1904.
The group known as Banat Swabians - ethnic Germans who had lived for centuries in that beautiful region and developed a distinctive dialect and cultural traits of their own - counts Weissmuller as one of its most well-known sons. When Johnny was seven months old, the family emigrated to the United States aboard the S.S. Rotterdam as steerage passengers. They left Rotterdam on January 14, 1905, and arrived at Ellis Island in New York harbor twelve days later as Peter, Elisabeth and Johann Weissmuller. The passenger lists records them as ethnic Germans and citizens of Hungary. After a brief stay in Chicago, visiting relatives, they moved to the coal mining town of Windber, Pennsylvania. (For most of Weissmuller's career, show business biographies incorrectly listed him as having been born in Pennsylvania. Some sources state that Weissmuller lied about his birthplace in order to ensure his place in the U.S. Olympic swimming team.) Peter Weissmuller worked as a miner, and his youngest son, Peter Weissmuller, Jr., was born in Windber on September 3, 1905. Peter Jr is listed on one census as born in Illinois.
After several years in Western Pennsylvania, they moved to Chicago. Johnny's father owned a bar for a time and his mother became head cook at a famed restaurant. His father worked as a brewer for the United States brewery in Chicago. His parents were later divorced, as is shown by the divorce document filed in Chicago by Elizabeth Weissmuller, although a lot of sources state incorrectly that Weissmuller's father died of tuberculosis contracted from working in coal mines and left her a widow. Peter actually lived to old age and had sired another large family. By 1930 he had married his second wife, Anna, with whom he had a son named Edward and a daughter Ruth, and a grandson named Peter. Elizabeth Weissmuller appears with her sons on the Cook County census claiming to be a widow.[citation needed]
From an early age, Johnny and his brother were aggressive swimmers. The beaches of Lake Michigan became their favorite summer recreation place. He then joined the Stanton Park pool, where he won all the junior swim meets. At the age of twelve he earned a spot on the YMCA swim team.[citation needed]
Swimming career
Medal record
Olympic Games
Competitor for United States
Men's swimming
Gold 1924 Paris 100 m freestyle
Gold 1924 Paris 400 m freestyle
Gold 1924 Paris 800 m freestyle relay
Gold 1928 Amsterdam 100 m freestyle
Gold 1928 Amsterdam 800 m freestyle relay
Men's water polo
Bronze 1924 Paris Team
When Weissmuller left school, he worked as a bellhop and elevator operator at the Plaza Hotel in Chicago and trained for the Olympics with swim coach William Bachrach at the Illinois Athletic Club, where he developed his revolutionary high-riding front crawl. He made his amateur debut on August 6, 1921, winning his first AAU race in the 50-yard freestyle.
Though he was foreign-born, Weissmuller gave his birthplace as Tanneryville, Pennsylvania, and his birth date as that of his younger brother, Peter Weissmuller. This was to ensure his eligibility to compete as part of the United States Olympic team, and was a critical issue in being issued an American passport.
On July 9, 1922, Weissmuller broke Duke Kahanamoku's world record on the 100-meters freestyle, swimming it in 58.6 seconds. He won the title in that distance at the 1924 Summer Olympics, beating Kahanamoku on February 24, 1924.[citation needed] He also won the 400-meters freestyle and the 4 x 200 meters relay. As a member of the American water polo team, he also won a bronze medal. Four years later, at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, he won another two Olympic titles.
In all, he won five Olympic gold medals, one bronze medal, won fifty-two U.S. National Championships and set sixty-seven world records. Johnny Weissmuller never lost a race and retired from his amateur swimming career undefeated.
Motion picture career
In 1929, Weissmuller signed a contract with BVD to be a model and representative. He traveled throughout the country doing swim shows, handing out leaflets promoting that brand of swimwear, giving his autograph and going on talk shows. In that same year, he made his first motion picture appearance as an Adonis wearing only a figleaf in a movie titled Glorifying the American Girl and he appeared as himself in the first of several Crystal Champions, a movie short featuring Weissmuller and other Olympic champions at Silver Springs, Florida.
His career really began when he signed a seven year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and played the role of Tarzan in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). The movie was a huge success and the 6'3" Weissmuller became an overnight international sensation. Even the author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, who created the character of Tarzan in his books, was pleased with Weissmuller himself, although he hated the studio's decision to present Tarzan as barely speaking English so much that he created his own concurrent Tarzan series filmed on location in Central American jungles and starring Herman Brix as a suitably articulate version of his character.
Weissmuller starred in six Tarzan movies for MGM with actress Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane and Cheeta the Chimpanzee. The last three also included Johnny Sheffield as Boy. Then, in 1942, Weissmuller went to RKO and starred in six more Tarzan movies with markedly reduced production values. Unlike MGM, RKO allowed Weissmuller to play other roles, though a three picture contract with Pine-Thomas Productions led to only one film being made, Swamp Fire with Buster Crabbe. Sheffield appeared as Boy in the first five features for RKO. Another co-star was Brenda Joyce, who played Jane in Weissmuller's last four Tarzan movies. In a total of twelve Tarzan films, Weissmuller earned an estimated $2,000,000 and established himself as the best-known of all the actors who have ever portrayed Tarzan. Although not the first Tarzan in movies (that honour went to Elmo Lincoln), he was the first to be associated with the now traditional ululating, yodeling Tarzan yell. (During an appearance on television's Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s, Weissmuller explained how the famous yell was created. Recordings of three vocalists were spliced together to get the effect - a soprano, an alto, and a hog caller!)
When he finally left that role, he immediately traded his loincloth costume for a slouch hat and safari for the role of Jungle Jim (1948) for Columbia. He made thirteen Jungle Jim movies between (1948) and (1954). Within the next year, he appeared in three more jungle movies playing himself as Screen Gems had the right to the name for their television series.
In 1955, he began production of the Jungle Jim television adventure series for Screen Gems, a film subsidiary of Columbia. The show ran for twenty-six episodes, which played over and over on network and syndicated TV for many years.
Aside from a first screen appearance as Adonis, Weissmuller only played three roles in films: Tarzan, Jungle Jim, and himself, which is astonishing when one considers that he made more than thirty films over a twenty-four year span.
According to David Wallechinsky's Complete Book of the Olympics, Weissmuller was playing in a celebrity golf tournament in 1958 when his golf cart was suddenly captured by rebel soldiers. Weissmuller sized up the situation, got out of the cart and gave his trademark Tarzan yell. The shocked rebels soon began to jump up and down, calling "Tarzan! Welcome to Cuba!" Johnny and his companions were not only not kidnapped, but were given a rebel escort to the golf course.
He had five wives: band and club singer Bobbe Arnst (married 1931-divorced 1933); actress Lupe Vélez (married 1933-divorced 1939); Beryl Scott (married 1939 - divorced 1948); Allene Gates (married 1948 - divorced 1962); and Maria Bauman (married 1963 - his death 1984).
With his third wife, Beryl, he had three children, Johnny Weissmuller, Jr. (b. September 23, 1940 - d. July 27, 2006), Wendy Anne Weissmuller (b. June 1, 1942) and Heidi Elizabeth Weissmuller (b. July 31, 1944 - d. November 19, 1962).
Later life
In the late 1950s, Weissmuller moved back to Chicago and started a swimming pool company. He also lent his name to other business ventures, but did not have a great deal of success. He retired in 1965 and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he was Founding Chairman of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Sometime in the 1960s, Weissmuller built a doomed tourist attraction called Tropical Wonderland aka Tarzan's Jungleland on US 1 in Titusville, Florida.
In September 1966, Weissmuller joined former screen Tarzans James Pierce and Jock Mahoney to appear with Ron Ely as part of the publicity for the upcoming premier of the TV series. The producers also approached Weissmuller to guest star as Tarzan's father, but nothing came of it.
In 1970, he attended the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh where he was presented to Queen Elizabeth II.
He also made a cameo appearance with former co-star Maureen O'Sullivan in The Phynx (1970). His image appeared amongst the crowd on the cover of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Weissmuller lived in Florida until the end of 1973, then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he was a greeter at the MGM Grand Hotel for a time. In 1974, he broke a hip and leg. While hospitalized he learned that, in spite of his strength and lifelong daily regimen of swimming and exercise, he had a serious heart condition.
But, according to The Toronto Star , Monday July 9, 1923, Weissmuller was diagnosed with a serious heart condition at that time and it was feared he would not be able to continue as a swimmer.
In 1976, he appeared for the last time in a motion picture playing a movie crewman who is fired by a movie mogul, played by Art Carney, in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, and he also made his final public appearance in that year when he was inducted into the Body Building Guild Hall of Fame.
Weissmuller suffered a series of strokes in 1977. For a time in 1979, he was a patient in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. Later he and his last wife, Maria, moved to Acapulco, Mexico, which was the location of his last Tarzan movie.
Death
Johnny Weissmuller died on January 20, 1984, aged 79, from a pulmonary edema at his retirement home in Acapulco. He is buried in the Valley of The Light Cemetery there.
Posthumous
His former co-star and movie son, Johnny Sheffield, wrote of him, "I can only say that working with Big John was one of the highlights of my life. He was a Star (with a capital "S") and he gave off a special light and some of that light got into me. Knowing and being with Johnny Weissmuller during my formative years had a lasting influence on my life."
At his request, as his coffin was lowered into the ground, a recording of the Tarzan yell he invented was played three times.
Johnny Weissmuller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
His nephew, Chuck Wissmiller, and Chuck's three daughters, later starred on the A&E television series Family Plots, which ran from 2003 to late 2005.
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 11:48 am
Sally Kellerman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Sally Claire Kellerman
June 2, 1937 (1937-06-02) (age 71)
Long Beach, California, United States
Other name(s) Sally Claire Kellerman Krane
Spouse(s) Jonathan D. Krane (May 11, 1980)
Official website
Awards won
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actress
Nominated:
(1970) M*A*S*H
Sally Claire Kellerman[1] (born June 2, 1937) is an American actress and singer known for her role as "Hot Lips" O'Houlihan in the film M*A*S*H (1970), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Biography
Early life
Kellerman was born in Long Beach, California to Edith Baine (née Vaughn) and John Helm Kellerman.[2] She attended Hollywood High School, where she was "bitten by the acting bug" and went on to Los Angeles City College. She also studied at the Actor's Studio in New York City with Jeff Corey and famous classmates: Shirley Knight, Jack Nicholson, Dean Stockwell and Robert Blake.
Acting career
Kellerman made her debut film in Reform School Girl (1957) before starring in several classic The Outer Limits episodes, The Outer Limits: The Human Factor and The Outer Limits: The Bellero Shield and also starring as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in the second filmed pilot episode of Star Trek (1965), entitled "Where No Man Has Gone Before", opposite actors Gary Lockwood and William Shatner. She also made an appearance in the science fiction series The Invaders.
Kellerman would also co-star with Tony Curtis in The Boston Strangler (1968) as the only surviving victim. In 1969, she reportedly almost talked herself out of her most famous role. She had an argument with M*A*S*H director Robert Altman after reading the script. She was incensed about the way her proposed character, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, was to be humiliated. Altman said that her attitude and passion was exactly what he was looking for in that character.
Kellerman was offered but refused the role of "Hot Lips" in M*A*S*H the television series[citation needed]. The role would go to Loretta Swit. M*A*S*H would not be the last successful team effort between Kellerman and director Robert Altman, Kellerman would appear in several other Altman films, including Brewster McCloud (1970) and Welcome to LA (1976). Kellerman co-starred with Diane Lane and Laurence Olivier in A Little Romance (1979), Jodie Foster in Foxes (1980), and Shirley MacLaine in Loving Couples (1980). Kellerman reportedly turned down the role of Linda Rogo in The Poseidon Adventure[citation needed]. It went to Stella Stevens.
Kellerman starred as comedian Rodney Dangerfield's love interest in Back to School and the same year co-starred with Julie Andrews and Jack Lemmon in Blake Edwards That's Life (1986). Kellerman would again team up with Altman for The Player (1992) and Prêt-à-Porter (1994) a film in which Kellerman co-starred alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren, Lauren Bacall, Tim Robbins, Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger, Linda Hunt, Forest Whitaker and Cher.
More recently, Kellerman has been in American Virgin (2000), Boynton Beach Club (2006) and, making a somewhat quirky appearance as herself, leading a cult in The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman (2006). Kellerman has as a cameo in Amy Heckerling's I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) and is set to team up with her husband, Jonathan D. Krane, plus Dedee Pfeiffer and Dylan and Cole Sprouse in The Prince and the Pauper (2007).
Singer
Kellerman already had a recording contract with Verve Records when she was eight. After giving another signature performance in Robert Altman's Brewster McCloud, she cut her first demo with Lou Adler then jumped straight into the recording studio with arranger/producer Gene Paige to record Roll With The Feelin, an album by Decca Records.
Kellerman contributed her vocal talent in the musical film, Lost Horizon (1973) in which she collaborated with Burt Bacharach, Liv Ullman and Olivia Hussey, the soundtrack was released by Razor & Tie.
Kellerman revived her vocal talent in the independent film, Open House (2004) opposite Ann Magnuson, Anthony Rapp and Kellie Martin. She was a hit in Teatro ZinZanni in the same year.[3][4]
Currently touring local spots, Kellerman plans to release another album in which she works side by side with her musical director, Chris Caswell.
Personal life
Kellerman was married to director Rick Edelstein from 1970-1971, and from 1980 to producer Jonathan D. Krane. Kellerman has one daughter, Claire, her niece she adopted in 1976, when Sally's sister, Claire's birth mother, moved to France and Claire's father died 2 days after giving permission for the adoption. She is a mother to adopted twins with Krane. Krane also adopted Claire in 1987.
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 11:52 am
Stacy Keach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Walter Stacy Keach Jr.
June 2, 1941 (1941-06-02) (age 67)
Savannah, Georgia, United States
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Malgosia Tomassi (1986-present)
Jill Donahue (1981-1986: div)
Marilyn Aiken (1975-?: div.)
Kathryn Baker (1964-?:div.)
Stacy Keach (born Walter Stacy Keach, Jr. on June 2, 1941 in Savannah, Georgia) is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical roles. His brother James Keach is an actor and television director.
Education
Keach graduated from Van Nuys High School in June 1959 and went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley, earning two BA degrees in 1963, one in English, the other in Dramatic Art. He received his M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama and was a Fulbright Scholar at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Career
Theatre
Keach first appeared on Broadway in 1969 as Buffalo Bill in Indians by Arthur Kopit. Early in his career, he was credited as Stacy Keach, Jr. to distinguish himself from his father Stacy Keach, Sr. He played the lead actor in The Nude Paper Sermon an avant-garde musical theatre piece commissioned by Nonesuch Records by composer Eric Salzman.
He has won numerous awards including Obie awards, Drama Desk Awards, and Vernon Rice Awards. In the early 1980s, he starred in the title role of the national touring company of the musical Barnum composed by Cy Coleman. In 2006, he performed the lead role in Shakespeare's King Lear at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 2006.
He has played the title role in three separate productions of Hamlet.
Films
His first film role was as a rookie cop in The New Centurions (1972), opposite George C. Scott. That year he also starred in Fat City, a boxing film directed by John Huston. He was the first choice for the role of father Damien Karras in the 1973 movie The Exorcist, but he did not accept the role. He went on to play Kane in the 1980 movie The Ninth Configuration, written and directed by Blatty; this role was itself intended for Nicol Williamson.
Keach played Cheech and Chong's Police Department arch-nemesis Sgt. Stedenko in Up In Smoke and Nice Dreams. He also appeared as Barabbas in Jesus of Nazareth. In 1978 he played a role of explorer and scientist in The Mountain of the Cannibal God, co-starring by former Bond girl Ursula Andress.[1] The film became a cult favourite as a "[Video nasty]". One of his most convincing screen performances was as Frank James (elder brother of Jesse) in The Long Riders (1980). Keach excelled in this role, portraying a character who shows maturity and perspective during the outlaws' doomed career, but who is ultimately imprisoned by fraternal ties.
He portrayed a white supremacist in American History X, alongside Edward Norton and Edward Furlong.
Television
One of his earliest television roles was the portrayal of Jonas Steele, a psychic and member of John Brown's Army in the 1982 CBS miniseries The Blue and the Gray. He later portrayed Mike Hammer in the CBS television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer from 1984 to 1987. He returned to the role of Hammer in Mike Hammer, Private Eye, a new syndicated series that aired from 1997 to 1998.
In 2000, he played the cantankerous father Ken Titus in the title family of Fox's short-lived sitcom Titus. Cast members of Titus have commented they enjoyed working with Keach because, even with the dryest line the writers could invent, Keach would find a way to make the line funny.[citation needed]
He has a recurring role as Warden Henry Pope in the Fox drama Prison Break. In 1984, he was convicted of smuggling cocaine into the United Kingdom and spent six months in Reading prison. The governor of that prison would serve as the basis for his character.[2]
Narrator
Stacy Keach is perhaps most familiar to younger television viewers for narrating episodes of Nova, National Geographic, and various other informational series. Beginning in 1999, he served as the narrator for the home video clip show World's Most Amazing Videos, which is now seen on Spike TV. He currently hosts The Twilight Zone radio series.
Personal life
Keach was born with a cleft lip and a partial cleft of the hard palate and underwent numerous operations as a child. He is now the honorary chairman of the Cleft Palate Foundation, and advocates for insurance coverage for such surgeries.[3]
In 1984, Keach was arrested by London police at Heathrow Airport for carrying cocaine. Mr. Keach pled guilty, and served a 9 month sentence at Reading Prison.[4]
He has been married four times: to Kathryn Baker in 1964, to Marilyn Aiken in 1975, to Jill Donahue in 1981, and to Malgosia Tomassi around 1986. He has two children from his third marriage. He was also romantically linked to singer Judy Collins in the early 1970s.
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bobsmythhawk
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 11:55 am
Charlie Watts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name Charles Robert Watts
Born 2 June 1941 (1941-06-02) (age 67)
Origin London, England
Genre(s) Rock, Blues-rock, Jazz, Hard rock, Reggae
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Drums
Years active 1962 - present
Label(s) Decca, Rolling Stones, Virgin
Associated acts The Rolling Stones
Notable instrument(s)
Gretsch Drums
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts (born 2 June 1941) is the drummer of The Rolling Stones. He is also a jazz bandleader and commercial artist. Watts is sometimes referred to as "The Wembley Whammer" when introduced by Mick Jagger during a concert.
Early life
Charlie Watts was born to a lorry driver for a precursor of British Rail and his wife Jessica Mort Watts at University College Hospital, London, England, and raised in Islington and Wembley boroughs. The family moved to Pilgrims Way Wembley in the late 1940's. Charlie has a sister named Linda. Between 1952 and 1956, he attended Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School. After that, he went to Harrow Art School. He was talented at football while at Secondary School. In 1960, he was working with a local band when he met Alexis Korner, who convinced him to join his own band, Blues Incorporated.
Shortly afterwards, Watts left Blues Incorporated, citing its hectic schedule. A trained commercial artist, Watts found work at the advertising firm of Charles Hobson and Grey. However, in late 1962, Watts was persuaded to join the Rolling Stones as a drummer. Watts kept his day job until the Stones secured a long-term gig at the Crawdaddy Club near London. In January 1963 he quit his job to join the group officially and devote his life to music. Watts remains a member of the Stones to this day.
Musical career
Watts has been involved in many activities outside his high-profile life as a member of the Rolling Stones. In 1964, he published a cartoon tribute to Charlie Parker entitled Ode to a High Flying Bird. Although he has made his name in rock, his personal tastes focus on jazz; in the late 70s, he joined fellow Stone Ian "Stu" Stewart in the back-to-the-roots boogie-woogie fun band Rocket 88, which featured many of the UK's top jazz, rock and R&B musicians. In the 1980s, he toured worldwide with a big band that included such names as Evan Parker, Courtney Pine, and Jack Bruce, who was also a member of Rocket 88. In 1991, he organized a jazz quintet as another tribute to Charlie Parker. 1993 saw the release of Warm And Tender, by the Charlie Watts Quintet, which included vocalist Bernard Fowler. This same group then released Long Ago And Far Away in 1996. Both records included a collection of American Song Book standards. After a successful collaboration with Jim Keltner on The Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon, Charlie and Jim released a techno/instrumental album called simply Charlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project. Featuring the names of his favorite jazz drummers, Charlie stated that even though the tracks bore such names as the Elvin Suite in honor of the late Elvin Jones, Max Roach and Roy Haynes, they weren't copying their style of drumming, but rather, capturing a feeling by those artists. Watts' latest solo outing has been released in 2004. Watts At Scott's was recorded with his group, The Charlie Watts Tentet, at the famous jazz club in London, Ronnie Scott's.
With the Rolling Stones
Besides his musical creativity, he contributed graphic art to early records such as the Between the Buttons record sleeve and was responsible for the famous 1975 tour announcement press conference in New York City. The band surprised the throng of waiting reporters by driving and playing "Brown Sugar" on the back of a flatbed truck in the middle of Manhattan traffic; a gimmick AC/DC copied later the same year, Status Quo repeated the trick for the 1984 video to "The Wanderer" and U2 would later emulate it in the 2004 video for "All Because of You". Watts remembered this was a common way for New Orleans jazz bands to promote upcoming dates. Moreover, with Jagger, he designed the elaborate stages for tours, first contributing to the lotus flower shaped design of that 1975 Tour of the Americas, as well as the 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.
There are many instances where Jagger and Richards have lauded Watts as the key member of the Rolling Stones. Richards went so far as to say in a 2005 Guitar Player magazine interview that the Rolling Stones would not be, or could not continue as the Rolling Stones, without Watts. An example of Watts' importance was demonstrated in 1991 when Bill Wyman left the band after years of deliberation. After auditioning several bassists, Jagger and Richards asked Watts to choose the new bass player; he selected the respected session musician Darryl Jones, who was a sideman to both Miles Davis and Sting. In business, Watts, along with Richards and Jagger, owns a piece of the Rolling Stones corporate entities, something that does not apply to Mick Taylor, Ronnie Wood or even Bill Wyman.
During the four decades of performing with the Rolling Stones, Watts has proven to be one of the most influential drummers in popular music despite his modesty. A gifted and powerful drummer, he is often cited by many younger drummers as a seminal influence on their own style.
In 1989, The Rolling Stones, including Watts, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Also, in the July 2006 issue of Modern Drummer, Charlie Watts was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame, along with the likes of Steve Gadd, Keith Moon, Buddy Rich and other greats. He now lives in Dolton, a rural village in Devon and owns an Arabian Horse Stud Farm.
Private life and public image
On 14 October 1964, Watts married Shirley Ann Shepherd, whom he had met before the band had its first big hit; they are still together. They had one daughter, Seraphina Watts, born on 18 March 1968.
Watts has expressed a love-hate relationship to touring. In Canada's Macleans magazine, he told interviewer Brian Johnson that he has had a compulsive habit for decades of actually sketching every new hotel room he occupies - and its furnishings - immediately upon entering it. He stated he keeps every sketch, but still doesn't know why he feels the compulsion to do this.
Watts' personal life has outwardly appeared to be substantially quieter than those of his bandmates and many of his rock and roll colleagues. Although he is often thought to be a reserved and steady influence on the Rolling Stones, he has suffered from a variety of touring life hazards. Published anecdotes from Bill Wyman and Keith Richards have described Watts in the 1970s passing out after being awake for several days from too much good cheer, falling into a full spaghetti dinner. A famous anecdote has him punching a drunken Mick Jagger in a hotel in the mid-1980s. After a full night of partying, Jagger phoned Watts' hotel room early in the morning asking where "his drummer" was. Watts met him down the stairs and punched him, saying "Don't ever call me your drummer again. You're my ******* singer!" [1]
Ever faithful to his wife Shirley, Watts consistently refused sexual favors from groupies on the road and discussed his regular bouts of insomnia incurred from not sharing his bed with his wife in Robert Greenfield's STP: A Journey Through America With The Rolling Stones, a document of their 1972 American Tour. When the group held court at the Playboy Mansion during that tour, Watts famously took advantage of Hugh Hefner's renowned game room rather than frolic with the women. It was not until he finally sought treatment for alcoholism and drug addictions in the late 1980s, which included several years of heroin and amphetamine use, that his wife and daughter Seraphina began regularly joining him on Rolling Stones tours.
Since the 1990s, he has admitted to another addiction; this one less damaging. Shopping in high fashion stores has become common for Watts. His personal wardrobe has attracted so much attention, the British newspaper The Telegraph named him one of the World's Best Dressed. In 2006 Vanity Fair elected Watts into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame, joining such alumni as his style icon, Fred Astaire.
In June 2004, Watts was diagnosed with throat cancer, and underwent a course of radiotherapy. The cancer has since gone into remission and he is once again recording and touring with the Stones.
He is also a vegetarian.[2]
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 11:57 am
Marvin Hamlisch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Background information
Birth name Marvin Frederick Hamlisch
Born June 2, 1944 (1944-06-02) (age 64)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Genre(s) Film score
Occupation(s) Composer, conductor
Instrument(s) Piano
Years active 1965 - present
Associated acts Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra
San Diego Symphony
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (born June 2, 1944) is a multi award-winning American composer. He is one of only two people in history (the other being Richard Rodgers) to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize.
Biography
Hamlisch was born in New York City, the son of Viennese Jewish parents Lily (née Schachter) and Max Hamlisch.[1] His was a musical family with his father being an accordionist and bandleader. Marvin Hamlisch was a child prodigy and by age five he began mimicking music he heard on the radio on the piano. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he became the youngest person ever accepted to the Juilliard School. However anxiety issues kept him from pursuing a career as a concert pianist leading him to instead focus on composition, specifically for film and theater. His first job in "the business" was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Shortly after that he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties. This connection led to his first film score, The Swimmer.
Hamlisch later attended night classes at Queens College. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. In 2007, he received the prestigious Q Award, presented to Queens College alumni who have served as role models for the college.
Although Liza Minnelli's debut album included a song he did in his teens, his first hit did not come until he was 21 years old. This song was done by Lesley Gore, in the form of Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows. (The song, in Lesley Gore's version, later figured prominently in the "Marge on the Lam" episode of The Simpsons) His first film score was for The Swimmer although he had done some music for films as early as 1965. Later he did music for some of Woody Allen's early films like Take the Money and Run. In addition, Hamlisch co-wrote the song "California Nights" with Howard Liebling, which was recorded by Lesley Gore on her 1967 hit album titled the same. The song was on the pop charts as high as number 16.
The 1970s would be his peak period as a composer. This is most true of the first half of the decade. The best known work he did in this period might be adaptations of Scott Joplin's ragtime music for the motion picture The Sting, including its theme song, "The Entertainer". In award terms he had his greatest success with The Way We Were in 1974. For that he won two of his three 1974 Academy Awards. He also won 4 Grammy Awards in 1974, two of them for "The Way We Were." He continued having hits in the late 1970s after this. He co-wrote "Nobody Does It Better" from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me with his then-girlfriend Carole Bayer Sager. He also wrote the orchestral/disco score for the film, which was rerecorded for album. The song went on to be nominated for an Oscar in 1977. He also had Broadway success with A Chorus Line (for which he won both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize), They're Playing Our Song (loosely based on his relationship with Carole Bayer Sager), and a score for a Neil Simon play.
Although productive the 1980s were a less successful period for him. On balance the decade was arguably his least successful period. At the very beginning of the decade his romantic relationship with Carole Bayer Sager ended, but their songwriting relationship continued. In 1983 the musical Jean failed in the United Kingdom and never appeared in the US. In 1986 Smile was a mixed success, but he did gain some note for the song Disneyland. He won no awards in music, theater, or film during the 1980s.
In the 1980s he had success with the scores for Ordinary People (1980) and Sophie's Choice (1982). He also received an Academy Award nomination in 1986 for a song in the film version of A Chorus Line. He married his current wife in 1989.
The 1990s saw something of an improvement if not a return to the fame he once had in the 1970s. He received his first Emmy nomination for his musical work for the television show Brooklyn Bridge. Later he won his first Emmy for a Barbra Streisand special. He also received a Tony nomination for music in a musical version of The Goodbye Girl.
Currently, he is Principal Pops Conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (the first person to hold this position), the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and the San Diego Symphony.
He is one of only twelve people to win all four major US performing awards, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, the Oscar and Tony Award. (See List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. He and Richard Rodgers are the only two to have won all four of those plus a Pulitzer Prize.
He was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame[2] in 2007.
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bobsmythhawk
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 12:00 pm
Jerry Mathers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born June 2, 1948 (1948-06-02) (age 60)
Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.
Years active 1954-present
Spouse(s) Rhonda (1977-1997) (divorced) 3 children
Jerry Mathers (born June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa) is an American television, film and stage actor.
The brown-headed Mathers is best known for his role in the television sitcom series Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963), in which he played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the younger son of archetypal suburban couple June and Ward Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont), and the brother of Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow).
Early acting career
Mathers's acting career began early. At the age of two, in a commercial, he walked into a barroom wearing diapers, six guns, cowboy boots and a big cowboy hat. Ed Wynn, the vaudeville comedian, was behind the bar and several cowboy actors began portraying a bar fight. At this point, Mathers walks through the fighting cowboys and one of them picks him up and they all say, "Why are you here?" Mathers responds, "I'm the toughest hombre in these parts. You better have my brand," while he pounds on the bar. It was a commercial for PET Milk.[1]
His early movies included This Is My Love (1954), Men of the Fighting Lady (1954), The Seven Little Foys (1955) and The Trouble with Harry (1955).
As he moved into his teenage years, Mathers retired from acting to concentrate on school.
In 1978, he reentered the entertainment industry. He has since starred in Playing Patti (1998) and Better Luck Tomorrow (2002). He has also been in It's Howdy Doody Time (1987), Down the Drain (1990) and Sexual Malice (1994).
Leave It to Beaver
Mathers reportedly got the role of Beaver Cleaver when he told the show's producers he'd rather be at his cub scout meeting than auditioning for the part. The producers found his candidness appealing and perfect for the role. Mathers got the job.[2]
Mathers played the role of Beaver for six years. When the show ended in spring 1963, Beaver was looking forward to entering Mayfield High School. Mathers appeared in all 234 episodes of the series.
Mathers was the first child actor ever to make a deal to get a percentage of the merchandising revenue from a television show. The Leave It to Beaver show still generates merchandise revenue today, almost 45 years after its original production run ended.
The original sitcom has been shown in over 80 countries in 40 languages. Mathers has noted that the Leave It to Beaver phenomenon is worldwide. "I can go anywhere in the world, and people know me," Mathers has said. "In Japan the show's called 'The Happy Boy and His Family.' So I'll be walking through the airport in Japan, and people will come up and say, 'Hi, Happy Boy!'"[3]
Recordings
In 1962, near the end of the run of the original show, Mathers recorded two songs for a single 45rpm: Don't 'Cha Cry, a retread of Spanish Harlem; and for the flip side, the twist ditty, Wind-Up Toy ("Wind-up Toy! Wind-up Toy! Say, when you gonna treat me like a real live boy.") During his high school years, following the production of the original show, Mathers had a band called "Beaver and the Trappers." They made some records for Atlantic Records, including one called Happiness is Havin', which was the number one single in Hawaii and Alaska for a while. The song was co-written by Mathers and Richard Correll, who played Richard Rickover in the original sitcom. Mathers's band recorded for about three-and-a-half years and played sock-hops and parties in southern California.
Broadway
In his first venture on Broadway, Mathers joined the musical cast of a production of Hairspray for a three-month run, between June and September of 2007.[4] He played the part of Wilbur Turnblad.[3] Mathers is the second cast member of the original Leave It to Beaver show to appear on Broadway. In 1936, Barbara Billingsley appeared in the Broadway play Straw Hat, which closed after only five shows.
Urban legend death
Mathers became the subject of an urban legend when it was falsely reported that he died in Vietnam. While he did serve in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, he remained in the United States. In 1969 (or 1968; sources differ) incorrect reports of his death were put out by Associated Press and United Press International when a similarly-named soldier was killed.[5] [6] The rumor was so widespread and believable that Tony Dow, a co-star from the Beaver sitcom, sent flowers to the Mathers family upon hearing the news.
Personal life
Mathers suffered from dyslexia in his early life.
Mathers graduated from Notre Dame High School, in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1967. He went to college at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a BA degree in philosophy in 1973.
Mathers was a member of the Air National Guard (1966-69).[6]
He is also the father of three children; his son, Noah Mathers (1978), works in film and video production, and two daughters: Mercedes Mathers (1982), and Gretchen Mathers (1985), who attends college in Southern California. All of his children were with his wife Rhonda to whom he was married for fourteen years. He married a second time, and is now divorced again.
Diabetes
Mathers was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996[7]. He took preventative action, lost 45 pounds and became one of the leading lecturers on living with and dealing with diabetes. Mathers has partnered with diverse organizations to bring awareness of this epidemic to the public and is currently the national spokesperson for Johnson and Johnson's OneTouch Ultra2 System blood glucose monitoring system.
Other careers
He began a successful career in real-estate development and banking. In order to pay for this, he used his savings from his acting career.
Mathers has owned and operated a catering business and also has done commercial work for national and regional spots for advertisers such as PET Condensed Milk, Kellogg's (he and Tony Dow were the first non-athletes on a box of corn flakes), General Electric, Purina, Kern International, Chevrolet, Toyota, General Mills, AOL, Coca Cola, Jim Beam and Biogen.
Current
Frank Bank, who played Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on the Beaver show, is now Mathers's investment adviser.
Mathers, who is an FCC licensed broadcaster, often guest hosts on national talk-radio programs and is trained in radio satellite broadcasting.
Mathers has also had recurring spots on The Tonight Show with host Jay Leno.
Mathers's partner since 2005 is Teresa Modnick, the community relations director for the Center for Healthy Aging, based in Santa Monica, California.
He is currently a speaker at business conventions, where he addresses the emotional state of the American family and the effects of television on society today, using the fabled Cleavers from his early television career.
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bobsmythhawk
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 12:03 pm
Dana Carvey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born Dana Thomas Carvey
June 2, 1955 (1955-06-02) (age 53)
Missoula, Montana
Occupation Actor, comedian
Years active 1981-present
Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American Emmy-award winning actor and comedian known for his work on Saturday Night Live and the spin-off movie Wayne's World.
Biography
Early life
Carvey was born in Missoula, Montana, the son of Billie, a schoolteacher, and William Carvey, a high school business teacher.[1] Carvey is the brother of Brad Carvey, the engineer/designer of the Video Toaster. The character Garth Algar (from the movie Wayne's World) is a loosely-based portrayal of Brad. Carvey was raised Lutheran.[2] When he was three years old, his family moved to San Carlos, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. He received his first drum kit at an early age. He attended Tierra Linda Junior High in San Carlos, California, and Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, and received his Bachelor's degree in communications from San Francisco State University.
In 1979, while performing at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, he met Paula Zwaggerman, who would later become his wife. Paula attended University of California at San Diego for a short period of time, while dating future high profile San Diego entrepreneur, Rich Singley. Soon after returning to the Bay Area in 1980, Dana and Paula were engaged.
Early career
Carvey's first movie role was a small part in the 1981 horror film Halloween II. He then costarred on One of the Boys in 1982, a short-lived television sitcom that also starred Mickey Rooney, Nathan Lane, and Meg Ryan. In 1984, Carvey had a small role in Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap film, in which he played a mime, with fellow comedian Billy Crystal. He also starred in the short-lived movie-based action show Blue Thunder.
SNL
In 1986, Carvey became a household name when he joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live. He, along with newcomers Phil Hartman, Kevin Nealon, Jan Hooks and Victoria Jackson, helped to reverse the show's declining popularity and made SNL "must-see" TV once again. His breakout character was The Church Lady, the uptight, smug, and pious host of "Church Chat." Carvey said he based the character on women he knew from his church growing up who would keep track of his and others' attendance. He became so associated with the character that later cast members like Chris Farley referred to Carvey simply as "The Lady."
Carvey's other original characters included Garth Algar (from "Wayne's World"), Hans (from "Hans and Franz"), and The Grumpy Old Man (from Weekend Update appearances). Algar is actually an affectionate caricature of Dana's brother, Brad Carvey, an accomplished electrical engineer who invented the Video Toaster, and has been said by Carvey to have fixed the family clothes dryer using only a butter knife.
During the 1992 US presidential election campaign, he did a dead-on impression of independent candidate Ross Perot; in a prime-time special before the election, Carvey played both Bush and Perot in a three-way debate with Bill Clinton, who was played by Phil Hartman. As Perot, Carvey declined to say the show's signature "Live from New York" opening line because he was actually on tape.
Carvey left SNL in 1993. In 1992, Carvey joined Mike Myers to bring their popular "Wayne's World" sketch to the silver screen with Wayne's World the movie. A sequel was filmed and released in 1993, titled Wayne's World 2. Rumors abound that Mike Myers is writing a screenplay for Wayne's World 3[citation needed] but nothing has been verified yet from either Myers' or Carvey's camp.
After SNL
NBC executives hoped to get Carvey to take over the 12:30 a.m. (ET) weeknight spot in the network's lineup in 1993 when David Letterman left his show, Late Night with David Letterman, for an 11:30 p.m. (ET) show on CBS. A big Letterman fan, Carvey rejected the offer, causing embarrassment for the network, which had publicly floated his name. The 12:30 spot eventually went to Conan O'Brien.
In 1994, Carvey starred in the film Clean Slate.
He reprised many of his SNL characters in 1996 for The Dana Carvey Show, a critically acclaimed but short-lived prime-time variety show. The show was most notable for launching Robert Smigel's cartoon "The Ambiguously Gay Duo." In 1997, he underwent open-heart surgery for a blocked artery. Unfortunately, the doctors operated on the wrong artery. Carvey later sued for medical malpractice and was awarded $7.5 million. He has had to undergo a total of five medical procedures (four angioplasties and one surgery) to correct his heart problems. Carvey stated in an interview with Larry King that he donated all the money awarded to him from the lawsuit to charity. In 2002, he returned to the silver screen in the comedy Master of Disguise, which was panned by critics but managed about $40 million at the North American box office.
He is number 90 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
A very private person, Carvey withdrew from the limelight to focus on his family. He later said in an interview that he doesn't want to be in a career in which his kids would already be grown with him having neglected time with them. Carvey may hold the distinction of being the only comedian ever to be imitated by a former President of the United States at the funeral of another former President of the United States. At the January 2, 2007 funeral of Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush reminisced in his eulogy about how Ford took it in stride when SNL's Chevy Chase made Ford the object of his own imitations. Bush cited this as a valuable lesson in learning to laugh at one's self as a part of public life. "I'd tell you more about that," Bush continued, "but as Dana Carvey would say, [imitating Carvey imitating him] 'Not gonna do it! Wouldn't be prudent!'".
Recently, made a surprise appearance at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards reprising his SNL character Garth Algar with the host Mike Myers for a Wayne's World sketch.
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bobsmythhawk
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 12:06 pm
Buying a chainsaw
This fellow is looking to buy a saw to cut down some trees in his back yard. He goes to a chainsaw shop and asks about various chainsaws. The dealer tells him, "Look, I have a lot of models, but why don't you save yourself a lot of time and aggravation and get the top-of-the-line model. This chainsaw will cut a hundred cords of wood for you in one day."
So, the man takes the chainsaw home and begins working on the trees. After cutting for several hours and only cutting two cords, he decides to quit. He thinks there is something wrong with the chainsaw. "How can I cut for hours and only cut two cords?" the man asks himself. "I will begin first thing in the morning and cut all day," the man tells himself. So, the next morning the man gets up at 4 am in the morning and cuts and cuts, and cuts till nightfall, and still he only manages to cut five cords.
The man is convinced this is a bad saw. "The dealer told me it would cut one hundred cords of wood in a day, no problem. I will take this saw back to the dealer," the man says to himself.
The very next day the man brings the saw back to the dealer and explains the problem. The dealer, baffled by the man's claim, removes the chainsaw from the case. The dealer says, "Hmm, it looks fine."
Then the dealer starts the chainsaw, to which the man responds, "What's that noise?
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Victor Murphy
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 12:17 pm
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79
06/02/2008 12:33 PM, AP
Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
The legendary singer and performer, known for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and received a lifetime achievement award in 1999 at the Grammy Awards. In recent years he also played for the elder President Bush and President Clinton.
Diddley appreciated the honors he received, "but it didn't put no figures in my checkbook."
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," he quipped.
The name Bo Diddley came from other youngsters when he was growing up in Chicago, he said in a 1999 interview.
"I don't know where the kids got it, but the kids in grammar school gave me that name," he said, adding that he liked it so it became his stage name. Other times, he gave somewhat differing stories on where he got the name. Some experts believe a possible source for the name is a one-string instrument used in traditional blues music called a diddley bow.
His first single, "Bo Diddley," introduced record buyers in 1955 to his signature rhythm: bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, often summarized as "shave and a haircut, two bits." The B side, "I'm a Man," with its slightly humorous take on macho pride, also became a rock standard.
The company that issued his early songs was Chess-Checkers records, the storied Chicago-based labels that also recorded Chuck Berry and other stars.
Howard Kramer, assistant curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, said in 2006 that Diddley's Chess recordings "stand among the best singular recordings of the 20th century."
Diddley's other major songs included, "Say Man," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover," "Shave and a Haircut," "Uncle John," "Who Do You Love?" and "The Mule."
Diddley's influence was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Buddy Holly borrowed the bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp rhythm for his song "Not Fade Away."
The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of "I'm a Man."
Diddley was also one of the pioneers of the electric guitar, adding reverb and tremelo effects. He even rigged some of his guitars himself.
"He treats it like it was a drum, very rhythmic," E. Michael Harrington, professor of music theory and composition at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., said in 2006.
Many other artists, including the Who, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello copied aspects of Diddley's style.
Growing up, Diddley said he had no musical idols, and he wasn't entirely pleased that others drew on his innovations.
"I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it," he said. "I don't have any idols I copied after."
"They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there," he said.
Despite his success, Diddley claimed he only received a small portion of the money he made during his career. Partly as a result, he continued to tour and record music until his stroke. Between tours, he made his home near Gainesville in north Florida.
"Seventy ain't nothing but a damn number," he told The Associated Press in 1999. "I'm writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things. Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches. I ain't quit yet."
Diddley, like other artists of his generations, was paid a flat fee for his recordings and said he received no royalty payments on record sales. He also said he was never paid for many of his performances.
"I am owed. I've never got paid," he said. "A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun."
In the early 1950s, Diddley said, disc jockeys called his type of music, "Jungle Music." It was Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who is credited with inventing the term "rock 'n' roll."
Diddley said Freed was talking about him, when he introduced him, saying, "Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat."
Diddley won attention from a new generation in 1989 when he took part in the "Bo Knows" ad campaign for Nike, built around football and baseball star Bo Jackson. Commenting on Jackson's guitar skills, Diddley turned to the camera and said, "He don't know Diddley."
"I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked," Diddley said. "I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube."
Born as Ellas Bates on Dec. 30, 1928, in McComb, Miss., Diddley was later adopted by his mother's cousin and took on the name Ellis McDaniel, which his wife always called him.
When he was 5, his family moved to Chicago, where he learned the violin at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He learned guitar at 10 and entertained passers-by on street corners.
By his early teens, Diddley was playing Chicago's Maxwell Street.
"I came out of school and made something out of myself. I am known all over the globe, all over the world. There are guys who have done a lot of things that don't have the same impact that I had," he said.
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Victor Murphy
1
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 12:17 pm
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79
06/02/2008 12:33 PM, AP
Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79.
Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
The legendary singer and performer, known for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, was an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, had a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and received a lifetime achievement award in 1999 at the Grammy Awards. In recent years he also played for the elder President Bush and President Clinton.
Diddley appreciated the honors he received, "but it didn't put no figures in my checkbook."
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," he quipped.
The name Bo Diddley came from other youngsters when he was growing up in Chicago, he said in a 1999 interview.
"I don't know where the kids got it, but the kids in grammar school gave me that name," he said, adding that he liked it so it became his stage name. Other times, he gave somewhat differing stories on where he got the name. Some experts believe a possible source for the name is a one-string instrument used in traditional blues music called a diddley bow.
His first single, "Bo Diddley," introduced record buyers in 1955 to his signature rhythm: bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, often summarized as "shave and a haircut, two bits." The B side, "I'm a Man," with its slightly humorous take on macho pride, also became a rock standard.
The company that issued his early songs was Chess-Checkers records, the storied Chicago-based labels that also recorded Chuck Berry and other stars.
Howard Kramer, assistant curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, said in 2006 that Diddley's Chess recordings "stand among the best singular recordings of the 20th century."
Diddley's other major songs included, "Say Man," "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover," "Shave and a Haircut," "Uncle John," "Who Do You Love?" and "The Mule."
Diddley's influence was felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Buddy Holly borrowed the bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp rhythm for his song "Not Fade Away."
The Rolling Stones' bluesy remake of that Holly song gave them their first chart single in the United States, in 1964. The following year, another British band, the Yardbirds, had a Top 20 hit in the U.S. with their version of "I'm a Man."
Diddley was also one of the pioneers of the electric guitar, adding reverb and tremelo effects. He even rigged some of his guitars himself.
"He treats it like it was a drum, very rhythmic," E. Michael Harrington, professor of music theory and composition at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., said in 2006.
Many other artists, including the Who, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello copied aspects of Diddley's style.
Growing up, Diddley said he had no musical idols, and he wasn't entirely pleased that others drew on his innovations.
"I don't like to copy anybody. Everybody tries to do what I do, update it," he said. "I don't have any idols I copied after."
"They copied everything I did, upgraded it, messed it up. It seems to me that nobody can come up with their own thing, they have to put a little bit of Bo Diddley there," he said.
Despite his success, Diddley claimed he only received a small portion of the money he made during his career. Partly as a result, he continued to tour and record music until his stroke. Between tours, he made his home near Gainesville in north Florida.
"Seventy ain't nothing but a damn number," he told The Associated Press in 1999. "I'm writing and creating new stuff and putting together new different things. Trying to stay out there and roll with the punches. I ain't quit yet."
Diddley, like other artists of his generations, was paid a flat fee for his recordings and said he received no royalty payments on record sales. He also said he was never paid for many of his performances.
"I am owed. I've never got paid," he said. "A dude with a pencil is worse than a cat with a machine gun."
In the early 1950s, Diddley said, disc jockeys called his type of music, "Jungle Music." It was Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed who is credited with inventing the term "rock 'n' roll."
Diddley said Freed was talking about him, when he introduced him, saying, "Here is a man with an original sound, who is going to rock and roll you right out of your seat."
Diddley won attention from a new generation in 1989 when he took part in the "Bo Knows" ad campaign for Nike, built around football and baseball star Bo Jackson. Commenting on Jackson's guitar skills, Diddley turned to the camera and said, "He don't know Diddley."
"I never could figure out what it had to do with shoes, but it worked," Diddley said. "I got into a lot of new front rooms on the tube."
Born as Ellas Bates on Dec. 30, 1928, in McComb, Miss., Diddley was later adopted by his mother's cousin and took on the name Ellis McDaniel, which his wife always called him.
When he was 5, his family moved to Chicago, where he learned the violin at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He learned guitar at 10 and entertained passers-by on street corners.
By his early teens, Diddley was playing Chicago's Maxwell Street.
"I came out of school and made something out of myself. I am known all over the globe, all over the world. There are guys who have done a lot of things that don't have the same impact that I had," he said.
0 Replies
Letty
1
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Mon 2 Jun, 2008 12:18 pm
Hey, hawkman. Thanks for the bio's and I love the joke, buddy. It gives new meaning to the chain saw massacre.
I had to check out the movie, Bananas, and when I saw that it was a comedy about the Banana Republic, I now understand the machine gun in the following song.
