TV Sorrisi e Canzoni Assi Della Canzone 1965
Alfio Cantarella (Equipe 84), Victor Sogliani (Equipe 84), Carlo Timò (Marcellos Ferial), Tullio Romano (Marcellos Ferial), Giorgio Benacchio (Ribelli), Philipe Bichara (Ribelli), Jean-Claude Bichara (Ribelli), Franco Tozzi (1944-2024), Louiselle, Renato Bernuzzi (I Kings), Ennio Ottofaro (I Kings), Gilberto Storari (I Kings), Andy De Bruyn (I Kings), Pierpaolo Adda (I Kings), Sergio Di Martino (I Giganti), Giacomo Di Martino (I Giganti), Francesco Marsella (I Giganti), Anna Marchetti.
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- Producer
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Actor, singer, author and songwriter ("Exodus") Pat Boone was educated at David Lipscombe College, North Texas State College and Columbia University (from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1958). His career in entertainment began when he emceed a teenage talent show on radio and television in Nashville, Tennessee. He won a Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour amateur show, and an Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts show. His first professional recording was made in 1955, and he joined ASCAP in 1961, with Ernest Gold being his chief musical collaborator. Over the years he has had many hit songs ("Moody River", "Speedy Gonzales", "Bernadine") and appeared in a string of films in the 1950s and 1960s, some successful and some not. His other song compositions include "Lover's Lane" and "The Main Attraction". He has served as a board member of the Northeastern Institute for Christian Education.1934- Actor
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Mario Abbate was born on 10 August 1927 in Naples, Campania, Italy. He was an actor, known for Rosalba, la fanciulla di Pompei (1952), Accadde al commissariato (1954) and ...e Napoli canta! (1953). He died on 6 August 1981 in Naples, Campania, Italy.1927-81- Maurizio Vandelli is well known in Italy as singer and musician, as leader of the band called Equipe 84, that appeared in a several musical-movie in the 60s and later as producer, songwriter, and soundtrack composer. He retired from music business at the end of the 70s, then he returned during the 90s to sing in show with his own band.1944 Equipe 84
- Franco Ceccarelli was born on 13 May 1942 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was an actor, known for Mamma Roma (1962) and I problemi di Don Isidro (1978). He died on 21 December 2012 in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.1942-2012 Equipe 84
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Nicola Arigliano was born on 6 December 1923 in Squinzano, Puglia, Italy. He was an actor, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), The Swindlers (1959) and The Comfort of Strangers (1990). He died on 30 March 2010 in Calimera, Puglia, Italy.1923-2010- Actress
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One of America's most loved actresses was born Doris Mary Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alma Sophia (Welz), a housewife, and William Joseph Kappelhoff, a music teacher and choir master. Her grandparents were all German immigrants. She had two brothers, Richard, who died before she was born and Paul, a few years older.
Her parents divorced while she was still a child, and she lived with her mother. Like most little girls, Doris liked to dance. At fourteen, she formed a dance act with a boy, Jerry Doherty, and they won $500 in a local talent contest. She and Jerry took a brief trip to Hollywood to test the waters. They felt they could succeed, so she and Jerry returned to Cincinnati with the intention of packing and making a permanent move to Hollywood. Tragically, the night before she was to move to Hollywood, she was injured riding in a car hit by a train, ending the possibility of a dancing career.
It was a terrible setback, but after taking singing lessons she found a new vocation, and at age 17, she began touring with the Les Brown Band. She met trombonist Al Jorden, whom she married in 1941. Jorden was prone to violence and they divorced after two years, not long after the birth of their son Terry. In 1946, Doris married George Weidler, but this union lasted less than a year. Day's agent talked her into taking a screen test at Warner Bros. The executives there liked what they saw and signed her to a contract (her early credits are often confused with those of another actress named Doris Day, who appeared mainly in B westerns in the 1930s and 1940s).
Her first starring movie role was in Romance on the High Seas (1948). The next year, she made two more films, My Dream Is Yours (1949) and It's a Great Feeling (1949). Audiences took to her beauty, terrific singing voice and bubbly personality, and she turned in fine performances in the movies she made (in addition to several hit records). She made three films for Warner Bros. in 1950 and five more in 1951. In that year, she met and married Martin Melcher, who adopted her young son Terry, who later grew up to become Terry Melcher, a successful record producer.
In 1953, Doris starred in Calamity Jane (1953), which was a major hit, and several more followed: Lucky Me (1954), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and what is probably her best-known film, Pillow Talk (1959). She began to slow down her filmmaking pace in the 1960s, even though she started out the decade with a hit, Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960).
In 1958, her brother Paul died. Around this time, her husband, who had also taken charge of her career, had made deals for her to star in films she didn't really care about, which led to a bout with exhaustion. The 1960s weren't to be a repeat of the previous busy decade. She didn't make as many films as she had in that decade, but the ones she did make were successful: Do Not Disturb (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). Martin Melcher died in 1968, and Doris never made another film, but she had been signed by Melcher to do her own TV series, The Doris Day Show (1968). That show, like her movies, was successful, lasting until 1973. After her series went off the air, she made only occasional TV appearances.
By the time Martin Melcher died, Doris discovered she was millions of dollars in debt. She learned that Melcher had squandered virtually all of her considerable earnings, but she was eventually awarded $22 million by the courts in a case against a man that Melcher had unwisely let invest her money. She married for the fourth time in 1976 and since her divorce in 1980 has devoted her life to animals.
Doris was a passionate animal rights activist. She ran Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California, which advocates homes and proper care of household pets.
Doris died on May 13, 2019, in Carmel Valley Village, California. She was 97.1922-2019- Composer
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Marcello Minerbi was born on 7 August 1928 in Genoa, Italy. He is a composer, known for Gunman of One Hundred Crosses (1971), Amor en el aire (1967) and Time for Loving (1983).1928 Marcellos Ferial- Actor
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Don Backy was born on 21 August 1939 in Santa Croce sull'Arno, Tuscany, Italy. He is an actor and composer, known for The Violent Four (1968), Avanti! (1972) and Satyricon (1969).1939- Actor
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Canadian-born Paul Anka first achieved success in the 1950s as a teenage singing star (and, for the times, an unusual one in that he wrote many of his own songs). Although he appeared in several films, and was quite believable as a nervous, hyper young soldier in The Longest Day (1962) (for which he also composed the theme music), Anka's main interest was music, and he concentrated his efforts into composing (he wrote lyrics for Frank Sinatra's classic "My Way") and nightclub appearances in Las Vegas.1941- Music Artist
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Michael Philip Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent on 26th July 1943. When he was 4 he met Keith Richards until they went into secondary schools and lost touch. But one day in 1960 they accidentally met on the Dartford train line and both realized that they had an interest in rock n roll combined with blues. Between 1960 and 1962 The Rolling Stones formed. It was comprised of Mick on lead vocal and harmonica, Keith Richards on guitar, Bill Wyman on bass, Charlie Watts on drums and Brian Jones on guitar.
In 1964 they released their first album "The Rolling Stones". Eventually in 1965 they had their first number 1 hit in the UK with "The Last Time" which was followed by "I can't get no Satisfaction". Throughout 1966-1969 they toured the world with many great hits like "Let's Spend the night together" (1967) and "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968). But in 1969 Brian Jones committed suicide and Mick and Keith Richards were blamed for his death. But this fusion blew over and they got another guitarist to replace Brian in Mick Taylor. They released the album "Let it Bleed" (1969) with the track "Honky Tonk Woman". After they completed a North American tour Jagger finally went to star in Performance (1970) as the retired rock star Turner. The film was released in August 1970 with Mick starring opposite James Fox and Mick even had his first solo hit which was the soundtrack to the film "Memo from Turner".
In 1971 The Rolling Stones came back with the album "Sticky Fingers" which would be the most popular album they ever made. From this album there were songs like "Wild Horses" and "Brown Sugar" and were major hits all over the world. While this was happening Bianca Jagger gave birth to Jaggers daughter Jade Jagger. Throughout the 70s The Rolling Stones made thousands of live performances and achieved endless record sales with hits like "Angie" (1973), "It's Only Rock and Roll" (1974), "Hot Stuff" (1976) and "Respectable" (1978). In 1974 Ronnie Wood had replaced Mick Taylor on guitar and Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood both played lead guitar. In 1980 Jagger divorced Bianca Jagger and went on to record and release "Emotional Rescue" with The Rolling Stones and it was a platinum album. In 1981 "Tattoo You" was released and the group went on a major world tour, their first in three years, which filled stadiums in the US and arenas in Europe. After the tour ended in 1982 Jagger was starting to like other music. In 1983 The Rolling Stones recorded the album "Undercover" at the Compass Point in Nassau. But recording sessions didn't go well as during this time Mick and Keith Richard were having arguments about the kind of music the group should be playing. Even though the album was a success it seemed like The Rolling Stones were now going over the edge.
In May 1984 Mick recorded "State of Shock" with The Jacksons which led Mick wanting to try out a solo career. So in September he recorded his first solo album with guests like Pete Townshend and Jeff Beck. Shortly before the album was released The Rolling Stones decided to record their first album under a new Sony records contract. Keith Richards didn't approve of the solo efforts - he wanted Mick to stick to The Rolling Stones. In July 1985 Jagger made his first solo live appearance at the Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia. The Rolling Stones were going to perform but decided not to as things weren't going well for them at the time. During 1986 Mick worked on his second solo album "Primitive Cool" which he hoped would be a success but this was not to be. However, his 1988 tour proved to be a success, selling out in Japan.
But Mick accepted the fact that the only way to carry on with success was to get back with The Rolling Stones so in January 1989 he and Keith Richards reformed and they wrote songs for what was to be the "Steel Wheels" album. After the album was released The Rolling Stones went on a major worldwide tour with special concerts at London's Wembley Stadium. Sadly though in 1992 bassist of The Rolling Stones Bill Wyman announced his departure from the group which was to be the following year. Even though The Rolling Stones were upset to see him leave they accepted the fact that he'd been in there too long and they had to let go. Jagger released some more solo material during this time but it wasn't such a success. In 1994 The Rolling Stones released the album "Voodoo Lounge" and they went back on tour. The first The Rolling Stones project without Bill Wyman. The tour was the biggest tour in rock history raising over 300 million. As this tour was a success they returned yet again in 1997 with the "Bridges to Babylon" album and tour which lasted for two years which was combined with the "No Security" live album and tour. After the tour was finished Jagger's marriage was on the line as he had another child from a secret love affair. Soon after this was found out the marriage between him and Jerry Hall had ended. Since then Jagger's been a film producer and a solo artist. He has produced the film Enigma (2001) and has recorded his 2001 album "Goddess in the Doorway" - another commercial flop. But never fear because just recently the Stones announced a 40th Anniversary tour and that it will start in September, 2002.1943 Rolling Stones- Actor
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Jones was born on 28 February, 1942, to Lewis and Louise Jones. He had two sisters, Pamela and Barbara. Pamela died when Brian was still a child. He fathered his first of several children in high school and was subsequently made to leave. In the early 1960s, Brian formed the legendary group, The Rolling Stones. He even gave the group their name and booked their first gigs, working also as their manager for a short time. In 1965, Brian met and fell for stunning model Anita Pallenberg. They began a torrid affair. He composed the music to her film debut, A Degree of Murder (1967) ("Degree of Murder"). He also began drinking and experimenting with drugs. In 1967, Anita left Brian for his bandmate, Keith Richards. Brian fell deeper into drugs and depression. Brian was slowly withdrawing from his social life and his band into isolation. In November 1968, Brian purchased "Cotchford Farm", the house was formerly occupied by A.A. Milne, author of the "Winnie-the-Pooh" tales. The following month, he made his last public appearance with the Stones for their "Rock and Roll Circus" special. In June of 1969, Brian and the Stones parted ways. By then, Brian had started to clean up and was planning on forming another group. But on the 3rd of July, Brian was dragged unconscious from his swimming pool and later pronounced dead. He was 27. Mystery still surrounds his untimely death. Some believe it was drugs, some believe an asthma attack, and some even believe he was murdered. In 1999, Brian's ex-girlfriend, Anna Wohlin, who was with him on the night he died, wrote a book stating that Brian was murdered by a friend who had been doing some work to his property. In 1996, some of Brian's fans and friends collaborated and founded the "Brian Jones Fan Club".1942-69 Rolling Stones- Actor
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Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 - 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an interest in jazz at a young age and joined the band Blues Incorporated. He also started playing drums in London's rhythm and blues clubs, where he met future band-mates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones. In January 1963, he left Blues Incorporated and joined the Rolling Stones as drummer, while doubling as designer of their record sleeves and tour stages. Watts's first public appearance as a permanent member was in February 1963, and he remained with the group for 58 years.
Nicknamed "The Wembley Whammer" by Jagger, Watts cited jazz as a major influence on his drumming style. At the time of Watts's death, Watts, Jagger and Richards were the only members of the band to have performed on every one of the band's studio albums. Aside from his career with the Rolling Stones, Watts toured with his own group, the Charlie Watts Quintet, and appeared in London at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Charlie Watts Tentet.
In 1989, Watts was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones. He is often regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time.1941-2021 Rolling Stones- Music Artist
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Keith Richards is an internationally recognized iconic figure in contemporary culture and popular music as a singer, guitar player, songwriter, film actor, and public figure. He was voted 10th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, and was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, as founding member of the legendary rock band The Rolling Stones. Together with his song-writing partner, Mick Jagger, he wrote and recorded hundreds of songs, including their monster hit 'Satisfaction', one of the defining songs of the era.
He was born on December 18, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, England, UK. His father, Bert Richards, a factory worker, was injured during the WWII. His mother, Doris (Dupree), introduced him to music of jazz, and also encouraged his singing performances with a choir in Westminster Abbey. Keith Richards met Mick Jagger when he attended primary school during the 1950s, albeit when they went into secondary schools they lost touch for a while. But one day in 1960 they accidentally met on a train and talked about starting up a band. Eventually, Richards and Jagger made their dream come true. They established one of the most legendary life-long songwriting partnerships, following the example of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting for The Beatles. Besides their main success in popular music and entertainment, Richards and Jagger had carried on their early image of unkempt and surly youth that many others would emulate, and spread their influence across traditional boundaries of genres and styles into filmmaking, art, fashion, and contemporary lifestyle, thus turning Jagger and Richards into cross-cultural trend-setters.
Since The Rolling Stones were formed in 1962, Richards and Jagger were continuously absorbing from many musical styles and assimilated various genres and artistic influences, ultimately creating their very own inimitable style. Together they undergone transformation from semi-amateur local musicians to the leading international superstars. Both Richards and Jagger became poster boys for excess, however, they had survived ups and downs in their careers and personal lives, and remained the core of the band. Initially they shared a flat with the late Brian Jones in London, in 1962. The first lineup of the Stones consisted of Mick Jagger on lead vocal and harmonica Keith Richards on guitar, Bill Wyman on bass, Charlie Watts on drums and Brian Jones on guitar. In 1964 they released their first album titled "The Rolling Stones." In 1965 Richards and Jagger wrote their single, "The Last Time," that became their first number 1 hit in the UK. Then came "Satisfaction" (1965), which was composed by Keith Richards in his sleep, and with the addition of provocative lyrics by Mick Jagger it became the greatest hit and their calling card on each and every show.
In 1966, after The Beatles stopped giving live performances, The Rolling Stones took over as the unofficial "biggest touring band in the world" for the next few years. During 1966-1969 they toured the world, and constantly updated their song-list with many great hits like "Lets Spend the night together" (1967), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) and "Honky tonk woman" (1969). The incredible international success of the Stones came with a sad side, caused by Brian's drug and alcohol abuse that impaired his speech and appearance, so the band-mates had to replace him. In July 1969, Brian Jones died of drowning in his swimming pool while having signs of drug overdose. Upon Richards's and Jagger's approval, guitarist Mick Taylor took Brian's place. Brian's death at age 27 made him one of the first members of the infamous "27 Club" of rock stars who died at that age. Although Brian's estrangement from his band-mates, and his numerous arrests were caused by his personal problems with drugs, both Richards and Jagger were blamed at the time for Brian's death. The loss of one of their founding members was a painful moment for the Stones. However, at the end of the 1960s their creativity reached the new highs. Their albums "Beggars Banquet" (1968) and "Sticky Fingers" (1971) were among the most popular albums they ever made, having such hits as "Wild Horses" and "Brown Sugar."
During the 1970s The Rolling Stones remained the biggest band in the world, albeit they were rivaled by the Led Zeppelin. The Stones made thousands of live performances and multi-million record sales with hits like "Angie" (1973), "It's Only Rock and Roll" (1974), "Hot Stuff" (1976) and "Respectable" (1978). At that time both Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had individual ambitions, and applied their untamed creativity in various projects outside the Stones. Keith released his own single. In 1974 Ron Wood had replaced Mick Taylor on guitar and Keith and Ron both played lead guitars. During the decade Keith Richards had a family crisis on his hands, and suffered through emotional pain and drug abuse, albeit it didn't stop him from being himself. In 1980 the group released "Emotional Rescue" which Keith Richards didn't care for, and the group didn't even tour to promote the album. In 1981 with the release of 'Tattoo You', the group went on a major world tour filling stadiums in the US and in Europe. In 1983 the Stones recorded the album "Undercover" at the Compass Point in Nassau and during this time Mick and Keith were having arguments over rights of the group. After having created tens of albums and over a hundred popular songs together, their legendary song-writing partnership was undergoing the most painful test: the bitter rivalry between two enormously talented and equally ambitious superstars.
Outside of The Rolling Stones, Richards toured with The New Barbarians, and also was the front-man of the X-Pensive Winos in the 1980s. In 1985 Keith Richards took part in the "Artists United Against Apartheid" charity project, and has been a participant in many more charitable concerts ever since. In 1992 he released his solo album titled 'Main Offender', which got him back on the road with a promotional tour. Also during the tour he continued singing a few Stones songs. But individual career and solo performances did not bring Richards as much satisfaction as he experienced together with his writing partner. Eventually, Jagger and Richards got together in Barbados and started to write new songs for the album "Steel Wheels." After the Stones recorded it they went back on the road. It was the first tour of The Rolling Stones in 7 years. But in 1992 Bill Wyman announced that he was going to leave the group. In 1993 Keith Richards and his band released an album and toured for a few months. However, his artistic and personal connection with the Stones had eventually prevailed, and Richards reunited with his former band-mates.
In 1994 The Rolling Stones got back together again and recorded the album "Voodoo Lounge" and toured the world extensively. In 1995 an album of their warm up gig in a pub in Denmark was released. It was an acoustic live album called "Stripped". In 1997 they released the album "Bridges to Babylon" and started a new tour promoting the album. In 1998 a live album "No Security" was released. Their 1999 the tour ended and the group hasn't performed together until 2002. At that time Keith Richards continued playing guitar for various projects and artists, such as Norah Jones, and Aretha Franklin among others. Richards has been good friends with Johnny Depp, who modeled the character of Capt. Jack Sparrow after him, including his voice, his mannerisms, his personality, and aspects of his appearance. In return, Johnny Depp invited Keith Richards to play his father, Captain Teague, in the third installment of the "Pirates" franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007).
The Rolling Stones have released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and sold over 200 million records word-wide during their career spanning over 45 years. "The Stones" played in all kinds of spaces from small clubs to big stadium arenas, they remained one of the biggest entertainment acts touring the world with a retinue of jet-set hangers-on. Their inimitable shows, no matter the best, or the worst, has been played with fire and emotion, giving their audiences the kind of music they do best - it's only rock'n roll. In 2007 they even rocked the Tsar's Winter Palace with fifty thousand fans in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the communist revolution took place. They gave more large-scale shows internationally than any other existing band in the world, culminating in their 2005-2007 "A Bigger Band" tour with 147 concerts, the highest grossing tour of all time with $559 million earned. At their shows, even if you don't shake your hips like Mick Jagger, just hold on to your hat as tears go by, and they can start you up and get you rocking. You can make it if you try.
Since 1962, during the career spanning over 45 years, Keith Richards has been the lead guitarist and primary musical force behind The Rolling Stones, as well as songwriter for the band. He also continues making numerous guest performances as guitarist, as well as actor and producer active in various other projects. Besides his favorite Telecaster and Gibson guitars, Keith Richards owns a valuable collection of about one thousand vintage guitars of various brands, many of which he takes along on concert tours and studio gigs.
Since Richards wrote the signature "Satisfaction" guitar riff, that was called by Newsweek "five notes that took the world," his influence on popular music had never stopped. In his own words, Keith Richards has been dedicated to "grow this music up" beyond the theatrics of the rock's past and "keep it fresh."1943 Rolling Stones- Actor
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Wyman was born in Lewisham, Kent, on 24th October 1936. When he was a child he started to play the organ with his father. His first real job was when he did his national service in the RAF Regiment. When he came back to England he got married and had a kid called Steven. Bill then took up a job as a carpenter and was in the meantime teaching himself bass guitar.
In late 1962 he auditioned to be the bassist for the Rolling Stones and was duly chosen. The original line up consisted of Mick Jagger (vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums) and Brian Jones (guitar). The Stones released their first album in 1964 titled "The Rolling Stones". This album was the first of many successful ones. Through the 60s the Stones released singles like "Satisfaction" (1965), Let's Spend the night together (1967), Sympathy for the Devil (1968) and "Honky Tonk Woman" (1969). Even though Bill, together with Charlie, was more in the background of the group he still enjoyed himself, as he would have years of success to come. Even though he had had the breakup of his first marriage he still managed to twang away on his bass. In 1969 Brian Jones left the group and shortly afterwards he died in mysterious circumstances and was replaced by Mick Taylor. In 1970 the Stones were in debt. They had got no money from Decca for recording the album "Let it Bleed" and the money they should have had for touring wasn't coming in either. After Mick Jagger finished his performance in "Performance", (1970) they recorded Brown Sugar and immediately signed to a new record company. Throughout the rest of the 70s the Stones made endless hits and live performances. The tunes most known from then are "Brown Sugar" (1971), "Angie" (1973), "It's only rock 'n roll" (1974) and "Respectable" (1978).
In the meantime, Bill was making his own music. He released his debut solo album "Stone Alone" in 1976. Even though the album was not a great success it was admired by critics. The 80s, though, were to come and that was to be a funny time for Bill. The Stones released "Emotional Rescue" in 1980 but Bill was recording a solo album and he released what was to be his most popular single "Je suis un rock star" which was released in 1981. The same year the Stones released "Tattoo you" and they went on a major world tour to promote it. After this things were not going well for the five Stones. In 1983 the Stones recorded and released "Undercover" which was a success but things inside the group was not a success. Mick and Keith were arguing about what musical direction the group should go. Bill's second marriage had broken up. In the autumn of 1984, Mick Jagger recorded his first solo album "She's the boss" which Keith didn't approve of. In 1985 the Stones recorded "Dirty Work" which was released the following year and Bill recorded an album for his own band "Willie and the poor boys". At the end of the year Ian Stewart, known as the "Sixth Stone", died and the band was deeply moved.
When "Dirty Work" was released Bill, Keith, Ron and Charlie wanted to tour to promote the album but Mick said "No way Jose". This led to a Stones break-up and everybody in the band in turn falling out with Mick. Bill didn't do much until 1989 when the Stones got back together to recorded and tour behind "Steel Wheels". The tour was a success but it was to be Bill's last as in 1992 he announced that he was leaving the Stones and he left the following year. Keith did everything to stop him but no avail.
Since then he has been playing bass in "Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings" which are a popular live attraction and have released about 4 albums so far. It is not known whether Bill will join the Stones for a couple of concerts on the 40th Anniversary world tour, but you never know.1936 Rolling Stones- Actress
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She won The Festival di Sanremo Music Competion in 1964 with the song "Non ho l'età". With the same song - in the same year - she won the Eurovision Song Contest and entered the U.K. chart. SHE WAS ONLY 16!!! In her long career she has worked several times for RAI Italian Television and has had more then 10 Top20 hits. She was last seen in 1999 playing a small role in an Italian Sit-comedy "Commesse".1947- Actor
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Gianni Dall'Aglio is known for Quo Vadis, Baby? (2005), Joan Lui - Ma un giorno nel paese arrivo io di lunedì (1985) and Lucio per amico. Ricordando Battisti (2023).1945 Ribelli- Music Artist
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A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was catapulted to legendary status by the time he died in Beverly Hills at age 73.
Born on September 23, 1930, to Aretha and Baily Robinson, an impoverished Albany, Georgia, family that moved to Greenville, Florida while he was still an infant. It was not a cause for joy and celebration. His father soon abandoned the family and his baby brother, George Robinson, drowned in a freak washtub accident. Ray himself developed glaucoma at the age of five and within two years had lost his sight completely. A singer in a Baptist choir, he developed a love and feel for rhythms and studied music at the State School for Deaf and Blind Children, showing which brought out his talent and ear for playing various instruments, including the piano and clarinet.
An orphan by his early teens, Ray joined a country band at age 16 called The Florida Playboys. He moved to Seattle in 1948 where he and Southern guitarist Gossady McGee formed the McSon Trio. With an emphasis on easy-styled jazz, Ray also played in bebop sessions on the sly. He departed from the McSon Trio and signed with Los Angeles-based Swing Time Records, becoming the pianist for rhythm and blues great Lowell Fulson and his band. Atlantic Records eventually picked him up. Along the road he would add composer, writer and arranger to his formidable list of talents.
Ray's first R&B hit was "Confession Blues" in Los Angeles in 1949. In 1951, he had his first solo chart buster with "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand". His amazing versatility and raw, soulful delivery quickly caught on with audiences and helped put Atlantic Records on the map. Hits like "Mess Around", "Things I Used to Do", "A Fool for You", "I've Got a Woman", "Drown in My Own Tears", and especially "What'd I Say" in 1959, pushed gospel and R&B to a wider crossover audience. He made a move into the country music arena--unheard of for a black singer--in the 1960s, doing soulful spins on Hank Williams and Eddy Arnold tunes. In 1960, he left Atlantic and signed with ABC-Paramount. Under ABC-Paramount, hits poured out during this peak time with "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Hit the Road Jack", "Busted" and his beloved signature song "Georgia On My Mind".
His landmark 1962 album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" brought a new swinging style to country music. From there, he traveled a mainstream route--from interpreting songs from The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby") to appearing in "Diet Pepsi" ads ("You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-huh!"). He also showed up sporadically in films, playing himself in the movie Ballad in Blue (1965) and guest-starring in The Blues Brothers (1980) with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. A television musical variety favorite with his trademark dark sunglasses and dry humor, he worked alongside such musical legends as Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand on their very special evenings of song.
It is hard to believe that with everything he accomplished, Ray also had to deal with a longstanding heroin problem. In the mid-1960s, he was arrested for possession of heroin and marijuana and revealed that he had been addicted for nearly two decades. By 1965, he had completely recovered. The man who lived life on the edge was divorced twice and had 12 children both in and outside his marriages.
At the time of his death from liver disease on June 10, 2004, he was working on a recording project of duets with such performers as Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Elton John and Norah Jones. This collaboration entitled "Genius Loves Company" led to an incisive win at the Grammy Awards--eight posthumous trophies including "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year".
A few months after his death, the critically-acclaimed feature film biography Ray (2004) was released starring Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx.1930-2004- Actor
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Richard Anthony was born on 13 January 1938 in Cairo, Egypt. He was an actor, known for A Good Year (2006), That Man in Istanbul (1965) and Loulou (1980). He was married to Michèle Anthony. He died on 19 April 2015 in Pégomas, Alpes-Maritimes, France.1938-2015- Music Artist
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Orietta Berti was born on 1 June 1943 in Cavriago, Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She is a music artist and actress, known for Quando c'era lui... caro lei! (1978), Luca (2021) and Zum zum zum n° 2 (1969). She has been married to Osvaldo Paterlini since 14 March 1967. They have two children.1943- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Felice Chiusano was born on 28 March 1922 in Fondi, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), Maracatumba... ma non è una rumba! (1949) and Ferragosto in bikini (1960). He was married to Franca Andenna. He died on 3 February 1990 in Milan, Italy.1922-90 Quartetto Cetra- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Tata Giacobetti was born on 24 June 1922 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), Maracatumba... ma non è una rumba! (1949) and Days and Clouds (2007). He was married to Valeria Fabrizi. He died on 2 December 1988 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.1922-88 Quartetto Cetra- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Lucia Mannucci was born on 18 May 1920 in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress and writer, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), Maracatumba... ma non è una rumba! (1949) and Non cantare, spara (1968). She was married to Virgilio Savona. She died on 6 March 2012 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.1920-2012 Quartetto Cetra- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Virgilio Savona was born on 1 January 1920 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), Maracatumba... ma non è una rumba! (1949) and Days and Clouds (2007). He was married to Lucia Mannucci. He died on 27 August 2009 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.1920-2009 Quartetto Cetra- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in musty little dives (he carried his own P.A. system), he eventually got work as a band singer, first with The Hoboken Four, then with Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey. With the help of George Evans (Sinatra's genius press agent), his image was shaped into that of a street thug and punk who was saved by his first wife, Nancy Barbato Sinatra. In 1942 he started his solo career, instantly finding fame as the king of the bobbysoxers--the young women and girls who were his fans--and becoming the most popular singer of the era among teenage music fans. About that time his film career was also starting in earnest, and after appearances in a few small films, he struck box-office gold with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Gene Kelly, a Best Picture nominee at the 1946 Academy Awards. Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film that spoke out against intolerance, The House I Live In (1945). His career on a high, Sinatra went from strength to strength on record, stage and screen, peaking in 1949, once again with Gene Kelly, in the MGM musical On the Town (1949) and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949). A controversial public affair with screen siren Ava Gardner broke up his marriage to Nancy Barbato Sinatra and did his career little good, and his record sales dwindled. He continued to act, although in lesser films such as Meet Danny Wilson (1952), and a vocal cord hemorrhage all but ended his career. He fought back, though, finally securing a role he desperately wanted--Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). He won an Oscar for best supporting actor and followed this with a scintillating performance as a cold-blooded assassin hired to kill the US President in Suddenly (1954). Arguably a career-best performance--garnering him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor--was his role as a pathetic heroin addict in the powerful drama The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).
Known as "One-Take Charlie" for his approach to acting that strove for spontaneity and energy, rather than perfection, Sinatra was an instinctive actor who was best at playing parts that mirrored his own personality. He continued to give strong and memorable performances in such films as Guys and Dolls (1955), The Joker Is Wild (1957) and Some Came Running (1958). In the late 1950s and 1960s Sinatra became somewhat prolific as a producer, turning out such films as A Hole in the Head (1959), Sergeants 3 (1962) and the very successful Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964). Lighter roles alongside "Rat Pack" buddies Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. were lucrative, especially the famed Ocean's Eleven (1960). On the other hand, he alternated such projects with much more serious offerings, such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962), regarded by many critics as Sinatra's finest picture. He made his directorial debut with the World War II picture None But the Brave (1965), which was the first Japanese/American co-production. That same year Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a box office sensation. In 1967 Sinatra returned to familiar territory in Sidney J. Furie's The Naked Runner (1967), once again playing as assassin in his only film to be shot in the U.K. and Germany. That same year he starred as a private investigator in Tony Rome (1967), a role he reprised in the sequel, Lady in Cement (1968). He also starred with Lee Remick in The Detective (1968), a film daring for its time with its theme of murders involving rich and powerful homosexual men, and it was a major box-office success.
After appearing in the poorly received comic western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), Sinatra didn't act again for seven years, returning with a made-for-TV cops-and-mob-guys thriller Contract on Cherry Street (1977), which he also produced. Based on the novel by William Rosenberg, this fable of fed-up cops turning vigilante against the mob boasted a stellar cast and was a ratings success. Sinatra returned to the big screen in The First Deadly Sin (1980), once again playing a New York detective, in a moving and understated performance that was a fitting coda to his career as a leading man. He made one more appearance on the big screen with a cameo in Cannonball Run II (1984) and a final acting performance in Magnum, P.I. (1980), in 1987, as a retired police detective seeking vengeance on the killers of his granddaughter, in an episode entitled Laura (1987).1915-98- Actress
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Nilla Pizzi was born on 16 April 1919 in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), 10 canzoni d'amore da salvare (1962) and Ci troviamo in galleria (1953). She was married to Guido Pizzi. She died on 12 March 2011 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.1919-2011- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Shel Shapiro was born on 16 August 1943 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Brancaleone alle Crociate (1970), Time for Loving (1983) and All Roads Lead to Rome (2015).1943 The Rokes- Actress
- Soundtrack
She started her career as a singer at only 15 years old in 1959 in Fred Buscaglione's orchestra, then she recorded many albums and took part in 3 "Festival di San Remo" (the most important Italian musical show). She work as a singer and TV presenter until the first half of '70 when, when she became one of the most famous star of the Italian sex-comedy.
She is the wife of the director Mauro Ivaldi.1944- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Prolific singer, songwriter and composer Nico Fidenco was born in Rome as Domenico Colarossi on January 24, 1933. Signed to RCA in Rome in 1960, he had his first major hit as a singer with Legata ad un granello di sabbia. This became the first single to sell over a million copies in Italy. Soon after, Fidenco's beautiful rendition of Su nel cielo was chosen by the director Francesco Maselli for the soundtrack of his film Silver Spoon Set (1960). From then on, Fidenco followed in the footsteps of balladeer/cantautore Peppino Di Capri by recording in both English and Italian. Many of these recordings were covers of songs that featured prominently as motion picture themes, such as Exodus or Moon River (from Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Though he never registered a win at the prestigious San Remo music festival, Fidenco nonetheless turned an impressive number of superb ballads. He reached the peak of his popularity and ranking high in the charts by the mid-60's with iconic songs like Goccia di mare, A casa d'Irene, Celestina, Come nasce un amore and Non è Vero.
By 1966, Fidenco had turned his attention to writing a plethora of scores for genre movies, ranging from spaghetti westerns (The Texican (1966), Dynamite Jim (1966), etc.) to horror (Zombie Holocaust (1980)), Japanese anime and sexploitation (notably, the Emanuelle series). His warm, melodious voice was still occasionally featured, as in the title song, La ballata del treno, for the western Bandidos. Along with Jimmy Fontana, Riccardo Del Turco and Gianni Meccia, Fidenco co-founded a nostalgic vocal quartet (Super Quattro) in 1984, giving live performances (and releasing a trio of albums) of their respective 60's hits, updated with modern arrangements. The group disbanded in 1994. Fidenco himself retired in 2014 but his distinctive - very evocatively 1960s -- music can still be heard in films like Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019).
Fidenco was married to the actress Anna Maria Surdo from 1969 until his death in November 2022.1933-2022- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Giorgio Gaber was born on 25 January 1939 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was an actor and composer, known for Rossini! Rossini! (1991), Boccaccio '70 (1962) and Skin Deep (1979). He was married to Ombretta Colli. He died on 1 January 2003 in Montemagno, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.1939-2003- Actress
- Soundtrack
Anna Identici was born on 30 July 1947 in Castelleone, Cremona, Italy. She is an actress, known for Romance & Cigarettes (2005), Quaranta giorni di libertà (1974) and Totò ciak (1967). She was previously married to Maurilio Sioli.1947- Rocky Rabaraona is known for Un tueur si proche (2004), Rendezvous am Rhein (1964) and Cherchez l'idole (1964).1942 Les Surfs
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Paul Samwell-Smith was born on 8 May 1943 in Twickenham, London, England, UK. He is a composer, known for Harold and Maude (1971), Apollo 18 (2011) and The House Bunny (2008).1943 The Yardbirds- Soundtrack
Keith Relf was born on 22 March 1943 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK. He was married to April M Liversidge. He died on 14 May 1976 in London, England, UK.1943-76 The Yardbirds- Soundtrack
Jim McCarty was born on 25 July 1944 in Liverpool, England, UK.1944 The Yardbirds- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Jeff Beck was born in Surrey in 1944. He grew up in a suburban street in Carshalton. When he was about 10, he wanted to play the guitar. His mum, however, wanted him to play the piano because she didn't approve of the guitar. When he was in his late teens, he joined "The Tridents" on lead guitar. In 1965, he replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds. He played with them until 1967 when he decided he'd had enough and wanted to go solo. In the same year, he released his first solo effort "Hi-Ho-Silver Lining", which was the only one of his tracks he ever sang on. In his backing group, he had Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, who later went on to form The Faces. Thoughout the rest of the 60s and 70s, he continued to record instrumental albums. In 1983, three former The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, got together to do one-off charity concerts. In 1984, he contributed lead guitar on Mick Jagger's first solo album "She's the Boss". The same year, he released his next album "Flash", which was voted best instrumental album. In 1989, he released the album "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop", which was also a big success. Throughout the 90s, Jeff Beck still toured around and, in 1998, played a sellout date in Mexico. In early 2001, he released yet another album "You had it Coming", which he toured to promote.1944 The Yardbirds- Soundtrack
Chris Dreja was born on 11 November 1944 in Surbiton, Surrey, England, UK.1944 The Yardbirds- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Johnny Hallyday was born on 15 June 1943 in Paris, France. He was a music artist and actor, known for Man on the Train (2002), The Pink Panther 2 (2009) and The Walk (2015). He was married to Laeticia Hallyday, Adeline Blondieau, Elisabeth Etienne and Sylvie Vartan. He died on 5 December 2017 in Marnes-la-Coquette, Hauts-de-Seine, France.1943-2017- Actress
- Soundtrack
Wilma Goich was born on 16 October 1945 in Cairo Montenotte, Liguria, Italy. She is an actress, known for Heartbreaker (2010), Storia de fratelli e de cortelli (1973) and Five Times Two (2004). She was previously married to Edoardo Vianello.1945- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Milva was born on 17 July 1939 in Goro, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress and composer, known for Biblioteca di Studio Uno (1964), Via degli specchi (1983) and Mon beau-frère a tué ma soeur (1986). She was married to Maurizio Corgnati. She died on 23 April 2021 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.1939-2021- Music Department
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Singer, composer and author Frankie Laine was born March 30, 1913 in Chicago. His real name was Francesco Paulo LoVecchio and he lived in Chicago's Little Italy. Frankie was the oldest of eight children born to Sicilian immigrants John and Anna Lo Vecchio, who had come from Monreale, Sicily near Palermo. His father first worked as a water-boy for the Chicago Railroad and he was eventually promoted to laying rails. His father subsequently went to a Trade School and became a barber. One of his most famous clients was gangster Al Capone. Frankie made his first appearance in a choir at the Immaculate Conception Church where he was an altar boy. At 15, he performed at the Merry Garden Ballroom in Chicago while attending Lane Technical School. He supported himself by working as a car salesman, bouncer in a beer parlor and as a machinist. He also sang at a weekly radio station (wins) for $5.00 per week. The program director for wins convinced him to change his name to Frankie Laine after he auditioned for the radio. His name was stretched out to Frankie because opera singer Frances Lane (Dorothy Kirsten) and Fanny Rose (Dinah Shore) were singing at nearby radio station WNEW. At 18, he went to Baltimore and participated in a marathon dance contest after coming off the heels of winning ones in Stamford, CT. and Chicago. Laine set an all-time marathon dance record of 3501 hours in 145 consecutive days in 1932 at Wilson's Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey and his competition was an Olympic miler named Joey Ray and included 101 other contestants. Altogether, he participated in 14 marathons, winning three, second once and fifth twice. His last contest was back in Chicago at the Arcadia where a 14-year-old girl was disqualified because the judges found out her age. She later became successful singer, Anita O'Day.
Laine moved to Los Angeles, California and worked at a defense plant. One day, he noticed a boy struggling in a neighborhood swimming pool and saved him from drowning. His name was Ronnie Como, son of singer Perry Como. Coincidentally, Laine replaced Como on the Frankie Carlone band. Laine was working at Hollywood and Vine in the Billy Berg Club when he was discovered by Hoagy Carmichael after Carmichael heard him sing his song "Old Rocking Chair". The house trio was led by none other than Nat 'King' Cole. Laine introduced the song "That's My Desire" at the Vine Street Club in Hollywood, California. He was also a first class jazz singer and, by 1952, he was among the top recording stars and had his own show at the London Palladium. He also made a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II. In 1950, he married Nan Grey, an actress, and raised her two children from a previous marriage. He joined ASCAP in 1952, and his chief musical collaborator was Carl Fischer. He toured Britain in 1988, singing as vigorously as ever. He has experienced open heart surgery (quad by-pass) and still performs. In the 1980s, he observed children in a park without shoes in the wintertime and petitioned radio stations across the United States to raise money to buy shoes at Christmas time for poor families with children. Thousands and thousands of dollars have been raised to benefit this effort. Some of Laine's finest hits include "That's My Desire" (1947), "Mule Train" (1949), "Jezebel, Cry of the Wild Goose" (1950), "On the Sunny Side Of The Street" (1951), "I Believe" (1953) and "Moonlight Gambler" in 1957. He sang the title song for the hit TV series, Rawhide (1959), that starred Clint Eastwood in the early 1960s. He co-wrote "We'll Be Together Again". His wife passed away in recent years and he makes his home in San Diego, California.1913-2007- Actress
- Writer
- Music Department
Pavone's career began in 1962 when she won the first edition of the "Festa degli Sconosciuti" (Unknown performing artist contest), organized by famous singer Teddy Reno, who later became her husband and manager. In the following decade she became one of the most famous international stars, with Top-10 songs like "Datemi un Martello," "Viva La Pappa Col Pomodoro," and "Cuore," which entered the UK charts in 1966.1945- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon (née Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. He was raised by his mother's older sister Mimi Smith. In the mid-1950s, he formed his first band, The Quarrymen (after Quarry Bank High School, which he attended) who, with the addition of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, later became The Beatles.
After some years of performing in Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany, "Beatlemania" erupted in England and Europe in 1963 after the release of their singles "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me". That same year, John's first wife Cynthia Lennon welcomed their only son Julian Lennon, named after John's mother. The next year the Beatles flew to America to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) (aka The Ed Sullivan Show), and Beatlemania spread worldwide. Queen Elizabeth II granted all four Beatles M.B.E. medals in 1965, for import revenues from their record sales; John returned his four years later, as part of an antiwar statement. John and the Beatles continued to tour and perform live until 1966, when protests over his calling the Beatles phenomenon "more popular than Jesus" and the frustrations of touring made the band decide to quit the road. They devoted themselves to studio work, recording and releasing albums such as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Magical Mystery Tour" and the "White Album". Instead of appearing live, the band began making their own "pop clips" (an early term for music videos), which were featured on television programs of the time.
In the late 1960s John began performing and making albums with his second wife Yoko Ono, as the Beatles began to break up. Their first two albums, "Two Virgins" and "Life With The Lions", were experimental and flops by Beatles standards, while their "Wedding Album" was almost a vanity work, but their live album "Live Peace In Toronto" became a Top Ten hit, at the end of the 1960s.
In the early 1970s John and Yoko continued to record together, making television appearances and performing at charity concerts. After the release of John's biggest hit, "Imagine", they moved to the US, where John was nearly deported because of his political views (a late-'60s conviction for possession of hashish in the U.K. was the excuse given by the government), but after a four-year legal battle he won the right to stay. In the midst of this, John and Yoko separated for over a year; John lived in Los Angeles with personal assistant May Pang, while Yoko dated guitarist David Spinozza. When John made a guest appearance at Elton John's Thanksgiving 1974 concert, Yoko was in the audience, and surprised John backstage. They reconciled in early 1975, and Yoko soon became pregnant. After the birth of their son Sean Lennon, John settled into the roles of "househusband" and full-time daddy, while Yoko became his business manager; both appeared happy in their new life together.
After a five-year break from music and the public eye, they made a comeback with their album "Double Fantasy", but within weeks of their re-emergence, Lennon was murdered on the evening of December 8, 1980 by Mark David Chapman, a one-time Beatles fan angry and jealous over John's ongoing career, who fatally shot Lennon four times in the back outside his apartment building, The Dakota, as Lennon was returning from a recording session. Within minutes after being shot, John Lennon was dead at age 40. His violent death was a sudden and tragic end to the life of a talented singer and musician who wanted to make a difference in the world.1940-80 The Beatles- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Ringo Starr is a British musician, actor, director, writer, and artist best known as the drummer of The Beatles who also coined the title 'A Hard day's Night' for The Beatles' first movie.
He was born Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940, in a small two-storey house in the working class area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. His father, Richard Starkey, was a former dockworker turned baker; his mother, Elsie (Gleave) Starkey, was a bakery worker. His parents divorced when he was three and he and his mother, Elsie, moved to another home in Liverpool. While attending Silas Infants' Schools he suffered from many afflictions that basically ruined his education: he had constant abdominal pains, was once diagnosed with a ruptured appendix that led to an inflamed peritoneum, which also led to one of his first surgeries. Ringo was in a coma, and his recovery took a couple of months, during which more operations were performed, and he was known to be accident-prone. Shortly after he came out of the coma, he was trying to offer a toy bus to another boy in an adjoining bed, but fell and suffered from a concussion. When he finally was able to go back to school, he learned that he was far behind in his studies. At age 13 he caught a cold that turned into chronic pleurisy, causing him another stay at a hospital in Liverpool. A few lung complications followed, which resulted in a treatment in yet another children's hospital, this time until 1955. Meanwhile, Richard's mother Elsie had married Harry Graves, the man who her son referred to as a "step-ladder".
At the age of 15 he could barely read or write, although he had aptitude for practical subjects such as woodwork and mechanics. At that time he dropped out of school and got his first job was as a delivery boy for British Rail. His second job was a barman on a ferry to New Brighton, and his next was as a trainee joiner at Henry Hunt & Sons. Ringo injured his finger on the first day of his new job, and then he decided to become a drummer. His dream came true, when his stepfather bought him a new drum kit, and Richard promised to be the best drummer ever.
In 1957, together with Eddie Miles, he started his own band called 'Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group'. At that time he became known as Ritchie, and eventually became caught in the Liverpool's Skiffle craze. Although he was self-taught, he was a good time-keeper, and developed an original beat with his signature accentuations, due to his left-handed manner of playing on the right-handed drum set. He traveled from band to band, but he eventually landed a spot with "Raving Texans", which was a backing band for Rory Storm, later known as "Rory Storm & The Hurricanes", a popular band at that time Liverpool. Rory Storm encouraged Richard to enhance his career by legally changing his name to Ringo Starr. The Hurricanes topped the bill at one of Liverpool's clubs, where The Beatles also had a gig. Ringo's group was at times sharing popularity with The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. He wanted to leave The Hurricanes to join another group called "The Seniors."
Before Ringo, The Beatles tried several other drummers. At one point they were so desperate, that they even invited strangers from the audience to fill the position. Then came Pete Best who was not considered by the other band members to be the greatest drummer, and they were keen to recruit Ringo as his replacement. On June 6, 1962, at the Abbey Road studios, The Beatles passed Martin's audition with the exception of Pete Best. George Martin liked them, but recommended the change of a drummer. Being asked by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison; Epstein fired Pete Best. After a mutual decision the band was completed with Ringo Starr. Ringo contributed to their first hit in September of 1962, when The Beatles recorded Love Me Do, which charted in UK, and reached the top of the US singles chart.
Ringo's steady and reliable drumming became essential in their studio sessions, as well as in their numerous and exhausting live performances across the world. Ringo's positive disposition as well as his drumming style played the pivotal role in shaping the famous image and music style of The Beatles as they are now known to the world, under the management of Brian Epstein and music producer George Martin. Ringo filled the position of a drummer for The Beatles in the most critical time of the band's formation. He quickly connected with the other three members of The Beatles, and contributed to their music and creativity with his easy-going personality, light humour, reliable drumming and inventive musicianship. All four members were charismatic and individually talented artists, they sparked each other from the beginning. Eventually they made a much better group effort under the thorough management by Brian Epstein whose coaching helped consolidate their talents and mutual stimulation into beautiful teamwork.
Starr had dreamed of becoming a professional actor since his younger years. He wanted to be in movies probably more so than the other members of The Beatles. In 1964, during the first months of Beatlemania, Ringo coined the phrase 'A Hard Day's Night' which soon became the official title of the Beatles' first movie, in replacement for the working title 'Beatlemania'. Ringo received great reviews for his performance in A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965). At first, Ringo did not have a songwriting career, although he had no problem with his name recognition, however, he had a problem with getting his songs noticed. At that time he got help from his friends; John and Paul wrote a song or two for him to sing on their albums, such as "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Yellow Submarine". He also sang on "Boys" (by Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell) and "Honey Don't (by Carl Perkins), During his eight-year career with The Beatles, Ringo wrote two original songs: "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus' Garden" for which he also sang the lead vocals. He is listed as co-writing "What Goes On" from Rubber Soul with Lennon and McCartney. Besides his drumming, Ringo's voice was recorded on many of the most popular Beatle's songs, contributing to their unique sound and tight harmonies.
He had a hectic solo career during the 1970s, after the breakup of The Beatles. However, Ringo eventually emerged as a steady performer, and sustained a very popular solo career, turning out a dozen chart-topping hit songs and eight best-selling albums. He made a famous appearance together with George Harrison, Ravi Shankar, and other popular musicians in the landmark 'Concert for Bangladesh' in 1971. His 1973 solo release "Ringo" was the last album to feature all four living Beatles, although not on the same song. He also appeared in various TV shows, including his own special, Ringo (1978), and a TV mini-series, Princess Daisy (1983), with his wife Barbara. In 1984 he did narration for the children's series Thomas & Friends (1984). During the 1980s, after having a long period of troubles with alcohol, Ringo and his wife attended a rehabilitation clinic, and came back to the scene sober. He made the All-Starr Band tour of America and Japan. The tour was so popular that he formed another All-Starr Band lineup in 1992, and began an American and European tour in June of that year. Since then Ringo Starr has been enjoying a continuous career as the leader of the All-Starr Band. In 1994, along with George Harrison and Paul McCartney, the three surviving members of The Beatles, reunited and produced Lennon's previously unknown song 'Free as a Bird'. It was preserved by 'Yoko Ono' on a tape recording made by John Lennon in 1977. The song was re-arranged and re-mixed with the voices of three surviving members, and became an international hit. 'Free as a Bird' was also included in The Beatles Anthology TV documentary which was watched by 420 million people in 1995. Ringo, Paul and George sang their new songs, in addition to mixing their voices and music arrangements to John Lennon demos.
Ringo's old friend and band-mate George Harrison passed away on November 29, 2001, after a long battle against lung cancer. The following year, on the anniversary of Harrison's death, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton appeared in a Concert For George, to raise money for the support of Harrison's legacy in exploration of alternative lifestyles, views and philosophies. Starr also supported charitable organizations with consideration to those who have special needs.
Ringo Starr updated the role of a drummer in popular music, he made drummer an equal partner to the lead musicians, thus changing the whole paradigm in how the public saw drummers. His original performing style evolved from adjusting his natural left-handed manner of playing to the right-handed drum set, and allowing his left hand lead in weaving a pattern tightly intertwined with the music of other players, and adding such enhancements as unusual accents and stops. Ringo's musical originality as well as his inventive drumming patterns, time signatures and accentuations became essential to the sound of The Beatles. His on-stage presence and acting talent as well as his humor and musicianship was the essential part in formation and remarkable career of The Beatles.
He was married to his long-time girlfriend, Maureen Cox, from 1965 - 1975, and they had three children: Zak Starkey, Jason, and Lee. The couple broke up in July of 1975, and he married actress Barbara Bach. Ringo Starr divides his time between his residences in England, in Switzerland and his home in Los Angeles, California.1940 The Beatles- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
A master musician, a film producer and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and occasionally lead vocalist of The Beatles, George Harrison was born February 25, 1943, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He was also the youngest of four children, born to Harold Harrison and Louise Harrison.
Like his future band mates, Harrison was not born into wealth. Louise was largely a stay-at-home mom while her husband Harold drove a school bus for the Liverpool Institute, an acclaimed grammar school that George attended and where he first met a young classmate, Paul McCartney. By his own admission, Harrison was not much of a student and what little interest he did have for his studies washed away with his discovery of the electric guitar and American rock-'n'-roll.
There were a lot of harmonies in the Harrison household. He had a knack of sorts for it by age 12 or 13, while riding a bike around his neighborhood and hearing Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", playing from a nearby house. By the age of 14 George--who was a fan of such legends as , Harrison, who grew up in the likes of listening to such rock legends Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Buddy Holly--had purchased his first guitar and taught himself a few chords.
McCartney', who had recently joined up with another Liverpool teenager, John Lennon, in a skiffle group known as The Quarrymen, invited Harrison to see the band perform. Harrison and Lennon had a few things in common, such as the fact that they both attended Dovedale Primary School but didn't know each other. Their paths finally crossed in early 1958. McCartney had been egging the 17-year-old Lennon to allow the 14-year-old Harrison to join the band, but Lennon was reluctant; as legend has it, after seeing McCartney and Lennon perform, George was granted an audition on the upper deck of a bus, where he wowed Lennon with his rendition of popular American rock riffs.
The 17-year-old Harrison's music career was in full swing by 1960. Lennon had renamed the band The Beatles and the young group began cutting its rock teeth in the small clubs and bars around Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany. Within two years, the group had a new drummer, Ringo Starr, and a manager, Brian Epstein, a young record store owner who eventually landed the group a record contract with EMI's Parlophone label.
Before the end of 1962, Harrison and The Beatles recorded a song, "Love Me Do", that landed in the UK Top 20 charts. Early that following year, another hit, "Please Please Me," was released, followed by an album by the same name. "Beatlemania" was in full swing across England, and by early 1964, with the release of their album in the US and an American tour, it had swept across the States as well.
Largely referred to as the "Quiet Beatle" Harrison took a back seat to McCartney, Lennon and, to a certain extent, Starr. Still, he could be quick-witted, even edgy. During the middle of one American tour, the group members were asked how they slept at night with long hair.
From the get-go, Lennon-McCartney were primary lead vocalists. While the two spent most of the time writing their own songs, Harrison had shown an early interest in creating his own work. In the summer of 1963 he spearheaded his first song, "Don't Bother Me," which made its way on to the group's second album. From there on out, Harrison's songs were a staple of all Beatle records. In fact, some of the group's more memorable songs--e.g., "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Something," which was the only Beatle song ever recorded by Frank Sinatra--were penned by Harrison.
However, his influence on the group and pop music in general extended beyond just singles. In 1965, while on the set of The Beatles' second film, Help! (1965), Harrison took an interest in some of the Eastern instruments and their musical arrangements that were being used in the film. He soon developed a deep interest in Indian music. He taught himself the sitar, introducing the instrument to many western ears on Lennon's song, "Norwegian Wood"" He soon cultivated a close relationship with renowned sitar player Ravi Shankar. Other groups, including The Rolling Stones, began incorporating the sitar into some of their work. It could be argued that Harrison's experimentation with different kinds of instrumentation helped pave the way for such ground-breaking Beatle albums as "Revolver" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
Harrison's interest in Indian music soon extended into a yearning to learn more about eastern spiritual practices. In 1968 he led The Beatles on a journey to northern India to study transcendental meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Having grown spiritually and musically since the group first started, Harrison, who wanted to include more of his material on Beatle records, was clearly uneasy with the McCartney-Lennon dominance of the group. During the "Let It Be" recording sessions in 1969, Harrison walked out, staying away for several weeks before he was coaxed to come back with the promise that the band would use more of his songs on its records.
However, tensions in the group were clearly high. Lennon and McCartney had ceased writing together years before, and they, too, were feeling the need to go in a different direction. In January of 1970 the group recorded Harrison's "I Me Mine." It was the last song the four would ever record together. Three months later, McCartney announced he was leaving the band and The Beatles were officially over.
After the breakup of The Beatles, Harrison pursued a solo career. He immediately assembled a studio band consisting of ex-Beatle Starr, guitar legend Eric Clapton, keyboardist Billy Preston and others to record all the songs that had never made it on to The Beatles catalog. The result was a three-disc album, "All Things Must Pass". While one of its signature songs, "My Sweet Lord," was later deemed too similar in style to The Chiffons' 1963 hit "He's So Fine," forcing the guitarist to cough up nearly $600,000, the album as a whole remains Harrison's most acclaimed record.
Not long after the album's release, Harrison combined his charitable work and his continued passion for the east when he put together a series of ground-breaking benefit concerts at New York City's Madison Square Garden to raise money for refugees in Bangladesh. Known as the "Concert for Bangladesh", the shows, which featured Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, and Ravi Shankar, would go on to raise some $15 million for UNICEF, produced a Grammy-winning album, a successful documentary film (The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)) and laid the groundwork for future benefit shows like "Live Aid" and "Farm Aid".
Not everything about post-Beatle life went smoothly for Harrison, though. In 1974, his marriage to Pattie Boyd, whom he'd married eight years before, ended when she left him for Eric Clapton. His studio work struggled, too, from 1973-77, starting with, "Living in the Material World", "Extra Texture," and "33 1/3," all of which failed to meet sales expectations.
Following the release of that last album, Harrison took a short break from music, winding down his own label, Dark Horse Records--which he had started in 1974, and which had released albums by a number of other bands--and started his own film production company, Handmade Films. The company produced the successful Monty Python film Life of Brian (1979) and would go on to make 26 other films before Harrison sold his interest in the company in 1994.
In 1979, he returned to the studio to release his self-titled album. It was followed two years later by, "Somewhere in England," which was still being worked on at the time of John Lennon's assassination in December of 1980. The record eventually included the Lennon tribute track, "All Those Years Ago," a song that reunited ex-Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with ex-Wings members Denny Laine and Linda McCartney. While the song was a hit, the album, its predecessor and its successor, "Gone Troppo," weren't. For Harrison the lack of commercial appeal and the constant battles with music executives proved draining and prompted another studio hiatus.
A comeback of sorts came in November 1987, however, with the release of the album "Cloud Nine," produced by Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra). The album turned out several top-charting hits, including "Got My Mind Set On You"-- remake of the 1962 song by Rudy Clark--and "When We Was Fab," a song that reflected on the life of Beatlemania, with Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, who was dressed up as a walrus, but was a camera shy, in February 1988. Later that year Harrison formed The Traveling Wilburys. The group consisted of Harrison, Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, and spawned two successful albums. Buoyed by the group's commercial success, Harrison took to the road with his new bandmates in 1992, embarking on his first international tour in 18 years.
Not long afterwards he was reunited with McCartney and Starr for the creation of an exhaustive three-part release of a Beatles anthology--which featured alternative takes, rare tracks and a John Lennon demo called "Free as a Bird," that the three surviving Beatles completed in the studio. The song went on to become the group's 34th Top 10 single. After that, however, Harrison largely became a homebody, keeping himself busy with gardening and his cars at his expansive and restored home in Henley-on-Thames in south Oxfordshire, England.
Still, the ensuing years were not completely stress-free. In 1997, Harrison, a longtime smoker, was successfully treated for throat cancer. Eighteen months later, his life was again put on the line when a deranged 33-year-old Beatles fan somehow managed to circumvent Harrison's intricate security system and broke into his home, attacking the musician and his wife Olivia with a knife. Harrison was treated for a collapsed lung and minor stab wounds. Olivia suffered several cuts and bruises.
In May 2001, Harrison's cancer returned. There was lung surgery, but doctors soon discovered the cancer had spread to his brain. That autumn, he traveled to the US for treatment and was eventually hospitalized at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. He died November 29, 2001, at ex-bandmate McCartney's house in Los Angeles, at aged 58, with his wife and son at his side.
Just one year after his death, Harrison's final studio album, "Brainwashed," was released. It was produced by Lynne, Harrison's son Dhani Harrison and Harrison himself, and featured a collection of songs he'd been working at the time of his death. Dhani finished putting the album together and it was released in November of 2002.1943-2001 The Beatles- Music Artist
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Sir Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights. He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most #1s (shared), most covered song, "Yesterday," largest paid audience for a solo concert (350,000+ people, in 1989, in Brazil). He is considered one of the most successful entertainers of all time.
He was born James Paul McCartney on June 18, 1942, in Liverpool General Hospital, where his mother, Mary Patricia (Mohin), was a medical nurse and midwife. His father, James "Jim" McCartney, was a cotton salesman and a pianist leading the Jim Mac's Jazz Band in Liverpool. He has Irish and English ancestry. Young McCartney was raised non-denominational. He studied music and art, and had a happy childhood with one younger brother, Michael. At age 11, he was one of only four students who passed the 11+ exam, known as "the scholarship" in Liverpool, and gained a place at Liverpool Institute for Boys. There he studied from 1953 to 1960, earning A level in English and Art.
At the age of 14, Paul McCartney was traumatized by his mother's sudden death from breast cancer. Shortly afterward, he wrote his first song. In July 1957 he met John Lennon during their performances at a local church fête (festival). McCartney impressed Lennon with his mastery of guitar and singing in a variety of styles. He soon joined Lennon's band, The Quarrymen, and eventually became founding member of The Beatles, with the addition of George Harrison and Pete Best. After a few gigs in Hamburg, Germany, the band returned to Liverpool and played regular gigs at the Cavern during 1961.
In November 1961, they invited Brian Epstein to be their manager, making a written agreement in January 1962. At that time McCartney and Harrison were under 21, so the paper wasn't technically legal, albeit it did not matter to them. What mattered was their genuine trust in Epstein. He improved their image, secured them a record deal with EMI, and replaced drummer Best with Ringo Starr. With a little help from Brian Epstein and George Martin, The Beatles consolidated their talents and mutual stimulation into beautiful teamwork, launching the most successful career in the history of entertainment.
The Beatles contributed to music, film, literature, art, and fashion, made a continuous impact on entertainment, popular culture and the lifestyle of several generations. Music became their ticket to ride around the world. Beatlemania never really ended since its initiation; it became a movable feast in many hearts and minds, a sweet memory of youth, when all you need is love and a little help from a friend to be happy. Their songs and images carrying powerful ideas of love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity and liberation that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking walls in the minds of millions, thus making impact on human history.
All four members of The Beatles were charismatic and individually talented artists, they sparked each other from the beginning. Paul McCartney had the privilege of a better musical education, having studied classical piano and guitar in his childhood. He progressed as a lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a singer-songwriter. In addition to singing and songwriting, Paul McCartney played bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, piano and keyboards, as well as over 40 other musical instruments.
McCartney wrote more popular hits for the Beatles than other members of the band. His songs Yesterday, Let It Be, Hey Jude, Blackbird, All My Loving, Eleanor Rigby, Birthday, I Saw Her Standing There, I Will, Get Back, Carry That Weight, P.S. I Love You, Things We Said Today, "Hello, Goodbye," Two of Us, Why Don't We Do It in the Road?, Helter Skelter, Honey Pie, When I'm 64, Lady Madonna, She's a Woman, Maxwell's Silver Hammer, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," Mother Nature's Son, Long And Winding Road, Rocky Raccoon, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Fool on the Hill, You Never Give Me Your Money, Your Mother Should Know, The End, Yellow Submarine, and many others are among the Beatles' best hits. Yesterday is considered the most covered song in history with over three thousand versions of it recorded by various artists across the universe.
Since he was a teenager, McCartney honored the agreement that was offered by John Lennon in 1957, about the 50/50 authorship of every song written by either one of them. However, both were teenagers, and technically, being under 21, their oral agreement had no legal power. Still, almost 200 songs by The Beatles are formally credited to both names, regardless of the fact that most of the songs were written individually. The songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was really working until the mid-60s, when they collaborated in many of their early songs. Their jamming on a piano together led to creation of their first best-selling hit 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' in 1963.
In total, The Beatles created over 240 songs, they recorded many singles and albums, made several films and TV shows. Thousands of memorable pictures popularized their image. In their evolution from beginners to the leaders of entertainment, they learned from many world cultures, absorbed from various styles, and created their own. McCartney's own range of interests spanned from classical music and English folk ballads to Indian raga and other Oriental cultures, and later expanded into psychedelic experiments and classical-sounding compositions. His creative search has been covering a range of styles from jazz and rock to symphonies and choral music, and to cosmopolitan cross-cultural and cross-genre compositions.
Epstein's 1967 death hurt all four members of The Beatles, as they lost their creative manager. Evolution of each member's creativity and musicianship also led to individual career ambitions, however, their legacy as The Beatles remained the main driving force in their individual careers ever since. McCartney and The Beatles made impact on human history, because their influence has been liberating for generations of nowhere men living in misery beyond the Iron Curtain.
Something in their songs and images appealed to everybody who wanted to become free as a bird. Their songs carrying powerful ideas of real love, peace, help, imagination and freedom evoked creativity and contributed to breaking chains and walls in the minds of millions. The Beatles expressed themselves in beautiful and liberating words of love, happiness, freedom, and revolution, and carried those messages to people across the universe. Their songs and images helped many freedom-loving people to come together for revolutions in Prague and Warsaw, Beijing and Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow. The Beatles has been an inspiration for those who take the long and winding road to freedom.
McCartney was 28 when he started his solo career, and formed his new band, Wings. His first solo album, "McCartney," was a #1 hit and spawned the evergreen ballad "Maybe I'm Amazed", yet critical reaction was mixed. He continued to release music with Wings, that eventually became one of the most commercially successful groups of the 70s. "Band on the Run" won two Grammy Awards and remained the Wings' most lauded work. The 1977 release "Mull of Kintyre" stayed at #1 in the UK for nine weeks, and was highest selling single in the UK for seven years. In 1978 McCartney's theme "Rockestra" won him another Grammy Award. In 1979, together with Elvis Costello, he organized Concerts for the People of Kampuchea. In 1979, McCartney released his solo album "Wonderful Christmastime" which remained popular ever since.
In 1980 McCartney was arrested in Tokyo, Japan, for marijuana possession, and after a ten-day stint in jail, he was released to a media firestorm. He retreated into seclusion after the arrest, and was comforted by his wife Linda. Yet he had another traumatic experience when his ex-band-mate, John Lennon, was shot dead by a crazed fan near his home in New York City on December 8, 1980. McCartney did not play any live concerts for some time because he was nervous that he would be "the next" to be murdered.
After almost a year of absence from the music scene, McCartney returned in 1982 with the album "Tug of War," which was well received by public and enjoyed great critical acclaim. He continued a successful career as a solo artist, collaborated with wife Linda McCartney, and writers such as Elvis Costello. During the 80s, McCartney released such hits as 'No More Lonely Nights' and his first compilation, "All the Best." In 1989, he started his first concert tour since the John Lennon's murder.
In 1994, the three surviving members of The Beatles, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr, reunited and produced Lennon's previously unknown song "Free as a Bird." It was preserved by Yoko Ono on a tape recording made by Lennon in 1977. The song was re-arranged and re-mixed by George Martin at the Abbey Road Studios with the voices of three surviving members. The Beatles Anthology TV documentary series was watched by 420 million people in 1995.
During the 1990s McCartney concentrated on composing classical works for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, such as "The Liverpool Oratorio" involving a choir and symphony, and "A Leaf" solo-piano project, both released in 1995. That same year he was working on a new pop album, "Flaming Pie," when his wife Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer, and caring for his wife during her illness meant only sporadic public appearances during that time. The album was released in 1997 to both critical and commercial success, debuting at #2 on both the UK and US pop charts. That same year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II as Sir Paul McCartney for his services to music.
In April 1998, Linda McCartney, his beloved wife of almost 30 years, mother of their four children, and his steady partner in music, died of breast cancer. McCartney suffered from a severe depression and undergone medical treatment. He spent much of the next year away from the public eye, emerging only to campaign on behalf of his late wife for animal rights and vegetarian causes.
He eventually returned to the studio, releasing an album of rock n'roll covers in 1999. "Run Devil Run" made both Entertainment Weekly and USA Today's year-end top ten lists. McCartney also slowly returned to the public spotlight with the release of his another classical album, "Working Classical" in November 1999, in recording by the London Symphony Orchestra. His 2000 release "A Garland for Linda" was a choral tribute album, which raised funds to aid cancer survivors.
In 2000 he was invited by Heather Mills, a disabled ex-model, to her 32nd birthday. McCartney wrote songs dedicated to her, he and Mills developed a romantic relationship and became engaged in 2001. However, the year brought him a cascade of traumatic experiences. On September 11, 2001, Paul McCartney was sitting on a plane in New York when the World Trade Center tragedy occurred in front of his eyes, and he was able to witness the events from his seat. Yet there was another sadness, as his former band-mate George Harrison died of cancer in November, 2001.
Recuperating from the stressful year, McCartney received the 2002 Academy Award nomination for the title song to the movie Vanilla Sky (2001), and also went on his first concert tour in several years. In June, 2002, Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills married in a castle in Monaghan, Ireland. Their daughter, Beatrice Milly McCartney, was born in October 2003. Four years later, the high profile marriage ended in divorce, after a widely publicized litigation. "Whenever you're going through difficult times, I'm at the moment, it's really cool to be able to escape into music" says Paul McCartney.
In 2003 Paul McCartney rocked the Red Square in Moscow with his show "Back in USSR" which was attended by his former opponents from the former Soviet KGB, including the Russian president Vladimir Putin himself, who invited McCartney to be the guest of honor in the Kremlin. In 2004 Paul McCartney received a birthday present from the Russian president. In June 2004, he and Heather Mills-McCartney stayed as special guests at suburban Royal Palaces of Russian Tsars in St. Petersburg, Russia. There he staged a spectacular show near the Tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg where the Communist Revolution took place, just imagine.
In 2005 the Entertainment magazine poll named The Beatles the most iconic entertainers of the 20th Century. In 2006, the guitar on which Paul McCartney played his first chords and impressed John Lennon, was sold at an auction for over $600,000.
On June 18, 2006, Paul McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, as in his song "when I'm Sixty-Four." McCartney's celebrity status, made it a cultural milestone for a generation of those born in the baby-boom era who grew up with the music of The Beatles during the 1960s. The prophetic message in the song has been intertwined with McCartney's personal life and his career.
In 2007 McCartney left his longtime label, EMI, and signed with Los Angeles based Hear Music. He learned to play mandolin to create a refreshing feeling for his latest album "Memory Almost Full," then appeared in Apple Computer's commercial for iPod+iTunes to promote the album. In June 2007 McCartney appeared together with Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison and Guy Laliberté in a live broadcast from the "Revolution" Lounge at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
His 3-DVD set "The McCartney Years" with over 40 music videos and hours of Historic Live Performances was released in November 2007. His classical album "Ecco Cor Meum" (aka.. Behold My Heart), recorded with the Academy of St. Martin of the Fields and the boys of King's college Choir, was voted Classical Album of the Year in 2007. That same year, Paul McCartney began dating Nancy Shevell. The couple married in 2011, in London. Sir Paul's "On the Run Tour" once again took him flying across world from July through December 2011 giving sold out concerts in the USA, Canada, UK, United Arab Emirates, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
In July 2012, Paul McCartney rocked the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He delivered a live performance of The Beatles's timeless hit "Hey Jude" and engaged the crowd of people from all over the world to join his band in a sing along finale. The show was seen by a live audience of close to 80000 people at the Olympic Park Stadium in addition to an estimated TV audience of two billion people worldwide.
On the long and winding road of his life and career, Sir Paul McCartney has been a highly respected entertainer and internationally regarded public figure.1942 The Beatles- Actor
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Born in Toulon on 24 October 1927, Gilbert Bécaud was introduced to music at a very early age and started playing the piano well before attending the Nice conservatoire at age nine. Accepted by the Sacem at the age of 20, Gilbert Bécaud composed film scores on several occasions before only gradually taking an interest in songs (the French lyricist Pierre Delanoé wrote his first song "Mes mains"). He also composed music for Edith Piaf, such as "Je t'ai dans la peau". A meeting in 1952 with the poet Louis Amade gave birth to the song "Les Croix". Bécaud's singing career took off with his first super-45 featuring three tracks, "Mes mains","Viens","Quand tu danses". These songs were recorded under the His Master Voice label (now EMI), a record company that has supported Bécaud since the beginning.1927-2001- Actress
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A very successful and popular singer until 1971, then talent scout and recording entrepreneur, Caterina Caselli Sugar is a unique case in the Italian music business. At the height of her success and with over than 10 million records sold, four years after her debut with "Nessuno Mi Può Giudicare" (1966), Caterina Caselli made the decision to retire from performing to pursue the record production activities and dedicate her time and efforts to developing young talent. Starting in 1976 with her label Ascolto through which major artists were launched such as Pierangelo Bertoli, Mauro Pagani, Area with Demetrio Stratos, Enrico Ruggeri, Raf, Francesco Baccini, Sergio Caputo, Paolo Vallesi, while building an International career for the outstanding Paolo Conte. Under the management of Caterina Caselli Sugar, in 1989, a new company emerged. One started from scratch and heavily focused on talent scouting and record production with the label Insieme-Sugar (now Sugar). With little risk aversion and a focus on the international marketplace, Sugar, produced "Notte Italiana" the 1990 anthem to the Football World Cup held in Italy. Written/composed by Giorgio Moroder and performed by Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato, it immediately became an international hit at the topped charts the world over for close to a year.
In the subsequent years, the label developed a growing roster including the world's most beloved tenor Andrea Bocelli, with almost 100 million copies of pop and opera albums sold; Sanremo Festival winners Avion Travel (in 2000); singer-songwriter Elisa - one of the most popular local female artists to this day; stadium touring band Negramaro (the first italian band to fill Milan' San Siro Stadium after just five years of career); eclectic pop icon Malika Ayane, known for having one of the most recognizable voices in Italy; Sanremo winner and 2011 Eurovision runner up, pop-jazz artist and composers, Raphael Gualazzi As a publisher SugarMusic is in the top italian and International league with a global catalogue that include popular music but also Edizioni Suvini Zerboni with its fundamental listings of contemporary 1900 composers such as Goffredo Petrassi and Luigi Dallapiccola, Bruno Maderna's and Luciano Berio's first works (including the ones they created together at RAI Laboratorio di Fonologia in Milano that Ladislao Sugar deposited at the italian collecting society SIAE under the "magnetic tape" format, a prime in Europe), and those of Aldo Clementi, Franco Donatoni, Ennio Morricone, Ivan Fedele and Alessandro Solbiati. In 2011 Sugar acquired Edizioni C.A.M., a major movie soundtracks catalogue of historic recordings. With over 2,000 original soundtracks, it documents the sound of Italian cinema and captures film history like no other. La Dolce Vita, Amarcord, Mondo Cane, Il Postino, 8½ and Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) are but a few of the works from over 400 music maestros such as Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Luis Bacalov, Riz Ortolani, Piero Piccioni, Armando Trovajoli, Piero Umiliani, Stelvio Cipriani, Fiorenzo Carpi, Philippe Sarde, and many more.
Caterina's recording company Sugar has supported the development of innovative business models and created a variety of special projects including, "One Night in Central Park" (2011), arguably the most extraordinary concert event of Andrea Bocelli's career, organized in collaboration with Barilla, "La Dolce Vita the music of Italian Cinema" (2014) the international format for great orchestras as well as reaching numerous international milestones including the global chart-topping success of 'Si', Bocelli's most recent studio album, which was nominated for a Grammy and reached number one in both the official U.S. and U.K. album charts and the recent event, "Music For Hope" (2020) from the Duomo cathedral in Milan, the most watched classical music live stream in YouTube history.
In 2021 the documentary "Caterina Caselli - Una vita cento vite" was previewed as Special Event at the 16th edition of Rome Film Fest. The docufilm signed by Renato De Maria tells the story of Caterina Caselli and her bond with the central figures in Italian music: from the big names she has worked with, to the artists she herself made famous, such as Andrea Bocelli, Elisa, Negramaro and many others. A crystal-clear, profound portrait, with original commentary and archive material faithfully bearing witness to the complex nature of Caterina Caselli's personality , poised between fragility and determination.
For her artistic and industrial activities Caterina Caselli Sugar has received over the years many awards and rewards among which the Marisa Bellisario Foundation's Golden Apple for Creative Industries in 1998, and the Golden Ambrogino by the City of Milan in 2007.
On March 8th 2006 the President of Italy's Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi awarded Caterina the high onorary title of Grande Ufficiale al merito della Repubblica.1946- Actor
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Bobby Solo was born on 18 March 1945 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor, known for A Most Violent Year (2014), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007) and Five Times Two (2004). He has been married to Tracy Quade since 1995. They have one child. He was previously married to Sophie Teckel.1945- Actress
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Lea Massari was born on 30 June 1933 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She is an actress and writer, known for L'Avventura (1960), Murmur of the Heart (1971) and Indian Summer (1972). She has been married to Carlo Bianchini since 13 November 1963.1933- Actor
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Gianni Morandi was born on 11 December 1944 in Monghidoro, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Parasite (2019), All the Money in the World (2017) and Luca (2021). He has been married to Anna Dan since 10 November 2004. They have one child. He was previously married to Laura Efrikian.1944- Actress
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In 1954 Caterina Valente introduced herself to European audiences with her recordings of "Istanbul" and "I love Paris". In 1955 Gordon MacRae presented her on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" as the "Malaguena" Girl. This was followed by the worldwide hit "The Breeze and I".
Las Vegas critics raved about the extraordinary talent of the young European vocalist who could sing in 12 languages and she soon found the spotlight on TV, at the Hollywood Palace and Dean Martin was so impressed he invited her on his TV show at least a dozen times. Danny Kaye, Perry Como and Bing Crosby often featured her as well, along with other TV hosts. In "The Entertainers" aired in 1964/65 she shared the bill with Carol Burnett, Dom DeLuise and Bob Newhart and was awarded the FAME Award as best vocalist on American television.
From the mid fifties to the eighties German, Italian, Swiss and Austrian Television produced more than a dozen series of Valente-Shows and her guest spots over the globe are uncountable.
Among others, she has performed with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, toured extensively in concert with Woody Herman, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Buddy Rich and has recorded with Sy Oliver, Claus Ogerman and Chet Baker just to name a few.
Born in Paris (January 14th 1931) of Italian parents, once married to a German then to an Englishman, Caterina Valente easily related to fans wherever she performed, particularly in Europe. She stormed the charts in Germany with "Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe" and Tipitipitipso" becoming the queen of German Schlager. In Italy romantic ballads like "Nessuno al mondo" and "Till" brought her gold records. The Grand Prix du Disque was her award in France for "Bimbombey" and she topped the charts in the US and the UK with the before mentioned "Malaguena" and "The Breeze and I".
She starred in 12 European movie-musicals; she dances (less exuberantly since undergoing two major hip operations); and is a virtuoso on the guitar, having strummed the instrument in an orchestra when only a teen-ager.
Major awards from Italy, Germany (2 crosses of merit), France (officer of artistic education), Brazil, Japan as well as the USA (including a best female vocalist Grammy nomination) document her artistic and civil achievements throughout the years.
But she considers the 18 concerts sharing the stage of the Olympia in Paris with Michel Legrand in 1972 as well as the album Valente 86 with the Count Basie Orchestra and relative 1986 European Tour under the direction of, and with arrangements by Thad Jones, to be her artistic highlights.
In 1986, her 50th anniversary in show business was celebrated with a televised tribute entitled Bravo Caterina, and the Guinness Book of World Records recognized her as Europe's most successful female recording artist, with over 1350 albums to her credit.
"Girltalk" her latest album of newly recorded material with harpist Catherine Michel was released to international critical acclaim in 2001.1931- Actress
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Karen Gunderson is known for The Young Swingers (1963) and Squares (1972). She was previously married to Alan Jay Lerner.I Minstrels- Music Department
Ann White is known for Watchmen (2009), War of the Worlds (2005) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008).I Minstrels- Actress
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Marisa Del Frate was born on 11 March 1931 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Addio per sempre! (1958), Perdono (1966) and Obiettivo ragazze (1963). She died on 5 February 2015 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.1931-2015- Actor
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In 1953 Eddie Fisher was given his own fifteen-minute TV show called Coke Time (1953), sponsored by the Coca-Cola company. This show proved to be so popular that Coke then offered Eddie a $1 million contract to be their national spokesperson. A deal of that magnitude was almost unheard of at this time and helped push Fisher towards being one of the most popular singers by 1954. In 1955 Eddie married Debbie Reynolds and daughter Carrie Fisher was born a year later, followed by son Todd Fisher in l958. Later that year, the scandal of the decade broke when stories of Eddie's affair with Elizabeth Taylor were made public. She had been widowed earlier that year when her husband Mike Todd, Eddie's best friend, died in a plane crash. The bad publicity that followed did a great deal of damage to Eddie's career, while it actually increased the amount of money Elizabeth was offered for films. He and Liz did the movie BUtterfield 8 (1960), which actually earned Taylor an Academy Award, though it was received with mixed reviews. From there Liz went on to star in Cleopatra (1963), with Richard Burton, another scandal and divorce for Liz. With his TV show long gone and hit records a thing of the past, his career in the sixties consisted mainly of stage shows in Las Vegas, New York, and smaller venues as time went on. For a few years he was married to Connie Stevens and they had two daughters, Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher before divorcing in 1968. Eddie Fisher has written two autobiographies, the latest "Been There, Done That" published with great controversy. It seems some of the women in his past, including Debbie Reynolds, did not care for his portrayal of them. He must be given credit, however, for owning up to his own actions, which led to the degradation of his career. His fifth wife, Betty Lin, passed away from lung cancer on April 15, 2001.1928-2010- Actor
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Sacha Distel was born on 29 January 1933 in Paris, France. He was an actor and composer, known for Matchstick Men (2003), Joy (2015) and Gangster No. 1 (2000). He was married to Francine Distel. He died on 22 July 2004 in Rayol-Canadel, Var, France.1933-2004- Actress
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Petula Clark was a star at the age of 11. She starred in British concert halls and on BBC radio singing for the troops during WWII. She was a child star in a series of British films from the end of WWII through to the early 1950s,and by 1954 was having hit records. After a move to France in 1960, having fallen for a Frenchman, she had hit records all over Europe ,and by 1966 with such hits as "Downtown" and "My Love" having topped the American charts, became a truly international star.1932- Actor
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Tony Dallara was born on 30 June 1936 in Campobasso, Molise, Italy. He is an actor, known for Juke box - Urli d'amore (1959), Le tardone (1964) and Ragazzi del Juke-Box (1959).1936- Composer
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Enzo Jannacci was born on 3 June 1935 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was a composer and actor, known for Piccoli equivoci (1989), Quando dico che ti amo (1967) and Saxofone (1978). He was married to Giuliana Orefice. He died on 29 March 2013 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.1935-2013- Actor
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Little Tony was born as Antonio Ciacci in 1941 in Tivoli, Italy, but he was a citizen of San Marino. His parents were born there, and he never applied for Italian citizenship although he lived there most of his life. His father was a singer and accordionist. Inspired by the new rock and roll sounds from the USA, Antonio formed his own rock and roll group in 1957. He was the lead singer, with his older brother Alberto on bass and his younger brother Enrico on guitar. Little Tony was an emulation of Little Richard. The following year, Little Tony & His Brothers were signed by Durium Records, who released a series of covers of American rock and roll songs by them in Italy. Their hits included Lucille, Johnny B. Goode, Splish Splash and Shake Rattle and Roll. In 1959, Italian singer Marino Marini was in London to appear on the TV show Oh Boy!, and recommended the group to the producer Jack Good. Good visited Italy to see a Milan concert by Little Tony & His Brothers, was impressed, and signed them on the spot. They moved to England, where they would live and perform for some 18 months. They made their first appearance on Good's new TV show Boy Meets Girls in September 1959, and released their first single in the UK, I Can't Help It - the 11th single of their career in Italy - on the Decca label. Tony was nicknamed 'the boy with the ducktail'. Their third British single was for the first time recorded in London. The result, the rock ballad Too Good, written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, reached # 19 on the UK singles chart in January 1960. It was their only chart success in Britain. The group continued to appear regularly on TV shows in Britain until 1962.
Little Tony & His Brothers revisited Italy in 1961 to appear at the San Remo Festival, where they reached second place with 24 mila baci (24 thousand kisses). He also contributed songs to popular Musicarellos as I Teddy boys della canzone/The Teddy Boys Lyrics (Domenico Paolella, 1960) and the spoof Rocco e le sorelle/Rocco and the Sisters (Giorgio Simonelli, 1961). The following year the group returned more permanently in Italy. Little Tony then worked as a solo singer and started to sing in Italian. He had his first #1 in Italy with Il ragazzo col ciuffo in 1962. He also began to work as a film actor, notably appearing in 5 marines per 100 ragazze/5 Marines for 100 girls (Mario Mattoli, 1962) starring Virna Lisi, the crime comedy Un gangster venuto da Brooklyn/A gangster came from Brooklyn (Emimmo Salvi, 1966) with Akim Tamiroff, and the Musicarello Riderà!/Laugh! (Bruno Corbucci, 1967). One of his biggest hit songs was Cuore matto (Heart Of The Matter), which #1 for nine consecutive weeks in 1967. Two years later, he formed his own record label, Little Records and continued to record regularly. During his career he also had hits in Europe and South America and had countless albums released in Italy. In 1993 he made a come-back in the cinema with a supporting part in Ken Loach's acclaimed comedy-drama Raining Stones (1993). In 2006, he suffered a heart attack during a concert in Ottawa organised by the Italian-Canadian community. He fully recovered and returned to the San Remo festival in 2008. After a long illness (cancer), he passed away on 28 May 2013 in Rome. He was 72. Little Tony had one daughter, Cristiana (1972) and three grandchildren: Martina, Mirko and Melissa.1941-2013- Actress
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Dalida was a French-Italian singer, born to Italian parents in Egypt. She moved to France in her 30's, where she enjoyed the most successful part of her career. She was born on January 17, 1933 in Cairo, Egypt as Yolande Christina Gigliotti. She was married to Lucien Morisse. She died on May 3, 1987 in Paris, France.1933-87- Actor
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Sergio Endrigo was born on 15 June 1933 in Pola, Istria, Italy [now Pula, Istria, Croatia]. He was an actor and composer, known for Massacre Time (1966), The Reunion (1963) and The Next Victim (1995). He was married to Maria Giulia Bartolocci. He died on 7 September 2005 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.1933-2005- Actor
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The life of James Marcus Smith began on November 6, 1938, at Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas (USA).
As a young boy, Jim, like many others, was influenced by black Negro musicians and their music. In spite of the racism that ruled heavily in the Southern States, he listened to all the Baptist Gospel singers around his area on Sundays, and sang along with them. In those days, nearly everybody in the South used to sing in church. As a three-year-old, his Uncle Dan took him to a recording booth at the nearby fairground, and recorded him singing his first ever song called "Roll Out The Barrel".
Jim met and worked with Tommy Sands and Elvis Presley, George Jones, Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Collins Kids and many others while growing up in Houston, at places like The Hitching Post, The Eagles Hall, The South Maine Olde Spanish Trail, for the leading DJs at the time, Cliffie Stone and Biff Collie. Still, he had to wait for fame, as he had promised his parents that he would finish high school before pursuing fame and fortune. He had already been attending San Marcos Military Academy, at San Marcos, Texas, since he was 9-years-old, and in the summer for three months in 1953, 1954 and 1955, he studied at the Culver Naval Academy zt South Bend, Indiana. He graduated in 1957 from Western Military at Alton, Illinois. After this, he made his way to Hollywood.
On arriving in Hollywood, he contacted his old friend Tommy Sands, who suggested he go and see the local leading vocal coach, Lillian Goodman, who trained all the Hollywood greats. She introduced Jim to songwriting Oscar winner Ray Gilbert. Ray took Jim to the big agents, Gaby Lutz, Heller and Lobe, who had such names as Liberace, Kay Starr, Frankie Laine and many other famous names on their books. Jim was signed up, and was named "Jett Powers," as they thought that "Jim Smith" was too ordinary. Jim then met up with a girl named Sharon Sheeley, who had written a big hit for Ricky Nelson called "Poor Little Fool," and at the time, was going with Eddie Cochran. They all became the closest of friends. Jett, by now, was going with Sharon's friend Dotty Harmony, and began writing with Sharon, Dottie, Jackie DeShannon, Richard Glasser, Baker Knight, The Burnette Brothers, Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey and many others around at that time.
At the same time, Jim was introduced to Kim Fowley, who used him in his new group, The Hollywood Argyles, who scored a big hit with the 1960 "Alley Oop". Sharon later took him to Liberty Records, where they signed him to a song writing and singing contract after Sharon changed his name yet again to P.J. Proby, after a boy she had dated before going with Eddie Cochran when in Junior High School. On that day, a first step to worldwide fame was taken.
In 1961 Liberty released the first P.J. Proby single, "Try To Forget Her" and "There Stands The One," produced by Richard Glasser with David Gates on bass, Hal Blaine on drums, plus a string section. Proby kept busy in the studios as a session singer for such artists as B.B. King, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Elvis Presley. But his burning desire was still to have a successful career as a solo singer.
In 1962, Sharon Sheeley and Jackie DeShannon composed a number, and gave it to Proby titled "The Other Side of Town," which was coupled with "Watch Me Walk Away," composed by their friend and producer Richard Glasser ("Dickie" to Sharon and Jackie). The production was very good, but the company did not do any promotion work on it for Proby. This was a pattern to be repeated until P.J. started his recording career in England. It was Sharon and Jackie who introduced Proby to the talented and charismatic producer Jack Good.
In late 1963 Jack Good travelled back to England at the request of Brian Epstein, to produce the first TV special to be screened worldwide of the fast rising group The Beatles. The programme was to be called "Around the Beatles (1964)", with a few newcomers at the time, Cilla Black, Long John Baldry (more famous now for discovering Elton John and Rod Stewart) and a little black girl named Millie. Jack took with him some demo tapes of P.J., which impressed Epstein and the "Boys", enough to have Jack send for him in Hollywood. Through the satellite Telstar, the show was broadcast all over the world giving millions of people the chance to get to know P.J. Proby. That breakthrough lead to Proby's arrangement of the old 1939 Dick Haymes ballad "Hold Me," which P.J. turned into an up tempo rocker, reaching the number three spot in the British charts. This success was followed by yet another transformed oldie from the same period titled "Together," also in the same style, which reached number eight in the charts. Both singles, as did all of Proby releases, charted high in the American Billboard charts. These first singles were released in Europe on the Decca Label. However, P.J. was still under contract to Liberty Records USA, who won a successful court action against Decca in their bid to get Proby back.
In 1964 Liberty Records issued the first Proby LP in Britain, simply titled "I am P.J. Proby," containing all the music that P.J. and Charles Blackwell had put together for Decca. Once again, Liberty Records gave neither the single nor the album any PR work or big marketing campaign. P.J. was beginning to realise that if he was to make things happen, it was going to all be down to him, and himself alone. He would have to sell himself by himself, and so he did.
"P.J. Proby in Town" respectively arranged and produced by Johnny Spence, John Scott (as Johnny Scott), with whom he collaborated on eight albums for Liberty, and Ron Richards, with songs by Les Reed and Barry Mason, gave Proby more than enough opportunity to present his wide range of abilities. Highlighted on this album were such numbers as "I Will" (written by Richard Glasser for his sister), "My Prayer", "To Make A Big Man Cry", "What Kind Of Fool Am I" and P.J.'s favourite "If I Loved You" from his favourite musical "Carousel". Jim has always yearned to play Billy Bigelow, since watching one of his idols Gordon MacRae in the part.
P.J. was known for his exhausting visual stage performances. It was one of these performances on January 29, 1965, at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, in London, that Proby, who was the first male ever to wear his hair in a pony tail in the last century at least, burst out of his skin tight velvet bellbottoms doing his act based on the coloured shows he had been used to attending in the rougher areas of Downtown LA.
He explained to the frantic press that the ripped clothing was an accident, due to the weak velvet material. But when two days later, the same thing again happened, the audiences were wild with excitement, as they had never witnessed such body movement onstage, nor such provocative mood, and they loved him. However, the British systems that govern the music scene were less enthusiastic. Jim was banned from all theatres in Great Britain, and not allowed to perform his recordings on the BBC or ATV television stations.
By February 24th, Proby was unable to perform almost anywhere, although he was headline news in every newspaper and paparazzi. As a counter attack to this total boycott on P.J., Liberty released a single on February 27th. The recording was "I Apologise". This was with no promotion or personal appearances permitted, yet it still reached number 11 in the charts, with no radio or television promotion. Proby continued his recordings, despite the door being slammed on him by the industry. In November 1965, he once again proved to his loyal fans that the "magic" was never to leave him. His recording of "Maria" from "West Side Story," was regarded along with "Somewhere" as two of the best and most exciting versions ever, and are still the two of his most requested songs.
From the 70s onwards, Jim appeared in concert throughout the world, moving also into theatre appearances in many highly successful productions and musicals. Jack Good cast P.J. as Cassio in the Rock Musical "Catch my Soul" (an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Othello"). Other successful staging followed, in particular the lead role in the musical "Elvis," that played London's West End in 1977, and for which he accepted, on behalf of the play, the Evening Standard Award for Best Production of the Year. Other starring roles on stage that followed were in the Roy Orbison story, "Only The Lonely," and the life story of Jack Good, "Good Rockin Tonite," as well as a return to the musical "Elvis".
During the early 90s, P.J. got a call from some old friends, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, asking him to join them on a world tour of the production Pete wrote and filmed around the same time he put together "Tommy (1975)", called "Quadrophenia (1979)," in which they wanted P.J. to play "The Godfather". After a huge success with The Who and the "Quadrophenia (1979) Tour", P.J. recorded the "Legend" album for EMI, produced by another friend, Marc Almond, which Jim regards as some of the best work he has ever done with contemporary music. The 1997 comeback album was poorly promoted, and what copies had been pressed, quickly sold out from stores (EMI did however re-issue this album on CD format in 2006). Since the new millennium, Proby has found a renewed interest in his recording career, and to the delight of his fans, has independently released a series of new studio albums and live concert DVDs. In November 2008, the legend celebrated his 70th birthday, and to mark this special occasion, his former record label Liberty/EMI released "The Best of the EMI Years 1961-1972".
To say P.J. Proby is talented is an understatement. He's a giant who has made an indelible impression upon the music and the entertainment industry. There is no dispute that P.J. Proby is one of the most exciting and talented performers of our time.1938- Music Artist
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Louis Armstrong grew up poor in a single-parent household. He was 13 when he celebrated the New Year by running out on the street and firing a pistol that belonged to the current man in his mother's life. At the Colored Waifs Home for Boys, he learned to play the bugle and the clarinet and joined the home's brass band. They played at socials, picnics and funerals for a small fee. At 18 he got a job in the Kid Ory Band in New Orleans. Four years later, in 1922, he went to Chicago, where he played second coronet in the Creole Jazz Band. He made his first recordings with that band in 1923. In 1929 Armstrong appeared on Broadway in "Hot Chocolates", in which he introduced Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin', his first popular song hit. He made a tour of Europe in 1932. During a command performance for King George V, he forgot he had been told that performers were not to refer to members of the royal family while playing for them. Just before picking up his trumpet for a really hot number, he announced: "This one's for you, Rex."1901-71- Actor
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Aurelio Fierro was born on 13 September 1923 in Montella, Campania, Italy. He was an actor, known for Luna e l'altra (1996), Lazzarella (1957) and Quel tesoro di papà (1959). He died on 13 March 2005 in Naples, Campania, Italy.1923-2005- Actor
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Beloved French chanson entertainer Charles Aznavour, who wrote more than 800 songs, recorded more than 1,000 of them in French, English, Italian, German and Spanish and sold over 100 million records in all, was born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, in Paris, the younger of two children born to Armenian immigrants who fled to France. His mother was a seamstress as well as an actress and his father was a baritone who sang in restaurants. Both Charles and his elder sister waited on tables and he performed, as well. He delivered his first poetic recital while just a toddler. Within a few years later he had developed such a passion for singing/dancing, that he sold newspapers to earn money for lessons.
He took his first theatrical bow in the play "Emil and the Detectives" at age 9 and within a few years was working as a movie extra. He eventually quit school and toured France and Belgium as a boy singer/dancer with a traveling theatrical troupe while living the bohemian lifestyle. A popular performer at the Paris' Club de la Chanson, it was there that he was introduced in 1941 to the songwriter Pierre Roche. Together they developed names for themselves as a singing/writing cabaret and concert duo ("Roche and Aznamour"). A Parisian favorite, they became developed successful tours outside of France, including Canada. In the post WWII years Charles began appearing in films again, one of them as a singing croupier in Adieu... Chérie (1946).
Eventually Aznavour earned a sturdy reputation composing street-styled songs for other established musicians and singers, notably Édith Piaf, for whom he wrote the French version of the American hit "Jezebel". Heavily encouraged by her, he toured with her as both an opening act and lighting man. He lived with Piaf out of need for a time not as one of her many paramours. His mentor eventually persuaded him to perform solo (without Roche) and he made several successful tours while scoring breakaway hits with the somber chanson songs "Sur ma vie" and "Parce que" and the notable and controversial "Après l'amour." In 1950, he gave the bittersweet song "Je Hais Les Dimanches" ["I Hate Sundays"] to chanteuse Juliette Gréco, which became a huge hit for her.
In the late 50s, Aznavour began to infiltrate films with more relish. Short and stubby in stature and excessively brash and brooding in nature, he was hardly leading man material but embraced his shortcomings nevertheless. Unwilling to let these faults deter him, he made a strong impressions with the comedy Une gosse 'sensass' (1957) and with Paris Music Hall (1957). He was also deeply affecting as the benevolent but despondent and ill-fated mental patient Heurtevent in Head Against the Wall (1959). A year later, Aznavour starred as piano player Charlie Kohler/Edouard Saroyan in Francois Truffaut's adaptation of the David Goodis' novel Shoot the Piano Player (1960) [Shoot the Piano Player], which earned box-office kudos both in France and the United States. This sudden notoriety sparked an extensive tour abroad in the 1960s. Dubbed the "Frank Sinatra of France" and singing in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Portuguese), his touring would include sold-out performances at Carnegie Hall (1964) and London's Albert Hall (1967).
Aznavour served as actor and composer/music arranger for many films, including Gosse de Paris (1961), which he also co-wrote with director Marcel Martin, and the dramas Three Fables of Love (1962) [Three Fables of Love") and Caroline chérie (1968) [Dear Caroline]. The actor also embraced the title role in the TV series "Les Fables de la Fontaine" (1964), then starred in the popular musical "Monsieur Carnaval" (1965), in which he performed his hit song "La bohême".
His continental star continued to shine and Aznavour acted in films outside of France with more dubious results. While the satirical Candy (1968), with an international cast that included Marlon Brando, Richard Burton and Ringo Starr, and epic adventure The Adventurers (1970) were considered huge misfires upon release, it still showed Aznavour off as a world-wide attraction. While he was also seen in The Games (1970) (1970), The Blockhouse (1973) (1973) and an umpteenth film version of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (1974), it was his music that kept him in the international limelight. Later films included Yiddish Connection (1986), which he co-wrote and provided music; Il maestro (1990) with Malcolm McDowell; the Canadian-French production Ararat (2002) for which he received special kudos; cameos as himself in The Truth About Charlie (2002) and Emmenez-moi (2005); and his final feature film, Mon colonel (2006)
Films aside, his chart-busting single "She" (1972-1974) went platinum in Great Britain. He also received thirty-seven gold albums in all. His most popular song in America, "Yesterday When I Was Young" has had renditions covered by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Julio Iglesias. In 1997, Aznavour received an honorary César Award. He has written three books, the memoirs "Aznavour By Aznavour" (1972), the song lyrics collection "Des mots à l'affiche" (1991) and a second memoir "Le temps des avants" (2003). A "Farewell Tour" was instigated in 2006 at age 82. He died
Married at least three times (some claim five) to Micheline Rugel, Evelyne Plessis and Ulla Thorsell, he fathered six children (daughters Katia, Patricia and Seda Aznavour, and sons Misha, Nicholas, and Patrick Aznavour). He died on October 1, 2018, in France.1924-2018- Actress
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Katina Ranieri was born on 31 August 1927 in Follonica, Grosseto, Italy. She was an actress, known for Drive (2011), Captain Phantom (1953) and Fermi tutti... arrivo io! (1953). She was married to Riz Ortolani and Eusepio Sternini. She died on 3 September 2018 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.1927-2018- Actor
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Italian cantautore, a smooth, romantic balladeer, primarily in his native 'nnapuletano' dialect. Gagliardi was born in the Vasto district of Naples and became immensely popular throughout Italy in the 1960s and 70s. A gifted musician from childhood, influenced by both French and American songwriters, he first played the traditional accordion before switching to guitar and piano to accompany his singing. Most of his lyrics were written by Gaetano Amendola, including those of his first major hit, "T'amo e t'amerò" in 1963. Gagliardi achieved the height of his success in the early and mid-70s with songs like "Settembre", "Gocce di Mare", "Sempre", "Ti amo così", Che vuole questa musica stasera " (featured in, among other films, Guy Ritchie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)), "Povero Core", "Innamorarmi di te" and "Taggio perduta". Two of his songs ranked second at the San Remo Festival in 1972: "Come le viole" and ""Come un ragazzino". He was also featured in the Italian pop musical Highest Pressure (1965), alongside other popular vocalists of the era, such as Françoise Hardy, Nicola Di Bari and Gianni Morandi.1940-2023- Actor
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Domenico Modugno was born on 9 January 1928 in Polignano a Mare, Puglia, Italy. He was an actor and composer, known for The Batman (2022), Money Talks (1997) and Casino (1995). He was married to Franca Gandolfi. He died on 6 August 1994 in Lampedusa, Pelagie Islands, Sicily, Italy.1928-94- Actor
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Don Marino Barreto Jr. was born on 8 December 1925 in Matanzas, Cuba. He was an actor, known for Sweet Deceptions (1960), 3 straniere a Roma (1958) and Camping (1958). He died on 10 December 1971 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.1925-71- Actor
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Renato Rascel was born on 27 April 1912 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and composer, known for The Overcoat (1952), The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) and Zodiac (2007). He was married to Giuditta Saltarini, Huguette Cartier and Tina De Mola. He died on 2 January 1991 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.1912-91- Actress
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Singer, composer, actress, entertainer and publisher Connie Francis was educated at Arts High School and was a music student of her father. At age 11 she appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (1948) as a singer and accordionist. She has toured the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe, owned publishing companies, and has made many records. For a time she had her own television show, and has performed in nightclubs and in concert. Joining ASCAP in 1959, her popular-song compositions include "Senza Mama" and "Italian Lullaby".1937- Actor
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Remo Germani was born on 31 May 1938 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was an actor, known for Punahilkka (1968), Come inguaiammo l'esercito (1965) and Totò Ye Ye (1967). He died on 18 October 2010 in Vigevano, Lombardy, Italy.1938-2010- Actress
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Luciana Turina was born on 10 August 1946 in Malavicina, Mantua, Lombardy, Italy. She is an actress, known for Ciao marziano (1980), Fearless (1978) and Carioca tigre (1976).1946- Actor
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Edoardo Vianello was born on 24 June 1938 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor and composer, known for The Easy Life (1962), Rose Island (2020) and Burnt Money (2000). He is married to Elfrida Ismolli. He was previously married to Wilma Goich and Vania.1938- Actor
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A former railroad engineer, Alain Barrière started a successful career as a singer-sonwriter in 1962 with "Elle était si jolie". Now, Barrière is one of the best-known and well respected french singer-songwriter in all french countries over the world. Major hits: "Ma vie", "Plus je t'entends", "Emporte-moi", "C'était aux premiers jours d'avril", "À regarder la mer" and many others.1935-2019- Actress
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Catherine Spaak was born on 3 April 1945 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine], France. She was an actress and writer, known for The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971), The Easy Life (1962) and The Empty Canvas (1963). She was married to Vladimiro Tuselli, Daniel Rey, Johnny Dorelli and Fabrizio Capucci. She died on 17 April 2022 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.1945-2022- Actor
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Neil Sedaka was born on 13 March 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Deadpool (2016), Transsiberian (2008) and Better Off Dead (1985). He has been married to Leba Strassberg since 11 September 1962. They have two children.1939- Music Artist
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Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio, to Gaetano Alfonso "Guy" Crocetti, an Italian immigrant and barber, and his Ohio-born wife, Angela (Barra) Crocetti. He spoke only Italian until age five. Martin came up the hard way, with such jobs as a boxer ("Kid Crochet"), a steel mill worker, a gas station worker and a casino croupier/dealer. In 1946, Martin got his first ticket to stardom, as he teamed up with another hard worker who was also trying to succeed in Hollywood: Jerry Lewis. Films such as At War with the Army (1950) sent the team toward super-stardom. The duo were to become one of Hollywood's truly great teams. They lasted 11 years together, and starred in 16 movies. They were unstoppable, but personality conflicts broke up the team. Even without Lewis, Martin was a true superstar.
Few thought that Martin would go on to achieve solo success, but he did, winning critical acclaim for his role in The Young Lions (1958) with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, and Some Came Running (1958), with Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra. Movies such as Rio Bravo (1959) brought him international fame. One of his best remembered films is in Ocean's Eleven (1960), in which he played Sam Harmon alongside the other members of the legendary Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Martin proved potent at the box office through the 1960s, with films such as Bells Are Ringing (1960) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), again with Rat Pack pals Sammy Davis Jr. and Sinatra. During much of the 1960s and 1970s, his film persona of a boozing playboy prompted a series of films as secret agent Matt Helm and his own television variety show. Airport (1970) followed, featuring Martin as a pilot. He played a phony priest in The Cannonball Run (1981).
In 1965, Martin explored a new method for entertaining his fans: Television. That year he hosted one of the most successful TV series in history: The Dean Martin Show (1965), which lasted until 1973. In 1965, it won a Golden Globe Award. In 1973, he renamed it "The Dean Martin Comedy Hour", and from 1974 to 1984 it was renamed again, this time "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts". It became one of the most successful TV series in history, skewering such greats as Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, James Stewart, George Burns, Milton Berle, Don Rickles, Phyllis Diller, and Joe Namath.
His last public role was a return to the stage, for a cross-country concert tour with Davis and Sinatra. He spoke affectionately of his fellow Rat Packers. "The satisfaction that I get out of working with these two bums is that we have more laughs than the audience has", Martin said. After the 1980s, Martin took it easy until his son, Dean Paul Martin, was killed in a plane crash in March 1987.
Devastated by the loss, from which he never recovered, he walked out on a reunion tour with Sinatra and Davis. Martin spent his final years in solitude, out of the public light. A heavy smoker most of his life, Martin died on Christmas Day 1995 at age 78 from complications to lung cancer.1917-95- Music Artist
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Very famous Italian singer. In the sixties she had a love affair with actor Corrado Pani who was married to another woman at the time and gave birth to a son. Because of this she was banned from TV studios for many years. During the last 20 years she has not shown her face in public and has not appeared in any film or television show.1940- Music Department
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Gino Paoli was born on 23 September 1934 in Monfalcone, Gorizia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. He is a composer and actor, known for Last Night in Soho (2021), Goodfellas (1990) and Firewall (2006). He has been married to Paola Penzo since 28 May 1991. They have two children. He was previously married to Anna Maria Fabbri.1934- Actor
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Salvatore Adamo is a truly international star who has recorded in at least seven languages, in the process selling 80 million albums and 20 million singles worldwide. He was born in Comiso, Sicly, the eldest of seven siblings, to colliery worker Antonio Adamo and his wife Concetta Girlando. A sister, Delizia, also ended up becoming a musical artist. Salvatore's family moved to Belgium when he was three years old. From the beginning, his parents encouraged their son's musical inclinations as a singer and songwriter. When his grandfather presented him with a guitar as a present, young Salvatore mastered the instrument within days without any formal tutoring. Sadly, his father, who had managed his career at the onset, died in an accidental drowning in 1966.
Adamo drew his inspiration from French chansonniers like Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour and from their Italian (especially Neapolitan) counterparts, while the poetry of Jacques Prévert and Victor Hugo have influenced his lyrics. He debuted in a song contest at Radio Luxemburg in 1960, winning with his song "Si j'osais". In 1964, he had his first major hit with the sad love ballad "Tombe la neige" (also released in Italian as "Cade la neve"), followed the next year by "Inch'Allah" and "La Nuit" (which became even more popular in Italy as "La Notte", with the B-side of the single "Non sei tu").
By the second half of the sixties, Adamo had become the world's second best-selling musician after The Beatles, famous, in particular, for his romantic ballads. In addition to his huge following in Europe, he has been popular in Latin America, especially in Chile, where he performed live as late as 2018 to an audience of 50,000. Though he has sung mainly in French, Italian, German and Spanish, he has also recorded in English, Japanese and Turkish. Among the very best of Adamo's numerous hits are "Petit Bonheur "(which won a Gold Disc in 1970), "Perduto Amore" (1963), "Une meche de cheveux" (1966), "Une larme aux nuages", "Ensemble" (aka "Insieme), "Notre roman" (all 1967), "Pauvre Verlaine", "Une larme aux nuages", Tu somigli all'amore" (all 1968), "A demain sur la lune", "Accanto a te l'estate" (both 1969) and "Marie la Mer" (1973).
Adamo was knighted by King Albert II of Belgium in 2001. He became an officer of the French Légion d'honneur in 2005 and a Commander in the Order of the Star of Italy in 2015. An honorary UNICEF goodwill ambassador from 1993, he was also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 2016 for his influence on Japanese popular music. He holds Belgian, French and Italian citizenship.1943- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gene Pitney has one of the most distinctive voices in music. Whether you like it or not you know when it is Gene. Pitney has often been categorized (quite unfairly) as a teen-idol singer responsible only for melodramatic, angst-ridden ballads. This is to deny the true talent of the man and the extensive range he possesses.
Gene Pitney was born on February 17, 1940 in Rockville, Connecticut, the son of Anna A. (Orlowsky) and Harold F. Pitney, a lathe operator. His maternal grandparents were Polish. Gene had a love of music from an early age. In high school, he was part of the band "Gene Pitney and the Genials". As well as music, Gene was a keen student and, after high school, he began studying electrical engineering. However, his music and studies were coming into increasing conflict and Gene began to move more towards his musical ambitions. Gene's first foray into the music scene was as part of a duet with Ginny Arnell, their first song being 1959's "Classical Rock & Roll."
Gene moved on quickly though and his first solo song came with "Cradle of My Arms" albeit under the name Billy Bryan. With limited success as an artist, Gene began to find more success as a songwriter. The first big breakthrough came when Roy Orbison recorded "Today's Teardrops" as the B-side to "Blue Angel". "Rubber Ball", another Pitney song, became a hit for Bobby Vee in the US and Marty Wilde in the UK. Further success would come with Ricky Nelson recording "Hello Mary Lou" (a Top 5 in the US) and "He's a Rebel" for Phil Spector's group, The Crystals. "He's a Rebel" would eventually reach number 1 in the UK and ironically deny Pitney the chance at a number 1 himself. Gene's career as an artist in his own right began with the self-penned "I Wanna Love My Life Away" which he recorded for $30 at a small recording studio in New York. What was even more amazing is that Gene recorded all 7 vocal tracks as well as playing the piano, guitar and drums on the song. The single made the top 40 in the US and Britain. The real breakthrough for Gene came with the song "Town Without Pity" which was the title song to the movie of the same name. The song received a Golden Globe Award, reached the US top 20 and Gene also performed it at the Academy Awards. He was the first pop singer to ever perform at the Oscar's and it helped to significantly raise his profile in the US.
Following hot on the heels of "Town Without Pity" was "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance". A Burt Bacharach/Hal David song it was originally intended to be the title song to the movie of the same name but it never did appeared in the movie. Despite this the song was well received and it's mix of the pop and country genres worked extremely well. With his popularity now firmly established in the US and growing in the UK Gene began to churn the hits out with amazing regularity. "Only Love Can Break a Heart", "If I Didn't Have a Dime", "Half Heaven, Half Heartache", "Mecca", "It Hurts to be in Love" and "True Love Never Runs Smooth" were all hit records for Gene in the US. "Only Love Can Break a Heart" was denied number 1 in the US charts by Pitney's own composition "He's a Rebel" sung by The Crystals. "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" marked a significant shift in Gene's musical direction. It reached number 5 in the UK charts and marked the beginning of his rise in popularity throughout the U.K. and Europe.
Between 1963 and 1966, Gene consistently produced top 10 hits in the UK. The Mick Jagger/Keith Richards song "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" established his worldwide fame and he followed it up with "I'm Gonna be Strong", "Looking Through the Eyes of Love" (a million seller), "I Must be Seeing Things", "Princess in Rags", "Backstage", "Just One Smile", "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" and "Nobody Needs Your Love". Gene enjoyed a short lived revival in 1974 with the hits "Trans-Canada Highway" and "Blue Angel". Overall, Gene had 16 top 40 hits in the US and an amazing 40 top 40 songs in the UK. Gene's profile was very good outside of the US and UK as well. Especially in Italy where he came second in the San Remo song contest with the song "Nessuno Mi Puo Giudicare".
He also recorded a number of his hits in Italian. In addition to this Pitney began to make forays into other areas of music once again demonstrating his vocal range. He recorded albums with country greats like George Jones and Melba Montgomery and was quite successful. He also recorded an album of folk songs. At one point he had hits in Europe, the UK, and the US pop and country charts with four different songs simultaneously. Although disappearing in the late seventies he made a successful touring comeback in 1983 with a sell out North American tour. And finally in 1989 achieved what had eluded him at the peak of his popularity, a number 1 single in the UK. Gene teamed up with Marc Almond to cover his sixties hit "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". The duet outdid the original which could only make number 5 in 1967. Gene has never looked back since then and has toured almost continuously throughout the nineties.
In 2002 he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a fitting honour and a long overdue recognition of his talent.
In April 2006, he was in the middle of a tour of the UK when he died in his hotel room following a concert in Cardiff.1940-2006- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
In a singing (and sometimes acting) career that spanned over six decades, the name Perry Como has come to mean that warm, smooth, easy-listening, general-audience, slow-flame romance that characterized popular music in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. It has also come to represent an overall good feeling. Telling of the success of the appeal of that good feeling early on in his career, during just a single week in the 1940s, the music industry pressed and sold 4 million Como records. In the 1950s, 11 of his singles sold well over 1 million copies each. In more than six decades of singing, his records sold more than 100 million copies; 27 individual prints reached the million-record mark.
Christened Pierino Como in Canonsburg, Pa., and one of a family of 13 children, Como pursued a career as a barber before he launched his singing career. At 11, he was working after school cutting hair in a barbershop. Before long he had set his sights on owning his own shop -- even making monthly payments toward one. He enjoyed singing, however, and let go of his barbershop ambitions soon after high school and his marriage to his high school sweetheart, Roselle Beline. It didn't take long to prove that he had talent and soon landed a spot in the Freddie Carlone Orchestra, where he made $28 a week touring the Midwest. In 1937, he joined the Ted Weems orchestra and was featured on the band's "Beat the Band" radio program. His career was on the rise. But, with the start of WWII and the eventual breakup of Weems' band, Como found himself back in Canonsburg in a barbershop cutting hair -- not for long, however. CBS radio soon offered him a weekly show at $100 a week and RCA signed him to a recording contract that garnered him in the next 14 years 42 Top 10 hits, a feat bettered only by Bing Crosby. These hits included "Dig You Later (A Hubba-Hubba-Hubba)," "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," "They Say It's Wonderful," "Surrender" and "Some Enchanted Evening." The 1945 rendition of "Till the End of Time," (a song associated with the movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" and based on Chopin's "Polonaise in A-Flat Minor") was perhaps his most memorable hit from this era. Other hits were on the lighter side of romance and included "Hot Diggity" and the forever a favorite "Papa Loves Mambo."
It was also during his singing career in the 1940s that Como appeared in three films for Twentieth Century Fox. His parts were unfortunately less than memorable, partly because of his overpowering screen presence of his co-star Carmen Miranda. But Como did have a screen presence, and he found its niche in the magic of the living room theater when he made his television debut in 1948 with NBC's "The Chesterfield Supper Club." In 1950, he was at the helm of his own show with CBS: "The Perry Como Show," which ran for five years. Back on NBC in 1955 he achieved his greatest success in the medium with an eight-year run. This was the show that featured his theme song: "Sing Along With Me." The show included the talents of the Ray Charles Singers and announcer Frank Gallop. It was also in this show where he developed and honed the image of the cardigan-wearing, relaxed, wholesome nice-guy that has been his trademark ever since. In 1956 and '57 he won Emmy Awards for most outstanding television personality. The show itself won Peabody and Golden Mike awards. During his tenure with this show he also received the Recording Industry Association of America's first ever Gold Disc Award for his rendition of "Catch a Falling Star." He retired from his show in 1963, opting to work only occasionally on t.v. specials. These specials included his traditional Christmas shows. After two decades of just canned music, he returned to live performances in the 1970s, playing Las Vegas and other circuits; he even did a sell-out tour of Australia. The 1970s also gave rise to his million record seller "It's Impossible." In one of his most gratifying moments in his career, President Reagan presented Como with a Kennedy Center award for outstanding achievement in the performing arts.1912-2001- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
One of a spate of teen idols to come out of Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s, Frankie Avalon--unlike many of the others--actually had a musical background, having been taught to play the trumpet at a very young age by his father. As a youth Avalon performed in local clubs and theaters. He won a local TV talent contest playing a trumpet solo. In 1951, at age 12, he was in a band called Rocco and the Saints, which included another soon-to-be famous teen singer, Bobby Rydell. In 1952 he was performing at a private party held for singer Al Martino. A talent scout who was also at the party was impressed enough by Avalon to get him an appearance on Jackie Gleason's TV show, which led to more television appearances. In 1954 he made two singles for "X" Records, an RCA Victor subsidiary. Both were instrumentals featuring Avalon playing his trumpet: "Trumpet Sorrento" and ""Trumpet Tarantella." He eventually landed a recording contract with Philadelphia's Chancellor Records, and he recorded "Cupid" and "Teacher's Pet". These records got him his first movie role, a small part in Jamboree! (1957) designed to promote "Teacher's Pet." His next record was "DeDe Dinah", a song written by his managers (and one for which he had so little respect that he pinched his nose while recording it, resulting in its extremely nasal sound). After an appearance on Dick Clark's teen dance show American Bandstand (1952), sales of the record zoomed and it eventually sold more than a million copies. In 1959, after two more big hits ("Ginger Bread" and "I'll Wait for You") he recorded the song he is probably best known for, the million-selling "Venus." However, as 1960 rolled around his career began to wane and his record sales dropped precipitously. He soon began taking small parts in movies, most notably in John Wayne's The Alamo (1960). He began to get somewhat bigger parts and had his first starring role in Drums of Africa (1963). His movie career really took off, however, when he was paired with former Mousketeer Annette Funicello in Beach Party (1963) and its string of sequels. These films, with their combination of surfing, low comedy, dancing and "beach bunnies" in bikinis, struck a nerve with teenage audiences, were produced for peanuts and made a fortune. Avalon still recorded songs for Chancellor and other labels, but now he was far better known among younger audiences for his movies than for his records. In 1985 he began touring with fellow teen idols Rydell and Fabian in an oldies show called "The Golden Boys of Bandstand," which was a rousing success. In 1987 he and Funicello were reunited in Back to the Beach (1987), an homage to, and parody of, their earlier "beach" movies. Avalon still makes personal appearances and tours, many with and for his old friend and mentor Dick Clark.1940- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. In 1953, he attended the senior prom with the current girl he was courting, Regis Wilson. After graduating from high school in Memphis, Elvis took odd jobs working as a movie theater usher and a truck driver for Crown Electric Company. He began singing locally as "The Hillbilly Cat", then signed with a local recording company, and then with RCA in 1955.
Elvis did much to establish early rock and roll music. He began his career as a performer of rockabilly, an up-tempo fusion of country music and rhythm and blues, with a strong backbeat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing 'black' and 'white' sounds, made him popular - and controversial - as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop music. Teenage girls became hysterical over his blatantly sexual gyrations, particularly the one that got him nicknamed "Elvis the Pelvis" (television cameras were not permitted to film below his waist).
In 1956, following his six television appearances on The Dorsey Brothers' "Stage Show", Elvis was cast in his first acting role, in a supporting part in Love Me Tender (1956), the first of 33 movies he starred in.
In 1958, Elvis was drafted into the military, and relocated to Bad Nauheim, Germany. There he met 14-year old army damsel Priscilla Ann Wagner (Priscilla Presley), whom he would eventually marry after an eight-year courtship, and by whom he had his only child, Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis' military service and the "British Invasion" of the 1960s reduced his concerts, though not his movie/recording income.
Through the 1960s, Elvis settled in Hollywood, where he starred in the majority of his thirty-three movies, mainly musicals, acting alongside some of the most well known actors in Hollywood. Critics panned most of his films, but they did very well at the box office, earning upwards of $150 million total. His last fiction film, Change of Habit (1969), deals with several social issues; romance within the clergy, an autistic child, almost unheard of in 1969, rape, and mob violence. It has recently received critical acclaim.
Elvis made a comeback in the 1970s with live concert appearances starting in early 1970 in Las Vegas with over 57 sold-out shows. He toured throughout the United States, appearing on-stage in over 500 live appearances, many of them sold out shows. His marriage ended in divorce, and the stress of constantly traveling as well as his increasing weight gain and dependence upon stimulants and depressants took their toll.
Elvis Presley died at age 42 on August 16, 1977 at his mansion in Graceland, near Memphis, shocking his fans worldwide. At the time of his death, he had sold more than 600 million singles and albums. Since his death, Graceland has become a shrine for millions of followers worldwide. Elvis impersonators and purported sightings have become stock subjects for humorists. To date, Elvis Presley is the only performer to have been inducted into three separate music 'Halls of Fame'. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales, and remains one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music.1935-77- Actress
- Soundtrack
German twin sisters Alice and Ellen Kessler reached the peak of their popularity in the 1950s and 60s. Their parents, mechanical engineer Paul Kessler and his wife Elsa, encouraged their daughters' artistic inclinations from early childhood and enrolled them in ballet classes. By 1950, the sisters had graduated from opera school in Leipzig. Soon after, they took advantage of a visiting permit by defecting from their native Saxony in the GDR to West Germany. At the Düsseldorf Palladium, the duo made their professional debut as singer/dancers and began to be featured on screen in several German musicals and romances. In 1955, Alice and Ellen were recruited by the director of the Paris Lido, Pierre Louis-Guérin, to join his Bluebell Girls in Varieté on the Champs-Élysées. Blonde, unusually tall (at 1.78cm) and long-legged, the twins enjoyed great popularity during their five-year long tenure on the Parisian stage.
In 1959, Alice and Ellen represented West Germany at The Eurovision Song Contest (1959), reaching 8th place. In the early sixties, they made several recordings for the Polydor label in German, French and Italian, which were modestly successful. They fared better after becoming featured performers on the Italian RAI TV musical program Studio Uno (1961), their rendition of "Dadaumpa" being adopted as the show's theme song. In 1962, the twins had settled in Italy where they attained iconic status as 'Le gemelle Kessler'. The following year saw them on the cover of Life Magazine. At the age of 40, Alice and Ellen posed nude on the cover of the Italian edition of Playboy Magazine which sold out in record time.
Between 1963 and the early seventies, their popularity extended to the other side of the Atlantic, the twins performing as guests on variety shows like The Red Skelton Hour (1951), The Danny Kaye Show (1963), The Hollywood Palace (1964) and (multiple times) on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948). In private life, the Kesslers rebuffed many advances from various prominent American actors (including Elvis). An exception was a brief liaison between Ellen and Burt Lancaster, chronicled in 1996 for the German Stern magazine. Having decided to remain single, the twins moved back to Germany in 1986 to set up residence in the affluent suburb of Geiselgasteig, the 'Bavarian Hollywood', near Munich. Still inseparable, their apartments are said to be divided only by a sliding door.
The Kessler Twins have received multiple awards, including Montreux's Rose D'or and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.1936- Actress
- Soundtrack
German twin sisters Alice and Ellen Kessler reached the peak of their popularity in the 1950s and 60s. Their parents, mechanical engineer Paul Kessler and his wife Elsa, encouraged their daughters' artistic inclinations from early childhood and enrolled them in ballet classes. By 1950, the sisters had graduated from opera school in Leipzig. Soon after, they took advantage of a visiting permit by defecting from their native Saxony in the GDR to West Germany. At the Düsseldorf Palladium, the duo made their professional debut as singer/dancers and began to be featured on screen in several German musicals and romances. In 1955, Alice and Ellen were recruited by the director of the Paris Lido, Pierre Louis-Guérin, to join his Bluebell Girls in Varieté on the Champs-Élysées. Blonde, unusually tall (at 1.78cm) and long-legged, the twins enjoyed great popularity during their five-year long tenure on the Parisian stage.
In 1959, Alice and Ellen represented West Germany at The Eurovision Song Contest (1959), reaching 8th place. In the early sixties, they made several recordings for the Polydor label in German, French and Italian, which were modestly successful. They fared better after becoming featured performers on the Italian RAI TV musical program Studio Uno (1961), their rendition of "Dadaumpa" being adopted as the show's theme song. In 1962, the twins had settled in Italy where they attained iconic status as 'Le gemelle Kessler'. The following year saw them on the cover of Life Magazine. At the age of 40, Alice and Ellen posed nude on the cover of the Italian edition of Playboy Magazine which sold out in record time.
Between 1963 and the early seventies, their popularity extended to the other side of the Atlantic, the twins performing as guests on variety shows like The Red Skelton Hour (1951), The Danny Kaye Show (1963), The Hollywood Palace (1964) and (multiple times) on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948). In private life, the Kesslers rebuffed many advances from various prominent American actors (including Elvis). An exception was a brief liaison between Ellen and Burt Lancaster, chronicled in 1996 for the German Stern magazine. Having decided to remain single, the twins moved back to Germany in 1986 to set up residence in the affluent suburb of Geiselgasteig, the 'Bavarian Hollywood', near Munich. Still inseparable, their apartments are said to be divided only by a sliding door.
The Kessler Twins have received multiple awards, including Montreux's Rose D'or and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.1936- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Born Giuseppe Faiella on the island of Capri, he has been for decades one of Italy's most iconic singers and songwriters. Famous as Peppino di Capri, his popularity eventually spread well beyond his native Italy. He performed many of his songs in the Napoletano dialect, beginning with his first big hits "Malatia" and "Nun è Peccato" in 1957/8.
Peppino came from a family of musicians. He first started singing and playing piano at the age of four, regaling American troops stationed on Capri. Two years later, he took on piano studies with a German teacher in Naples. At fourteen, Peppino began performing in nightclubs on Capri and on the neighbouring island of Ischia. Fast forward another five years and he had organized his own band, comprising the drummer Ettore Falconieri, bassist Pino Amenta, guitarist Mario Cenci and the saxophonist Gabriele Varano. Known as the 'Capri Boys', they presented a mix of reinterpreted American songs and both traditional and new Neapolitan melodies. In August 1958, the group was noticed by a Milanese record executive and commissioned to record ten numbers for the music publishing house Carisch. It was at this time, that band member Cenci proposed the band's name be changed to "Peppino di Capri and his Rockers".
Influenced by the late Buddy Holly, the group initially turned out Italian versions of American rock'n'roll and twist numbers, including "Don't play that song" and "St. Tropez Twist". Peppino di Capri became known in Italy as 'the king of twist'. To reinforce his image, he famously purchased an American Ford Thunderbird cabriolet.
Between the late 50s and early 70s, he recorded a string of hits which have become evergreens of Italian music: "Nessuno al mondo", "Luna Caprese", "Parlami d'amore Mariù ","I te vurria vasà", "Per un attimo", "Lassame", "Anema e core", "Freva", "Torna piccina", "A pianta 'e stele", "Roberta" (dedicated to his wife), "Melancolie", "Scetate", "Accarezzame", "Ghiaccio", "Ieri", "Frennesia" and "L'ultimo romantico". In 1970, he created his own record label, Splash, as an outlet for his ever-mounting sales of singles and albums. He was represented fifteen times at the prestigious Sanremo Music Festival, winning in 1973 with "Un grande amore e niente più" and in 1976 with "Non lo faccio più". Later successes included "Champagne" (which was especially popular in Germany, Spain and Brazil), a 1978 cover version of The Bee Gees "How Deep is your Love" (as "Fiore de carta"), "Nun chiagnere" and "La panchina". In 1987, he recorded his first live album, performing at London's Royal Albert Hall. He has also appeared in several Italian films with musical content, usually as himself.
In 1969, Peppino met Roberta Stoppa, a model from Turin. They lived together on Ischia for two years before getting married in 1961. Their union ended in divorce in 1976. In 1978, Peppino married a former Neapolitan biology student named Giuliana Gagliardi with whom he had two sons. She died from cancer in July 2019 at the age of 68.
In February 2023, the popular cantautore was honored at the 73rd edition of the Sanremo Festival, by being presented the "Città di Sanremo" Lifetime Achievement Award.1939- Actor
- Sound Department
- Additional Crew
Yves Montand was born on 13 October 1921 in Monsummano Terme, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Jean de Florette (1986), Z (1969) and The Wages of Fear (1953). He was married to Simone Signoret. He died on 9 November 1991 in Senlis, Oise, France.1921-91