Portal:Record production
Wikipedia portal for content related to record production / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Record Production Portal
This portal is focused on music production within the era of written records through sound recordings, digital downloads, and beyond. Its scope includes articles that document the considerations and mechanisms used by, and consistent with, the purview of the production element. As an art form, music predates transcription and simultaneously transcends descriptive limitations. As an industry, music has demonstrated consistent viability over time. The record producer conjoins these potential, and serves as a broker to bridge the demand (spawned by their aspirations) with supply and satisfaction. The results are measurable and attributable, derived from effort and skillful application of craft, to a manifestation of the art in its melodic form. (Read more)
The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in the industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers, musicians, conductors, and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels, music publishers, recording studios, music producers, audio engineers, retail and digital music stores, and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and the booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew, and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. (Read more)
Featured articles - load new batch
- Image 1"Speechless" is a song by the American recording artist Michael Jackson, included on his tenth studio album, Invincible (2001). It was only released as a promotional single in South Korea. The singer was inspired to write the ballad after a water balloon fight with children in Germany. Jackson collaborated on the production with musicians such as Jeremy Lubbock, Brad Buxer, Novi Novoq, Stuart Bradley and Bruce Swedien. Andraé Crouch and his gospel choir provided backing vocals.
Executives at Jackson's record label, Epic Records, responded positively to the track when given a preview several months before Invincible's release. "Speechless" was issued as a promotional single. Music critics focused on the track's a cappellas, lyrics and music. A clip of Jackson singing "Speechless" was included in the 2009 documentary-concert film Michael Jackson's This Is It. (Full article...) - Image 2
Bernard Joseph Fanning (born 15 August 1969) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989.
Born and raised in Toowong, Brisbane, Fanning received piano lessons from his mother at an early age. At the age of 15, while he attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, he began writing music. Upon graduating from Gregory Terrace, Fanning moved on to the University of Queensland, where he studied journalism briefly. He dropped out to pursue a music career, after meeting Ian Haug in an economics class. Fanning joined Haug, John Collins, and Steven Bishop, who had recently formed Powderfinger, and took the role of lead singer. After Bishop left and drummer Jon Coghill (guitarist Darren Middleton)joined, the band released five studio albums in fifteen years and achieved mainstream success in Australia. During Powderfinger's hiatus in 2005, Fanning began his solo music career with the studio album Tea & Sympathy. Powderfinger reunited in 2007 and released two more albums before they disbanded in late 2010. (Full article...) - Image 3
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 1879 – 8 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras. From the early 20th century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to the BBC, was Britain's first international conductor.
Born to a rich industrial family, Beecham began his career as a conductor in 1899. He used his access to the family fortune to finance opera from the 1910s until the start of the Second World War, staging seasons at Covent Garden, Drury Lane and His Majesty's Theatre with international stars, his own orchestra and a wide repertoire. Among the works he introduced to England were Richard Strauss's Elektra, Salome and Der Rosenkavalier and three operas by Frederick Delius. (Full article...) - Image 4Here Is Mariah Carey, also known as Mariah Carey or This Is Mariah Carey, is the third video album by American singer Mariah Carey. It presents Carey performing live at Proctor's Theatre in Schenectady, New York, in July 1993, and also includes non-concert footage. Carey performs ten songs during the video; four are from her third studio album Music Box (1993), which Columbia Records commissioned Here Is Mariah Carey to promote. She is sporadically accompanied by a band, choir, dancers, and string musicians. In creating the stage for the performance, production designers sought inspiration from works by Boris Aronson and Josep Maria Jujol. Lawrence Jordan, who collaborated with Carey on previous occasions, directed the hour-long video.
Approximately 4,500 people attended tapings at Proctor's Theater, and 19 million watched it on television network NBC during its original broadcast on November 25, 1993. Columbia Music Video released it on VHS five days later to generally positive reviews from critics. Although they complimented Carey's voice, many felt the non-concert scenes were redundant. Here Is Mariah Carey peaked at number four on the United States video album chart published by Billboard. Earning a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, it was one of the best-selling video albums of 1994 and 1995 in that country. The video also spent six weeks at number one on the Official Charts Company's music videos chart in the United Kingdom. (Full article...) - Image 5Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation. Lyricism in punk typically revolves around anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian themes. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent labels.
The term "punk rock" was previously used by American rock critics in the early 1970s to describe the mid-1960s garage bands. Certain late 1960s and early 1970s Detroit acts, such as MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges, and other bands from elsewhere created out-of-the-mainstream music that became highly influential on what was to come. Glam rock in the UK and the New York Dolls from New York have also been cited as key influences. Between 1974 and 1976, when the genre that became known as punk was developing, prominent acts included Television, Patti Smith, and the Ramones in New York City; the Saints in Brisbane; the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned in London, and the Buzzcocks in Manchester. By late 1976, punk had become a major cultural phenomenon in the UK. It gave rise to a punk subculture that expressed youthful rebellion through distinctive styles of clothing, such as T-shirts with deliberately offensive graphics, leather jackets, studded or spiked bands and jewellery, safety pins, and bondage and S&M clothes. (Full article...) - Image 6Faryl is the debut album by British mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith, released on 9 March 2009 by Universal Classics and Jazz. Smith rose to fame after her appearance on the second series of Britain's Got Talent and signed with Universal after the competition. The album was recorded during December 2008 and January 2009 and features the track "River of Light", a song set to The Blue Danube with new lyrics. Faryl was produced by Jon Cohen, and the backing music was provided by a 60-piece orchestra. As part of the album's promotion, Smith made numerous television and radio appearances and filmed a music video for "River of Light". Around this time, she met with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
After its release, Faryl became the fastest-selling classical solo album in British chart history, selling 20,000 copies in the first four days, and a total of 29,200 copies in the first week, more than any other debut album of a classical singer. Faryl entered the UK Albums Chart at number 6, rising to number 4 the next week, and was the third album by a Britain's Got Talent contestant to reach the top ten in Britain. Smith subsequently embarked on a promotional tour in the US to publicise the album, where it reached number 6 on the classical chart. (Full article...) - Image 7"Under the Bridge" is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and the eleventh track on their fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the struggles of being clean from drugs, and almost did not share it with the band. Released in March 1992 by Warner Bros. Records, "Under the Bridge" was praised by critics and fans for its emotional weight. The song was a commercial success and the band's highest-charting single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Cash Box Top 100 and certified platinum. It was also a success in other countries, mostly charting within the top 10. Gus Van Sant directed the song's music video, which was filmed in Los Angeles.
"Under the Bridge" helped the Red Hot Chili Peppers enter the mainstream. David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that the song "unexpectedly drop-kicked the band into the Top 10". The song has become an inspiration to other artists, and remains a seminal component of the alternative rock movement of the early-to-mid 1990s. In April 1998, English girl group All Saints released a cover version that topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in May 1998. (Full article...) - Image 8
Sir Henry Joseph Wood CH (3 March 1869 – 19 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences. After his death, the concerts were officially renamed in his honour as the "Henry Wood Promenade Concerts", although they continued to be generally referred to as "the Proms".
Born in modest circumstances to parents who encouraged his musical talent, Wood started his career as an organist. During his studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he came under the influence of the voice teacher Manuel García and became his accompanist. After similar work for Richard D'Oyly Carte's opera companies on the works of Arthur Sullivan and others, Wood became the conductor of a small operatic touring company. He was soon engaged by the larger Carl Rosa Opera Company. One notable event in his operatic career was conducting the British premiere of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in 1892. (Full article...) - Image 9The music of Athens, Georgia includes a wide variety of popular music and was an important part of the early evolution of alternative rock and new wave. The city is well known as the home of chart-topping bands like R.E.M., Widespread Panic, The B-52's, and several long-time indie rock groups. Athens hosts the Athens Symphony Orchestra and other music institutions, as well as prominent local music media, such as the college radio station WUOG. Much of the modern Athens music scene relies on students from the large University of Georgia campus in the city. The University sponsors Western classical performances and groups specializing in other styles.
Athens became a center for music in the region during the Civil War and gained further fame in the early twentieth century with the founding of the Morton Theatre, which was a major touring destination for African American performers. The city's local rock music scene can be traced to the 1950s, with live music at Allen's Hamburgers in Normaltown. International attention came in the 1970s when The B–52's began releasing the first of several best-selling recordings. Athens-based rock bands have performed in a wide array of styles, and the city has never had a characteristic style of rock; most of the bands have been united only in their quirky and iconoclastic image. (Full article...) - Image 10
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often considered to be one of the greatest songwriters in history, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his 60-year career. He rose to prominence in the 1960s, when his songs "Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements. Initially modeling his style on Woody Guthrie's folk songs, Robert Johnson's blues, and what he called the "architectural forms" of Hank Williams's country songs, Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry". His lyrics incorporated political, social, and philosophical influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture.
Dylan was born and raised in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Following his self-titled debut album of traditional folk songs in 1962, he made his breakthrough with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan the next year. The album features "Blowin' in the Wind" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" which, like many of his early songs, adapted the tunes and phrasing of older folk songs. He released the politically charged The Times They Are a-Changin' and the more lyrically abstract and introspective Another Side of Bob Dylan in 1964. In 1965 and 1966, Dylan drew controversy among folk purists when he adopted electrically amplified rock instrumentation, and in the space of 15 months recorded three of the most influential rock albums of the 1960s: Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited (both 1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966). When Dylan made his move from acoustic folk and blues music to rock, the mix became more complex. His six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965) expanded commercial and creative boundaries in popular music. (Full article...) - Image 11"4 Minutes" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), featuring vocals by fellow American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake and American producer Timbaland. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. It marked the first time in Madonna's 25-year career that another artist was featured in a single. According to Madonna, the song is about saving the environment and "having a good time while we are doing it". She also cited the song as the inspiration for the documentary I Am Because We Are (2008).
The song was recorded at Sarm West Studios, in London, while the mixing of the track was finished at The Hit Factory studio, in New York City. Sound engineer Demo Castellon first worked on the vocals and then on the beats, while the synths were composed by Timbaland and Danja. An uptempo dance-pop song with an urban and hip hop style, "4 Minutes" incorporates Timbaland's characteristic bhangra beats and the instrumentation used in the song includes brass, foghorns and cowbells. The lyrics carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed. (Full article...) - Image 12"Mothers of the Disappeared" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the eleventh and final track on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. The song was inspired by lead singer Bono's experiences in Nicaragua and El Salvador in July 1986, following U2's participation in the Conspiracy of Hope tour of benefit concerts for Amnesty International. He learned of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group of women whose children had "forcibly disappeared" at the hands of the Argentine and Chilean dictatorships. While in Central America, he met members of COMADRES, a similar organization whose children had been abducted by the government in El Salvador. Bono sympathized with the Madres and COMADRES and wanted to pay tribute to their cause.
The song was written on a Spanish guitar, and the melody lifted from a piece Bono composed in Ethiopia in 1985 to help teach children basic forms of hygiene. The lyrics contain an implicit criticism of the Reagan Administration, which backed two South American regimes that seized power during coups d'état and which provided financial support for the military regime in El Salvador. Thematically it has been interpreted as an examination of failures and contradictions in US foreign policy. The drum beat provided by Larry Mullen Jr. was processed through an effects unit that gave it a drone-like quality, which bassist Adam Clayton described as "evocative of that sinister death squad darkness". (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch
- ... that to promote the Buffalo Club, Rising Tide Records sent packages of plastic buffalo to music industry executives in Nashville?
- ... that when Divine's song "Lately" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998, it became the first number-one single for the performers, the songwriters, the producers, and the record labels?
- ... that the Guns N' Roses debut studio album Appetite for Destruction was recorded at a recording studio founded by 1970s pop duo Captain & Tennille?
- ... that Castle Recording Laboratory, Nashville's first commercial recording studio, was established in a repurposed hotel banquet room?
- ... that until the release of the documentary Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop, sexual abuse claims involving record producer Johnny Kitagawa went widely unreported in Japanese media?
- ... that according to Billboard magazine, Laufey created a blueprint for jazz music in the modern music industry and helped push it back into the mainstream?
Born this day
- Birthdays in Music: May 6
- Colin Earl, Brit keyboardist with Mungo Jerry, King Earl Boogie Band, and Foghat, turns 82.
- David Friesen, American bass player, turns 82.
- Bob Seger, American singer and songwriter, turns 79.
- Mary MacGregor, American singer, turns 76.
- Paul Dunmall, Brit saxophonist with Zoochosis, turns 71.
- John Flansburgh, American singer and rhythm guitarist for They Might Be Giants, turns 64.
- Tony Scalzo, American songwriter with Fastball, turns 60.
- David Narcizo, American drummer for Throwing Muses, turns 58.
- Mark Bryan, American guitarist with Hootie & The Blowfish, turns 57.
- Tony Wright, Brit vocalist with Terrorvision, turns 56.
- Till Bronner, German trumpeter and vocalist, turns 53.
- Chris Shiflett, (born Christopher Aubrey Shiflett) American guitarist for Foo Fighters, turns 53.
- Sarah Blackwood, Brit vocalist of Dubstar, Technique and Client fame, turns 53.
- Robbie McIntosh (Record production, 1950 –September 23, 1974), Scottish drummer for The Average White Band, would have turned 74 this year.
- Denny Wright (Record production, 1924 –February 08, 1992), Brit jazz guitarist, would have turned 100 this year.
- Freddy Randall (Record production, 1921 –May 18, 1999), Brit cornetist and trumpeter, would have turned 103 this year.
- Martha Boswell (Record production, 1908 –July 02, 1958), American vocalist with Boswell Sisters, would have turned 116 this year.
- Charlie Irvis (1899 – 1939), American trombonist, would have turned 125.
Selected albums - load new batch
- Image 1Let Go is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, released on June 4, 2002, by Arista Records. For a year after signing a record deal with Arista, Lavigne struggled due to conflicts in musical direction. She relocated to Los Angeles, where she recorded her earlier material for the album, the sound of which the label did not approve. She was paired with the production team the Matrix, who understood her vision for the album. Critics have described Let Go as an alternative rock album with a pop-punk and post-grunge-oriented sound.
The album was credited as the biggest pop debut of 2002 and was certified 7x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States. It was released to generally positive reviews, although Lavigne's songwriting received some criticism. It also did extremely well in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from Music Canada, as well as reaching multi-platinum in many countries around the world, including the UK, in which she became the youngest female solo artist to have a number-one album in the region. (Full article...) - Image 2New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light is the fourth studio album by Canada-based saxophonist Colin Stetson, released by Constellation Records in 2013. It is the final part of a trilogy of albums that also encompasses New History Warfare Vol. 1 (2007) and New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (2011).
Stetson, whose contributions to the album were recorded live without overdubs or loops, is the sole musical performer on the album, with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon later providing vocals on four tracks. Production on the album was undertaken by Stetson in collaboration with Ben Frost. New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light was met with critical acclaim upon its release in April 2013 and was shortlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize three months later. (Full article...) - Image 3Badmotorfinger is the third studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 8, 1991, through A&M Records. Soundgarden began the recording sessions for the album with new bassist Ben Shepherd in the spring of 1991. The album maintained the band's heavy metal sound, while featuring an increased focus on songwriting compared to the band's previous releases. AllMusic considered the album's music to be "surprisingly cerebral and arty"; alternative tunings and odd time signatures were present on several of the album's songs, and lyrics were intended to be ambiguous and evocative.
The focus on the Seattle grunge scene helped bring attention to Badmotorfinger, and the singles "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" found a major audience in rock radio and MTV. Badmotorfinger became the band's highest charting album at the time on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number 39. The album received critical acclaim, citing the significant improvements over earlier releases and evolution in the band's sound. Soundgarden supported the album with tours of North America and Europe, including opening for Guns N' Roses on the Use Your Illusion Tour. In 1992, Badmotorfinger was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1996. (Full article...) - Image 4Slipknot is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on June 29, 1999, by Roadrunner Records, following a demo containing a few of the songs which had previously been released in 1998. Later, it was reissued in December 1999 with a slightly-altered track listing and mastering as the result of a lawsuit. It was the first release by the band to be produced by Ross Robinson, who sought to refine Slipknot's sound rather than alter the group's musical direction. This is the only album to feature original guitarist Josh Brainard who left at the end of recording in late 1998 while the band was taking a brief break. Jim Root, who recorded two tracks at this point, would appear full time on subsequent albums starting with their next album Iowa.
The album spans several genres, but is generally noted for its extensive percussion and overall heavy sound. It was well received by fans and critics alike and was responsible for bringing Slipknot a large increase in popularity. The album peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200, and has gone on to become certified double platinum in the United States, making it the band's best-selling album. In 2011, it was voted the best debut album of the last 25 years by readers of Metal Hammer magazine. (Full article...) - Image 5The Slip is the seventh studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on May 5, 2008, digitally on the Nine Inch Nails website, and on CD on July 22 by The Null Corporation. It was their second release in 2008, following their sixth album Ghosts I–IV, released two months prior. The album was produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder.
Although originally intended to be an EP, the project was later expanded into a full length album. Recording took place over the span of three weeks, and is described by Reznor as simply "garage electronics". Like Ghosts, the record was released under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license via the band's website for no-cost, with a limited-edition physical version following two months later. The album's only single, "Discipline", was distributed by Reznor to radio stations less than 24 hours after it was mastered by Moulder. (Full article...) - Image 6Steins;Gate Drama CD Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, stylized as α, β, and γ, are a trilogy of audio dramas based on the 2009 video game Steins;Gate, and are part of the Science Adventure series. It follows Kurisu Makise, Mayuri Shiina, and Rintaro Okabe, three characters from the Steins;Gate game, in three different alternative histories. Alpha shows Kurisu's actions during the tenth chapter of the video game, Beta shows what happened after Okabe failed to save Kurisu, and Gamma shows a reality where the Year 2000 problem caused a disaster and Okabe became an agent working for the organization SERN.
The audio dramas were originally published as three CD albums by 5pb. between March and June 2010, and were later collected along with other Steins;Gate material in a 2016 box set. They feature voice acting by the cast from the Steins;Gate game, and music and cover art by the game's composer Takeshi Abo and character designer Huke, respectively. The dramas were well received by critics and popular with fans, leading to the creation of manga and light novel adaptations. They were also used as the base for the Epigraph Trilogy of light novels and the Steins;Gate 0 video game. The trilogy was recorded in Japanese, but all three drama has gotten an English fan translation. (Full article...) - Image 7Tonight is the 16th studio album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 24 September 1984 through EMI America Records. The follow-up to his most commercially successful album Let's Dance, it was written and recorded in mid-1984 at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Canada, following the conclusion of the Serious Moonlight Tour. Bowie, Derek Bramble and Hugh Padgham co-produced the album. Many of the same personnel from Let's Dance and the accompanying tour returned for Tonight, with a few additions. Much of Bowie's creative process was the same as he used on Let's Dance, similarly playing no instruments and offering little creative input to the musicians.
The music on Tonight has been characterised as pop, blue-eyed soul, dance and rock. Much of the album's sound is the same as its predecessor's, due to Bowie's effort to retain the new audience that he had recently attracted, although some tracks contain R&B and reggae influences. Devoid of new ideas from touring, Bowie wrote only two new songs himself. Three songs, including the title track, were covers of Iggy Pop songs, who was present during most of the sessions and co-wrote multiple tracks. The title track is a duet with singer Tina Turner. The artwork, featuring Bowie blue-painted against an oil painting backdrop, was designed by Mick Haggerty. (Full article...) - Image 8Homesick is the third studio album by American rock band A Day to Remember, produced by Chad Gilbert and the band, and released on February 3, 2009. It was the band's second album for Victory. The album features material written while the band had been touring, which Andrew Wade helped them demo. Recording took place between October and November 2008 at The Wade Studio, located in Ocala. Featured on the album are guest vocalists Mike Hranica (The Devil Wears Prada), Vincent Bennett (The Acacia Strain) and Sierra Kusterbeck (VersaEmerge). Several of the album's songs appeared on the band's MySpace profile before the release of the album.
Planned for a mid-February 2009 release by Victory before being moved forward two weeks, the album sold 22,000 copies in the first week and charted at number 21 on the US Billboard 200. It also charted at number 165 in the UK. It was the band's final album featuring Tom Denney on guitar, who was replaced on tour by Kevin Skaff. Three singles were released from the album: "NJ Legion Iced Tea" in January 2009, "The Downfall of Us All" in May, and "Have Faith in Me" in March 2010. Only the third of these charted, at number 40 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. A re-release with additional tracks was released in October 2009. Several of the album tracks are available for Rock Band. In 2014, two songs from the album, "The Downfall of Us All" and "If It Means a Lot to You", were certified gold by the RIAA. The album was certified Silver in the UK by the BPI in 2015, and Gold in the United States the following year. (Full article...) - Image 9Razorblade Romance is the second studio album by Finnish gothic rock band HIM, recorded with producer John Fryer. HIM initially began recording the album with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa, who had helmed the group's 1997 debut album, however these sessions proved unsuccessful, and HIM parted ways with Hiilesmaa, and recruited Fryer. The band, along with Fryer, relocated to Rockfield Studios in Wales to begin recording, and released the album on 24 January 2000. Musically, the album featured a sleeker production and a more melodic sound compared to their debut. The album's lead single "Join Me in Death" would prove to be HIM's breakthrough single, reaching number one in Finland and Germany. The song also found its way on to the soundtrack of the 1999 science fiction film The Thirteenth Floor.
Razorblade Romance received mostly positive reviews from critics, with particular praise being given to the songwriting, while the more polished production received some criticism. The album also charted in six countries, peaking at number one in Finland, Germany and Austria, later going double platinum, triple gold, and gold respectively. Razorblade Romance would also go on to chart in the United States in January 2004, making it the band's first album to chart in the US. HIM also won "Album of the Year" at the 2000 Emma Awards, as well as were awarded at the 2004 IFPI Platinum Europe Awards. Three further singles were released from the album, two of which reached number one in Finland. Razorblade Romance was followed by an intensive supporting tour, which nearly resulted in the band breaking up. The album was also HIM's first to feature drummer Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen, and the only to feature keyboardist Jussi-Mikko "Juska" Salminen. (Full article...) - Image 10Flashback is the fifth studio album by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen, released on October 4, 2005 through Univision and on September 15, 2007 as Greatest Hits in Germany and Spain. It is often considered as a studio-compilation release due to the amount of the album being previously released material. Queen began working on Flashback after the moderate success of Real in early 2005. Featuring content dating back to 1995, when she was still a part of the all-male group The Noise, the album includes four new pieces of work all produced by Rafi Mercenario, the genre's most requested record producer at the time.
The four tracks were written and recorded after the end of Queen's nine-year marriage to Omar Navarro, months before the album's release. Lyrically, the remaining sixteen tracks tell stories of female empowerment, love and heartbreak and sociopolitical criticism. Following an international tour of South America which began in 2004 and presentations in the United States, Ivy Queen partnered with the co-founder of Perfect Image Records, José Guadalupe, to form her own record label Filtro Musik and signed a distribution deal with Univision Music Group in 2005. She was previously signed to Guadalupe's independent label Perfect Image Records which was distributed by Universal Music Latino. The Flashback Tour was launched in September 2005 to promote the album. (Full article...) - Image 1133 is the fifteenth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released through Warner Music Latina on 30 September 2003. It is a pop record which contains pop ballads and uptempo disco numbers. The album was produced by Miguel and recorded in Hollywood, California. 33 was promoted by two singles: "Te Necesito" and "Un Te Amo". It was also promoted by a tour which lasted from 2003 to 2004. Several songwriters including Armando Manzanero, Juan Luis Guerra, and Kike Santander contributed to the compositions in the record.
33 was met with unfavorable reviews by some music critics for having similar music styles to Miguel's previous pop records. 33 received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album and a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Album. The record reached number one in Argentina, Spain, and the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States. By 2004, it had sold more than 2.5 million copies. (Full article...) - Image 12Music of the Sun is the debut studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on August 29, 2005, by Def Jam Recordings. Prior to signing with Def Jam, Rihanna was discovered by record producer Evan Rogers in Barbados, who helped Rihanna record demo tapes to send out to several record labels. Jay-Z, the former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Def Jam, was given Rihanna's demo by Jay Brown, his A&R at Def Jam, and invited her to audition for the label after hearing the song that would become her first single, "Pon de Replay". She auditioned for Jay-Z and L.A. Reid, the former CEO and president of record label group The Island Def Jam Music Group, and was signed on the spot to prevent her from signing with another record label.
After Rihanna was signed by Jay-Z, she continued to work with Rogers and his production partner Carl Sturken, as well as other music producers such as Poke and Tone, D. "Supa Dups" Chin-quee, and Stargate. Music of the Sun features vocals from Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, music group J-Status, and Jamaican singer Vybz Kartel. Music of the Sun is a dance-pop, dancehall, and R&B album; it also incorporates elements of pop, hip hop, Latin-pop and other Caribbean music genres such as reggae and soca music. (Full article...)
General images - load new batch
- Image 3Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
- Image 5Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
- Image 6The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
- Image 8Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
- Image 9Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
- Image 10The TASCAM 85 16B analog tape multitrack recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1-inch (2.54cm) magnetic tape. Professional analog units of 24 tracks on 2-inch tape were common, with specialty tape heads providing 16 or even 8 tracks on the same tape width, for greater fidelity. (from Multitrack recording)
- Image 13A Mexican son jarocho singer recording tracks at the Tec de Monterrey studios (from Recording studio)
- Image 16Hip hop producer and rapper RZA in a music studio with two collaborators. Pictured in the foreground is a synthesizer keyboard and a number of vinyl records; both of these items are key tools that producers and DJs use to create hip hop beats. (from Hip hop production)
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In 1952, Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, the charts were published under the titles Most-Played Juke Box (Country & Western) Records, Best-Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records and Country & Western Records Most Played By Folk Disk Jockeys. Beginning with the issue of Billboard dated November 15, the titles of the charts were changed to Most Played in Juke Boxes, National Best Sellers, and Most Played By Jockeys respectively, with the genre denoted in an overall page title rather than within the titles of the charts themselves. All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.
In the first issue of Billboard of the year, "Slow Poke" by Pee Wee King retained its place at number one on both the juke box and retail charts from the previous week but was displaced from the top spot on the jockeys chart by Carl Smith's "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way". Smith had three number-one country songs in 1952, two of which topped all three listings. Webb Pierce was the only other artist to take as many as three different songs to the top spot in 1952, although none of his songs reached number one on all three charts during the year. The longest-running number one on both the juke box and retail charts was "The Wild Side of Life" by Hank Thompson, which on both listings spent fifteen consecutive weeks in the top spot before being replaced by "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells. Wells' song, which had been written as an answer song to "The Wild Side of Life", was the first million-selling country single by a female artist and the first Billboard country number one by a solo female. Despite this success, it did not top the jockeys chart, as the song's lyrics were deemed too controversial by some radio stations. (Full article...) - Image 2
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1964, 11 different singles topped the chart, published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, the number one position was held by "Love's Gonna Live Here" by Buck Owens, the song's twelfth week in the top spot; the song would remain at number one through the issue dated February 1 for a total run of sixteen consecutive weeks in the top spot. This set a new record for the longest unbroken run at number one on the Hot Country chart which would stand until 2013 when Florida Georgia Line spent a seventeenth consecutive week atop the chart with "Cruise". Owens had three further number ones in 1964, "My Heart Skips a Beat", "Together Again" and "I Don't Care (Just as Long as You Love Me)" and spent a total of twenty weeks at number one during the year, more than twice as many as any other artist. He was the only artist to take more than one single to number one in 1964 and twice replaced himself in the top spot when "My Heart Skips a Beat" was displaced from the top of the chart by "Together Again" before regaining the peak position two weeks later. (Full article...) - Image 3
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1960, five different songs topped the chart, which at the time was published under the title Hot C&W Sides, C&W being an abbreviation for country and western. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, the song at number one was "El Paso" by Marty Robbins, the track's third week in the top spot. It held the peak position for the first five weeks of 1960, during which time it also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart for two weeks. During the remainder of the year, only four other songs reached the top of the Hot C&W Sides listing, three of which each spent twelve or more consecutive weeks at number one. In the issue of Billboard dated February 8, Jim Reeves began a 14-week unbroken run at the top of the chart with "He'll Have to Go", which was immediately followed by a run of the same length by Hank Locklin's "Please Help Me, I'm Falling". Both songs were produced by Chet Atkins, widely seen as the originator of the "Nashville Sound", a new style of country music which eschewed elements of the earlier honky-tonk style in favour of smooth productions which had a broader appeal. Cowboy Copas next spent 12 weeks at number one with "Alabam". Several singles peaked at number two during these songs' extended runs at the top of the chart, including "One More Time" by Ray Price, which spent eight consecutive weeks in second place behind Locklin's song. (Full article...) - Image 4
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1992, 25 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.
In early 1992, after performing with her mother in the duo The Judds since the early 1980s, Wynonna Judd, now known mononymously as Wynonna, launched her solo career and achieved immediate success. She topped the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart with her debut single "She Is His Only Need" and followed it up before the end of the year with two more chart-toppers with "I Saw the Light" and "No One Else on Earth". The three songs spent a total of eight weeks at number one, the most by any act in 1992. Alan Jackson was the only other artist to achieve three number ones during the year, but his three chart-toppers, "Dallas", "Love's Got a Hold on You" and "She's Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)", spent only four weeks in total at the top of the chart. Brooks & Dunn, Collin Raye, Garth Brooks and Vince Gill each reached number one with two songs. (Full article...) - Image 5
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1981, 48 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
Alabama, Razzy Bailey, T. G. Sheppard and Hank Williams Jr. tied for the most number ones of the year, with three chart-toppers each. As Alabama's "Feels So Right" was one of the few songs to spend a second week at number one, the band had the highest total number of weeks in the top spot, with four. Ten other acts achieved more than one number one in 1981. Several acts topped the chart for the first time in 1981: Charly McClain with "Who's Cheatin' Who", Sylvia with "Drifter", Rosanne Cash with "Seven Year Ache", Earl Thomas Conley with "Fire and Smoke", Ronnie McDowell with "Older Women", Steve Wariner with "All Roads Lead to You", and the duo of David Frizzell and Shelly West with "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma". Shelly West's appearance at number one fell between two chart-toppers achieved in 1981 by her mother, Dottie West. (Full article...) - Image 6The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Video, Short Form, the award was first presented in 1984, as was a similar award for Best Long Form Music Video. From 1986 to 1997, the category name was changed to Best Music Video, Short Form. However, in 1988 and 1989, the award criteria were changed and the video awards were presented under the categories Best Concept Music Video and Best Performance Music Video. The awards were returned to the original format in 1990. The category was called Best Short Form Music Video until 2012, from 2013 it was shortened to Best Music Video. Award recipients include the performers, directors, and producers associated with the winning videos, except for its first two years when the Grammy went to the performing artist only. For unknown reasons, the award for the Best Music Video in 1987 - Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits - went to the band only, not to the director(s) and/or producer(s). (Full article...) - Image 7
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 2004, 21 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles & Tracks, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from country music radio stations compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Singer Kenny Chesney's song "There Goes My Life" was at number one at the start of the year, having been at the top since the issue of Billboard dated December 20, 2003. It remained at number one for the first five weeks of 2004 before being replaced by "Remember When" by Alan Jackson. The highest total number of weeks spent at number one by a song in 2004 was seven, achieved by "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw, which was ranked number one on Billboards year-end chart of the most popular country songs. As the song's seven weeks at the top were split into two separate spells, however, the longest unbroken run at the top was five weeks, achieved by three different songs, two of which were by Chesney: "There Goes My Life" and "When the Sun Goes Down", the latter a collaboration with Uncle Kracker. The third song with a five-week run at the top was "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson. ('Full article...) - Image 8
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1985, 51 different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores. Only "Lost in the Fifties Tonight (In the Still of the Night)" by Ronnie Milsap managed a second week at the top of the chart.
Alabama, one of the most successful bands in country music history, had the highest number of chart-toppers by a single act in 1985, with four: "(There's A) Fire in the Night", "There's No Way", "40 Hour Week (For a Livin')" and "Can't Keep a Good Man Down". When the group achieved its third number one of the year in August, Billboard regarded it as Alabama's seventeenth consecutive Hot Country number one, breaking the record for consecutive chart-toppers previously held by Sonny James. Alabama had released a Christmas single in late 1982 which only peaked at number 35, but the magazine disregarded this for the purposes of the band's number one streak, stating "only a Scrooge would count that against them". The band would eventually extend its streak of consecutive number ones to 21 before its popularity began to wane in the 1990s. Earl Thomas Conley, Exile, the Judds and the Oak Ridge Boys each had three number ones in 1985. Additionally Willie Nelson achieved one solo number one, one in collaboration with Ray Charles, and one as a member of the supergroup the Highwaymen, in which he was joined by Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. (Full article...) - Image 9
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1963, 10 different singles topped the chart, at the time published under the title Hot Country Singles, although there were 21 distinct runs at the top, as the majority of the singles had multiple spells at number one. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 5, Marty Robbins climbed to number one with "Ruby Ann", replacing "Don't Let Me Cross Over" by Carl Butler and Pearl, which had been in the top spot in the last issue of 1962. Robbins only held the number one position for a single week before the husband-and-wife duo returned to the top of the chart. "Don't Let Me Cross Over" had three separate runs at number one during the early part of the year, the last of which lasted for eight weeks, but it would be the only chart-topper of the duo's career. Separating the song's three runs in the top spot during the spring of 1963 were two spells at number one for "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, the first song in the bluegrass genre to top the chart. The song, the theme from television sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies", was the only number one for the duo. In May, "Lonesome 7-7203" by Hawkshaw Hawkins topped the chart, his first and only single to reach number one. This was a posthumous success for the singer, who had died in a plane crash two months earlier. Later in the year, both George Hamilton IV and Ernest Ashworth achieved their first Hot Country number ones. (Full article...) - Image 10
Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1978, 31 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
Several number ones of 1978 came from artists associated with the so-called outlaw country subgenre, which had emerged as a more hard-edged alternative to the slick production values seen in country music earlier in the 1970s. Two of the most prominent exponents of the outlaw style, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, collaborated on the longest-running number one of the year, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", which spent four weeks atop the chart; each also reached number one individually. Jennings' total of seven weeks spent in the top spot was the most by any artist. Nelson was one of only two artists to take three different singles to number one during the year, as he also reached number one with his recordings of two pre-World War II songs, "Georgia on My Mind" and "Blue Skies", taken from Stardust, an album on which he covered a range of pop standards. Kenny Rogers also achieved three number ones, as he topped the listing with "Love or Something Like It", "The Gambler" and "Every Time Two Fools Collide", a collaboration with Dottie West. (Full article...)
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