Johnny Cash (1) 270 views 0 favorites Johnny Cash was one of the most imposing and influential figures in post-World War II country music. With his deep, resonant baritone and spare percussive guitar, he had a basic, distinctive sound. Cash didn't sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock & roll. He created his own subgenre, falling halfway between the blunt emotional honesty of folk, the rebelliousness of rock & roll, and the world-weariness of country. Cash's career coincided with the birth of rock & roll, and his rebellious attitude and simple, direct musical attack shared a lot of similarities with rock. However, there was a deep sense of history -- as he would later illustrate with his series of historical albums -- that kept him forever tied with country. And he was one of country music's biggest stars of the '50s and '60s, scoring well over 100 hit singles.
Cash, whose birth name was J.R. Cash, was born and raised in Arkansas, moving to Dyess when he was three. By the time he was 12 years old, he had begun writing his own songs. He was inspired by the country songs he had heard on the radio. While he was in high school, he sang on the Arkansas radio station KLCN. Cash graduated from high school in 1950, moving to Detroit to work in an auto factory for a brief while. With the outbreak of the Korean War, he enlisted in the Air Force. While he was in the Air Force, Cash bought his first guitar and taught himself to play. He began writing songs in earnest, including "Folsom Prison Blues." Cash left the Air Force in 1954, married a Texas woman named Vivian Leberto, and moved to Memphis, where he took a radio announcing course at a broadcasting school on the GI Bill. During the evenings, he played country music in a trio that also consisted of guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant. The trio occasionally played for free on a local radio station, KWEM, and tried to secure gigs and an audition at Sun Records.
Cash finally landed an audition with Sun Records and its founder, Sam Phillips, in 1955. Initially, Cash presented himself as a gospel singer, but Phillips turned him down. Phillips asked him to come back with something more commercial. Cash returned with "Hey Porter," which immediately caught Phillips' ear. Soon, Cash released "Cry Cry Cry"/"Hey Porter" as his debut single for Sun. On the single, Phillips billed Cash as "Johnny," which upset the singer because he felt it sounded too young; the record producer also dubbed Perkins and Grant as the Tennessee Two. "Cry Cry Cry" became a success upon its release in 1955, entering the country charts at number 14 and leading to a spot on The Louisiana Hayride, where he stayed for nearly a year. A second single, "Folsom Prison Blues," reached the country Top Five in early 1956 and its follow-up, "I Walk the Line," was number one for six weeks and crossed over into the pop Top 20.
Cash had an equally successful year in 1957, scoring several country hits including the Top 15 "Give My Love to Rose." Cash also made his Grand Ole Opry debut that year, appearing all in black where the other performers were decked out in flamboyant, rhinestone-studded outfits. Eventually, he earned the nickname of "The Man in Black." Cash became the first Sun artist to release a long-playing album in November of 1957, when Johnny Cash With His Hot and Blue Guitar hit the stores. Cash's success continued to roll throughout 1958, as he earned his biggest hit, "Ballad of a Teenage Queen" (number one for ten weeks), as well another number one single, "Guess Things Happen That Way." For most of 1958, Cash attempted to record a gospel album, but Sun refused to allow him to record one. Sun also was unwilling to increase Cash's record royalties. Both of these were deciding factors in the vocalist's decision to sign with Columbia Records in 1958. By the end of the year, he had released his first single for the label, "All Over Again," which became another Top Five success. Sun continued to release singles and albums of unissued Cash material into the '60s.
"Don't Take Your Guns to Town," Cash's second single for Columbia, was one of his biggest hits, reaching the top of the country charts and crossing over into the pop charts in the beginning of 1959. Throughout that year, Columbia and Sun singles vied for the top of the charts. Generally, the Columbia releases -- "Frankie's Man Johnny," "I Got Stripes," and "Five Feet High and Rising" -- fared better than the Sun singles, but "Luther Played the Boogie" did climb into the Top Ten. That same year, Cash had the chance to make his gospel record -- Hymns by Johnny Cash -- which kicked off a series of thematic albums that ran into the '70s.
the Tennessee Two became the Tennessee Three in 1960 with the addition of drummer W.S. Holland. Though he was continuing to have hits, the relentless pace of his career was beginning to take a toll on Cash. In 1959, he had begun taking amphetamines to help him get through his schedule of nearly 300 shows a year. By 1961, his drug intake had increased dramatically and his work was affected, which was reflected by a declining number of hit singles and albums. By 1963, he had moved to New York, leaving his family behind. He was running into trouble with the law, most notably for starting a forest fire out West.
June Carter -- who was the wife of one of Cash's drinking buddies, Carl Smith -- would provide Cash with his return to the top of the charts with "Ring of Fire," which she co-wrote with Merle Kilgore. "Ring of Fire" spent seven weeks on the top of the charts and was a Top 20 pop hit. Cash continued his success in 1964 as "Understand Your Man" became a number one hit. However, Cash's comeback was short-lived as he sank further into addiction, and his hit singles arrived sporadically. Cash was arrested in El Paso for attempting to smuggle amphetamines into the country through his guitar case in 1965. That same year, the Grand Ole Opry refused to have him perform and he wrecked the establishment's footlights. In 1966, his wife Vivian filed for divorce. After the divorce, Cash moved to Nashville. At first, he was as destructive as he ever had been, but he became close friends with June Carter, who had divorced Carl Smith. With Carter's help, he was able to shake his addictions; she also converted Cash to fundamentalist Christianity. His career began to bounce back as "Jackson" and "Rosanna's Going Wild" became Top Ten hits. Early in 1968, Cash proposed marriage to Carter during a concert; the pair were married that spring.
Also in 1968, Cash recorded and released his most popular album, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison. Recorded during a prison concert, the album spawned the number one country hit "Folsom Prison Blues," which also crossed over into the pop charts. By the end of the year, the record had gone gold. The following year, he released a sequel, Johnny Cash at San Quentin, which had his only Top Ten pop single, "A Boy Named Sue," which peaked at number three; it also hit number one on the country charts. Cash guested on Bob Dylan's 1969 country-rock album Nashville Skyline. Dylan returned the favor by appearing on the first episode of The Johnny Cash Show, the singer's television program for ABC. The Johnny Cash Show ran for two years, between 1969 and 1971.
Cash was reaching a second peak of popularity in 1970. In addition to his television show, he performed for President Richard Nixon at the White House, acted with Kirk Douglas in The Gunfight, sang with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and he was the subject of a documentary film. His record sales were equally healthy as "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and "Flesh and Blood" were number one hits. Throughout 1971, Cash continued to have hits, including the Top Three "Man in Black." Both Cash and Carter became more socially active in the early '70s, campaigning for the civil rights of Native Americans and prisoners, as well as frequently working with Billy Graham.
In the mid-'70s, Cash's presence on the country charts began to decline, but he continued to have a series of minor hits and the occasional chart-topper like 1976's "One Piece at a Time," or Top Ten hits like the Waylon Jennings duet "There Ain't No Good Chain Gang" and "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky." Man in Black, Cash's autobiography, was published in 1975. In 1980, he became the youngest inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. However, the '80s were a rough time for Cash as his record sales continued to decline and he ran into trouble with Columbia. Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis teamed up to record The Survivors in 1982, which was a mild success. The Highwaymen -- a band featuring Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson -- released their first album in 1985, which was also moderately successful. The following year, Cash and Columbia Records ended their relationship and he signed with Mercury Nashville. The new label didn't prove to be a success, as the company and the singer fought over stylistic direction. Furthermore, country radio had begun to favor more contemporary artists, and Cash soon found himself shut out of the charts. Nevertheless, he continued to be a popular concert performer.
The Highwaymen recorded a second album in 1992, and it was more commercially successful than any of Cash's Mercury records. Around that time, his contract with Mercury ended. In 1993, he signed a contract with American Records. His first album for the label, American Recordings, was produced by the label's founder, Rick Rubin, and was a stark, acoustic collection of songs. American Recordings, while not a blockbuster success, revived his career critically and brought him in touch with a younger, rock-oriented audience. In 1995, The Highwaymen released their third album, The Road Goes on Forever. The following year, Cash released his second album for American Records, Unchained, which featured support from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. His VH1 Storytellers outing was released in 1998, and in the spring of 2000, Cash compiled Love, God, Murder, a three-disc retrospective focusing on the major songwriting themes dominant throughout his career. The new studio album American III: Solitary Man appeared later that year.
Health problems plagued Cash throughout the '90s and into the 2000s, but he continued to record with Rubin; their fourth collaboration, American IV: The Man Comes Around, was released in late 2002. The following year, the Mark Romanek-directed video for his cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" garnered considerable acclaim and media attention, culminating in an unexpected nomination for video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards. Not long after the video sparked numerous stories, his beloved wife June Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003, of complications following heart surgery. Four months later, Johnny died of complications from diabetes in Nashville, TN. He was 71. Five months later, the compilation Legend of Johnny Cash became a Top Ten hit. In 2006 Lost Highway released the next-to-last installment of Cash's legendary "American" recordings, American V: A Hundred Highways, from the late singer's last sessions with collaborator Rick Rubin. The final installment from those sessions appeared as American VI: Ain't No Grave, in early 2010, and is reported to be the last of the American Recordings releases. Sony Legacy started a vigorous "bootleg" series of rare, unreleased or hard to find Cash tracks in 2011 with the two-disc Bootleg, Vol. 1: Personal File and continued into 2012 with three further two-disc sets of rare material.
John O'Callaghan (3) 403 views 0 favorites John O'Callaghan is an Irish Musician and DJ, mainly producing electronic dance music. He also produces music under the alias of Joint Operations Centre, Mannix and Stenna. He has also collaborated with fellow Discover artists such as Bryan Kearney, Neal Scarborough (as Inertia), Thomas Bronzwaer (as Lost World) and Greg Downey as well as more recently, trance hero Leon Bolier. His best known track is Big Sky, done with vocalist Audrey Gallagher.
John O'Callaghan formerly had the majority of his work released on Discover, the British record label set up by John Askew. Recently, his work has been released by Armada Music and its sublabels; primarily on Armind and Soundpiercing. The remix of his vocal trance production "Big Sky" by Agnelli & Nelson was voted “Tune of The Year†by listeners of Armin van Buuren's A State of Trance radio show in 2007.
In 2008, not only did John enter the DJ Mag 100 in 2008 at number 60 but he also picked up two awards at the 'Irish Dance Music Awards', winning 'Best Producer' and 'Best DJ'. With the success of 2008 flowing, John also became the first Irishman to play Trance Energy. In 2009, he rose 36 places to 24th in the DJ Mag 100.
In addition to numerous single releases, he has released a live album (Discover "Live As" Volume 2) and two artist albums, Something To Live For and Never Fade Away.
Never Fade Away was released in 2009 on the Armada label shortly following the single release of "Find Yourself feat. Sarah Howells". "Find Yourself" was tipped a future favorite on Armin Van Buuren's weekly radio show, A State Of Trance. The track has received recognition from many DJs including Armin Van Buuren, Judge Jules, Matt Hardwick and Gareth Emery. The track has also received a remix from Cosmic Gate which is also making a lot of headway in many DJs' set lists. O'Callaghan has also released another single from the album, "Surreal" which includes vocals from 'Jaren'. 2010 also marked the start of John's very own sublabel on Armada Called "Subculture"
John Newman (1) 243 views 0 favorites John Newman (born 6th June 1990, in Settle, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom) is a British soul singer and musician from London. He is best known as being a featured artist for Rudimental's number one single "Feel the Love" and top 20 single "Not Giving In". He started playing guitar and writing his own songs at the age of 14 and soon learned how to record and produce himself, even making his own house tracks and DJing. At 20 he moved to London, started a band, played live and got signed to Island Records.
John Mayer (1) 382 views 0 favorites John Clayton Mayer ( born October 16, 1977) is an American pop and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in Fairfield, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can be heard throughout his 2005 live album Try! with the John Mayer Trio and his third studio album Continuum, released in September 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007, Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". He released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, in November 2009. His fifth album, Born and Raised, which saw another musical style shift, was released in May 2012. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and over 20 million albums worldwide.
John Dahlback (1) 379 views 0 favorites John Dahlbäck is further testament to the theory that when it comes to overly talented musical homelands, there could indeed be something in Sweden’s water. Born in 1985 in a small village near Stockholm, he landed his first record deal aged just 15 while most of his peers were just discovering clubs. Just a few years later he was already the proud owner of a worldwide respected label, had a string of well-known productions to his name and a reputation for quietly turning out some of the best house melodies you could hope to hear.
With a family background boasting more music than the Von Trapps it’s no surprise he was instantly hooked – his mum sings in a jazz band, his dad drummed in a prog rock band, and various aunts and uncles played piano, guitar and more, so he was hardly stuck for inspiration or opinions to help him get started. Learning the basics on his dad’s Atari computer he soon established his own style, and his second demo, a jazz-influenced, deep house number called Night Flash, earned him a record deal with Route 33.
After five successful years running his Pickadoll label, John started his own label "Mutants", “I had a real vision about the label,” says John Dahlbäck. “I can hear within a couple of seconds whether a track will fit, and I love doing this kind of organised work – sending out promos and looking for licenses – otherwise I’m just a slave to the studio!”
Although primarily an outlet for John's more experimental tracks from the studio, about 20% of Mutants' output is made up of other artists signed by John. "I like to combine sounds and styles and I still want that emotional twist, but I love the playful and sometimes experimental vibe of house."
His last album called “Winners And Fools” came out in September 2008, and described by John as “the one I’m most proud of. I’ve done a lot in the past and there have been some amazing moments. When the single “Blink” started to get big in France and I was making the video it was a huge moment, but every time I do a track now I feel I’m improving. For John Dahlbäck, his agenda for making and playing music is simple. “I’m quite calm when I DJ, I don’t want to be ‘showy’ - I love to play for dancing people, to really see them loving the tunes. And I love to make the tunes that get them dancing…”
Now, in 2011, John Dahlbäck has several songs on Toolroom, Spinnin’, Defected, Versuz, Big Beat/Atlantic NEWS, Universal GAS, Universal Nordic, Ministry Of Sound Australia and One Love/Sony Australia. His latest single featuring Erik Hassle "One Last Ride" (with remixes by Tommy Trash & Felix Cartal among others) has already been added to National Radio in Sweden and played by the Swedish House Mafia on their Pete Tong Radio1 show.
This year he has also remixed Lady Gaga, Nicole Featuring 50 Cent, Skylar Gray, David Morales and Sneaky Soundsystem among others.
Already for 2012 John will be releasing a Mix Cd for Tool Room Records in January with several other releases coming out every month.
Joey Negro (1) 259 views 0 favorites Joey Negro is the most well-known pseudonym of master British DJ/producer/remixer Dave Lee. Under a plethora of other monikers including Jakatta, Akabu, Doug Willis, Raven Maize, The Sunburst Band, Sessomatto, and Z Factor, Dave was one of the first artists to incorporate disco samples in house music when he began his production career in 1988. Indeed, he was in the studio making credible and outstanding British House music when many luminaries around him were still busy getting to grips with their decks. In 2011 little has changed and Dave is widely regarded as one of the most commercially successful and in-demand artists on the global scene. A producer first and foremost, Dave uses his DJ'ing talents as a sound-bed for tweaking his musical creations to perfection. His work ethic is legendry, having been involved in well over 200 productions, countless albums and a healthy stack of hit singles. Through releasing tracks such as 'Must Be The Music', 'Make A Move On Me', 'Can't Get High Without You' and Jakatta's 'American Dream' and 'My Vision', Dave has established himself as a true professional who keeps getting better. Widely considered an expert in all things funk, soul and disco-related, Dave is also a helpful 'consultant' depended on by radio and TV producers worldwide. Born on the Isle of Wright, Dave grew up on the south coast of England during the late 70's and early 80's listening to local radio stations and the sounds of Earth Wind & Fire, Heatwave, Shalamar and The Jacksons. A lack of good quality music at the time encouraged Dave to seek inspiration in the record shops of London. This soon led to a job at London vinyl store Smithers & Leigh where he first heard the revered house classics 'Jack Your Body' and 'I Can Feel It', sounds that were major inspirations for him to produce his own records. Following the closure of Smithers & Leigh, Dave joined Rough Trade Distribution where he was charged with setting up its dance music arm, Demix. It was here where Dave started working with the Rhythm King label, which had had a number of hits with acts like Bomb The Bass, S-Express, Cookie Crew and Beatmasters. His experience in advising other labels led to Dave establishing his own imprint, Republic Records, in 1988. Now defunct, Republic is today remembered as the UK's first soulful house label releasing classics such as Phase II "Reachin" and Turntable Orchestra "You're Gonna Miss Me". This was also home the first Dave Lee production, M.D.Emm.'s 'Get Busy', which reached #88 in the UK charts and #18 in the club charts. His most successful work during this time, according to Dave himself, was 'Forever Together', released under his Raven Maize alter ego. Dave created hype by licensing the song to NY label Quark and created a story of an ex-convict who played in a steel band in Disney Land, even using a computer-enhanced image of a friend sporting an afro as a press shot. The name Joey Negro came about in 1990 when Dave released "Do It Believe It' on uber cool US cult house label Nu Groove. Not being able to think of an act name and being pressed for label copy Dave took the name from two records in a pile next to his desk - one by Pal Joey and another by J Walter Negro. "I certainly never expected that I'd still be addressed as Joey 20 years later" smiles Dave. The track was a breakthrough success and was followed by 'Do What You Feel', which Dave released on his second label and successor to Republic, Z Records. Virgin eventually released 'Do What You Feel' and the song became both a club hit and top 40 pop hit. Another Top 40 "Love Fantasy" and an album "Universe of Love" followed soon after. Throughout the 90's and 00's Dave continued to release a stream of his own productions on his label Z Records (as well as other choice indies JBO, Azuli and NRK). Z continues to release a single per month and draft in the best remixers to work on Dave's music with Dennis Ferrer, Henrik Schwarz, Ame and Jimpster all having recently contributed. Dave's reputation as a highly-skilled producer and remixer has resulted in many chart-topping liaisons with high profile pop acts over the years. He has completed well over a hundred remixes for stars including Kelly Rowland, Mariah Carey, Royksopp, Roisin Murphy, Sugababes, Empire of The Sun, Diana Ross, Pet Shop Boys, Roy Ayers, Simply Red, and Lionel Ritchie. Dave was also behind Take That's "Relight My Fire", suggesting it as a cover then producing the finished result. Dave has since produced tracks for 911, Robbie Williams and Shayne Ward. His hard work and brilliant remixes for both dance and pop artists alike led to Dave's crowning as Best UK Remixer by both DMC/Mixmag and DJ magazine in 1992. Being such a well known train spotter Dave has been behind over 20 compilation releases including his 'Joey Negro In The House' release on Defected, 'Disco Spectrum' 1 - 3 (BBE), 'Jumpin' series, "Disco (Not Disco)", Southport Weekender Volume 1, 'Nite:Life' and 'Back In The Box' releases on NRK plus his 'The Trip' and 'Lust: Art & Soul' compilations have further spread this master's influence. Along with record collecting friend Sean P, Dave has also compiled a number of highly regarded soul and disco compilations for his Z Records label. 'Destination Boogie', 'Locked In The Vinyl Cellar', 'Supafunkanova' the 'Soul of Disco' (1-3) albums and the latest labour of love 'Back Street Brit Funk' have further cemented Dave as being one of the foremost authorities on music old and new. Dave's impressive discography has ensured he has remained in demand on the global DJ circuit, playing at the biggest and best venues over the world. As a DJ Dave strives to reflect this extensive love of music by playing eclectic sets, which go from rare disco thru to vocal and classic house often into more electronic techy deep sounds. These sets often showcase the many re-edits and updates of old and obscure tracks he's become famous for. "I'm forever chopping up both new and old records in the studio to make them work better within my sets' he explains. 'I can't help myself, I want dancers to experience the very best highs a records has to offer, even if it means I have to spend a few days in the studio re-arranging something. I couldn't be a producer without being a DJ and certainly DJ'ing would be a whole lot less fun if I didn't get to tweak the music I was playing out." As well as being one of the most in demand dj's around Dave has also found time to turn his much-loved Sunburst Band project into a full-fledged live band. The 7 piece band is made up of some of the best musicians around including Tony Remy, Pete Simpson and Frank Tontoh. The band continue to go from strength to strength playing sell out shows at Southport Weekender, Jazz Café, London, the legendary Ronnie Scott's, London, the newly refurbished Band On The Wall venue, Manchester as well as international shows in Croatia, Dubai, Serbia and Austria. Last year Dave released a new studio album as Akabu, the debut for his more deep-tech-house orientated guise. The LP titled 'The Phuture Ain't What It Used To Be' received praise from the likes of Carl Craig, Josh Wink and Nic Fancuili as well as great reviews in the press, who were impressed with Dave's ability to produce something very different to the sound he is normally associated with. 2010 also saw Dave celebrate 20 Years of Joey Negro with some special live PA shows that included all his most well-known and best loved hits from across his 20 year career. These live shows were supported by a special edition triple CD mixed by Grant Nelson and DJ Spinna and feature more exclusive tracks, remixes and edits... Things haven't slowed down for Mr Lee in 2011. "No Sugar", his collaboration with Gramophondzie and Shea Soul being one of the few tunes to reach the top 5 on both Beatport and Traxsource. The latest Soul of Disco comp was widely regarded as the best so far. Dave's revamp of Muzique "Keep on Jumpin" held the number one spot on Beatport for most of August. While at the beginning on September there were 4 Joey Negro Remixes in the Traxsource top 5 - which must be a record. Unlike many producers who've been in the game as long, Dave certainly keeps himself constantly busy in the studio with a constant stream of high achieving singles on Z, while a fourth Sunburst Band album is also close to completion. Dave Lee, Joey Negro, Jakatta, Raven Maize, Z Factor, call him what you will, but his ability is without question and his status as one of the most gifted and hard-working individuals in world music circles is as true as ever.
Joeski (1) 265 views 0 favorites
Joel Corry (1) 305 views 0 favorites Joel Corry (born 10 June 1989) is a British DJ, producer and fitness trainer. He is best known for his 2019 single "Sorry", which peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart after being featured on the ITV2 reality television series Love Island. Corry stated that he was influenced by UK garage growing up, and that it played a "huge role in his development as a DJ and a producer".
Joel Corry featured on MTV reality television series Geordie Shore, alongside then-girlfriend Sophie Kasaei until 2013. He also has a personal training business, an app called Joel Corry PT and a gym and leisurewear company Most Rated, which is also the name of his own record label. In 2015 he released his debut singles "Back Again" and "Light It Up". In 2017 he released the singles "Just Wanna", "All the Things", "All Night", "Sunlight" and "Feel This Way". He released the singles "Hurt", "All I Need", "Only You", "Good As Gold" and "Fallen" in 2018 which premiered on Our Culture Mag. In April 2019, he released the single "Sorry"; the song features uncredited vocals from Hayley May. In July 2019, the song broke the record for the most Shazamed track in one day, with 41,000 Shazams. It featured on the controversial ITV2 reality television series Love Island. The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.
Jodie Connor (1) 340 views 0 favorites Jodie Melanie Connor (born 8 May 1981) is an English recording artist, lyricist and goodwill ambassador.
Connor's first number-one charted song was as a guest vocalist on Roll Deep's number-one single "Good Times". She was later signed by Polydor Records and Takeover Entertainment and released her debut solo single "Now or Never" on 16 January 2011, which peaked at number 14. A second single, "Bring It" featuring Tinchy Stryder was released on 20 February 2011 following its first play on BBC Radio 1 and debuted at number 11 on the UK R&B Chart.
Early in Jodie Connor's career, she attended Saddleworth School for her high school education before attending Oldham College where she studied performing arts and graduated. Connor worked as receptionist in a sports club by day and gigged and performed in the evenings and on weekends. In 2003, Connor appeared as a contestant on the second series of the hit British television talent show Pop Idol. She was an early favourite of the judges, and made it to the final fifty of the competition, earning her the chance to perform live to the nation, but was eliminated after failing to finish in the top two in her group, instead placing fourth of ten. Connor was given a second chance by the judges, and was invited back for the Wildcard round, but again was unsuccessful in making it through to the next round, and was eliminated for good.
Connor returned to spotlight in 2010, when she featured on grime collective Roll Deep's comeback single "Good Times"; which she helped to co-write. On 2 May 2010, the single debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 1, where it remained for three consecutive weeks. The single not only marked Connor's first chart performance, but also Roll Deep's first top 10 hit. Connor then continued her breakthrough, appearing on videos "Electric Boogaloo (Find a Way)" and "Higher State" by Wiley and Bailey respectively. Following the success of Connor's breakthrough, she was signed to Polydor Records and Takeover Entertainment, spending the remainder of 2010 recording material for her debut album. On 16 January 2011, Connor released her debut single, "Now or Never" featuring Wiley, in the UK, which debuted at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 6 on the UK R&B Chart. On 20 February 2011, Connor released her second single, "Bring It" featuring Tinchy Stryder, also in the UK, which debuted at number 11 on the UK R&B Chart, following its first play on BBC Radio 1.
In December 2010, Connor announced that she is to be spending time between Los Angeles and New York City working in the studio with Roc Nation-Songwriter's Makeba Riddick and James Fauntleroy II on her debut album, and that the album would be scheduled for release in the fourth-quarter of 2012. The third single from the album entitled "Take You There" and featuring American rapper Busta Rhymes was released on 29 July 2012.
Jimpy (1) 300 views 0 favorites
Jimpster (3) 271 views 0 favorites Jimpster (aka Audiomontage and real name Jamie Odell) is a British deep house producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Freerange Records. While producing his own tracks and playing live shows, Jimpster has also worked on remixes, including a remix of the song 400 years by Bob Marley.
Born into a musical family, Jimpster was influenced and encouraged by his father Roger Odell who is the drummer in the jazz-funk band Shakatak. It was there that he was first exposed to electronic synthesizers and recording equipment at around age 10. He started Freerange records with his friend Tom Roberts in 1996, a label that has since found a niche in deep house and includes names like Shur-I-Kan and Milton Jackson. Jimpster played in a live electronica band, The Bays, from 2002 until 2007, but eventually had to choose between carrying on with the band and focusing on his djing and record label.
Jimmy Buffett (1) 476 views 0 favorites James William "Jimmy" Buffett (born December 25, 1946 - September 1, 2023) was an American singer–songwriter, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett has recorded hit songs including "Margaritaville" (ranked 234th on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Century") and "Come Monday". He has a devoted base of fans known as "Parrotheads".
Aside from his career in music, Buffett is also a best-selling writer and is involved in two restaurant chains named after two of his best known songs, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" and "Margaritaville". He owns the Margaritaville Cafe restaurant chain and co-developed the Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant concept with OSI Restaurant Partners (parent of Outback Steakhouse), which operates the chain under a licensing agreement with Buffett.
Jewel (1) 273 views 0 favorites Jewel Kilcher (born May 23, 1974 in Payson, Utah, United States) is a singer, songwriter, actress, and poet, generally known just by her first name, Jewel. She has received four Grammy Award nominations.
Jewel is the daughter of Nedra Carroll, an artist and personal manager, and Atz Kilcher, an elementary school music teacher, folk singer and social worker. Her mother of Irish descent and her father is of Swiss-German origin. She is the cousin of actress Q'Orianka Kilcher. She spent most of her young life in Homer, Alaska, United States, living with her father. The home she grew up in did not have indoor plumbing; it had a simple outhouse instead. She and her father sometimes earned a living by singing in bars and taverns. It was from these experiences she learned to yodel, a quality demonstrated in many of her songs. Her father was a Mormon, but they stopped attending the church shortly before she turned eight. Yule Kilcher, her grandfather, was a state senator involved in drafting Alaska's constitution for its admission into a state from a territory in 1959.
During high school, Jewel was known to spell her name "Jule" or "Juel," but she attributes this to simply playing with her name.
Jewel learned to play the guitar while at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, United States where she majored in operatic voice. She started writing songs at the age of seventeen.
For a time, she was poverty-stricken and lived in her van while traveling about the country doing street performances and small gigs. She gained some recognition by singing at the Innerchange Coffeehouse and Java Joe's in San Diego, California, United States. Her friend Steve Poltz's band, The Rugburns, played at the same venues. Jewel later collaborated with Poltz on some of her songs, including "You Were Meant For Me" (He also appeared in the second, best-known, video for this song). The Rugburns opened for Jewel on her Tiny Lights tour in 1997. Poltz appeared in Jewel's band on the Spirit World Tour 1999 playing guitar.
In 1993, Michael Balzary (better known by the stage name – Flea) of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers met Jewel after he saw her perform at a local cafe. He went back to her van where she was living, where she sang a few of her songs to him. He described her singing voice as being "beautiful" and "breathtaking".
Jewel was discovered by Inga Vainshtein in August 1993, when a musician from a local San Diego band, Rust, whom Vainshtein was managing at the time, called to tell her about a girl surfer who sang at a local coffee shop on Thursdays. Vainshtein drove to Innerchange coffee shop with a rep from Atlantic Records, and after the show they called Danny Goldberg, the head of Atlantic Records west coast operations, and asked him to pay for Jewel's demo. Vainshtein eventually became Jewel's manager, and was instrumental in creating a major bidding war, which led to Jewel's deal with Atlantic Records. She cut her debut album, Pieces of You, when she was nineteen and it was released in 1995. Jewel recorded "Pieces of You" in a studio on Neil Young's ranch, and was backed by his band, The Stray Gators, who played on Neil Young's "Harvest" and "Harvest Moon" albums. Part of the album was cut live at the Innerchange Coffeehouse in San Diego where she had risen to local fame. The album stayed on the Billboard 200 for an impressive two years, reaching number four at its peak. The album spawned the Top 10 hits "You Were Meant for Me", "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "Foolish Games". The album was a huge success and eventually sold over 12 million copies in the United States. alone, more than all of her subsequent albums put together.
Due to her successes, she was chosen to sing the American national anthem at the opening of the Super Bowl in January 1998 in San Diego. She was introduced as "San Diego's own Jewel!" However, she was criticized for lip-syncing the anthem to a pre-recording. This was especially noticeable due to her missing her cue and not mouthing the first words.
In November 1998, Jewel released her second album, Spirit. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 4 million copies in the United States. The songs "Hands" and "Down So Long" hit the Top 10. Other singles followed, a new version of "Jupiter (Swallow The Moon)", "What's Simple Is True", the theme song to her upcoming movie, and the charity single "Life Uncommon".
A year later, In November 1999, Jewel released Joy: A Holiday Collection. The album sold over a million copies and peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200. She released a cover of "Joy to the World" from the album.
In November 2001, the album This Way was released. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 1 million copies in the United States, standing as her most critically acclaimed album to date. Jewel hit the Top 10 with the song "Standing Still" and the Top 40 with the song "Break Me". Other singles released were "This Way" and "Serve The Ego", the latter giving Jewel her first number one club hit.
In 2003, Jewel released the album 0304. She writes in the liner notes, "I wanted to make a record that was a modern interpretation of big band music. A record that was lyric driven, like Cole Porter, that also had a lot of swing. And a lot of it is thanks to Lester, because when I told him I wanted to make a record that combined dance, urban, and folk music, he didn't look at me like I was crazy." While some fans considered 0304 an innovative album that held to the tradition of her previous albums, others felt that it was too much of a departure from the style of her previous albums. Following the limited success of "Serve the Ego", Jewel moved to a more pop-oriented sound with the release of the single "Intuition". The song, which strays from her usual folk style with simple guitar instrumentation, starts off with a French accordion and experiments with pop beats using synthesizers. The song was successful, reaching #5 on the Billboard Adult Top 40. However, a number of Jewel's fans criticized her for abandoning her traditional folk style in exchange for a new pop sound. Accusations of "selling out" for personal gain, among other things, were made. Despite the different sound style, the song is lyrically similar to her previous work. It has a number of references to culture, including mentioning celebrities such as pop star Jennifer Lopez, model Kate Moss, magazines, film culture and commercialism.
On May 2, 2006, Jewel released her sixth album, Goodbye Alice In Wonderland. The album received mixed reviews, but still managed to debut at #8 on the Billboard Albums Chart. The album sold 82,000 copies in its first week out. The lead single "Again and Again" has had moderate success on Adult Top 40 Radio, peaking at #16. The second single, "Good Day", was released to radio in late June but failed to gain any traction on the radio airplay charts. Later, a video for "Stephenville, TX", her next single, has been seen on Yahoo! Launch.
As of December 2006, the album barely sold 270,000 copies. It is notable in that it is the only Jewel album not to achieve Gold certification, even though it has been hailed as arguably one of her best albums. As one music critic, Timothy Duggan, notes: "This album showcases Jewel's unique talent as a lyricist, alongside a definite growth in her musicianship. It is what 'Pieces of You' might have been had Jewel had the musical knowledge then that she has now. A very satisfying work, all in all". Rolling Stone however, called the album "overdone and undercooked" with a rating of 2 stars out of 5.
In early February 2007, Jewel recorded a duet with Jason Michael Carroll, "No Good in Goodbye (With Jewel)", that was featured on Carroll's debut CD, "Waitin' in the Country". She also made a promotional appearance on the T in Boston for the Verizon Yellow Pages, playing songs on a moving subway car and then doing an hour-long acoustic concert in South Station for a large crowd of adoring fans. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Jewel confirmed that she is no longer affiliated with a record label, confirming rumors that Atlantic Records failed to renew her contract after the lackluster sales of her then-latest album. She also hinted that she would like to do a country album next. She is working with John Rich of Big & Rich fame. He says that she is "probably one of the greatest American singer-songwriters we have had". He also said that "every label in Nashville" is talking to her now.
In November 2007, Jewel was signed to Valory Records, a newly formed division of the independent Big Machine Records label. Her first country album, Perfectly Clear, is currently scheduled for release on June 3, 2008; its lead single, Stronger Woman was released to country radio on January 17, 2008, and has entered the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. As of the April 26, 2008 country charts, the single was #13 on the charts, which is its peak position thus far.
She will tour with Brad Paisley, Chuck Wicks, and Julianne Hough on Paisley's 2008 tour.
Official site: www.jeweljk.com
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