Tracy Chapman, American singer
Showing posts with label adult contemporary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adult contemporary. Show all posts
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Carole Bayer Sager - It's The Falling In Love
Carole Bayer Sager, American singer and songwriter, turns 62.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Bernadette Peters + Steve Martin - You Belong To Me
Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
Biography by Jason Ankeny
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
One of the biggest Broadway stars of her era, Bernadette Peters was widely acclaimed as the finest singing actress to come along since Barbra Streisand. Born Bernadette Lazzara on February 28, 1948, in New York City, she began singing and dancing while a toddler, and was already a member of Actors' Equity by the age of nine. By 1959, having adopted the stage name Peters, she appeared in a revival of The Most Happy Fella, subsequently co-starring in a road tour of Gypsy; however, she then retired from performing for a time, extensively studying acting and singing during her late-teen years.
In 1968, Peters won a Theatre World citation for her performance in George M!; that same year, she also garnered a Drama Desk Award for her comedic turn in the off-Broadway spoof Dames ... Read More...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Josh Groban - You Raise Me Up
Josh Groban, American singer
Biography by William Ruhlmann
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
Pop and classical singer Josh Groban made his debut in the seventh grade, but then put music aside for a few years until he enrolled at the Interlochen Arts Program. In late 1998, he hooked up with a friend of his vocal coach, producer/writer/arranger David Foster. Groban worked for Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the inauguration of Grey Davis as governor of California and the Grammy Awards (at which he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer" with Celine Dion in place of Andrea Bocelli). He was accepted into the theater department of Carnegie Mellon University, but put his education on hold when he was offered a recording contract at Warner Bros. Records through Foster... Read More...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Michael Bolton - Missing You Now
Michael Bolton, American singer
Time, Love & Tenderness
Album Review by William Ruhlmann
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
Michael Bolton cloned his approach from Soul Provider on its follow-up, Time, Love & Tenderness, and sold as many records for his trouble. (That's six million copies.) His key collaborator once again was Diane Warren, who applied her goldplated gift for writing contemporary love songs to six tunes, among them the hits "Time, Love & Tenderness" and "Missing You Now" (which featured saxmeister Kenny G). The obligatory R&B carbon copy was Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman," which hit number one. The only unusual songs came at the beginning and the end. The album led off with "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" (a Top Ten hit), a song in standard '60s R&B mode that would be the subject of a plagiarism suit from the Isley Brothers, and it concluded with "Steel Bars," co-written by Bolton and...Bob Dylan? That's what it said, and if the song wasn't one of Dylan's best, it at least indicated that Bolton might have possibilities that had so far gone unnoticed.
**In addition to the awesomeness of not just one but TWO white man 'fros in this video (Bolton + Kenny G = AWESOME), you have a young Teri Hatcher playing Michael's love interest in this video. Hatcher now stars in "Desperate Housewives" along with Michael's fiancee, Nicolette Sheridan. It really is a small world!
Corinne Bailey Rae -
Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer
Biography by Matt Collar
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
Neo-soul songstress Corinne Bailey Rae was born in Leeds, England, in 1979 to a British mother and West Indian father. Displaying an interest in music from an early age, Rae studied classical violin until she acquired an electric guitar in her early teens. Inspired by such '90s alt-rock icons as L7, Veruca Salt, and others, Rae formed her first band, the all-female indie rock outfit Helen. Despite developing a strong local following, the band ultimately folded and Rae enrolled at Leeds University to study English literature. While at school, a job at a jazz club inspired her more soul-oriented leanings and she began writing songs. Eventually, she scored a record deal with EMI and released her self-titled debut solo album in 2006. A year later both an expanded edition of the album with a bonus disc and the CD/DVD set Live in London & NY appeared.
Monday, February 25, 2008
98° - I Do (Cherish You)
Justin Jeffre, American singer (98 Degrees)
Biography by John Bush
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
The sweet urban soul quartet 98° was formed in Los Angeles by four former Ohio residents: brothers Nick and Drew Lachey plus Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre. Timmons was trying to make it in the music industry, so he called Jeffre and Nick Lachey -- both former classmates at the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Artists -- and formed 98°; Drew Lachey soon moved to the West Coast as well. The quartet was working a variety of odd jobs to finance their talent-show appearances, but after attracting attention by trying to crash the backstage area of a Boyz II Men show, 98° was offered a chance to sing on a local radio station. ... Read More...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Rupert Holmes, English musician
Partners in Crime
Albume Review by Jason Elias
[Bio & Info © allmusic.com]
Before the release of this successful 1979 album, Holmes released four albums that failed to capture him at his best. Shortly before this, Holmes made his mark as songwriter. He penned the kitschy cannibalism tale "Timothy" for the Buoys. From his 1976 effort Singles came "The Last of the Romantics" which was covered to great effect by Engelbert Humperdinck. Partners in Crime finds Holmes more focused with pop savvy and a great batch of songs. The effort's biggest hit, the ingratiating "Escape" (The Pina Colada Song)," though skilled, is cutesy enough to make some people's eyes roll. Despite the nature of that track, Holmes was also willing to tackle more interesting issues. With the slightly disco-fied title track, he deftly examines the male/female dynamic as business deal. Throughout the song, Holmes is having a lot of fun with every salacious detail. "Nearsighted" has him going the power pop route and all but wringing tears out of seeing "slightly out of focus." As Partners in Crime goes along, what becomes striking is some of the tracks' subtle use of R&B flourishes. "Him" depicts Holmes as the cuckold and has a beautiful string arrangement, a great hook, and strong, vivid lyrics. The album's best ballad, "The People That You Never Get to Love" has Holmes again giving a warm and confident vocal and is poignant rather than weepy. Although there are a few waste cuts, on the whole Partners in Crime is a thought-provoking and polished album.
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