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)
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
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"Halo" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce(2008). Included on the I Am... disc, it was intended to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Beyoncé's life, stripped of her make-up and celebrity trappings. Columbia Records released the song, the album's fourth single, to mainstream radio in the United States on January20, 2009, and to international markets from February20. Inspired by Ray LaMontagne's 2004 song "Shelter", "Halo" was written by Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart, with the former producing it alongside Beyoncé, who handled the vocal production. It was originally conceived by Tedder and Bogart specifically for Beyoncé, although there was media speculation that it had been intended for Leona Lewis.
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986. The original lineup consisted of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering (drums). The Pixies are associated with the 1990s alternative rock boom, and draw on elements including punk rock and surf rock. Their music is known for dynamic "loud-quiet-loud" shifts and song structures. Francis is the primary songwriter; his often surreal lyrics cover offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, incest, and biblical violence.
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has consisted of vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr are former members of the band. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is rooted in heavy metal. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell (and later Cantrell and DuVall).
Alice in Chains' original lineup consisted of Cantrell, Kinney, Staley, and Starr. They took the name from Staley's previous band, Alice N' Chains. The band rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. They broke through on MTV and mainstream rock radio with the single "Man in the Box" (from their 1990 debut album Facelift). After releasing the EP Sap in early 1992, the band achieved major mainstream and commercial success with their follow-up album Dirt later that same year. Dirt contained the popular singles "Rooster" and "Would?", among others. Starr was replaced on bass by Inez in early 1993. The following two records, 1994's Jar of Flies (which included the popular single "No Excuses") and 1995's Alice in Chains (also contained radio hits such as "Heaven Beside You" and "Grind"), both topped the US Billboard 200 chart and earned the band several Grammy Award nominations. (Full article...)
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Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridge. His debut album, Five Leaves Left, was released in 1969, and was followed by two more albums, Bryter Layter (1971) and Pink Moon (1972). He did not reach a wide audience during his lifetime, but found acclaim and wider recognition following his death.
Drake suffered from depression and was reluctant to perform in front of live audiences. Upon completion of Pink Moon, he withdrew from both performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural Warwickshire. On 25 November 1974, at the age of 26, he died from an overdose of antidepressants. (Full article...)
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Dion in 2012
Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Dubbed the "Queen of Power Ballads", she is known for her powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works, which have had a significant impact on popular music. With over 200 million records sold worldwide, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, the best-selling French-language artist, and one of the best-selling musical artists.
The album marks a return to the introspective gothic rock style the band had established in the early 1980s. As he neared the age of 30, vocalist and guitarist Robert Smith had felt an increased pressure to follow up on the band's pop successes with a more enduring work. This, coupled with a distaste for the group's newfound popularity, caused Smith to lapse back into the use of hallucinogenic drugs,[citation needed] the effects of which had a strong influence on the production of the album.[citation needed] Following the completion of the mixing, founding member Lol Tolhurst was fired from the band. (Full article...)
To better capture their live sound, Weezer self-produced Pinkerton, creating a darker, more abrasive album than their self-titled 1994 debut. Cuomo's lyrics express loneliness and disillusionment with the rock lifestyle. The title comes from the character BF Pinkerton from Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera Madama Butterfly, whom Cuomo described as an "asshole American sailor similar to a touring rock star". Like Madama Butterfly, Pinkerton views Japanese culture from the perspective of an outsider who considers Japan fragile and sensual. (Full article...)
By the Way was lauded by critics as a departure from the band's previous styles, and is recognized for the melodic and subdued emotions given by the Chili Peppers. Guitarist John Frusciante is credited with writing most of the album's melodies, backing vocal arrangements, bass lines, and guitar progressions, therefore changing the direction of the recording dramatically: "his warm, understated guitar work and his doo-wop style vocal harmonies are king this time around." By the Way contained very little of the signature funk-rock fusion the band had become known for playing. Frusciante has stated that writing "By the Way [was] one of the happiest times in my life." The album went on to sell more than eight million copies worldwide. The album has come to be regarded by many as one of the band's finest works. (Full article...)
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All Money Is Legal, also known as A.M.I.L.: (All Money Is Legal), is the only studio album by American rapper Amil. It was released on August 29, 2000, through Roc-A-Fella, Columbia, and Sony Music. Jay-Z, Damon Dash, and Amil served as executive producer with a team of producers that included Just Blaze. Before the album's release, Amil was best known for her feature on Jay-Z's 1998 single "Can I Get A...". She was one of several up-and-coming artists signed to Roc-A-Fella, alongside Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel, who released an album in 2000. Although it was her only album on Roc-A-Fella, Amil had been closely associated with the label and its co-founder Jay-Z, earning the moniker "First Lady of Roc-A-Fella".
A hip hop album, the lyrics of All Money Is Legal focus on wealth and, to a lesser degree, Amil's personal life. It was recorded at Playground Studios in Los Angeles and at The Cutting Room, The Hit Factory, and Quad Studios in New York City. Although Jay-Z had written Amil's verses for their past collaborations, she wrote her own lyrics for all the album's tracks. Amil mostly raps throughout the album, but sings on some tracks. According to academic commentators and music critics, Amil adopted the persona of a "gold digger" throughout the album. (Full article...)
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Lions is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes. It was released in 2001 as their first album on V2 Records following their departure from Columbia, and is their only studio album to feature guitarist Audley Freed. Lions was recorded in New York City in January and February of that year, and was produced by Don Was. Bass guitar duties were shared by Rich Robinson and Was, as Greg Rzab had left the band and was not replaced until the tour that followed the release of the album.
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at its peak position of 20, selling more than 53,000 copies in its first week. Lions received mixed reviews; although the overall sound of the album generally garnered praise, a frequent complaint was the lack of "memorable" songs. The critics who rated Lions lowest considered it a poor imitation of the band's influences, such as Led Zeppelin. (Full article...)
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The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman is the 22nd studio album by American rock group Sparks, released in August 2009. The duo's first work in the radio musical genre, the album is built around an imaginary visit to Hollywood by Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman in the mid-1950s. Its storyline focuses on the divides between European and American culture, between art and commerce. Unlike other Sparks albums, the work is conceived as a single piece, to be listened to as a whole, rather than a collection of stand-alone songs.
The work was commissioned by Sveriges Radio Radioteatern, the radio drama department of Sweden's national radio broadcaster. First released in the Swedish broadcast version in August 2009, with an English-language version following in November 2009, it features a cast of Swedish and American actors and a variety of musical styles ranging from opera to vaudeville and pop. The album's recording was a collaborative effort – while the music and English vocals were recorded by Sparks in the United States, the album's Swedish vocals were recorded by Sveriges Radio in Stockholm, and then sent to the Maels via an FTP server. The album and its ambitious dramatic concept received favorable reviews and spawned both a live show and plans to turn it into a film. (Full article...)
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"One Tree Hill" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the ninth track on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree. In March 1988, it was released as the fourth single from the album in New Zealand and Australia, while "In God's Country" was released as the fourth single in North America. "One Tree Hill" charted at number one on the New Zealand Singles Chart and was the country's second-most-successful hit of 1988.
The track was written in memory of Greg Carroll, a New Zealander the band first met in Auckland during the Unforgettable Fire Tour in 1984. He became very close friends with lead singer Bono and later served as a roadie for the group. Carroll was killed in July 1986 in a motorcycle accident in Dublin. After Carroll's tangi (funeral) in New Zealand, Bono wrote the lyrics to "One Tree Hill" in his memory. The lyrics reflect Bono's thoughts at the tangi and during his first night in New Zealand when Carroll took him up Auckland's One Tree Hill. They also pay homage to Chilean singer-songwriter and activist Víctor Jara. Musically, the song was developed in a jam session with producer Brian Eno. The vocals were recorded in a single take, as Bono felt incapable of singing them a second time. (Full article...)
... that former residents of Wolf's Lair include the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but a recording studio was not added until the estate was bought by Moby in 2010?
... that former residents of Wolf's Lair include the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, but a recording studio was not added until the estate was bought by Moby in 2010?
... that voice actress Rika Hayashi brought a golf club to the recording studio for Tonbo!, a golf-themed anime series?
... 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?
The album was a top ten hit in the UK, but received mixed reviews. Several songs were performed in Pink Floyd concerts over the following years. (Full article...)
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Mondo Cane is a 2010 album by Mike Patton. Featuring a forty-member orchestra and fifteen-piece backing band, the album contains a series of cover versions of 1950s and 1960s Italian pop music. Patton conceived of the album while living in Bologna, and became attracted to music he heard on the radio featuring pop singers backed by orchestras.
Released on May 4, 2010, through Patton's record label Ipecac Recordings, Mondo Cane has been met with favorable responses from music critics. Reviewers have drawn comparisons to California, an earlier album by Patton's first group Mr. Bungle. Mondo Cane peaked at number 2 in the United States' Classical Albums chart, briefly charting in Switzerland and Finland as well. (Full article...)
The Number of the Beast was met with critical and commercial success, and became the band's first album to top the UK Albums Chart and reach the top 40 of the US Billboard 200. The album produced the singles "Run to the Hills" and "The Number of the Beast", the former of which became the band's first top-ten UK single. The album was also controversial, particularly in the United States, due to the religious references in its artwork and the title track's lyrics. Since the release of The Number of the Beast, "The Beast" has become a nickname for Iron Maiden, appearing in the titles of compilations and live albums including Best of the Beast and Visions of the Beast. (Full article...)
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Floodland is the second studio album by the English gothic rock band the Sisters of Mercy. It was released on 16 November 1987, through Merciful Release, a subsidiary of WEA, internationally and through Elektra Records in the United States. After the release of the band's debut studio album, First and Last and Always (1985), members Craig Adams and Wayne Hussey left to form the Mission, causing the dissolution of the Sisters of Mercy. As a result, band frontman Andrew Eldritch formed a side project known as the Sisterhood. After the first Sisterhood album was received negatively overall, Eldritch restarted the Sisters of Mercy and hired the Sisterhood member Patricia Morrison for the recording of a new album.
Eldritch wrote the songs of Floodland in Hamburg; the city's large amount of water influenced its title as well as the recurring lyrical theme of water. He then called upon Larry Alexander to produce the album with him and Jim Steinman to produce the songs "Dominion" / "Mother Russia" and "This Corrosion". Recording sessions began at Power Station Studios in New York City during January 1987 and carried on throughout the first half of the year at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and The Wool Hall in Bath. Eldritch served as the vocalist, performed all instruments, and programmed the band's drum machine, "Doktor Avalanche". (Full article...)
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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the debut solo studio album by the American rapper and singer-songwriter Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 19, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Recorded after Hill's band Fugees went on hiatus, the album is almost entirely written and produced by Hill. It is a concept album about educating oneself on love, with lyrical themes encompassing relationship complexities, interpersonal conflicts, motherhood, and faith. Predominantly a neo soul and R&B record, Miseducation also incorporates hip-hop, reggae, and soul, and features guest appearances from Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige, and D'Angelo.
After touring with the Fugees, Hill became romantically involved with Jamaican entrepreneur Rohan Marley and became pregnant with their first child. The pregnancy, as well as other circumstances in her life, inspired Hill to create a solo album. Recording sessions for Miseducation took place from September 1997 to June 1998, initially in New York and New Jersey, before relocating to the Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston. There, Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark to write and produce the songs. "Commissioner" Gordon Williams supervised the project, and Che Pope and James Poyser contributed to a majority of the tracks. Hill strived to differentiate her musical style from that of the Fugees, and wrote songs discussing the turmoil within the group. To avoid mainstream trends and an overproduced sound, live instrumentation was incorporated into the recordings. (Full article...)
Recorded during 2013, the album was recorded in multiple studios in different locations. It also features production from a number of musicians. Similar to Tonight, the album features more of a dance-oriented sound throughout. The band focused on making a generally positive and uplifting album with Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action. Band member Alex Kapranos, who provided production on the album, labeled it the band's "most positive record", stating that the album title reflects the mood of the album as well as the mood of the band members during the recording of the album. (Full article...)
Manson was more involved in the album's composition than he was on preceding releases. Primarily an industrial rock and alternative metal record, it contains some of the heaviest material the band had ever recorded. A cover version of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" featuring Johnny Depp was included as a bonus track on all editions of the record. The album received mixed reviews from music critics, with several publications considering it to be a comeback for the band, while others were critical of its heaviness and violent lyrical content. It became the band's seventh top ten studio album on the Billboard 200, and also topped Billboard's Independent Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. (Full article...)
Toxicity was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood, California. Over 30 songs were recorded, but the band narrowed the number of songs on the album to 14. The album peaked at number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 220,000 copies in its first week of release. It was certified sextuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 2022, signifying at least six million copies sold in the United States. All of Toxicity's singles reached the Billboard Hot 100. The final single, "Aerials", went to number one on both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Modern Rock Tracks charts. Toxicity received highly positive ratings and reviews from critics, among them perfect ratings from AllMusic, Kerrang!, and Blabbermouth.net. Many critics praised the album's sound and innovation, and it ranked on multiple "best albums" lists. (Full article...)
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Blind Man's Zoo is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. It was released on May 4, 1989, by Elektra Records. The album contains songs addressing social issues and current events, which occurred during and before the production of the album. The track "Trouble Me" was written as a dedication to the father of the band's lead singer Natalie Merchant.
"Eat for Two", "Trouble Me", and "You Happy Puppet" were released as singles. The first two of the three charted in the United States, and "Trouble Me" charted in the United Kingdom. Blind Man's Zoo received mixed reviews from music critics, some of whom praised the overall content while others criticized the music and lyrics. It reached number 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US. The album charted at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the UK. (Full article...)
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A Ballads (stylized as BALLADS) is the second greatest hits album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released physically on March 12, 2003, through Avex Trax, and digitally distributed worldwide on September 14, 2006, by Avex Entertainment Inc. It is her first compilation release in two years since A Best; it premiered three months after her sixth studio album Rainbow. The compilation compiles ballad-inspired singles released by Hamasaki between 1998 and 2003, while the material is divided into new-arrangement remixes and the original versions. With all the tracks written by Hamasaki, it includes two new songs—"Rainbow", which served as the album's promotional single, and a cover version of Japanese singer Yumi Matsutoya's 1975 track "Sotsugyō Shashin". (Full article...)
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MTV Unplugged is an extended play (EP) and live album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released in the United States on August 19, 2011, by Virgin Records. It features an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City on May 13 of that year for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show's purpose is to present name artists, and feature them stripped of studio equipment. The performance was accompanied by musicians from the Vitamin String Quartet, a gospel choir and included the contribution of the band's fans.
The extended play includes rearranged versions of three songs extracted from Thirty Seconds to Mars' third studio album, This Is War (2009), and a cover version of a song by U2. Upon release, MTV Unplugged received universal acclaim from music critics, many of whom complimented the band's musicianship and the album's production. Commercially, it debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 and experienced moderate success in some international markets. (Full article...)
Image 4The 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 8, or even 16 tracks on the same tape width (8 tracks for greater fidelity). (from Multitrack recording)
Image 5Hip-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)
Image 6Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Image 7Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Image 8Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Image 9Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.
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Faron Young topped the chart in the fall with "Country Girl". Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine since 1958, when the magazine amalgamated its separate C&W Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played C&W by Jockeys charts. In 1959, eleven different songs topped the chart, then published under the title Hot C&W Sides, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
At the start of the year the song at number one was "City Lights" by Ray Price. The song had been in the top spot since the issue of Billboard dated October 20, 1958, the first in which the magazine combined country sales and airplay into a single chart, and remained at number one until the issue dated January 19, 1959. Four artists achieved a number one country single for the first time in 1959: Johnny Horton with "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)", George Jones with "White Lightning", which replaced Horton's song at number one, Stonewall Jackson with "Waterloo", and the Browns with "The Three Bells". Of these, Jones would prove to have the most prolific career, topping the Hot Country chart in four consecutive decades. At the time of his death in 2013, he had placed more singles on Billboard's charts than any other artist in any genre. (Full article...)
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The Beatles had eighteen number-one singles on the NME chart, only one of which never topped the Record Retailer chart. The NME (or New Musical Express) was a British weekly popular music newspaper. Record charts in the United Kingdom began on 14 November 1952 when NME imitated an idea started in American Billboard magazine and compiled their own hit parade. Until 15 February 1969, when the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) chart was established, many periodicals compiled their own charts. During this time the BBC used aggregated results of the prominent NME, Melody Maker, Disc, Record Mirror and, later, Record Retailer charts to compile their Pick of the Pops chart. Prior to 1969 there was no universally accepted source or "official" singles chart; however, the Official Charts Company and Guinness' British Hit Singles & Albums regard the canonical sources for this period as NME before 10 March 1960 and Record Retailer from then until the BMRB took over in 1969. Although Record Retailer is now the most predominantly used source for charting music in the 1960s, NME had the biggest circulation of charts in the decade and was more widely followed. After the BMRB was formed, the NME continued compiling its own chart up until 14 May 1988.
The Allisons' entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, entitled "Are You Sure?", was the first single to be number one on the NME chart but not to reach the top spot on Record Retailer's chart. In total, sixteen songs failed to reach number one with Record Retailer but topped the NME chart. In 1969, after the BMRB chart was introduced, four songs topped the NME but not the BMRB chart. Notable discrepancies include "19th Nervous Breakdown", which reached number one for the Rolling Stones on the NME, Disc, and Melody Maker charts, topped the BBC's Pick of the Pops aggregated chart and was announced as number one on Top of the Pops; however, because it did not reach number one on the Record Retailer chart, it is omitted from the Official Charts Company's canon. The Beatles' "Please Please Me" suffered the same fate so, arguably, should be considered the Beatles' first number-one single. Conversely, Elvis Presley's double A-side, "Rock-A-Hula Baby"/"Can't Help Falling in Love", reached number one on all charts except NME because the entries were split by NME according to which song was requested when the shop returned its figures. (Full article...)
The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the United States. Published by Billboard magazine, the data are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales, and airplay. In 2007, 17 singles reached the top spot on the chart. An 18th single, Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable", began a run at the top in 2006 which continued into 2007.
Conway Twitty reached number one for the first time in 1968. He would go on to achieve a record-breaking 40 chart-toppers. Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1968, 24 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.
At the start of the year the number-one single was "For Loving You" by Bill Anderson and Jan Howard, its third week in the top spot. It remained at number one until the issue dated January 20, when it was replaced by Merle Haggard's single "Sing Me Back Home". Haggard spent the highest number of weeks at number one in 1968, topping the chart for a total of eight weeks with "Sing Me Back Home", "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde" and "Mama Tried". He was one of three artists to take three different singles to number one during the year, the most by any act. Sonny James reached number one with "A World of Our Own", "Heaven Says Hello" and "Born To Be With You", and Tammy Wynette topped the chart with "Take Me to Your World", "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Stand by Your Man". The longest run at number one by a single was the five weeks which Henson Cargill spent in the top spot with "Skip a Rope" in February and March. Two of 1968's country number ones also topped Billboard's all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100. Bobby Goldsboro's single "Honey" had already had a run atop the Hot 100 when it reached number one on the country chart in May. Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA" topped the Hot 100 in September and reached the peak position on the country chart the following week. Although it did not achieve the same level of crossover success, Wynette's November chart-topper "Stand by Your Man" has come to be regarded as one of the greatest country songs of all time. In 2003 it topped a poll of critics, journalists and industry insiders to find the top song of the genre, and in 2010 the song was added by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". (Full article...)
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In 1944, Billboard magazine published its first chart ranking the top-performing country music songs in the United States, under the title Most Played Juke Box Folk Records. The term "country music" would not come into standard usage until the late 1940s and "folk music" was one of a number of terms used for the genre in earlier years; the subtitle on the first chart indicated that it covered "Hillbillies, Spirituals, Cowboy Songs, etc". The Juke Box Folk listing was compiled based on reports from "Billboard representatives" detailing the most-played songs of the genre in jukeboxes from "all the country's leading operating centers", which were averaged to give an overall chart. The first chart listed six songs, but the number of entries was not consistent from week to week. The juke box chart was published under a number of different titles until 1957 and is considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.
The first number-one song listed was "Pistol Packin' Mama", which remained in the top spot for the first seven weeks. The song, originally recorded by Al Dexter in 1942, had remained hugely popular ever since, and been recorded by many different singers. Up to four different versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" were bracketed together as a single entry in the number one position during the seven-week run, although noted chart historian Joel Whitburn regarded only the first-named artist each week as having achieved the number one hit, and did not record some of the credited artists as having charted at all. Subsequently, different recordings of a song were not bracketed together in this way: in issues of Billboard published later in the year, different versions of "Pistol Packin' Mama" appeared listed separately. The chart methodology also allowed for the possibility of records tying for a position, and on several occasions during 1944 two or more different songs tied for the number-one spot. (Full article...)
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Westlife had 11 No. 1 singles between 2000 and 2009, including a cover of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds", which they released as a duet with Mariah Carey in 2000 The UK singles chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the British record industry. In the 2000s, the chart week ran from Sunday to Saturday, and the top 40 singles were revealed each Sunday on BBC Radio 1. At the start of the decade, before the advent of legal music downloads, it was based entirely on sales of physical singles from retail outlets, but in 2005 permanent downloads began to be included in the chart compilation.
During the 2000s, 274 singles reached the No. 1 position on the chart, the most of any decade so far. Over this period, Westlife were the most successful group and music act at reaching the top spot, with 11 No. 1 singles. Rihanna and Jay-Z's song "Umbrella" spent 10 weeks at No. 1 in 2007, the longest spell at the top of the charts since Wet Wet Wet's 1994 hit "Love Is All Around", which topped the charts for 15 weeks. The Internet allowed music to be heard by vast numbers of people on social networking sites such as YouTube and Myspace; it also increased piracy. This and the introduction of the UK Singles Downloads Chart in 2004 led to a decrease in record sales and a reduction in the number of copies sold of a No. 1 record on the singles chart. Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" became the first song to reach the top of the charts based on downloads alone in 2006, remaining at No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks. (Full article...)
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Cootie Williams topped the final Harlem Hit Parade chart with "Somebody's Gotta Go". At the start of 1945, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the "most popular records in Harlem" under the title of the Harlem Hit Parade. Placings were based on a survey of record stores primarily in the Harlem district of New York City, an area which has historically been noted for its African American population and called the "black capital of America". This chart was published for the final time in the issue dated February 10. The following week the magazine launched a new chart in its place, Most Played Juke Box Race Records, based not on retail sales but on the number of times songs had been played in jukeboxes, although records' peak positions and numbers of weeks on chart were carried over; "race records" was a term then in common usage for recordings by black artists. The two charts are considered part of the lineage of the magazine's multimetric R&B chart, which since 2005 has been published under the title Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 6, the Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald topped the Harlem Hit Parade with "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", retaining the top spot from the previous week. The song remained at number one through the issue dated February 3 for a final total of 11 weeks atop the chart. It was displaced by "Somebody's Gotta Go" by Cootie Williams and his Orchestra on the final chart published under the Harlem Hit Parade title. It was the first number one for Williams but would prove to be the final charting song of his career. The following week, Pvt. Cecil Gant topped the first Most Played Juke Box Race Records listing with "I Wonder". Gant spent two weeks at number one before being displaced by Roosevelt Sykes with his recording of the same song. Both versions would be the only number one for their respective artists. (Full article...)
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Pianist Ludovico Einaudi spent 54 weeks at number one on the Official Classical Singles Chart, longer than any other artist.
The Official Classical Singles Chart was a record chart based on downloads and streaming of classical music in the United Kingdom. Each week's chart was compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) and was first published on Monday afternoon on their official website. The chart ran for 140 weeks from 2012 to 2015, during which time a total of 23 singles by 22 artists reached number one. The most successful artist was the Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi, who topped the chart with three singles for a total of 54 weeks, while the most successful record label was Decca Records, which spent 89 weeks at number one with six singles. Einaudi's track "I Giorni" from his album of the same name spent 51 weeks at number one, longer than any other single. In January 2013, following the release of Einaudi's album In a Time Lapse, singles by the pianist accounted for 13 of the Top 20 on the Official Classical Singles Chart. Martin Talbot, managing director of the OCC, described him as one of the chart's "biggest and most consistent stars".
Buck Owens had four number ones in 1966. Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1966, 13 different singles topped the chart, which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles, in 53 issues of the magazine. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
At the start of the year the number one single was the instrumental "Buckaroo" by Buck Owens and his Buckaroos, the track's second week in the top spot. It held the number one position for the first week of 1966 before being replaced by "Giddyup Go" by Red Sovine, the first of a number of sentimental songs about the truck-driving industry for which the singer would become known. After Sovine's six-week run at number one, Owens returned to the top with "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line", the first of three chart-toppers from his album "Open Up Your Heart". One of the most successful recording artists of the mid-1960s, Owens spent the highest number of weeks at number one in 1966, occupying the top spot for a total of 18 weeks with his four chart-topping singles. Only two other artists took more than one single to number one in 1966. Eddy Arnold, one of the biggest country music stars of the 1940s and early 1950s, had revitalized his somewhat declining career in the mid-1960s by embracing the "Nashville sound", a newer style of country music which eschewed elements of the earlier honky-tonk style in favor of smooth productions which had a broader appeal. In 1965, Arnold had gained his first number one in ten years, and his success continued into 1966, when he reached the top spot twice and spent a combined total of ten weeks at number one. Jim Reeves also achieved two chart-toppers in 1966, both of which were posthumous; the singer had been killed in a plane crash two years earlier. (Full article...)
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The early recordings of "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley were successful on the country charts, and he achieved four number ones on the best sellers chart in 1956. In 1956, 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 in Juke Boxes, Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played By Jockeys, with the genre denoted in an overall page heading. With effect from the issue of Billboard dated June 30, the genre was added to the specific titles of the charts, which were thus published as Most Played C&W in Juke Boxes, C&W Best Sellers in Stores, and Most Played C&W By Jockeys, the C&W standing for "country and western". All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.
The number-one positions on both the juke box and best sellers charts were dominated in 1956 by Elvis Presley, who spent a total of 26 weeks in the top spot on the best sellers listing and 28 weeks (including one tied with another single) atop the juke box chart with four different singles. Presley achieved the first country chart-topper of his career in February when he reached the number one spot on the best sellers chart with "I Forgot to Remember to Forget"; its B-side, "Mystery Train" was listed jointly at number one for the first week of the run only. The release was the final single which he recorded for Sun Records, the label for which he had honed his early rockabilly style. After he signed for new label RCA Victor, his recordings began to show more of a pop music influence, but for a time continued to appear on the country charts, and one week after "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" was replaced at number one, Presley regained the top spot with the two-sided success "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One", which remained atop the listing for 17 consecutive weeks. He would go on to be regarded as the most successful and influential recording artist of all time and feted as the "King of Rock and Roll". (Full article...)
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"Halo" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). Included on the I Am... disc, it was intended to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Beyoncé's life, stripped of her make-up and celebrity trappings. Columbia Records released the song, the album's fourth single, to mainstream radio in the United States on January 20, 2009, and to international markets from February 20. Inspired by Ray LaMontagne's 2004 song "Shelter", "Halo" was written by Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart, with the former producing it alongside Beyoncé, who handled the vocal production. It was originally conceived by Tedder and Bogart specifically for Beyoncé, although there was media speculation that it had been intended for Leona Lewis.
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The TEAC 2340, a popular early (1973) home multitrack recorder, four tracks on ¼ inch tape (from Multitrack recording)
Home studio setup (from Recording studio)
Korg D888 eight-track digital recorder (from Multitrack recording)
The 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 8, or even 16 tracks on the same tape width (8 tracks for greater fidelity). (from Multitrack recording)
Hip-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)
Digital audio interface for the Pro Tools computer-based hard disk multitrack recording system. Digital audio quality is measured in data resolution per channel. (from Multitrack recording)
Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session. (from Recording studio)
Mixing desk with twenty inputs and eight outputs (from Multitrack recording)
Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers. (from Recording studio)
Scully 280 eight-track recorder at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (from Multitrack recording)
A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a grand piano (from Recording studio)
Control room at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus (from Recording studio)
The studio at Ridge Radio in Caterham, England (from Recording studio)
Donna Summer wearing headphones during a recording session in 1977 (from Recording studio)
Danny Knicely records with Furnace Mountain Band in Virginia (2012) (from Recording studio)
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