The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los Angeles area as part of a five-member group called the Paramours, and adopted the name The Righteous Brothers when they became a duo. Their most active recording period was in the 1960s and '70s, and, after several years inactive as a duo, Hatfield and Medley reunited in 1981 and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. The music they performed is sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul".
"Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the little-known prison film Unchained, hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack. It has since become a standard and one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century, most notably by the Righteous Brothers in 1965. According to the song's publishing administrator, over 1,500 recordings of "Unchained Melody" have been made by more than 670 artists, in multiple languages.
Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995. The band has three members: Dan Wilson, John Munson, and Jacob Slichter. They are best known in the U.S. for their 1998 single "Closing Time", and widely known for the singles "Singing in My Sleep" and "Secret Smile".
Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. is an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Out in the Country", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World", David Bowie's "Fill Your Heart" and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays".
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a television variety show, from 1962 to 1971, along with numerous TV specials. The Andy Williams Show won three Emmy awards. He sold more than 45 million records worldwide, including more than 10 million certified units in the United States.
Blue-eyed soul is rhythm and blues and soul music performed by white artists. The slang, coined in the mid-1960s, was invoked by music magazines in the 1960s such as Life who used it for the Righteous Brothers, Barry McGuire, Sonny & Cher; other times it meant style and mannerisms associated with soul music sung by white musicians. Though many rhythm and blues radio stations in the United States in that period would only play music by black musicians, some began to play music by white acts considered to have "soul feeling" and their music was then described as "blue-eyed soul."
Audrey Marie Munson was an American artist's model and film actress, today considered "America's first supermodel." In her time, she was variously known as "Miss Manhattan", the "Panama–Pacific Girl", the "Exposition Girl" and "American Venus." She was the model or inspiration for more than twelve statues in New York City, and many others elsewhere. Munson also appeared in four silent films, including Inspiration (1915) in which she appeared nude, one of the first American actresses to do so in a non-pornographic film.
Barry Mann is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.
The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (MWPAI) is a regional fine arts center founded in 1919 and located in Utica, New York. The institute has three program divisions:
Alvan Fisher was one of the United States's pioneers in landscape painting and genre works.
William Thomas Medley is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a number of the duo's songs, including "Unchained Melody" and "Soul and Inspiration".
Tyler James Williams is an American actor and rapper. He is best known for playing the title character on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris (2005-09), songwriter Cyrus DeBarge in the Disney Channel movie Let It Shine (2012), and Noah on AMC's The Walking Dead (2014-15). He has also appeared in films such as Detroit (2017) and The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021). He currently stars as Gregory Eddie on the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary.
The Ladykillers is a 2004 American black comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The Coens' screenplay was based on the 1955 British Ealing comedy film of the same name, written by William Rose. The Coens produced the remake, together with Tom Jacobson, Barry Sonnenfeld, and Barry Josephson. It stars Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J. K. Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst, and marks the first time that the Coens have worked with Tom Hanks and the first remake by the Coens. This was the first film in which Joel and Ethan Coen share both producing and directing credits; previously Joel had always been credited as director and Ethan as producer.
Mentor Ralph Williams was an American songwriter and producer. He is best known for writing "Drift Away", a popular song first performed by John Henry Kurtz in 1972 and popularized by Dobie Gray the following year, and has since been covered by multiple artists. He also co-wrote the chart-topping song, "When We Make Love", recorded by the American country music band Alabama in 1984. He was the brother of songwriter and actor Paul Williams.
Joachim Ferdinand Richardt was a Danish-American artist. In Denmark he is known for his lithographs of manor houses, and in the U.S. for his paintings of Niagara Falls and other landscapes.
"(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" is a song by American pop duo the Righteous Brothers. It was the group's first hit after leaving their long-time producer Phil Spector. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who also wrote the group's first hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" along with Phil Spector. It is the title track of their album. The single peaked at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 3 single for 1966.
Purity is a 1916 American silent drama film, directed by Rae Berger and starring Audrey Munson, an artist's model known for posing for several statues in New York City and the 1915 San Francisco Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The film's scenario was written by Clifford Howard, art direction was by Edward Langley, and choreography was by Geneva Driscoll. The film is notable for its nude scenes, which caused it to be banned and preached against in some towns.
Paul Resika is an American painter born and raised in New York City.
Richie Zito is an American songwriter, composer and record producer from Los Angeles. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Zito has experienced success as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of other artists' recordings, including work with Joe Cocker, White Lion, Poison, Mr. Big, Neil Sedaka, Yvonne Elliman, Eric Carmen, Art Garfunkel, Leo Sayer, Diana Ross, Marc Tanner, Elton John, Cher, The Motels, as well as The Cult, Eddie Money, Heart, Juliet Simms, Bad English and Prism.
The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack album from the 1979 film, The Muppet Movie, featuring the songs and select score written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. Originally released on LP by Atlantic Records in North America and by CBS internationally, the album reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Children's Album in 1980 and was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, and two Academy Awards; Best Adaptation Score for the overall album and Best Original Song for "Rainbow Connection", which reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.
