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William Everett Preston was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he backed artists such as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Reverend James Cleveland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He gained attention as a solo artist with hit singles such as "That's the Way God Planned It", the Grammy-winning "Outa-Space", "Will It Go Round in Circles", "Space Race", "Nothing from Nothing", and "With You I'm Born Again". Additionally, Preston co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful", which became a #5 hit for Joe Cocker.
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"Piano Man" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. As his first single in North America, it was included on Joel's 1973 album of the same name and later released as a single on November 2, 1973. The song is sung from Joel's point of view as a piano player at a bar, reminiscing about his experiences there and the people he encountered. "Piano Man" is based on Joel's real-life experiences as a lounge musician in Los Angeles from 1972 to 1973, which he had decided to pursue in an effort to escape his contracted New York City-based record company at the time, Family Productions, following the poor commercial performance of the album Cold Spring Harbor. Joel describes various characters, including a bartender named John and a "real estate novelist" named Paul, all based on real-life individuals.
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Carl Stuart Hamblen was an American entertainer who became one of radio's first singing cowboys in 1926, going on to become a singer, actor, radio show host, and songwriter. He underwent a Christian conversion and became a Temperance movement supporter and recurring candidate for political office. He is best known as the composer of the song "This Ole House" (1954), most notably recorded by Rosemary Clooney and Shakin' Stevens.
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Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number one hits "Boom Boom Baby" and "One Last Kiss" in 1960 and 1961 respectively. Switching to country music, he gained popularity in the United States in the 1970s with a string of top ten country hits, several of which were number one hits, including "Rub It In", "Broken Down in Tiny Pieces", and "Ruby Baby". Craddock is known to his fans as "The King Of Country Rock Music" and "Mr. Country Rock" for his uptempo rock-influenced style of country music.
Michael George Farr, known professionally as Mike Leander, was a British arranger, songwriter and record producer.
"Release Me", is a popular song written by Eddie "Piano" Miller and Robert Yount in 1949. Four years later it was recorded by Jimmy Heap & the Melody Masters, and with even better success by Patti Page (1954), Ray Price (1954), and Kitty Wells (1954). Jivin' Gene [Bourgeois] & the Jokers recorded the tune in 1960, and that version served as an inspiration for Little Esther Phillips, who reached number one on the R&B chart and number eight on the pop chart with her big-selling cover. The Everly Brothers followed in 1963, along with Lucille Starr including a translation in French (1964), Jerry Wallace (1966), Dean Martin (1967), Engelbert Humperdinck (1967) who was number one on the UK Singles Chart and many others in the years after such as Jewels Renauld (2022).
"Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" is a popular Christmas song written and originally performed by Gene Autry, with music composed by Oakley Haldeman. Autry's original recording (in which he pronounces Santa Claus as "Santy Claus") was a top-10 hit on the pop and country charts; the song would go on to be covered many times in the subsequent decades.
Billy Butler was an American soul singer and songwriter active in the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. His elder brother, Jerry, was also a singer and songwriter for whose band Billy played the guitar.
"My Elusive Dreams" is a country music song written by Billy Sherrill and Curly Putman. Putman recorded his song in March 1967 and released it on ABC Records in June 1967, peaking at #41 on the Hot Country Singles charts and #34 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. The song was later recorded by several artists. The best-known version was recorded as a duet by David Houston and Tammy Wynette, and was a No. 1 country hit in October 1967; the song also peaked at No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wynette recorded a second duet version of My Elusive Dreams in 1973 with George Jones; this version was included on the Let's Build a World Together album.
Joe J. Chevalier, known as Jay Chevalier, was an American singer and songwriter from Louisiana who achieved success in several musical genres since the late 1950s. A pioneer of rockabilly music, he is best known within Louisiana for his songs based on politics, sports, and his love for his home state. The first "Official State Troubadour," he is an inductee to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.
References
- ↑ "A short history of ... "The 'In' Crowd" (Billy Page, 1964)". JAZZIZ Magazine. July 25, 2017.
- 1 2 "Billy Page ••• Top Songs as Writer". Music VF.
- ↑ "Gene Page". Apple Music.
