Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B). It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.
Walter Davis Jr. was an American hard bop pianist. An often remarkable and inventive bebop and hard bop pianist, Walter Davis Jr. once left the music world to be a tailor, but returned. A solid soloist, bandleader, and accompanist, he amassed a good body of work while never becoming a high-profile name even within the jazz community. Davis played with Babs Gonzales’ Three Bips & a Bop as a teen, then moved from Richmond to New York in the early ’50s. He played with Max Roach and Charlie Parker, recording with Roach in 1953. He joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band in 1956, and toured the Middle East and South America. He also played in Paris with Donald Byrd in 1958 and with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in 1959. After retiring from music for a while to run his tailor shop, Davis returned in the ’60s, producing records and writing arrangements for a local New Jersey group. He studied music in India in 1979, and played with Sonny Rollins in the early ’70s.
Jimmy Thomas is an American soul singer and songwriter who served as a vocalist for Ike Turner. He joined Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1958, and remained with the band when the Ike & Tina Turner Revue was formed in 1960. During that eight years he spent with Turner, Thomas released solo singles on Sue, Sputnik, and Sonja Records. After his departure from Turner, Thomas continued recording as a solo artist, eventually relocating to London. He formed his own label, Osceola Records, in 1979.
The Collins Kids were an American rockabilly duo featuring Lawrencine "Lorrie" Collins and her younger brother Lawrence "Larry" Collins. Their hits in the 1950s as youngsters, such as "Hop, Skip and Jump", "Beetle Bug Bop" and "Hoy Hoy", were geared towards children, but their infectious singing and playing crossed over generations. Larry, a lightning-fingered guitar whiz at age 10, was known for playing a double-neck Mosrite guitar like his mentor, Joe Maphis.
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanterpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They are best known for their number-one R&B single "Love Is Strange" in 1957.
Al Hoffman was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today. He was posthumously made a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. The popularity of Hoffman's song, "Mairzy Doats", co-written with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake, was such that newspapers and magazines wrote about the craze. Time magazine titled one article "Our Mairzy Dotage". The New York Times simply wrote the headline, "That Song".
Sophie Alexandra Jessica Barker is a British singer and songwriter from London, best known for her work with the British downtempo group Zero 7.
Things Are Swingin' is an album by jazz singer Peggy Lee with music arranged and conducted by Jack Marshall.
Robert Gordon is an American musician, best known as a neo-rockabilly singer.
Playin' with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues is a 2001 album by Tony Bennett featuring duets with notable vocalists.
"The Mule" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple, and was originally released on their 1971 album Fireball. The song became famous for its live performance, which would always feature a drum solo by Ian Paice.
Everett Barksdale was an American jazz guitarist and session musician.
No Cover, No Minimum is a live album by Billy Eckstine that was recorded in Las Vegas. The album was released by Roulette in 1960 and reissued by Blue Note in 1992 with ten additional tracks.
At Basin Street East is a 1961 live album by Billy Eckstine, accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. It was originally released on October 1, 1961, on the EmArcy label, but reissued in 1990 by Polygram. The album was recorded at the Basin Street East nightclub in New York City.
“Alright, Okay, You Win” is a jazz standard written by Sid Wyche (music) and Mayme Watts (lyrics). It was first recorded in 1955 by several artists including Ella Johnson, The Modernaires, Bill Farrell, and Count Basie, but failed to chart nationally. Peggy Lee's 1958 recording reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. It has since become a jazz standard which has been recorded by numerous artists.
Who's Sorry Now? is the first studio album recorded by U. S. Entertainer Connie Francis.
Etta Jones Sings is an album by jazz vocalist Etta Jones which was recorded in 1965 and released on the Roulette label.
Nancy – Naturally is a studio album by Nancy Wilson released in 1966. Billy May served as the arranger and conductor, and David Cavanaugh produced the album. It entered the Billboard 200 on January 28, 1967, and remained on the chart for 21 weeks, peaking at No. 35. It reached #4 on the Hot R&B LPs chart. The song "In The Dark" was released as a single, with "Ten Years Of Tears" as the B-side.
Sallie Blair was an American jazz singer. She began her career performing as a band act with Johnny Otis and Duke Ellington before joining Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Revue. Blair recorded for Bethlehem, MGM, Scepter, and Bell Records, but she was best known for her live performances. Because of her voluptuous figure and blonde hair, Miles Davis called her the "brown Marilyn Monroe."
