The U.S. state of Texas has long been a center for musical innovation and is the birthplace of many notable musicians. Texans have pioneered developments in Tejano and Conjunto music, Rock 'n Roll, Western swing, jazz, punk rock, country, hip-hop, electronic music, gothic industrial music, religious music, mariachi, psychedelic rock, zydeco and the blues.
The twist is a dance that was inspired by rock and roll music. From 1959 to the early sixties it became a worldwide dance craze, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken, but none were as popular.
Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American country singer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 14 albums and released 25 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man". Lovett has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. His most recent album is 12th of June, released in 2022.
David Arquette is an American actor, producer, and retired professional wrestler. As an actor, he is known for playing Dewey Riley in the slasher franchise Scream (1996–2022), which won him a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. As a professional wrestler, he is best known for his panned 2000 stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, headlining the Slamboree pay-per-view event, and appearing in WWE and on the independent wrestling circuit.
Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as Dove Awards, a Soul Train Award and nominations for the NAACP Image Award.
Balloon modelling or balloon twisting is the shaping of special modelling balloons into various shapes, often balloon animals. People who create balloon animals and other twisted balloon decoration sculptures are called twisters, balloon benders, and balloon artists. Twisters often perform in restaurants, at birthday parties, fairs and at public and private events or functions.
Yolanda Yvette Adams is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums worldwide. In addition to achieving multi-platinum status, she has won four Grammy Awards, four Dove Awards, five BET Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, two BMI Awards and sixteen Stellar Awards. She is the first Gospel artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song. She is also the first Gospel artist to be awarded an American Music Award.
A toy balloon or party balloon is a small balloon mostly used for decoration, advertising and as a toy. Toy balloons are usually made of rubber or aluminized plastic and inflated with air or helium. They come in a great variety of sizes and shapes but are most commonly 10 to 30 centimetres in diameter. Toy balloons are not considered to include "sky lanterns", although these too are or were used as child toys in some parts of the world.
Mike McGill is an American skateboarder who is best known for inventing the trick entitled the "McTwist", an inverted 540 degree mute grab aerial.
Shelton "Shelly" Glen Berg is an American classical and jazz pianist and music educator. He is the dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida and the school's Patricia L. Frost Professor of Music.
Joey Dee and the Starliters is an American popular music group. The group is best known for their million-selling recording "Peppermint Twist" (1961). The group's most notable lineup is considered to be Joey Dee, David Brigati, Larry Vernieri (vocals), Carlton Lattimore (organ), Sam Taylor (guitar) and Willie Davis (drums). Jimi Hendrix and Joe Pesci played guitar with the group at different times in the 1960s.
Texas declared its secession from the Union on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861, after it had replaced its governor, Sam Houston, who had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. As with those of other states, the Declaration of Secession was not recognized by the US government at Washington, DC. Some Texan military units fought in the Civil War east of the Mississippi River, but Texas was more useful for supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate Army. Texas' supply role lasted until mid-1863, when Union gunboats started to control the Mississippi River, which prevented large transfers of men, horses, or cattle. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Union's naval blockade of Galveston, Houston, and other ports.
Lawrence “Larry” Charles Moss (born September 25, 1970) is an American artist, writer and educator who works mainly with latex balloons. He is known, in the field of large-scale balloon sculpture as art installation, for creating technically and aesthetically challenging sculptures which often incorporate literary, art and pop culture references.
Henry J. Maar (1921–1992), known as "The Sultan of Balloons", was one of the pioneers in balloon twisting. He appeared for over a decade on episodes of the long running Bozo's Circus. While the origins of balloon twisting is impossible to prove, Emmy Award winning producer/director Joseph Maar has provided evidence that his father, Henry, may be the founder of balloon twisting. Larry Moss calls Joseph Maar's evidence "compelling" but warns that if Joseph Maar is correct then the history of balloon twisting would have to be rewritten. For example, the 1975 book by "Jolly the Clown" Petri credits "Herman Bonnert from Pennsylvania at a magician's convention in 1939" as being the first balloontwister.
Grady Lee Nutt was a Southern Baptist minister, humorist, television personality, and author. His humor revolved around rural Southern Protestantism and earned him the title of "The Prime Minister of Humor".
The Warehouse Live is a large club/small theater-sized live entertainment venue located in East Downtown (EADO), Houston, Texas.
Addi Somekh is a self-taught balloon artist who has been twisting balloons since 1991. Best known for his balloon hats, Somekh's other signature pieces include the balloon flower, balloon ring, and large-scale balloon sculptures. In addition to his balloon twisting, Somekh is an author, university philosophy instructor, and musician. With photographer Charles (Charlie) Eckert, Somekh traveled around the world creating balloon hats for people of various backgrounds, cultures, and beliefs in an effort to demonstrate the universal power of joy and laughter. These journeys have been photo-documented in calendars, books, and films.
The Word Network, also known as The Word, is a religious broadcasting network that claims to be the largest African-American religious network in the world. It was founded in February 2000 by Kevin Adell who also owns WFDF, a local AM radio station, and WADL, a television station serving the Detroit television market. The network is headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. The network is also available as streaming content on Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, YouTube Red, and via smartphone apps. The network is also available on cable and satellite in several countries, and on over-the-air television.
The International Fellowship of Christian Magicians was formed in 1953 by a group of individuals interested in sharing the Gospel using sleight of hand illusions, juggling, puppetry, ventriloquism, comedy, clowning, mime, facepainting, storytelling and related performance-arts disciplines. Since its beginnings in California it has grown into an international organization with thousands of members past and present. These members are not only performers of Gospel magic, but also entertainers across the world, secular and gospel, that are members of the Christian faith. Notable members have included ministers and entertainers like: Andre Kole, Duane Laflin, Justin Flom, Randy Christensen, Kenrick "ICE" McDonald, Lance Burton, Don Bursell, David McCreary, David Ginn, Robert Hill, Peter McCahon, Toby Travis, Mark Shortland, Wes Iseli and others.
Testify is a Southern Gospel/Contemporary Christian vocal band founded by two brothers, Kenneth Swanner and Brent Swanner in 1995. Testify has performed at the Southern Baptist Convention, multiple State Baptist Conventions, Gaither Homecoming Concerts, Chick-fil-a Corporate Headquarters, Theaters in Branson, at TBN, the Grand Ole Opry, GMT and in Nashville for a concert at Lifeway Christian Resource Center of the Southern Baptist Convention. In October 2001 Testify performed at the Roy Acuff Theater for the "Heal Our Land Benefit Concert" for the victims of 9/11.
