Thomas Andrew Lehrer is a retired American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs often parodied popular musical forms, though he usually created original melodies when doing so. A notable exception is "The Elements", in which he set the names of the chemical elements to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.
Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors. Recorded at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, the album's 11 tracks were recorded between late 1967 and May 1968 and the album was released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968. It became the band's only number one album and included their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". The first single released off the album was "The Unknown Soldier," which peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it peaked at number 16.
Barret Eugene "Barry" Hansen, known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present. Hansen created the Demento persona in 1970 while working at Pasadena, California, station KPPC-FM. He played "Transfusion" by Nervous Norvus on the radio, and DJ "The Obscene" Steven Clean said that Hansen had to be "demented" to play it, and the name stuck. His weekly show went into syndication in 1974 and was syndicated by the Westwood One Radio Network from 1978 to 1992. Broadcast syndication of the show ended on June 6, 2010, but the show continues to be produced weekly in an online version.
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus.
The Stooges is the debut studio album by American rock band the Stooges, released on August 5, 1969 by Elektra Records. Considered a landmark proto-punk release, the album peaked at number 106 on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The tracks "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "1969" were released as singles; "1969" was featured on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs" at number 35.
Keys to Ascension 2 is the fifth live and sixteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes. It was released as a double album in November 1997 by Essential Records as the successor to the previous live/studio album Keys to Ascension. After guitarist Steve Howe and keyboardist Rick Wakeman returned to the band in 1995, the group relocated to San Luis Obispo, California and started to write new material. The reunion of this particular line-up was promoted with three concerts at the city's Fremont Theater in March 1996, the five's first live performance together since 1979. Keys to Ascension 2 features the remaining half of the live set from the 1996 shows and five studio new tracks including two ones which marked a return to the group writing long-form pieces.
"My Bologna" is a parody of the Knack's hit song "My Sharona", recorded and performed by musical parody artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. Yankovic originally wrote the song while he attended California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California; the original version of the parody was recorded in a bathroom across the hall from the radio station at which Yankovic worked. The title refers to Bologna sausage, specifically the Oscar Mayer brand popular in the United States. Yankovic sent "My Bologna" to Dr. Demento, who aired the song on his nationwide radio program, The Dr. Demento Show. The song was a hit on the program, and eventually gained the number one spot on Dr. Demento's "Funny Five" countdown.
The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death is a 1965 album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. Originally issued in a hand-lettered edition of 50, it was Fahey's first album to be released by a label other than his own Takoma Records. As with all of Fahey's independently released early albums, it had little critical recognition upon release. The album has grown in stature since its reissue on CD in 1997 and is now highly regarded critically. It was Fahey's fourth album to see release, though after his fifth album, The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party & Other Excursions, was labeled Guitar Vol. 4, reissues of The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death were subtitled John Fahey, Volume 5.
Nowhere is the debut album by British shoegaze band Ride, released 15 October 1990. Rolling Stone called the album "a masterpiece", and online magazine Pitchfork called it "one of shoegazing's enduring moments".
Restless Heart is the ninth studio album by English hard rock band Whitesnake, released by EMI on 26 March 1997 in Japan and 26 May in Europe. It was produced by the band's vocalist David Coverdale, and originally conceived as a solo album. However, Coverdale was pressured into releasing the record under the moniker "David Coverdale & Whitesnake" by EMI. Musically Restless Heart features a more subdued sound compared to Whitesnake's previous two albums. It is also the only full-length Whitesnake studio album to feature guitarist Adrian Vandenberg throughout, despite being a member of the group since 1987.
Songs by Tom Lehrer is the debut album of musical satirist Tom Lehrer, released in 1953 on his own label, Lehrer Records. In 2004 it was included into the National Recording Registry
Distance Only Makes the Heart Grow Fonder is the third release by American metalcore band Poison the Well, following their split 12" vinyl with Promise No Tomorrow and a demo tape sold during the band's summer 1998 tour. The demo tape featured a selection of songs from this recording session, which is in turn a re-recording of the songs previously released on their split with Promise No Tomorrow. It was first released via Good Life Recordings in September 1998.
Another One Rides the Bus is the debut extended play (EP) by American parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was released in 1981 by Placebo Records. The title song is a parody of English rock band Queen's 1980 single "Another One Bites the Dust". The EP also features three other songs, all of which are original recordings. All four songs on Another One Rides the Bus later appeared on Yankovic's eponymous debut studio album; the three original songs were re-recorded for the album, while the title song is the same version that appears on the EP.
Strange Charm is the eighth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, originally released in November 1986, it was Numan's third release on his self-owned Numa Records label. The album was not released in the United States until 1999 when it was issued in a digitally remastered form with five bonus tracks by Cleopatra Records. In the same year it was also reissued with bonus tracks in the United Kingdom by Eagle Records.
The Remains of Tom Lehrer is a box set containing all the songs from musical satirist Tom Lehrer's previous albums along with previously unreleased songs and his works featured on the public television show The Electric Company. Some of the songs from his debut album, Songs by Tom Lehrer, were re-recorded for the CD. The box set was released in 2000 and also includes a booklet with an introduction by Dr. Demento, pictures of various album covers and song books, reprints of the Mad magazine, prints of some of his songs, an extensive question-and-answer session and other information.
Voobaha is the debut album by novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes. It was originally released in 1978 by Rhino Records, reissued in 1996 by Oglio Records, and reissued again in 2006 by Collector's Choice. Its title means "greetings" in the band's artificial language of Lumanian.
More of Tom Lehrer was the second studio album recorded by musical satirist Tom Lehrer. The LP contains the same songs as the live album An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer, which was recorded and released earlier in the same year. The album was recorded and mixed in a single three-hour session at the RCA Studios in New York on July 8, 1959.
Is it Any Wonder? is a six-track EP by David Bowie that was released in early 2020. It is composed mostly of older Bowie songs that Bowie re-recorded during his Earthling (1997) recording sessions and Earthling Tour rehearsals in early 1997.
