Bobby Vinton...Great Singer

This Bobby Vinton...
Bobby Vinton (born Stanley Robert Vinton, Jr.; April 16, 1935) is an American pop music singer of Polish origins.Vinton is the only child of a locally popular bandleader, Stan Vinton. At 16, Vinton formed his first band, which played clubs around the Pittsburgh area. With the money he earned, he helped finance his college education at Duquesne University, where he studied music and graduated with a degree in musical composition. While at Duquesne, he became proficient on all of the instruments in the band: piano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, drums and oboe.Vinton's birthplace of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania is also the birthplace of Perry Como. His hometown named two streets, Bobby Vinton Boulevard and the shorter adjoining Bobby Vinton Drive, in his honor. Canonsburg town fathers had plans to erect a statue in his honor, but Vinton vetoed the idea noting that the $100,000 planned cost could go to far more important town needs. 
1960s
After a two-year hitch in the U.S. Army,where he served as a chaplain's assistant, Vinton was signed to Epic Records in 1960 as a bandleader: "A Young Man With a Big Band." Two albums and several singles were not successful however, and with Epic ready to pull the plug, Vinton found his first hit single literally sitting in a reject pile. The song was titled "Roses Are Red (My Love)." It spent four weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Arguably, his most famous song is 1963's "Blue Velvet", originally a minor hit for Tony Bennett in 1951, that also went to No.1. Twenty-three years later, David Lynch named his movie Blue Velvet after the song. In 1990, "Blue Velvet" climbed to the top of the music charts in Great Britain, after being featured in a Nivea commercial. In 1964, Vinton had two #1 hits, "There! I've Said It Again" (a #1 hit in 1945 for Vaughn Monroe) and "Mr. Lonely". Vinton wrote "Mr. Lonely" during his service in the U.S. Army in the late 1950s where he served as a Chaplain's Assistant. The song was recorded during the same 1962 session that produced "Roses Are Red" and launched Vinton's singing career. It was released as an album track on the 1962 "Roses Are Red (and other songs for the young & sentimental)" LP. Despite pressure from Vinton to release it as a single, Epic instead had Buddy Greco release it and it flopped. Two years and millions of records sold later, Bobby prevailed on Epic to include "Mr. Lonely" on his "Bobby Vinton Greatest Hits" LP. Soon DJ's picked up on the song and airplay resulted in demand for a single release. "Mr. Lonely" shot up the charts in the late fall of 1964 and reached #1 on the charts on 12 December 1964. Epic then released an LP "Bobby Vinton Mr. Lonely", giving the song a unique claim to fame since it now appeared on three Bobby Vinton albums released within two years. The song has continued to spin gold for its composer in the 45 years since it hit #1. Harmony Korine named his 2007 film Mister Lonely after the latter, and it is now also the basis for Akon's hit "Lonely."

Vinton's version of "There! I've Said It Again" is noteworthy for being the final U.S. Billboard number one single of the pre-Beatles era, deposed from the Hot 100's summit by "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Also noteworthy is the fact that Vinton continued to have big hit records during the British Invasion, scoring 16 top ten hits, while Connie Francis, Ricky Nelson, the Shirelles and other major artists of the early 1960s struggled to reach even the Top 30.

In 1965, Vinton continued his "lonely" success streak with the self written "L-O-N-E-L-Y". "Long Lonely Nights" peaked at #12 and spawned an album, "Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights" Vinton's self written 1966 hit "Coming Home Soldier" was a favorite on request shows on the American Forces Network during the Cold War and Vietnam Era, often called in by soldiers about to board the Freedom Bird that would take them back to the "Land of the Round Doorknobs." 1967 saw Vinton's lush remake of "Please Love Me Forever" reach #6 and sell over a million copies. His 1968 hit "I Love How You Love Me" surged to #9, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold record by the RIAA.  
1970s
In the 1970s, the "Polish Prince" continued to hit the Top 40, notably with "Ev'ry Day of My Life", produced by Jimmy "The Wiz" Wizner and CBS recording engineer Jim Reeves, which peaked at #24 in January, and "Sealed With a Kiss" hitting #19 in June, 1972. That same year, Epic Records decided to drop Vinton from his contract (despite the notable success of these two hits), claiming that his days of selling records were over. Undeterred, Vinton spent $50,000 of his own money on a self-written song sung partially in Polish: "My Melody of Love". After Vinton was turned down by seven major labels, ABC Records bought Vinton's idea, and the result was a multi-million selling single that hit #3 on the Hot 100, #2 on the Cashbox Top 100 chart, and #1 on the AC chart in 1974.^[2] A gold album, Melodies of Love, followed as well as more Top 40 pop hits ("Beer Barrel Polka" and "Dick And Jane" in 1975), a successful half-hour variety show The Bobby Vinton Show (which aired from 1975 to 1978), which used "My Melody of Love" as its theme song; ABC Records subsequently released an album of songs performed on the show. In 1978, CBS TV aired Bobby Vinton's Rock N' Rollers a one hour special that achieved top ratings. Earlier in the decade, he also starred in two John Wayne movies: Big Jake and The Train Robbers.

Honors and achievements
He owned, and performed at, the Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet Theatre in Branson, Missouri until 2002, when the theater was sold to David King, creator and producer of Spirit of the Dance. Vinton returns to Branson annually for limited engagements at the theater.
Billboard Magazine called Bobby Vinton "the all-time most successful love singer of the 'Rock-Era'". From 1962 through 1972, Vinton had more Billboard #1 hits than any other male vocalist, including Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. In recognition of his recording career, Bobby Vinton has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6916 Hollywood Blvd. 
Personal
Vinton and his wife Dolores "Dolly" Dobbins Vinton have been married since December 17, 1962, and they have five children: Robert, Kristin, Christopher, Jennifer (who later changed her name legally to Hannah after getting married) and Rebecca. His oldest son, Robbie Vinton, played Vinton in the movie Goodfellas (1990). The Vintons make their home in Englewood, Florida.

Source : Wikipedia

Walla! Cubby Check! twist King Ya! ya!

Walla! Cubby checker...."Let's Twist again!"....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWaJ0s0-E1o&feature=related

Then...La Bamba!!!!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko6K9TmPZs0&feature=related

He thens wears a pair of "Blue Swede Shoes"....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcLBH16rDo

The good and old Music affecting Modern cultures

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.

 European music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century. Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (compare Indian classical music and Japanese traditional music) and popular music.

 Until now, Music lives in the heart of the modern and urban generations. But do classical music lives on.  The answer is "YES"!

 In fact, they still lives on in our grandparents, our parents and surprisingly us! So, what made classical oldies and old fashioned music lives on? It was the harmony and memories they bring. I noticed that most of the classicals music are ballad. Their songs are like stories that are told in a song. After hearing my dad's good old days songs(which may seems boring in the first place) had known blend into my tunes for music. I started to picked up Richard Clayderman's Piano comptemporary, Kenny G's sexophane of classicness and most of all, my dad's favourite, Sir Clift Richard. Clift Richard had a bunch of nice songs like 'The young ones". Sadly, the modern and urbanized cultured generation never appreciated some of it.

WAIT!~ Some modern generations don't realize that some of their favourite singers sung a remix of the classical. For example, Akon, had a single entitled "Mr. Lonely" was originally sung by Bobby Venton. Another great example is, Sean Kigston, who sung "No woman, No cry" was a modern remix inspired by Boney M, who also were the original singers for the same song.

See, people never realise that some classical musics were inspirations to current singers of the modern days.

This are sample clips for Anime fans that created the vocaloid version of some comptemporary musics.^^

Enjoy!~

 Next, is the famous "SUKIYAKI", was also sung in English by Kyu Sakamoto


So, hope you have fun reading my articles on classical music. This is also to add in stuff for my dad's blog.

Signing out!~

Gideon     

More Information About Oldies...Great Music at its peak in the 70s!

1970s

Oldies stations as we know them today did not really come into existence until the early 1970s. In the 1970s, KOOL-FM in Phoenix, Arizona became one of the first radio stations to play oldies music, at that time focusing on the 1950s and early 1960s. KOOL is still playing oldies today.

In the 1960s very few Top 40 Radio stations played anything older than a few years old. In the late 1960s a few FM stations adopted Top 40 formats that leaned towards adults who did not want to hear the same 30 songs over and over again but also did not want to hear easy listening music featured on MOR radio stations. They mixed in oldies with their current product and played new music only several times per hour. These radio stations were often referred to as "Golden" or "Solid Gold" stations. Some AM radio stations also began to employ this format. There were also syndicated music format packages such as Drake-Chenault's "Solid Gold" format, frequently used on FM stations that needed separate programming from their AM sisters due to the new FCC rules on simulcasting, that functioned as a hybrid of oldies and the adult contemporary and softer rock hits of the day. The popularity of the movie American Graffiti is often credited with helping to spur the 1950s nostalgia movement of the early 1970s, and it was out of this 1950s nostalgia movement that some of these stations, such as WHND/WHNEWCBS-FM in New York, WQSR Baltimore, and WROR in Boston, sprang up and were classified as Oldies stations and not Adult Top 40 stations. These stations, however, did play current product sparingly (one or two per hour) throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s; WCBS-FM, for example, played current hits under the moniker "Future Gold" as late as the late 1980s, and WLNG on nearby Long Island featured a roughly 50/50 mix of current hits and oldies from the early 1960s until about 1999. WGAR in Cleveland and KRLA 1110 in Los Angeles were other examples of Top 40 stations with heavy oldies orientations; KRLA was in fact promoted in the 1970s as the "Elvis-to-Elton" station. "Honey Radio" in Detroit,

Most of these "Solid Gold" stations began to either evolve into other formats or abruptly drop the format altogether from the late 1970s to early 1980s. Most AM solid Gold stations simply flipped to other formats. Some FM stations evolved into Adult Contemporary stations such as WROR Boston, WFYR Chicago, for example. Other FM stations simply moved into other formats like Rock, Top 40, Urban, or Country. In the early 1980s many Adult Contemporary stations began mixing in more oldies into regular rotation. Many of these stations had oldies shows on Saturday nights.

1980s and 1990s

Gradually, beginning in 1982, both AM and FM stations began flipping to a full-time oldies format playing "All Oldies All The Time". These stations played strictly music from 1955 to 1973 focusing on the 1964 to 1969 era. By the mid to late 1980s stations like WDRC-FM Hartford, WODS Boston, WOGL Philadelphia, KLUV Dallas, WWSW Pittsburgh, WJMK Chicago, and many others sprang up. Some had as few as 300 songs while sations like WODS and WOGL had as many as 1500 songs in regular rotation. By 1989, most large and medium markets had at least one Oldies station. By 1990, most were on FM.

This period also saw the rise of syndicated radio shows specifically aimed at an oldies format. They included "Soundtrack Of the 60's" with Murray the K, "Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember", "Live From the 60's with the Real Don Steele", "Cruisin America With Cousin Brucie", and "American Gold with Dick Bartley". Most of these shows were 3 hours in length and featured much of the same music from the 50's, 60's & 70's that was in rotation at affiliate stations. All but a few of these shows had ended their run by the mid 1990's.

From 1986 to 1990 several solid gold stations evolved into full-time oldies stations by eliminating current and recent product, gradually eliminating 1980's songs, and even limited 1970's songs severely. KRTH and WQSR both did this in the late 1980s into the early 1990s. WCBS-FM, however continued playing current product in regular rotation until 1988. After that, they continued playing it once an hour between 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. until 2001. WCBS-FM also played several 1990's songs per shift during these over night hours. They continued also to play between one 1980's song every couple hours to as many as two per hour day and night. WCBS-FM also played between three and five songs per hour from the 1970s. They indeed played more 1970's music than any other notable oldies station. At the same time, WCBS-FM featured slightly more pre 1964 songs than the average station playing as many as five of those per hour.

Oldies stations continued to be late 1960s based throughout the 1990s. WCBS-FM was an exception. Most AM oldies stations also disappeared by the early 1990s except in markets where there was no FM oldies outlet. The format fared well with no end in sight.

Decline of oldies formats

In 2000, oldies stations began to notice their demographics were getting older and harder to sell. Still, at that time few stations dumped the format altogether. A few went for a flavor-of-the-month format called "Jammin' Oldies". But most continued to hang on to the format initially.

Since the turn of the century, stations have begun to limit selections from the '50s and early '60s. At the same time these stations began playing songs from as late as 1979 and even a few 1980s songs. WCBS-FM New York slightly cut back on the pre-1964 oldies and slightly increased the 1970s and 1980s songs early in 2001. They also eliminated the overnight currents and recurrents at the same time along with some specialty shows.

In 2002, many oldies stations began dropping pre-1964 music from their playlists, since the earlier music tended to appeal to an older demographic that advertisers found undesirable – hence, the addition of music from the 1970s and early 1980s. WCBS-FM canceled their "Doo Wop Shop" program and began playing only one pre-1964 oldie per hour; by 2003, there were fewer than 50 songs from the 1950s and early 1960s in the regular rotation. Many other oldies stations eliminated their early rock-era catalog altogether, and rare exceptions included mainstay songs such as "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen and "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King.

From 2003 to 2006, many FM oldies stations – including KRTH, WOGL and KLUV – evolved into classic hits (see below), classic rock, or gold-based adult contemporary formats (e.g. WHTT-FM in Buffalo, New York). Others simply dumped the format altogether.

The changes in selection have created some confusion over the definition of oldies", while many stations have adjusted their logos to accommodate their new formats. Stations that continue to use the term "oldies" in their on-air positioning generally do not play music made after 1979 (with some exceptions) and still may play one pre-1964 oldie an hour. Still, that is not always true. WODS in Boston still calls themselves "Oldies 103.3" but plays almost nothing from before 1964 (with the exception of their Sunday morning "Elvis Hour", during which they frequently play a number of Elvis' early recordings) and a moderate amount of early 1980s music. But most stations that do play post-1975 music have generally dropped the word "oldies" from their positioners, using identifiers such as "Super Hits", "Classic Top 40" or "The Greatest Top 40 Hits of All Time" (a la WRIT in Milwaukee and KLUV in Dallas/Fort Worth), or "Classic Gold" (a la the former format of CFCO in Chatham, Ontario, which has since switched to country music, or the now-defunct "Classic Gold" oldies-radio network in the United Kingdom). Many^[who?] say "Greatest Hits of the 60s and 70s". WSRZ-FM in Sarasota, Florida dropped their "Oldies 108" advertising nomenclature in favor of "Your Home Town Station" while expanding their playlist up to 1980. They still have their "Cruise In" segment for late '50s  and early '60s music. KQQL in Minneapolis – St. Paul and WLDE in Fort Wayne, Indiana, are two other examples of oldies stations which have relegated early and mid-1960s music to weekend specialty shows.

In 2003 Clear Channel's WSAI-AM launched the first "Real Oldies" branded station. It was created by Programmer Dan Allen and featured mostly the songs from the beginning of rock through the Summer of Love, 1967. It was a recreation of the WSAI that dominated Cincinnati ratings in the 1960s and early 70's and returned original WSAI DJs to the air, such as Dusty Rhodes, Jack Stahl, Ted McAllister and Casey Piotrowski. Unlike the 300 songs normally played, the Real Oldies format featured a very wide playlist and spawned clones all around the country. Soon, other radio stations such as WWKB in Buffalo, WCOL-AM in Columbus, and WRLL in Chicago adopted the "Real Oldies" moniker. Most of these "Real Oldies" stations were on the AM dial and featured legendary personalities from the '60s-'70s golden Top 40 era (for example, WLS legend Larry Lujack was part of the WRLL air staff).

Veteran New York radio programmer Scott Shannon developed a format known as the "True Oldies Channel," distributed via satellite by ABC Radio, which features some of the music featured on "Real Oldies" stations as well as hits of the 60s and very early '70s, but generally nothing after 1975. The most high-profile "True Oldies Channel" affiliate is probably WLS-FM in Chicago, which adopted the "True Oldies" approach in the wake of WJMK's change to Jack FM. However, WLS-FM has slowly been adding more local personalities (including veteran radio personalities Greg Brown and Dick Biondi), and now only airs 'True Oldies' from 10am-3pm weekdays, overnights, and weekends. WIFO-FM Jesup, GA airs the True Oldies Channel during weekends as a contrast to its normal weekday country programming, and it is well received. True Oldies has also evolved to include more 1970's music and less pre-1964 product, and at times plays 1980s material.

Many stations have since dropped the oldies format because of low ad revenue despite high ratings. On June 3, 2005, New York's WCBS-FM, an oldies-based station for over three decades, abruptly switched to the Jack FM format, resulting in a tremendous outcry from oldies fans in the Big Apple and a huge decline in revenue followed. WJMK in Chicago (WCBS-FM's sister station) switched to Jack FM on the same day. Some point to the demise of WCBS-FM and WJMK as a sign that the oldies format is in danger, for many of the same reasons that the adult standards and smooth jazz formats are disappearing. However, WJMK had been struggling for many years, and was in much worse shape than most other major-market oldies stations. In addition, unlike New York City (with the possible exception of WMTR (AM) in nearby New Jersey), the Chicago market has not technically been without an oldies station since, due to the existence of the aforementioned WRLL and now WLS-FM.

Yet another reason for the discontinuance of oldies stations in recent years is the attraction of a more lucrative format as an attempt to lure younger listeners. In 2001, Baltimore's WQSR (105.7 FM) and WXYV (102.7 FM) swapped frequencies, with WXYV being flipped from CHR/Top-40 to hip-hop at the same time, and WQSR retaining its oldies format. These two stations have since changed formats again, with 105.7 going to talk and eventually to sports radio, and 102.7 being a Jack FM station. In 2004, WWMG ("Magic 96.1") in Charlotte, North Carolina, switched to a Rhythmic CHR format and was renamed "96.1 The Beat". A new oldies station, nicknamed "Oldies 106.1" and carrying the WOLS callsign, was created to serve the Charlotte area, but has since been flipped to Spanish-language programming.

The oldies format returned to WCBS-FM on July 12, 2007 in an updated form featuring music from 1964 to 1989 (and without the word "Oldies", but rather "Greatest Hits" in the on-air positioning), with songs such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, "Gloria" by Laura Branigan, and "We Built This City" by Starship in rotation (though it should be pointed out that the original WCBS-FM played current hits mixed in with its oldies as late as the late 1980s and the three songs mentioned here during most of their years). Also included on the returning format as well are a sprinkling of pre-1965 hits and a selected number of classic oldies from the pre-1964 period. Thus far, the resurrected WCBS-FM has been well received. Still, WCBS-FM is positioned as "Classic Hits" rather than Oldies.

Other oldies radio stations

The oldies format remains one of the most popular formats on radio in markets where it is still active. Some of the most successful major-market oldies stations today really lean Classic Hits and include KRTH "K-Earth 101" in Los Angeles, XHPRS-FM "105.7 the Walrus" in Tijuana-San Diego, KOLA 99.9 in Riverside-San Bernardino, 103.3 WODS in Boston, 98.1WOGL in Philadelphia, WMJI "Majic 105.7" in Cleveland, and KLUV in Dallas. WLS-FM in Chicago, however is similar to the way oldies stations sounded several years back. They still play one or two pre-1964 songs an hour during the day and as many as 4 an hour at night. However, to illustrate the continued decline in the format, San Francisco's KFRC moved toward Classic Hits in 2005 and dropped this format entirely in 2006 in favor of the Rhythmic AC "MOViN" format which left most of Northern California without an oldies station until the debut of KCCL (K-Hits 92.1) in Sacramento in January, 2007. (It should be pointed out, however, that KFRC had already evolved its format and positioning to classic hits at the time it changed to "Movin".) But KFRC was not gone for long. On May 17, 2007 with Free FM hot talk format failing on 106.9 KIFR CBS relaunched KFRC with a rock leaning classic hits format on 106.9. But KFRC was not back for long either. On October 27, 2008, 106.9 KFRC FM became an all news 740 KCBS AM simulcast. KFRC now only airs on 106.9 FM HD-2 and online at KFRC.com. But KFRC came back again. On January 1, 2009, KFRC returned on the radio at 1550 AM, as true oldies.

KZQZ (1430 AM), which airs in St. Louis, Missouri, has held onto the traditional oldies format. KZQZ, which began playing oldies in March 2008, plays a wide variety of top 40 Billboard hits from the 1950s, 1960s, and the early 1970s.

On August 27, 2009, Grand Rapids, Michigan station WGVU-AM became the first public radio station to feature an all-oldies format.

Jones Radio Networks, Waitt Radio Networks and Dial Global (formerly part of Westwood One) also offered 24-hour satellite-distributed oldies formats; the first two companies have been taken over by Dial Global's owner and the formats' futures are uncertain. ABC Radio actually offers two (and had three if Timeless was counted): in addition to the "True Oldies Channel," there is the much longer-running and more established "Oldies Radio" format (formerly known as "Pure Gold" during the time in the Satellite Music Network), which focuses mainly on the decade from 1965 to 1975 with some older and newer material.

In North America, satellite radio broadcasters XM and Sirius launched in 2001 and 2002, respectively, with more than a dozen oldies radio channels, with XM offering separate stations for each decade from the '40s to the '90s, and Sirius doing the same for the '50s through the '80s. These companies also offered specific genre channels for disco and dance hits, garage rock, classic rock, classic country, and vintage R&B and soul hits.^[6][7] These pay radio channels boasted thousands of songs in their libraries, ensuring far less repetition than traditional broadcast stations. (In November 2008, following a merger of Sirius and XM, the two services shifted to a unified group of "decades" channels, with the playlists for most cut back to reflect a more conventional style of oldies programming.) Music Choice similarly offers an interruption-free oldies station.

source:Wikipedia

Jim Reeves-James Travis Reeves -A Great Oldies' Singer.

James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923–July 31, 1964) was an American country and pop music singer-songwriter popular in the 1950s and 1960s who also gained a wide international following for his pioneering smooth Nashville sound. Known as Gentleman Jim, his songs continued to chart for years following his death at age 40 in a private airplane crash. He is a member of the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
Jim Reeves was born in Galloway, Texas a small rural community near Carthage. Winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas, he enrolled to study speech and drama, but dropped out after six weeks to work at the shipyards in Houston. Soon he returned to baseball, playing in the semi-professional leagues before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals farm team in 1944 as a right-handed pitcher. He stayed in the minor leagues for three years before severing his sciatic nerve on the pitching mound which ended his athletic career.
Reeves began to work as a DJ, and sang live between songs. In the late 1940s, he was signed to a couple of small Texas-based record labels, but with no success. Influenced by such Western swing artists as Jimmie Rodgers and Moon Mullican, as well as popular crooners Bing Crosby, Eddy Arnold and Frank Sinatra, it was not long before he got a foothold in the music industry. He was a member of Moon Mullican's band and made some early Mullican-style recordings like "Each Beat of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat" from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.
He eventually landed a job as an announcer on KWKH-AM in Shreveport, Louisiana, home to the popular Louisiana Hayride. His musical break came when singer Sleepy LaBeef was late for a performance on the Hayride, according to former Hayride emcee Frank Page, and Reeves was asked to fill in. (Other accounts—including Reeves himself, in an interview on the RCA album Yours Sincerely—name Hank Williams as the absentee.)

Initial success in the 1950s

Reeves' first country hits included "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright), "Mexican Joe", "Bimbo" and other songs on both Fabor Records and Abbott Records. He recorded only one album for Abbott, 1955's Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott 5001). Eventually he tired of the novelty bracket he had been forced into, and left for RCA Victor. In 1955, Reeves was signed to a 10-year recording contract by Stephen Sholes, who produced some of Reeves' first recordings at RCA and signed Elvis Presley for the label that same year.
In his earliest RCA recordings, Reeves was still singing in the loud style of his first recordings, considered standard for country and Western performers at that time. He softened his volume, using a lower pitch and singing with lips nearly touching the microphone, but ran into some resistance at RCA; until in 1957, with the support of his producer Chet Atkins, he used this style on his version of a demo song of lost love, written from a woman's perspective (and intended for a female singer). "Four Walls" not only took top position on the country charts, but went to number eleven on the popular charts. Reeves had not only opened the door to wider acceptance for other country singers, but also helped usher in a new style of country music, using violins and lusher background arrangements soon called the Nashville sound.
Reeves became known as a crooner because of his warm, velvety voice. His songs were remarkable for their simple elegance highlighted by his rich light baritone voice. Songs such as "Adios Amigo", "Welcome To My World", and "Am I Losing You?" demonstrated this approach. His Christmas songs have been perennial favorites, including "Silver Bells", "Blue Christmas" and "An Old Christmas Card".

Early 1960s and international fame

Reeves scored his greatest hit with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go", a huge hit on both the pop and country music charts, which earned him a platinum record. Released in late 1959, it reached number one on Billboard's Hot C&W Sides chart on February 8, 1960, where it stayed for 14 consecutive weeks. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that while it was in many ways a conventional country song, its arrangement and the vocal chorus "put this recording in the country pop vein." In addition, Malone lauded Reeves' vocal styling—lowered to "its natural resonant level" to project the "caressing style that became famous"—as why "many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet touch." In 1975, RCA producer Chet Atkins told an interviewer, "Jim wanted to be a tenor but I wanted him to be a baritone... After he changed his voice to that smooth deeper sound, he was immensely popular."
Reeves' international popularity during the 1960s, however, at times surpassed his standing in the United States, helping to give country music a worldwide market for the first time.

South Africa

In the early 1960s, Reeves was more popular than Elvis Presley in South Africa and recorded several albums in Afrikaans. In 1963, he toured and starred in a South African film, Kimberley Jim. The film was released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African cinemas after Reeves' passing, praising him as a true friend of the country. The film was produced, directed and written by Emil Nofal.^{[citation needed]}

British Isles

Reeves toured Britain and Ireland in 1963 between his tours of South Africa and Europe. Reeves and The Blue Boys were in Ireland from May 30 to June 19, 1963; with a tour of US military bases from June 10 to June 15, when they returned to Ireland. They performed in most counties in Ireland, though Reeves occasionally cut performances short because he was unhappy with the piano. In a June 6, 1963 interview with Spotlight magazine, Reeves expressed his concerns about the tour schedule and the condition of the pianos, but said he was pleased with the audiences.
He planned to record an album of popular Irish songs, and had three number one songs in Ireland in 1963 and 1964: "Welcome to My World", "I Love You Because", and "I Won't Forget You". Reeves had 11 songs in the Irish charts from 1962 to 1967. He recorded two Irish ballads, "Danny Boy" and "Maureen".
He was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of Musicians on the condition that he share the bill with Irish show bands, becoming popular by 1963. The British Federation of Musicians would not permit him to perform there because no agreement existed for British show bands to travel to America in exchange for the Blue Boys playing in Great Britain. Reeves, however, appeared on British radio and TV programs.

Norway

Reeves visited Njårdhallen, Oslo on April 16, 1964 with Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, the Blue Boys and The Anita Kerr Singers. They held two concerts; the second was televised and recorded by the Norwegian network (NRK - Norsk Rikskringkasting). The complete concert, however, was not recorded, including some of Reeves' last songs. There are reports he performed "You're the Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me)" in this section. The program was re-run many times over the years.
His first hit in Norway, "He'll Have to Go", reached No. 1 one in the Top Ten and stayed on the chart for 29 weeks. "I Love You Because" was his biggest hit in Norway, reaching No. 1 in 1964 and staying on the list for 39 weeks. His albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian Top 20 chart, making him among the most popular artists in the history of Norway.

Fatal aircraft accident

On July 31, 1964, Reeves and his business partner and manager Dean Manuel (also the pianist in Reeves' backing group, The Blue Boys) left Batesville, Arkansas en route to Nashville in a single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, with Reeves at the controls. The two had secured a deal on some property (Reeves had also unsuccessfully tried to buy property from the LaGrone family in Deadwood, Texas, north of his birthplace of Galloway).
While flying over Brentwood, Tennessee, they encountered a violent thunderstorm. A subsequent investigation showed that the small plane had become caught in the storm and Reeves suffered spatial disorientation. It was later believed he was flying the plane upside down and assumed he was increasing altitude to clear the storm. The plane faded from radar screens at around 5:00 p.m. CDT and radio contact was lost. When the wreckage was found some 42 hours later, it was discovered the plane's engine and nose were buried in the ground due to the impact of the crash. The crash site was in a wooded area north-northeast of Brentwood roughly at the junction of Baxter Lane and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of US Interstate 65, and southwest of Nashville International Airport where Reeves planned to land. Coincidentally, both Reeves and Randy Hughes, the pilot of Patsy Cline's ill-fated plane, were trained by the same instructor.
On the morning of August 2, 1964, the bodies of Reeves and Manuel were found in the wreckage and at 1:00 p.m. (local time) radio stations across the United States formally announced Reeves' death. Thousands turned out to pay their last respects at his funeral on August 4. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting place near Carthage, Texas.
Jim Reeves' last RCA recording session had produced "Make the World Go Away", "Missing You", and "Is It Really Over?" When the session ended with some time left on the schedule, Jim suggested that he record one more song. He taped "I Can't Stop Loving You", in what turned out to be his last RCA recording. He made one later recording, however, at the little studio in his home. In July, 1964 Reeves recorded "I'm a Hit Again", using just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. That recording was never released by RCA but appeared in 2003 on a collection of Reeves songs, after RCA had sold its rights to Reeves' recordings.

Legacy

Reeves was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967, which honored him saying, "The velvet style of 'Gentleman Jim Reeves' was an international influence. His rich voice brought millions of new fans to country music from every corner of the world. Although the crash of his private airplane took his life, posterity will keep his name alive because they will remember him as one of country music's most important performers."
In 1998, he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial is located. The inscription on the memorial reads, "If I, a lowly singer, dry one tear, or soothe one humble human heart in pain, then my homely verse to God is dear, and not one stanza has been sung in vain."

Posthumous releases

Reeves' records continued to sell well, both earlier new albums, after his death. His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves' original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums after her husband's death. She also operated The Jim Reeves Museum in Nashville from the mid-1970s until 1996. On the fifteenth anniversary of Jim's death Mary told a country music magazine, "Jim Reeves my husband is gone; Jim Reeves the artist lives on." ^[3]
In 1966, Reeves' record "Distant Drums" went to No. 1 in the British singles chart and remained there for five weeks, beating competition from The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" (a double-sided "A" release), and the Small Faces' hit, "All Or Nothing" as well as holding off various recordings from living artists already in the UK charts from the coveted No. 1 spot. The song remained on the UK charts for 45 weeks and topped the US country music chart. Originally, "Distant Drums" had been recorded merely as a "demo" for its composer, Cindy Walker, under the impression it was for her personal use and had been deemed "unsuitable" for general release by Chet Atkins and RCA Records. In 1966, however, RCA determined that there was a market for the song because of the war in Vietnam. It was named Song of the Year in the UK in 1966 and Reeves became the first American artist to receive the accolade.
Reeves' compilation albums containing well-known standards continue to sell well. The Definitive Collection reached No. 21 in the UK album charts in July 2003, and Memories are Made of This hit No. 35 in July 2004. Bear Family Records produced a 16-CD boxed set of Reeves' studio recordings and several smaller sets, mainly radio broadcasts and demos. In 2007, the label released a set entitled Nashville Stars on Tour, containing audio and video material of the RCA European tour in April 1964 in which Reeves features prominently.
Since 2003, the US-based VoiceMasters has issued over 80 previously unreleased Reeves recordings, including new songs as well as newly overdubbed material. Among them was "I'm a Hit Again", the last song he recorded in his basement studio just a few days before his death. VoiceMasters overdubbed this track in the same studio in Reeves' former home (now owned by a Nashville record producer). Reeves' fans repeatedly urged BMG or Bear Family to re-release some of the songs overdubbed in the years after his death which have never appeared on CD.
A compilation CD The Very Best of Jim Reeves reached No. 8 on initial release in the UK album chart in May 2009, to later reach its peak of No. 7 in late June, his first top 10 album in the UK since 1992.

India and Sri Lanka

Reeves had a large fan following in both India and Sri Lanka since the 1960s, and is likely the all-time most popular English language singer in Sri Lanka. His Christmas carols are especially popular, and music stores continue to carry his CDs or audio cassettes. Two of his songs, "There's a Heartache Following Me" and "Welcome to My World", were favorites of Indian guru Meher Baba, leading Baba follower Pete Townshend of The Who to record his own version of "Heartache" on his first major solo album Who Came First in 1972.
Robert Svoboda, in his trilogy on aghora and the Aghori Vimalananda, mentions that Vimalananda, considered Reeves a gandharva, i.e. in Indian tradition, a heavenly musician, who had taken birth on Earth. He had Svoboda play Reeves' "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his cremation.

Tributes

Tributes were penned to Reeves in Britain and Ireland after his death. "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson and recorded by Larry Cunningham and The Mighty Avons and in January 1965 it was on the UK Charts and Top Ten in Ireland.
In the UK, "We'll Remember You" was written by Geoff Goddard but not released until 2008 on the Now & Then: From Joe Meek To New Zealand double album by Houston Wells.
Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland and many Irish singers have recorded tribute albums. A play by author Dermot Devitt, Put Your Sweet Lips, was based on Reeves' appearance in Ireland at the Pavesi Ballroom in Donegal town on June 7, 1963 and reminiscences of people there.
Blind R&B and blues artist Robert Bradley (of Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise) paid tribute to Reeves in the album description of his release, "Out of the Wilderness". Bradley is quoted as saying, "This record brings me back to the time when I started out wanting to be a singer-songwriter, where the music did not need the New York Philharmonic to make it real...I wanted to do a record and just be Robert and sing straight like Jim Reeves on ‘Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to the Phone.'"
English comedian Vic Reeves took his stage name from Reeves and Vic Damone, two of his favorite singers.

Source: Wikipedia

Let Me Introduce You To....Mr. Johnny Tillotson!

Johnny Tillotson (born April 20, 1939, Jacksonville, Florida) is an American singer and songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored several Top Ten hits including "Poetry In Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'." He also sang "Yellow Bird" an adaptation of the Haitian song Choucoune.He was the son of Doris and Jack Tillotson, a country music disc jockey, and was raised from the age of 9 in Palatka, Florida. He began to perform at local functions and on his father's radio station as a child, and while attending Palatka Senior High School developed a local reputation as a talented singer.^[2] He became a regular on the Toby Dowdy regional TV show in Jacksonville, and then had his own TV show on WDGA-TV.^[3] In 1957, while studying at the University of Florida, he entered a national talent contest and won through to the final round in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was heard by Archie Bleyer, owner of the independent Cadence Records.^[4] Bleyer signed Tillotson to a three-year contract, and issued his first single, "Dreamy Eyes" / "Well I'm Your Man" in September 1958. Both songs had been written by Tillotson, and both made the Billboard Hot 100, "Dreamy Eyes" peaking at # 63. After graduating in 1959 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Communications, Tillotson moved to New York City to pursue his music career.^[1][2][5]
From late 1959, a succession of singles - "True True Happiness," "Why Do I Love You So," and a double-sided single covering the R&B hits "Earth Angel" and "Pledging My Love" - all reached the bottom half of the Hot 100. His biggest success came with his sixth single, the up-tempo "Poetry in Motion", written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony, and recorded in Nashville with session musicians including saxophonist Boots Randolph and pianist Floyd Cramer. Released in September 1960, it went to # 2 on the Hot 100 in the US, and # 1 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1961. On Bleyer's advice, Tillotson focused primarily on his recording career, but also appeared on television and began to be featured as a teen idol in magazines. His follow-up record, "Jimmy's Girl," only reached # 25 in the US charts and # 43 in the UK; after that, "Without You" returned him to the US Top Ten but failed to make the UK charts. He also toured widely as part of Dick Clark's Cavalcade Of Stars.
Early in 1962, Tillotson recorded a song he had written himself, "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'," inspired by the terminal illness of his father. It became one of his biggest hits, reaching # 3 in the US pop chart and becoming the first of his records to make the country music charts, where it peaked at # 4. It earned him his first Grammy nomination, for Best Country & Western Recording, and was later recorded by over 100 performers including Elvis Presley and Billy Joe Royal, whose version was a country hit in 1988. Tillotson then recorded an album, It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin', on which he covered several country standards including Hank Locklin's "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and Hank Williams' "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)," which also became hit singles. He continued to record both country-flavored and pop songs in 1963, and "You Can Never Stop Me Loving You" and its follow-up, the Willie Nelson song "Funny How Time Slips Away," both made the Hot 100. He also appeared in the 1963 movie Just for Fun.^[1]
With the demise of the Cadence label, he formed his own production company and leased his recordings to MGM Records, starting with his version of the recent country # 1 song by Ernest Ashworth, "Talk Back Trembling Lips," which became Tillotson's last top ten hit, reaching # 7 in January 1964. He earned his second Grammy nomination for "Heartaches by the Number," nominated for Best Vocal Performance of 1965. He also sang the theme song for the 1965 Sally Field television comedy Gidget. While his fortunes waned with changing musical tastes in the late 1960s, he continued to record, before moving to California in 1968 to embark on an acting career in a variety of minor roles. He appeared in the 1966 camp comedy The Fat Spy starring Jayne Mansfield, which was featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (#46).
In the 1970s, he recorded for the Amos, Buddah, Columbia and United Artists labels.^[2] He also turned to nightclub work, appearing at the Copacabana in New York and in major hotels in Las Vegas and elsewhere, and continued to tour in Europe and the Far East. In 1996, he estimated that he was performing 230 days a year.

 ^{Source:Wikipedia}

You Wanna Know Who Is Perry Como?

Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with it in 1943. "Mr. C", as he was nicknamed, sold millions of records for RCA and pioneered a weekly musical variety television show, which set the standards for the genre and proved to be one of the most successful in television history. His combined success on television and popular recordings was not matched by any other artist of the time.
A popular television performer and recording artist, Perry Como produced numerous hit records with record sales so high the label literally stopped counting at Como's behest. His weekly television shows and seasonal specials were broadcast throughout the world and his popularity seemingly had no geographical or language boundaries. He was equally at ease in live performance and in the confines of a recording studio. His appeal spanned generations and he was widely respected for both his professional standards and the conduct in his personal life. In the official RCA Records Billboard Magazine memorial, his life was summed up in these few words: "50 years of music and a life well lived. An example to all." One of the many factors in his success was Como's insistence on his principles of good taste; if he considered something to be in bad or poor taste, it wasn't in the broadcast or show. While his performance of "Ave Maria" was a tradition of his holiday television programs, Como refused to sing it at live performances, saying, "It's not the time or place to do it.", even though it was the number one request of his audiences.
Composer Ervin Drake said of him, "... [o]ccasionally someone like Perry comes along and won't 'go with the flow' and still prevails in spite of all the bankrupt others who surround him and importune him to yield to their values. Only occasionally."
Como received 3 Emmys (2 in 1956 and 1 in 1958), a Christopher Award (1956) and shared a Peabody Award with good friend Jackie Gleason in 1956. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1989  and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1987. Posthumously, Como received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002; he was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2007. Como has the distinction of having 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame-one each for his work in radio, in television, and in music.  Bing Crosby once described him as, "the man who invented casual".

source: Wikipedia