Inner Circle – Games People Play

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Kneeknee

Inner Circle – Games People Play

Inner Circle - Games People Play

Inner Circle is a Jamaican reggae group. The group was formed in 1968 by the brothers Ian and Roger Lewis in Jamaica. With Jacob Miller as their frontman and lead singer the band was one of the most popular in Jamaica during the 70’s, and one of few reggae bands that performed live. They are responsible for the 1987 song “Bad Boys,” which serves as the theme song for Fox Network’s long-running television program COPS. However, at first they covered soul and R&B hits from the United States, and then also a few reggae songs, predominantly from Bob Marley.

Career

The band released its debut album in 1974 on the famed record label, Trojan Records, and resigned in 1979 to Island Records, where the internationally successful album Everything Is Great originated. This album reached top 20 in the UK and preceded their other chart success by some years.

The original Inner Circle included Ibo Cooper (keyboards), Stephen Cat Core (guitar), Funky Brown (vocals), Prilly (vocals), Ian and Roger Lewis, and Mr. Lewis. The band’s residence was originally on Holborn Road in New Kingston. In latter years they had a horn section that included Douglas Gutherie on alto sax and Leighton Johnson on trumpet; both were former members of the Excelsior High School band. During that time the band toured extensively to North America and Bermuda. At the end of this time, Ibo and Cat started their own band, Third World, whose hits included, “Now That We Found Love” and “Ninety Six Degrees in the Shade”. Ibo, Cat, and Funky Brown were at this time students of the University of the West Indies studying for various degrees.

The band were joined by New York Session guitarist ‘Joe Ortiz’ dubbed by the band as GITZY who added the first touches of hard rock, jazz, and blues to the group. Joe recorded at Compass Point Studios for the Eveything Is Great Album on Island Records and later joined the group for their European Tour in 1978-1980. Joe also played on the title track for the album New Age Music. Wherever you find a greatest hits album, Joe will most likely feature – particularly on the live recordings which were made during the UK leg of the European tour. The band appeared in the reggae cult film Rockers in 1978.

Picture Source: http://2ksports.com/media/images/artists/main_inner-circle.jpg

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Elton John – Tiny Dancer A Song For Tania

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Kneeknee

Elton John – Tiny Dancer A Song For Tania

Elton John - Tiny Dancer A Song For Tania

Elton John is a British singer, pianist and composer whose unique blend of pop and rock styles turned him into one of the biggest music icons of the 20th century. He excelled in music from a young age, attending the prestigious Academy of Music on a scholarship at just eleven years old. In 1970 he released his first self-titled American album, making him a huge international star. Some of his most famous hits include “Crocodile Rock,” “Philadelphia Freedom, ” and “Candle in the Wind.” He also found success on Broadway, composing the score for Billy Elliot (2008), which went on to win ten Tony Awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was knighted in 1998.
Early Life
One of pop music’s most enduring stars, Elton John first came to fame in the 1970s. He has managed to produce hit after hit for more than four decades. John has also developed quite a career as a songwriter and composer for films and for the stage.

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, John discovered his passion for music at an early age. He taught himself how to play piano when he was only four years old. John soon proved to be a great talent, winning a scholarship to a youth program at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He attended classes there on the weekends.

John had a difficult relationship with his father, a member of the Royal Air Force. His parents divorced when he was a teenager, and he and his father clashed over his future. John, captivated by the sounds of early rock and roll, wanted to pursue a career in pop music. And much to his father’s dismay, John dropped out of school at 17 to follow his dream. He started playing with a group called Bluesology, and he cobbled together his stage moniker from the names of two members of the group. Read More:http://www.biography.com/people/elton-john-9355335

Picture source: http://www.ticket-boutique.com/eBayauctions/elton1.jpg

Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Kneeknee

Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah

Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah

Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, the punk-pop outfit Plain White T’s began taking shape in 1997, a full ten years before the acoustic ballad “Hey There Delilah” made them Grammy-nominated stars. Lead singer Tom Higgenson was originally fascinated with the drums, having served as the percussionist for various rock bands during high school. One such band was Harvey’s Daughter, whose lineup also featured bass player Ken Fletcher. Although the group disbanded, the two remained friends and quickly launched a different band, with Higgenson taking over lead duties as songwriter and singer. Drummer Dave Tirio also joined the new lineup, bringing Plain White T’s to fruition during the fall of 1997.

Performances in various Chicago clubs earned the band a small but devout following. In the summer of 1999, Higgenson was nearly killed in a car accident; the crash resulted in a ruptured kidney and lacerated lung. However, the event also left him with a newfound dedication to songwriting, and the band began making quick progress as a result, self-releasing Come on Over in 2001 and signing with Fearless Records for the release of Stop in 2002. Although plagued by lineup shifts during the supporting tour, Plain White T’s still found time to record All That We Needed, which hit shelves in early 2005. By that point, the band’s roster had solidified with a lineup comprised of vocalist Higgenson, guitarists Tirio and Tim Lopez, drummer De’Mar Hamilton, and bassist Mike Retondo. The band then participated in the 2005 Take Action tour alongside groups like Sugarcult and Head Automatica before joining up with Motion City Soundtrack for tour dates in 2006. The enhanced EP Hey There Delilah was released that May, containing versions of the titular ballad (originally issued on All That We Needed), along with four new songs and music videos.

Picture Source: http://fpaagency.com/book-plain-white-ts/

The Ketchup Song – Asereje

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Kneeknee

The Ketchup Song – Asereje

The Ketchup Song - Asereje

“The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)” by Las Ketchup is the surprise hit of 2002. Not since the rise of the fabled “Macarena” in 1996 has a dance, a song, and a sound captivated the dancefloors and imagination of the world like “The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah).”
“The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)” is an international sensation, reaching at #1 in Belgium (platinum), Finland, France, Germany (gold), Holland (platinum), Italy (platinum), Portugal, Spain (platinum), Sweden (gold), and Switzerland (platinum). The song has achieved #1 status in Central America and South America.

“The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)” knocked Eminem from the #1 slot on the European Music and Media single sales chart, which represents all of Europe combined.

The members of the Spanish pop sensation Las Ketchup are Lola, Lucía and Pilar Muñoz, the three multi-talented daughters of Tomate, a renowned traditional flamenco guitarist from Córdoba, Spain.

Born and raised in a Spanish region noted for its Andalusian traditions, including flamenco and bullfighting, Lola, Lucía and Pilar have created an infectious highly original sound combining elements of Spanish rumba, Latin pop, Jamaican reggae, and old-school hip-hop.

The song’s chorus takes its lyrics from the 1979 old school rap classic “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang. Written and arranged by the Córdoban producer/composer Manuel Ruíz “Queco,” “The Ketchup Song (Hey Hah)” tells the story of Diego, a young fashion-conscious gypsy with Rastafarian leanings who loves dancing and hip-hop and sings his own Andalusian rap.

Dean Martin – Memories Are Made Of This

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Kneeknee

Dean Martin – Memories Are Made Of This

Dean Martin - Memories Are Made Of This

This legendary singer was christened Dino Paul Crocetti, and was the younger son of two Italian immigrants; his older brother was called Bill. Being born into an Italian immigrant family, Dino only spoke Italian at home and was teased a great deal at school on account of his poor English and strong Italian accent.

Young Dino wasn’t hugely gifted academically and dropped out of school at the age of 16, when he went to work in the local steel mills. As a teenager, he tried his hand at boxing, and fought several amateur bouts under the sporting name of “Kid Crochet”. He also turned his hand to several part-time jobs that weren’t totally legal. This was also the era of Prohibition, and young Dino supplemented his income by delivering bootleg liquor! Eventually, he found work as a croupier in a local nightclub and began to make connections with the network of club owners throughout the Midwest.

Martin began his singing career at the age of 17, singing in local nightclubs near his home town in Ohio. He dreamed of making the big time as a stage singer, just like his showbiz idol, Bing Crosby. Whilst he was singing with a local group called the Ernie McKay band, a bandleader called Sammy Watkins noticed him, and hired him to be his own band’s lead vocalist. Martin began touring with Watkins in 1938, changing his name to Dean Martin in 1940. By 1943, he’d moved to New York and had been given an exclusive contract singing at the Riobamba Room. Before long, he’d also secured his own fifteen-minute programme broadcasting from Radio City, entitled ‘Songs By Dean Martin’. New Yorkers warmed to Martin’s relaxed, mellow singing style and laid-back charm, and by 1946, he‘d recorded four songs with Diamond Records.

Despite his good looks and undoubted singing ability, major success and the “big time” still lay beyond Martin’s reach. His early years as an entertainer were arduous and tough. In 1946, he succeeded in releasing his first single, ‘Which Way Did My Heart Go?’, and he also met up with another young wannabe showbiz star, a comedian called Jerry Lewis. The two performers soon became friends.

Picture Source: http://www.soundcheckmusicblog.com/monday-blues-dean-martin-christmas-blues/

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Can’t Stop

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Kneeknee

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Can’t Stop

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop

Formed in the wake of the L.A. punk scene, the Red Hot Chili Peppers combined funk and punk with macho, sexed-up lyrics. (One early track was called “Party on Your Pussy”). The result was a high-octane sound that made the quintet alt-rock favorites in the Eighties, then superstars in the Nineties. But as the Chili Peppers aged, their songs became more laid-back and lyrical, and the band went from flesh-baring firecrackers (a 1992 Rolling Stone cover featured them naked) to respected veterans.

After meeting at L.A.’s Fairfax High School, singer Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak, and drummer Jack Irons formed Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem before changing their name to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They became a popular attraction up and down the L.A. strip, though the early lineup was short-lived as Irons and the Israeli-born Slovak departed to form What Is This? Kiedis and Flea recruited guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez prior to releasing their eponymous debut in 1984. The album stiffed; Slovak returned, and the band took to the road, sometimes appearing onstage wearing only strategically placed tube socks.

The funk-heavy Freaky Styley (1985), the last album featuring Martinez on drums, was produced by P-Funk’s George Clinton and featured appearances by funk horn players Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley. The record went largely unnoticed at the time. Irons returned to the band in time for the more rock-oriented The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (Number 148, 1987), which sold better than its predecessor. Any optimism was shattered by the 1988 death of Slovak from a heroin overdose. Disturbed by Slovak’s death and Kiedis’ own heroin problem, Irons quit the band a second time. An interim band with P-Funk guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight and Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro did not take hold. Kiedis recruited a Chili Peppers fan, guitarist John Frusciante, and auditions brought drummer Chad Smith. This version of the band recorded Mother’s Milk (Number 52, 1989). With videos for “Knock Me Down” and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” on MTV, it looked like the Peppers were about to break through.

Picture Source: http://www.picgifs.com/celebrities/red-hot-chili-peppers/

Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Kneeknee

Taylor Swift – I Knew You Were Trouble

Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading Pennsylvania to Scott and Andrea Swift. Taylor was named after James Taylor, her mother believed that if she had a gender neutral it would help her forge a business career. Taylor spent most of her childhood on an 11 acre Christmas tree farm in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

When Taylor was nine years old, the family moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where she attended West Reading Elementary Center and Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School. Taylor spent her summers at her parent’s vacation home at the Jersey Shore. Swift’s first hobby was English horse riding. Her mother put her in a saddle when she was nine months old and Swift later competed in horse shows.

At the age of nine, Taylor turned her attention to musical theatre and performed in Berks Youth Theatre Academy productions of Grease, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie and The Sound of Music. She traveled regularly to Broadway, New York for vocal and acting lessons. However, after a few years of auditioning in New York and not getting anything she became interested in country music.

At the age of eleven, after many attempts Taylor won a local talent competition by singing a rendition of LeAnn Rimes’s “Big Deal”, and was given the opportunity to appear as the opening act for Charlie Daniels at a Strausstown amphitheater. This interest in country music isolated Swift from her middle school peers. At the age of twelve, Swift was shown by a computer repairman how to play three chords on a guitar, inspiring her to write her first song, “Lucky You”. She had previously won a national poetry contest with a poem entitled “Monster in My Closet” but now began to focus on songwriting.

Taylor moved to Nashville at the age of fourteen, having secured an artist development deal with RCA Records. Taylor left RCA Records when she was fifteen, the company wanted her to record the work of other songwriters and wait until she was eighteen to release an album, but she felt ready to launch her career with her own material. At an industry showcase at Nashville’s The Bluebird Café in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, a Dreamworks Records executive who was preparing to form his own independent record label, Big Machine Records.

Taylor was one of the new label’s first signings. Taylor released her debut album “Taylor Swift” in October of 2006 and received generally positive reviews from music critics. The New York Times described it as “a small masterpiece of pop-minded country, both wide-eyed and cynical, held together by Ms. Swift’s firm, pleading voice”. Her single “Our Song” made Swift the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one country song.

The album sold 39,000 copies during its first week. In 2008 Taylor released her second studio album “Fearless”. The lead single from the album, “Love Story”, was released in September 2008 and became the second best-selling country single of all time, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Four more singles were released throughout 2008 and 2009: “White Horse”, “You Belong with Me”, “Fifteen” and “Fearless”. “You Belong with Me” was the album’s highest-charting single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Read More…imdb

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Jason Mraz – I’m Yours

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Kneeknee

Jason Mraz – I’m Yours

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

Jason Mraz, born on March 23, 1977 and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia, was mostly influenced with such music genres as reggae, pop, rock, jazz, folk and hip-hop. Having a strong interest in music, he attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy but dropped out a year later when he decided to pick up guitar at the age of 18 and started exploring his singing talent at strawberry fields and on the streets of Manhattan.

After busking around the Big Apple, Jason moved to San Diego. There, he landed a singing career with a duo with drummer Noel “Toca” Rivera. Along with Toca, he performed at the coffeehouses around the town before getting signed to Elektra Records.

In 2002, Jason releases his major-label debut studio album called “Waiting for My Rocket to Come” via Elektra Records. Exploring his songwriting talent by sinking into penning almost all the songs in the album, he brought in pop rock, rock and rock alternative music as his genres. Listing such singles as “The Remedy (I Don’t Worry)”, “Both You and I” and “Curbside Prophet” among others, he lands the album at number two on Billboard Heatseekers chart.

Thrift Shop – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Kneeknee

Thrift Shop – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Thrift Shop - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, a duo from Seattle, Washington, have emerged as a premier national hip-hop group known for their electrifying live shows, expertly crafted music, and innovative music videos and media.

After years of building momentum with impassioned support from their devoted fan base, 2012 has been a banner year for the group, kicked off by Macklemore’s feature in XXL’s Freshman Class. Most recently, they have broken new ground by independently releasing their debut full-length album, The Heist, which shot into the #1 spot on iTunes and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts without the support of a traditional record label.

Their single “Thrift Shop” has top 40 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and is still climbing, with a wildly popular music video (20 million+ views on YouTube) on heavy rotation on BET and MTV2. “Same Love,” a song and video in support of marriage equality, galvanized young fans and voters and led to a live studio performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

While on their 70-city, completely sold-out world tour supporting The Heist, they have garnered attention in Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, TIME and GQ, with live performances on VH1 and an upcoming feature on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Bio source…..www.mtv.com

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Want a song dedicated to you?
Please Contact Us with the song and artist you like, the name you want published and we will do our best to find it.
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The Andrews Sisters – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy 1941

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Kneeknee

The Andrews Sisters – Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (1941)

The Andrews Sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Last of the Andrews Sisters dies at 94

Patty Andrews was lead singer and youngest member of 1940s swing trio whose hits included Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.

Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing trio the Andrews Sisters, has died in California at 94, her spokesman has said.

Andrews died at her home in the Northridge area of Los Angeles, said Alan Eichler on Wednesday.

She was the youngest of the singing threesome, who were renowned for their tight harmonies in hits including Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree. The Andrews Sisters sold more than 75m records and became household names in the 1940s when they entertained second world war troops in Africa, the US and Europe.

The sisters specialised in swing and played with some of the best-known big bands of the era, including those led by Glen Miller, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey.

The sisters also appeared in 16 films, including roles alongside Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in Road to Rio, and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Buck Privates and Hold that Ghost.

Born in Minnesota, the sisters started their careers by performing in local talent shows and later moved to California. LaVerne Andrews died of cancer in 1967 and Maxene died in 1995 of a heart attack.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/31/patty-andrews-sisters-dies

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Inner Circle – Games People Play