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The flipSide 08/31/2020

8/31/2020

Fats Domino

Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017) was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records.[2] Between 1955 and 1960, he had eleven Top 10 hits.[3] His humility and shyness may be one reason his contribution to the genre has been overlooked.[4]

During his career, Domino had 35 records in the U.S. Billboard Top 40, and five of his pre-1955 records sold more than a million copies, being certified gold.[5] His musical style was based on traditional rhythm and blues, accompanied by saxophones, bass, piano, electric guitar, and drums.[5]

His 1949 release "The Fat Man" is widely regarded as the first million-selling rock and roll record. Two of his most famous songs are "Ain't That A Shame" and "Blueberry Hill".

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The flipSide 08/24/2020

8/24/2020

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Josh Groban

Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981)[1] is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer, who is known for his unusually dusky baritone voice. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, with over 22.3 million records.[2][3] As of 2012, he had sold over 25 million records worldwide.[4]

Groban originally studied acting, but moved to singing as his voice developed. Groban attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, a free public school on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles, where students receive a conservatory-style education.[5] David Fostercalled Groban to stand in for an ailing Andrea Bocelli to rehearse a duet, "The Prayer", with Celine Dion at the rehearsal for the 1998 Grammy Awards.[6] Rosie O'Donnell immediately invited him to appear on her talk show.[7] Foster asked him to sing at the California Governor's Gray Davis' 1999 inauguration.[5][8] He was cast on Ally McBeal by the show's creator, David E. Kelley, performing "You're Still You" for the 2001 season four finale.[9]

In 2017, he made his Broadway debut as Pierre Bezukhov in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, to critical acclaim and a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical nomination. His performance at the 72nd Tony Awards earned him two Primetime Emmy nominations, one for Outstanding Live Variety Special and one for Original Music and Lyrics for the song "This One's for You". Groban co-starred as Tony Caruso Jr. in the Netflixoriginal series, The Good Cop.

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The flipSide 08/17/2020

8/17/2020

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Ral Donner

Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner was born in Norwood Park, Chicago [2] and sang in church as a child. He sang in local talent shows as a teen, and formed two of his own bands, the Rockin' Five and the Gents, in high school. The Rockin' Five played with Sammy Davis, Jr. on Chicago television at one point in the late 1950s. In 1959, he appeared on Alan Freed's Big Beat program, and released a single with the Gents; soon after, the Gents toured with The Sparkletones.
Donner recorded a cover of Presley's "The Girl of My Best Friend", along with a backing band called the Starfires. After being picked up by Gone Records, Donner re-recorded and rereleased the tune, which became a nationwide hit; some listeners even thought that the cover was in fact Elvis himself.[3] His next single, "You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)", became his biggest, and only Top Ten, hit on the Billboard chart in the United States, peaking at #4. The track peaked at #25 in the UK Singles Chart in 1961.[1] He managed a few more hits, the last of which was in 1962.
In the mid-1960s, Donner recorded for Reprise Records and Red Bird Records, but saw little further success. He played little in the 1970s, recording occasionally, but saw some rekindled interest in his music after Presley's death.[3] In 1981, he provided voice-over narration (in the voice of Elvis) in the film This Is Elvis.
Donner died of lung cancer on April 6, 1984.[4]
Donner was cited by Robert Plant as an influence at the 1995 induction of Led Zeppelin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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The flipSide 08/10/2020

8/10/2020

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Glen Campbell

Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television from 1969 until 1972.[2] He released 64 albums in a career that spanned five decades, selling over 45 million records worldwide, including twelve gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album.

Born in Billstown, Arkansas, Campbell began his professional career as a studio musician in Los Angeles, spending several years playing with the group of instrumentalists later known as "The Wrecking Crew". After becoming a solo artist, he placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, or Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Among Campbell's hits are "Universal Soldier", his first hit from 1965, along with "Gentle on My Mind" (1967), "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" (1967), "Dreams of the Everyday Housewife" (1968), "Wichita Lineman" (1968), "Galveston" (1969), "Rhinestone Cowboy" (1975) and "Southern Nights" (1977).[3]

In 1967, Campbell won four Grammys in the country and pop categories. For "Gentle on My Mind", he received two awards in country and western; "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owned trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA's top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. Campbell played a supporting role in the film True Grit (1969), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. He also sang the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

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The flipSide 08/03/2020

8/3/2020

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Peter, Paul and Mary

Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961, during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio was composed of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Noel Paul Stookeyand contralto [1] Mary Travers. The group's repertoire included songs written by Yarrow and Stookey, early songs by Bob Dylan as well as covers of other folk musicians. After the death of Travers in 2009, Yarrow and Stookey continued to perform as a duo under their individual names.[2]

Mary Travers said she was influenced by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers.[3] In the documentary Peter, Paul & Mary: Carry It On — A Musical Legacy members of the Weavers discuss how Peter, Paul and Mary took over the torch of the social commentary of folk music in the 1960s.

The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. Peter, Paul and Mary received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.