Music (Module 4)

1.Where does Marilyn Manson's stage name come from? What kind of music does this artist perform?What is the latest news about his personal life?

His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe and convicted murderer[1] Charles Manson. He performes heavy metal music. Currently he is dating Evan Rachel Wood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_manson


2.What is EBBA and how is it connected with one Estonian singer?

On the opening evening of Europe’s biggest live music industry gathering of the year – EuroSonic Noorderslag – 10 European acts will receive a European Border Breaker Award during a spectacular TV-show presented by BBC-legend Jools Holland, recorded at Oosterpoort Theatre Groningen and broadcast throughout Europe. Kerli Kõiv was one of the winners in 2010.
http://www.europeanborderbreakersawards.eu/home.html



3.Which is the only African country that has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest in its 54 year history?

Morocco.

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history/facts-and-figures
http://www.eurovision.tv/page/history

4.Who is Louise Veronica Ciccone? What has she achieved? Give a short overview of her career.

Louise Veronica Ciccone is Madonna by her stage name. She has made 11 albums:
* Madonna (1983)
* Like a Virgin (1984)
* True Blue (1986)
* Like a Prayer (1989)
* Erotica (1992)
* Bedtime Stories (1994)
* Ray of Light (1998)
* Music (2000)
* American Life (2003)
* Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
* Hard Candy (2008)

And she has written books:
1992 SEX
1994 The Girlie Show
1996 The Making of Evita
1998 The Emperor's New Clothes
2003 X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS
2004 Nobody Knows Me
2008 Madonna Confessions
2009 I Am Because We Are
2009 Madonna: Sticky & Sweet

Children's books

2003 The English Roses
2003 Mr. Peabody's Apples
2004 Yakov and the Seven Thieves
2004 The Adventures of Abdi
2005 Lotsa De Casha
2006 5 Books for Children Box Set
2006 The English Roses and Other Stories (Audio)
2006 5 Books for Children (Audio - 2 Disc Collection)
2006 The English Roses - Too Good to be True

She has also been in films:
1979 A Certain Sacrifice
1985 Vision Quest
1985 Desperately Seeking Susan
1986 Shanghai Surprise
1987 Who's That Girl
1989 Bloodhounds of Broadway
1990 Dick Tracy
1991 Truth or Dare aka In Bed with Madonna
1992 Shadows and Fog
1992 A League of Their Own
1993 Body of Evidence
1993 Dangerous Game aka Snake Eyes
1995 Blue in the Face aka Brooklyn Boogie
1995 Four Rooms
1996 Girl 6
1996 Evita
2000 The Next Best Thing
2002 Swept Away
2002 Die Another Day
2005 I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
2006 Arthur and the Minimoys aka Arthur and the Invisibles 1
2008 I Am Because We Are

She started out as a dancer. While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour,[18] Madonna became romantically involved with the musician Dan Gilroy, with whom she later formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, in New York.[19][20] She sang and played drums and guitar for the band and lived in a converted synagogue in Corona, Queens.[21] However, she departed from them and formed another band called Emmy in 1980, with drummer and former boyfriend Stephen Bray.[22] She and Bray wrote and produced dance songs that brought her to local attention in the New York dance clubs. DJ and record producer Mark Kamins was impressed by her demo recordings, so he brought her to the attention of Sire Records founder Seymour Stein. Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire Records, a label belonging to Warner Bros. Records. After that she got famous and started to make her world famous albums.



http://en.wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_by_Madonna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_filmography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Veronica_Ciccone#Discography

5.When was the band 'Queen' formed? When was their first record released? Give a short overview of the history of the band.

Queen formed in 1971 and in 1973 signed their first recording contract for EMI. That year they released their first album, QUEEN. The same year saw their first major UK tour, and in 1974 they released QUEEN II as well as making their first UK headlining tour. They made their first US tour, and in November released SHEER HEART ATTACK which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

1975 saw their new release, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, and – significantly – the single Bohemian Rhapsody. At 5’ 55” it should have been too long for successful radio play but it became one of the greatest singles of all time, staying at No. 1 in the UK chart for nine weeks. The video, directed by Bruce Gowers, is credited with being the first genuine promotional video. The song has regularly featured in all major pop polls and was recently named again as the best single of all time. The success of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA was equally stunning, giving the band their first platinum album.

In 1976 they toured the US and Japan and by spring all four albums resided in the UK Top Twenty. Later that year they released A DAY AT THE RACES, and gave a free concert in Hyde Park to an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The album was a huge success, advance orders alone amounting to over 500,000. The following year saw two major US tours, the band’s sixth album, NEWS OF THE WORLD and the legendary double A side single, WE WILL ROCK YOU and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.

1978’s JAZZ, included another huge hit single in Bicycle Race and Queen toured the US and Canada. They spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan, as well as releasing their first live album, LIVE KILLERS. They were also approached to write the score for a forthcoming feature film, FLASH GORDON. Before that they released THE GAME in 1980 which went five times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band’s biggest selling American single. Later that year the soundtrack for FLASH GORDON was released and by the end of the year Queen had sold over 45,000,000 albums worldwide.

In 1981 they toured the Far East and were the first band to make a stadium tour of South America. They played to 131,000 people in Sao Paolo, the largest paying audience for any band anywhere in the world. GREATEST HITS, GREATEST FLIX and GREATEST PIX were released simultaneously later in the year and Greatest Hits has rarely been out of the UK album charts since. Greatest Flix was the first collection of promo-videos released commercially by any band. Next year saw the release of the band’s twelfth album, HOT SPACE whilst they were in the middle of a European tour.

1984 saw THE WORKS and the single Radio Ga Ga became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in 19 countries. Another huge hit was I Want To Break Free, featuring one of their most famous videos, all dressed in drag. In 1985 they were the headlining act at Rock in Rio, the biggest festival to be held anywhere in the world. They again made history that year with the show-stealing performance at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, which proved to be a turning point for the band, One Vision being the first post Live Aid release.

1986 saw their 14th album, A KIND OF MAGIC, which was the soundtrack to the Russel Mulcahy film, Highlander. The title track became another worldwide smash and the album entered the UK charts at No. 1; later in the year the 2nd live album, LIVE MAGIC, went into the charts at No. 3. Between 1988 and 1991 Queen released three more albums, THE MIRACLE in 1989 and in 1991 INNUENDO and GREATEST HITS TWO. All three entered the UK charts at No. 1, as did the single Innuendo.

On 23rd November 1991 Freddie Mercury announced to the world that he had AIDS and the next day he died peacefully at his home, surrounded by family and friends. He remains the most high profile loss from the disease in the entertainment world and the news shocked fans throughout the world. As a tribute Bohemian Rhapsody /These Are The Days Of Our Lives was released as a double A-sided single to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust. It entered the UK chart at No. 1, where it stayed for five weeks, raising over £1,000,000 for the charity and Queen became the first band to have the same single top the uK charts twice. In December of that year Queen had 10 albums in the UK Top 100. In 1992 Freddie was awarded posthumously the BRIT’s “Outstanding Contribution to British Music” and Days Of Our Lives won Best Single. On 20th April many of the world’s top stars joined Brian, Roger and John on stage at Wembley for an emotional tribute to Freddie.

In 1995 the tracks that Queen had begun in 1991 were completed by Brian, Roger and John and the long-awaited MADE IN HEAVEN was released worldwide. It was the end of an era. Since then the phenomenon of Queen has remained, however, with continuing sales for their recorded output on CD and video. A ballet of their music by famous French choreographer Maurice Bejart was premiered at the National Theatre in Paris in 1997 and in May 2002 the hit musical We Will Rock You opened to sell-out audiences in London’s West End and continues to play to packed houses and standing ovations every night. Queen’s first DVD Greatest Video Hits Vol.1 was released at the end of October 2002, and yet another piece of Queen product entered the UK charts at number 1. October 2002 also saw Queen receive their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, joining The Beatles as only one of a handful of non-US bands to receive the much coveted honour. Last year, 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Walk of Fame, and in the UK were voted by the public into the first UK Music Hall of Fame.



http://www.queenonline.com/home/
http://www.queenonline.com/history/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTivVclQQ0&feature=fvst

6.Which performer made his last concert appearance on June 26, 1977, in Indianapolis? Give a short overview of his biography and musical career.

Elvis Presley. Elvis Aaron Presley, in the humblest of circumstances, was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.
Elvis Presley's musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. In 1954, he began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture.
Elvis starred in 33 movies, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 131 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army.
His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977.



http://en.wikipedia.org
http://biography.elvis.com.au/
http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/pictures/1977_june_26.html

7.What is a common sad fact about the musicians Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain ?

They all died at the age of 27.

http://en.wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club

8. Who was the composer, who by his death at the age of 35, had written 41 symphonies?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.



http://en.wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart

9.Whose real name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight? Describe his musical career.

Elton John. A former student of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, the man born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947 left school and immediately began his path in the music industry. His first band, Bluesology, was formed in 1961. He would later take his stage name from the Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and their charismatic frontman, Long John Baldry. Elton John was introduced to Bernie Taupin in 1967 by Ray Williams at Liberty Records. Amazingly, their first compositions were conducted by mail. In 1968 they became staff songwriters for Dick James' DJM label, farming out music to budding pop stars.

Elton and Bernie's prolific nature was established early in his career. By the time Elton's self-titled breakthrough album and evergreen hit Your Song had introduced him to an international stage in 1970, they had honed their skill to such a degree that Bernie could turn out a lyric in half an hour and Elton could compose to it within the hour. In the period between 1970-76, with producer Gus Dudgeon at the helm, they made an astonishing fourteen albums including Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across The Water, Honky Chateau, Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Caribou and Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy. Amongst these, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was the first album ever to enter the Billboard Chart at Number One. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, with its string of American Number One hit singles and unbroken two month run at the top of the Billboard Top 100, became an all-time classic.

In 1974 Elton performed on John Lennon's comeback single Whatever Gets You Through The Night, and later that year was joined by Lennon onstage at New York's Madison Square Garden. This performance, always cited by Elton as one of the most memorable of his entire career, was to be John Lennon's final concert.

In the late 1970s Elton's partnership with Bernie Taupin came to a temporary standstill, and he worked with other lyricists. A Single Man provided a fortuitous musical hook-up with Gary Osborne, and his 1977 sessions with Philly Soul producer Thom Bell gave him with a Number One UK hit in 2003 with Are You Ready For Love, when it was re-released due to demand from influential British DJs. This is an ongoing pattern. Elton has always been given credit from unlikely quarters. The filmmaker Cameron Crowe immortalised Tiny Dancer in Almost Famous, and then featured My Father's Gun (from the 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection) in the movie Elizabethtown. Producer Eminem sampled Elton and Bernie's 1970 composition, Indian Sunset on Tupac's single, Ghetto Gospel, and who would forget Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman's duet of Your Song in Baz Lehrman's Moulin Rouge.

In 1980 Elton and Bernie were reunited for the album 21 At 33. The album swiftly reacquainted Elton with the Top Ten and was followed by Jump Up! with the smash single Blue Eyes and Lennon tribute Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny), This return to peak form continued with Too Low For Zero, the home of two of Elton's live favourites to this day, I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues and I'm Still Standing, his valedictory song to the troubles he had gone through.

In 1992 in the USA, and in 1993 in the UK, Elton established the Elton John AIDS Foundation; his pioneering charity dedicated to breakthrough work on behalf of those around the world suffering from HIV and related illnesses. The next year he released the double platinum album The One.

The 1990s saw him rise to new heights. His collaboration with Tim Rice on music for Disney's The Lion King garnered not only a Best male pop Grammy but his first Academy Award. Elton has since collaborated with Tim Rice again on the Broadway smash Aida. Billy Elliot The Musical, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Lee Hall, was launched on the London stage in 2005. It is staggeringly successful, not only with the audiences, but also with the most hard-bitten theatre critics on both side of the Atlantic.

The late 1990s were a time of personal tragedy for Elton, with the loss of his good friends, fashion designer Gianni Versace, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Only one artist can have the biggest selling single of all time, and since 1997 Elton has held that record. It occurred because of a tragic death that echoed around the world, and the millions who saw Elton's only performance of the song were touched by his struggle for composure on this saddest of occasions. Candle in the Wind 1997, Elton and Bernie's heartbreaking tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has sold well over 33,000,000 copies.

In 1998 Elton received a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services."

The new millennium has seen Elton at the top of his game, continuing to play frequent, sell-out concerts all over the world along with his band. In 2004 Elton and the band began a residency with The Red Pianoshow at the Caesars Palace Colosseum in Las Vegas, art-directed by the brilliant conceptualist, David LaChapelle. Originally booked for 75 shows over three years, The Red Piano exceeded all expectations and proved so popular with audiences that Elton completed the original commitment in only 18 months. During this time Caesars Palace extended the agreement for an additional 166 shows for a final engagement total of 241, ending in April 2009. In 2008 the DVD of The Red Piano was released worldwide in several formats.

Three decades since the 1969 release of his first album, Empty Sky, Elton John is still creating some of the finest music of his career. The 2001 album Songs From The West Coast gave him another smash hit single with I Want Love, and then in 2005 the release of the deluxe edition of Peachtree Road, including three new songs from Billy Elliot The Musical gave Elton another hit single with the Billy Elliot song Electricity. In 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music.

In September 2005 Elton marked the 30th anniversary of the release of one of his best-loved albums, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, with a new deluxe CD version of the album, and a series of special concerts in America where he performed most of the Captain Fantastic songs in concerts that lasted for well over three hours. In the same year Elton and Bernie Taupin collaborated on the music for Lestat, based on Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat novels. This musical opened on New York's Broadway in April 2006.

In 2006 he released the autobiographical album The Captain & The Kid, the sequel to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. 2007 saw the release of Rocket Man - The Definitive Hits, a single CD album or deluxe DVD which features eighteen classic hit songs. Also in 2007, for the first time ever, Elton's entire back catalogue of nearly 500 tracks (90 singles and 32 albums) became available to download legally.

The release of Rocket Man marked a huge anniversary for Elton - on March 25th, 2007, he celebrated his 60th birthday while breaking his own record with an unmatched 60th concert at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York. No other entertainer has come close to matching this record.

In November 2008 Billy Elliot the Musicalopened at the Empire Theatre, Broadway and, to Elton's delight, is a resounding critical and box office hit. It received a record 10 Tony Awards in 2009, including Best Musical. Billy Elliot has also launched in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. Later in 2010 it will launch in Chicago, USA.

Elton remains committed to his music and to touring, becoming more, rather than less, busy as time passes. He began 2009 onstage at the 02 Arena in London, where he welcomed in the New YEar with a live TV broadcast of the Red Piano show. During that year he went on to play 92 public concerts - either with his band, with Billy Joel, with Ray Cooper or on his own - in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, USA, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Portugal, England, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Finland, Russia, France, Spain, Holland, Switzerland and Belgium. The new Face2Face tour with Billy Joel, which started in the USA, is set to last for at least two years. One of the year's highlights was Ray Cooper's welcome return to the stage with Elton for an amazing concert at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Royal Academy of Music.

Elton will be on the road in 2010 with Billy Joel, with Ray Cooper, and with his band: Bob Birch (bass), Kim Bullard (keyboards), Davey Johnstone (guitars), John Mahon (percussion) and Nigel Olsson (drums). He will also be recording a new studio album, in collaboration with Bernie Taupin and Leon Russell.



http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.eltonjohn.com/about/bio.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Kenneth_Dwight

10.Who is Stefani Germanotta ? What is the name of her last album? Describe her career.

Lady GaGa. Her last album is called The Fame Monster. Lady Gaga started working the local Lower East Side club scene, performing then-hits like "Beautiful Dirty Rich" while donning her unique stage outfits. When she was 20 she started working for Interscope Records and was busy writing songs for other musical groups, such as The Pussycat Dolls

Throughout 2008 Lady GaGa finalized tracks for her debut album "The Fame". While her music ignited the blogosphere, her creative team, the "Haus of GaGa", promoted the image of Lady GaGa worldwide via fashion, technology and various media: Lady GaGa's pop persona is styled with blonde geometric bangs and Diamond encrusted shades, as seen on her album cover. She often wears loose hooded garments with skin-tight pants. Her performances are accompanied by her infamous 'Disco Stick', and more recently a pair of metallic sunglasses with digital screens as lenses which play video content.

Building upon the online hype of brand GaGa, Germanotta returned to her club roots, to create a visually fresh showcase of her potential hits. Touring the world throughout the summer with two dancers, Cinnamon and Ginger, and English DJ Space Cowboy in tow, she dances while singing live over remixed versions of her biggest tracks. Lady Gaga promoted her music releases and charted impressively in Australia, Finland and Canada. She also performed two exclusive shows in London as early hype for her eventual UK releases.

In the fall of 2008 "Haus of GaGa" turned their focus upon the USA market and Lady Gaga is due to embark upon a tour with the reformed New Kids on the Block with whom she has collaborated on the song 'Big Girl Now'.

According to an interview conducted by Ron Slomowicz, the stage name Lady GaGa is a reference to the song "Radio Ga-Ga" by Queen.



http://www.biggeststars.com/l/lady-gaga-biography.html
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefani_Germanotta