Tuesday, December 24, 2013

George C Scott

George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American stage and film actor, director, and producer.

He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, and as Ebenezer Scrooge in Clive Donner's adaptation of A Christmas Carol.

George Campbell Scott was born in Wise, Virginia, the son of Helena Agnes (née Slemp; 1904–1935) and George Dewey Scott (1902–1988).

 His mother died just before his eighth birthday, and he was raised by his father, an executive with Buick. Scott's original ambition was to be a writer like his favorite author, F. Scott Fitzgerald; while attending Redford High School in Detroit, he wrote many short stories, none of which were ever published. As an adult, he tried on many occasions to write a novel, but was never able to complete one to his satisfaction.[citation needed]

Scott joined the US Marines, serving from 1945–49. He was assigned to 8th and I Barracks in Washington, D.C., in which capacity he taught English literature and radio speaking/writing at the Marine Corps Institute. His primary duty, however, was as an honor guard for military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery.

He later claimed his duties at Arlington led to his drinking.[2] After his military service, Scott enrolled in the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism and then became interested in drama; he graduated from the university in 1953.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Ed Asner



Edward Asner (born November 15, 1929), commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and a former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series Lou Grant, making him one of the few television actors to portray the same leading character in both a comedy and a drama.
In 2009, he starred as the voice of Carl Fredricksen in Pixar's award-winning animated film Up. In early 2011, Asner returned to television as butcher Hank Greziak in Working Class, the first original sitcom on cable channel CMT. He starred in the Canadian television series Michael, Tuesdays and Thursdays, on CBC Television and has appeared in the 2013 summer series The Glades, in the episode Killer Barbecue.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Stanley Tucci




Actor Stanley Tucci was born on November 11, 1960, in Peekskill, New York. Tucci took an interest in acting while in high school, and went on to attend the State University of New York's Conservatory of Theater Arts in Purchase. He began his professional career on the stage, making his broadway debut in 1982, and then made his film debut in Prizzi's Honor(1985).

In 2009, Tucci received his first Academy award nomination for his turn as a child murderer in The Lovely Bones (2009). He also received a BAFTA nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for the same role. Other than The Lovely Bones, Tucci has recently had noteworthy supporting turns in a broad range of movies including Lucky Number Slevin(2006), The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Tucci reached his widest audience yet when he played Caesar Flickerman in box office sensation The Hunger Games (2012).

While maintaining an active career in movies, Tucci received major accolades for some work in television. He won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role in TV movie Winchell(1998), an Emmy for a guest turn on Monk (2002), and a Golden Globe for his role in HBO movie Conspiracy (2001).

Tucci has also had an extensive career behind the camera. His directorial efforts includeBig Night (1996), The Impostors (1998), Joe Gould's Secret (2000) and Blind Date (2007), and he did credited work on all of those screenplays with the exception of Joe Gould's Secret (2000).

Tucci has three children with Kate Tucci, who passed away in 2009. Tucci married Felicity Blunt in August 2012.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Edward Kirk Herrmann

Edward Kirk Herrmann

(born July 21, 1943) is an American television and film actor. 

He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt on television, and to younger generations for his role as Richard Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, as a ubiquitous narrator for historical programs on the History Channel and PBS productions such as NOVA, and as the spokesman for Dodge automobiles in the 1990s.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Songopoly by Ric Chapman


I really love how social media presents so many exciting work opportunities.

Several months ago, I was contacted by the Bermuda TV game show host of Songopoly, Ric Chapman.  

In response to Ric's request for artwork, I produced quite a few drawings of famous musicians that have been used in a new Apple app by the same name.


Check out this new app from Ric Chapman.
 Ric and the programmers did a really great job putting it together!




App Shopper Trivia Game


Additional Info...

Everyone listens to some kind of music, knows things from that genre, and the SONGOPOLY app provides for all tastes. If you know who the lead singer of U2 is, or where Paul McCartney was born, or what great artist was known affectionately as Satchmo....you will be a star at SONGOPOLY. It has 30 stages of easy to plough through music trivia, to start with, and you must get through all questions correctly in a stage before you can progress.
Along the way you'll encounter some WHO AM I brain teasers as well, and these come with magnificent and unique portrait drawings of your favourite musical stars.
These extraordinary life-like drawings, can be used as screen savers too - a must for say every Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber or Rod Stewart fan....just to name a few.
But be warned - the fun is in answering the music based questions correctly - the funny part, however, starts when you get a question wrong. Ridicule, scorn, embarrassment and insult will be flung your way. Be prepared to cop it verbally if you slip up. This app is frustratingly addictive and will take quite a while to master.

There are 20 more stages to buy once you've taken the hours needed to progress through the first 30 stages and the 30 WHO AM I tasks.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Lou Reed


Singer Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013)

was an American rock musician and songwriter.

After being guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of the Velvet Underground, his solo career spanned several decades. The Velvet Underground were a commercial failure in the late 1960s, but the group has gained a considerable cult following in the years since its demise and has gone on to become one of the most widely cited and influential bands of the era – hence Brian Eno's famous quote that while the Velvet Underground's debut album only sold 30,000 copies, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band."

After his departure from the group, Reed began a solo career in 1972. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", but subsequently lacked the mainstream commercial success its chart status seemed to indicate.

In 1975, Reed released a double album of feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which he later commented, "No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive."

Reed was known for his distinctive deadpan voice, poetic lyrics and for pioneering and coining the term ostrich guitar tuning.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Scott Eastwood


Scott Clinton Reeves Eastwood

(born March 21, 1986), also known as Scott Eastwood and formerly Scott Reeves, is an American actor and model. He is the son of actor-director Clint Eastwood.

A native of Monterey, California,
Eastwood was born Scott Clinton Reeves and grew up in Hawaii. He is the son of actor-director Clint Eastwood and flight attendant Jacelyn Allen Reeves.
 He has one younger sister, Kathryn Reeves (b. February 2, 1988).

He has seven paternal half-siblings, including Kimber Tunis, Kyle Eastwood, Alison Eastwood, Francesca Fisher-Eastwood, and Morgan Eastwood. His stepmother is Dina Eastwood. He graduated from high school in 2003.


He briefly appeared in his father's 2010 film Gran Torino. in his father's 2009 film Invictus, Eastwood played flyhalf Joel Stransky.

In April 2010, he played the lead role in the thriller Enter Nowhere.

He will co-star in David Ayer's 2014 film, Fury with Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, and Logan Lerman.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Dabo Swinney


William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney

(born November 20, 1969) is an American football college coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Clemson.

Swinney was raised in Pelham, Alabama, and attended the University of Alabama, where he joined the Crimson Tide football program as a walk-on wide receiver in 1989.

He earned a scholarship and lettered on three teams (1990–1992), including the Crimson Tide's 1992 National Championship team. During his time as an undergraduate at Alabama, Swinney was twice named an Academic All-SEC and SEC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll member.

 He received his degree in commerce & business administration in 1993 as well as a master's degree in business administration from Alabama in 1995.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Tom Mison

Actor Tom Mison

(born 23 July 1982) is an English theatre actor and writer.

known for his work in the European premiere of Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling at the Almeida Theatre; Posh by Laura Wade at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010 and the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End in 2012; and playing Prince Hal in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, directed by Sir Peter Hall. 

He currently stars as Ichabod Crane in the U.S. TV series Sleepy Hollow.


Mison was raised in the London commuter belt town of Woking, Surrey and later trained at the Webber-Douglas Academy.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Orlando Jones


Orlando Jones (born April 10, 1968) is an American comedian and film and television actor. He is notable for being one of the original cast members of the sketch comedy series MADtv and for his role as the 7 Up spokesman from 1999-2002.

Jones was born in Mobile, Alabama on April 10, 1968. His father was a former professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He moved to Mauldin, South Carolina, when he was a teen and graduated from Mauldin High School in 1985. One of his early acting experiences involved playing a werewolf in a haunted house to help raise money for the junior/senior prom. Jones enrolled in the College of Charleston, South Carolina. He left in 1990 without finishing his degree.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Pat Morita




Noriyuki "Pat" Morita

(June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005)
was an American film and television actor who was well known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Keisuke Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.

Pat was the lead actor in the television program Mr. T and Tina, regarded as the first American sitcom centered on a person of Asian descent, and Ohara, a police-themed drama. Both television shows were aired on ABC, but they were both short-lived and to this day go mostly unremembered.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

John Ed Mathison









Dr. John Ed Mathison retired in June 2008, after 36 years as senior minister of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He served as associate minister at Capitol Heights Methodist Church in Montgomery 1964-1966, as minister at South Brookley Methodist Church in Mobile1966-1970, and as minister at Trinity United Methodist Church in Phenix City 1970-1972.

In July 2008, Dr. Mathison and a board of directors established the John Ed Mathison Leadership Ministries, which will involve preaching, teaching, conferences and seminars. The purpose of the ministry is to train pastors and lay persons to be leaders impacting the world for Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. The ministry website, www.johnedmathison.org gives a full description of this ministry.

Under his leadership, Frazer grew from 400 members to more than 8,800 and had the largest Sunday School attendance for United Methodist churches in America. In 1986 the Church Leadership Institute sited Frazer as the fastest growing church of any denomination in Alabama. In 1999, the church was given the National Church of the Year Award from Neighbors Who Care, the victim assistance arm of Prison Fellowship, founded by Chuck Colson. Most recently, in 2006, The Church Reporter magazine recognized Frazer as the 25th most influential church in America.

http://johnedmathison.org/about-2/bio/
 — with John Ed Mathison.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

David Frost


David Frost....RIP

Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE

(7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013)

was an English journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and television host.

After graduating from Cambridge University, Frost rose to prominence in the UK when he was chosen to host the satirical programme That Was the Week That Was in 1962. His success on this show led to work as a host on US television.

He became known for his television interviews with senior political figures, among them The Nixon Interviews with former United States President Richard Nixon in 1977, which were adapted into a stage play and film.

Frost was one of the "Famous Five" who were behind the launch of ITV breakfast station TV-am in 1983. For the BBC, he hosted the Sunday morning interview programme Breakfast with Frost from 1993 to 2005. He spent two decades as host of Through the Keyhole.

From 2006 to 2012 he hosted the weekly programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English and from 2012, the weekly programme The Frost Interview.
Frost died on 31 August 2013, aged 74, on board the cruise ship MS Queen Elizabeth, on which he had been engaged as a speaker.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Sir Ian McKellen



Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE 

(born 25 May 1939) is an English actor.

Widely considered one of the greatest actors of his generation and one of the greatest British actors of all time, he is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Academy Award nominations, four BAFTA nominations and five Emmy Award nominations, McKellen's work spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. 

His most notable film roles include Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit film trilogy, Magneto in the X-Men films, and Sir Leigh Teabing in The Da Vinci Code.

McKellen was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979, was knighted in 1991 for services to the performing arts, and was made a Companion of Honour for services to drama and to equality, in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Nick Nolte



Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte

(born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. His films include The Deep (1977), 48 Hrs. (1982), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Another 48 Hrs. (1990), The Prince of Tides (1991), Cape Fear (1991), Lorenzo's Oil (1992), Affliction (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Hulk (2003), The Good Thief (2003), and Warrior (2011). He has been nominated for three Academy Awards, twice for Best Actor and once for Best Supporting Actor.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Jim Elliot


Jim Elliot

Philip James "Jim" Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Richie Parker

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc_krjwopSs


30-year-old Richie Parker of Beaufort, South Carolina was born without arms, many people told him he couldn't ride a bike, live on his own and have a successful job. Parker proved them all wrong and is a star Vehicle Engineer at Hendrick Motorsports.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Lee Thompson Young


Lee Thompson Young (February 1, 1984 – August 19, 2013)

Was an American actor. He was known for his teenage role as the title character on the Disney Channel television series The Famous Jett Jackson and as Chris Comer in the movie Friday Night Lights. His last starring role was portraying Boston police detective Barry Frost on the TNT police drama series Rizzoli & Isles.

Young was born in Columbia, South Carolina, the son of Velma (née Love) and Tommy Scott Young. He was in the second grade when his parents' marriage ended, and he went to live with his mother. At age ten, he portrayed Martin Luther King in a play called A Night of Stars and Dreams by Dwight Woods, and the

Phillis Wheatley Repertory Theater of Greenville, South Carolina.
It was then that Lee decided he wanted to become an actor.

After doing community theater for a while, he traveled to New York during the spring break of 1996 and secured an agent.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Meat Loaf




Meat Loaf (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947) is an American musician and actor. He is noted for the Bat Out of Hell album trilogy consisting of Bat Out of HellBat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is LooseBat Out of Hell has sold more than 43 million copies worldwide.[1] After 35 years, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually and stayed on the charts for over nine years, making it one of the best selling albums of all time.[2][3]
Although he enjoyed success with Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and earned a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" on the latter album, Meat Loaf experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within his native US. However, he has retained iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the UK, where he ranks 23rd for the number of weeks overall spent on the charts as of 2006. He ranked 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."
He is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 100 million copies.[4] He has also appeared in over 50 movies and television shows,[5] sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His most notable roles include Eddie in the American premiere of The Rocky Horror Show and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He also appeared in David Fincher's Fight Club in 1999 as the character Robert Paulson.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Chef Gordon Ramsay


Chef Gordon James Ramsay

OBE (born 8 November 1966)[1] is a Scottish chef, restaurateur and television personality.[2] He has been awarded 15 Michelin stars in total and currently holds 14.[3][4] Ramsay is known for presenting TV programmes about competitive cookery and food, such as the British series Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, Ramsay's Best Restaurant, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon's Great Escape, Gordon Behind Bars, Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live, and Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course; along with the American versions of Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, and Hotel Hell. He has a net worth of £76,000,000.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Jamie Oliver



Jamie Oliver.

James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, MBE (born 27 May 1975) is a British chef, restaurateur, media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools. He strives to improve unhealthy diets and poor cooking habits in the United Kingdom and the United States. Oliver's speciality is Italian cuisine, although he has a broad international repertoire.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Ashley Olsen

Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986) is an American actress, fashion designer, producer, author, and businesswoman. She co-founded luxury fashion brand The Row and the more affordable line Olsenboye with her fraternal twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen and started her own fashion company called Elizabeth and James.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Floyd the Barber - The Andy Giffith Show

Floyd Lawson (Floyd the Barber) is a fictional character on the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, which was inspired by a real barber in Andy Griffith's real-life hometown of Mt. Airy, North Carolina. The barber's name is Russell Hiatt, who had actually cut Andy Griffith's hair on a regular basis while Andy was young and living in Mount Airy. As of January 2012, the real life "Floyd" was still cutting hair daily at his Barber Shop "Floyd's City Barber Shop" in Downtown Mt. Airy.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Buffalo Nickel



Pencil Drawing by Greg Joens...

The Buffalo nickel or Indian Head nickel was a copper-nickel five-cent piece struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938. It was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser.
As part of a drive to beautify the coinage, five denominations of US coins had received new designs between 1907 and 1909. In 1911, Taft administration officials decided to replace Charles E. Barber's Liberty Head design for the nickel, and commissioned Fraser to do the work. They were impressed by Fraser's designs showing a Native American and an American bison. The designs were approved in 1912, but were delayed several months because of objections from the Hobbs Manufacturing Company, which made mechanisms to detect slugs in nickel-operated machines. The company was not satisfied by changes made in the coin by Fraser, and in February 1913, Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh decided to issue the coins despite the objections.
Despite attempts by the Mint to adjust the design, the coins proved to strike indistinctly, and to be subject to wear—the dates were easily worn away in circulation. In 1938, after the minimum 25-year period during which the design could not be replaced without congressional authorization had expired, it was replaced by the Jefferson nickel designed by Felix Schlag.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Bill Murray




BILL MURRAY

William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian.

He first gained exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in comedy films, including Caddyshack (1980), Ghostbusters (1984) and Groundhog Day (1993).

Murray gained additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, the indie comedy-drama Broken Flowers (2005) and a series of films directed by Wes Anderson, including Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Rihanna



Robyn Rihanna Fenty

(born February 20, 1988)

known by her stage name Rihanna (/riˈɑːnə/ ree-ah-nə or /riˈænə/ ree-an-ə, from the Welsh name Rhiannon[4]), is a Barbadian recording artist, actress, and fashion designer. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, she met record producer Evan Rogers in late 2003, and the next year moved to the US to pursue a music career. She began recording demo tapes under Rogers' guidance, and signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for its president, rapper Jay-Z.

Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun (2005), featuring the Billboard Hot 100 top three hit single "Pon de Replay", peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200 chart. Her second album, A Girl Like Me (2006), peaked at number five in the US and generated the worldwide hits "SOS" and "Unfaithful". Her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), spawned the international hits "Umbrella", "Don't Stop the Music", "Take a Bow", and "Disturbia". The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella". Her fourth album, Rated R (2009), produced the top ten singles "Russian Roulette" and "Hard", plus the number one hit "Rude Boy". Her fifth, Loud (2010), spawned the number one hits "Only Girl (In the World)", "What's My Name?", and "S&M". Her sixth album, Talk That Talk (2011), included the worldwide chart topper "We Found Love" and the top five single "Where Have You Been". Rihanna's seventh album, Unapologetic (2012), became her first number one album on the Billboard 200 and generated her twelfth Hot 100 number one song "Diamonds" and the top five hit "Stay". In addition to her solo work, Rihanna has collaborated with numerous other artists, including being featured on the worldwide hits "Live Your Life" (with T.I.) and "Love the Way You Lie" (with Eminem).

Rihanna's work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including six Grammy Awards,[A] five American Music Awards, 22 Billboard Music Awards, and two BRIT Awards. She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide,[5] which makes her one of the best-selling artists of all time.[6] She has achieved twelve number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the youngest solo artist to achieve the feat. Billboard named her the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade, ranking her seventeenth overall.[7][8] In 2012, Forbes named her as the fourth most powerful celebrity of 2012, with earnings of $53 million between May 2011 and May 2012. The same year, TIME named Rihanna one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Pianist Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin

1 March or 22 February 1810 – 17 October 1849), born (and known in Poland as) Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,
was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is widely considered one of the greatest Romantic piano composers.

Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola, a village in the Duchy of Warsaw. A renowned child prodigy, he grew up in Warsaw and completed his music education there; he composed many of his mature works in Warsaw before leaving Poland in 1830 at age 20, shortly before the November 1830 Uprising.
Following the Russian suppression of the Uprising, he settled in Paris as part of Poland's Great Emigration.

During the remaining 19 years of his life, Chopin gave only some 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon; he supported himself by selling his compositions and teaching piano. After some romantic dalliances with Polish women, including an abortive engagement, from 1837 to 1847 he carried on a relationship with the French writer Amandine Dupin, aka George Sand. For most of his life Chopin suffered from poor health; he died in Paris in 1849 at age 39.

Most of Chopin's works are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces and some songs to Polish lyrics. His piano works are often technically demanding, emphasizing nuance and expressive depth. Chopin invented the instrumental ballade and made major innovations to the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude, impromptu, scherzo and prélude.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Rod Stewart


Pencil drawing on 9x12 smooth bristol paper. No.2 pencil, .5mm Pentel mechanical pencil, graphite powder, chamois, shading stump, pencil eraser, kneaded eraser.


Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE...

 (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and one of the best selling artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.
In the UK, he has had six consecutive number one albums, and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. He has had 16 top ten singles in the U.S, with four of these reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his debut album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down (US: The Rod Stewart Album), and his early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music and R&B. His aggressive blues work with The Jeff Beck Group and Faces influenced heavy metal genres.

 From the late 1970s through the 1990s, Stewart's music often took on a New Wave or soft rock/MOR quality, and in the early 2000s he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook. Stewart's albums and singles sales total has been estimated by various sources to be between 100 million and 200 million copies.
In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists".

A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time,
and No. 59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time.
As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of The Faces, in 2012.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Steven Tyler


Steven Tyler

born Steven Victor Tallarico; March 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the frontman and lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, and occasional piano and percussion. He is known as the "Demon of Screamin" due to his high screams and his wide vocal range. He is also known for his on-stage acrobatics. During his high-energy performances, he usually dresses in bright, colorful outfits with his trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand. In the 1970s, Tyler rose to prominence as the frontman of Aerosmith, which released such milestone hard rock albums as Toys in the Attic and Rocks.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tyler had a heavy drug and alcohol addiction, and the band's popularity waned.
He completed drug rehabilitation in 1986 and subsequently maintained sobriety for over 20 years but had a relapse with prescription painkillers in the late 2000s, for which he successfully received treatment in 2009.

After Aerosmith launched a remarkable comeback in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the albums Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip, Tyler became a household name and has remained a relevant rock icon. As a result, he has since embarked on several solo endeavors including guest appearances on other artists' music, film and TV roles (including as a judge on American Idol), authoring a bestselling book, and solo work (including a Top 40 hit single in 2011).

However, he has continued to record music and perform with Aerosmith, after more than 43 years in the band. The band's latest album, Music from Another Dimension!, was released on November 6, 2012.
Tyler is included among Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers.

 He was also ranked 3rd on Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. In 2001 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Aerosmith. In 2013, Tyler and his songwriting partner Joe Perry will be recipients of the ASCAP Founders Award and will also be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Elton John


Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
In his five-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time.[1] His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in the history of the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.[2][3] He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has received six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.[4]
John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.[5] Having been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998.[6] John has performed at a number of royal events, such as the funeral of Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in 1997, the Party at the Palace in 2002 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in 2012.[7][8]
He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s.[9] In 1992, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation and a year later began hosting the annual Academy Award Party, which has since become one of the highest-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over $200 million.[10]
John entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005 and continues to be a champion for LGBT social movements. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists" (third overall, behind only The Beatles and Madonna).[11]